Turtle Powell

• 2011 World Champion
• 9-Time NFR Qualifier

I just know in Finals past, and it happens every year, that you come into the last round and it’s average day and you’re not even considering some guys missing and then all of a sudden they miss, and then one guy moves up in the average or wins the round, and all of a sudden things change real fast. And that’s why it’s always hard to predict that, I think.

I just think if TWade and Wesley can finish what they started, I think it’s theirs to win. Then if they don’t, and Kaleb and Junior are starting to warm up, and they have a lot of momentum right now it looks like to me, and they go win a round and some guys up above them in the average mess up and they come back the last day, it’s going to be a really good chance they could win it. I think Dustin Egusquiza and Levi Lord, no doubt they could win the next two rounds, but I don’t know if that’s enough to hold off somebody in the average.

TWade would have to not win anything pretty much, and I don’t see that happening. I know it’s kind of been odd watching them, because you thought right at first when it started that they were a bunch of men roping against boys, the way it looked; I mean, it was just awesome. And all of a sudden stuff can happen like that: He missed a couple nights, come back and won the next round and then they’ve had some trouble. But I really think that if I was predicting it today, I think that they only way Driggers is going to get around them is if there’s people up above that start messing up in the average and he could win maybe fourth in the average and win the round the last day, that’s worth a lot of money. I think the average could have a big play if Driggers and Junior keep doing what they’re doing.

Every one of those guys at the NFR is cure capable of winning rounds, but it just seemed like it’s been weighted pretty heavy on TWade and Driggers. The team roping’s been a little bit more spread out, it’s been good watching. I think if TWade just finishes up like he started, he’s going to win it. Then if something happens and he don’t, it comes down to the last day where TWade has to win the round, and no doubt he can do that. We’ve watched him do it how many times in a row?

Clay Tryan

• 3-Time World Champion
• 2-Time NFR Champion
• 20-Time NFR Qualifier

I think it’s all up to TWade and Thorp. If they make two good runs, it’s probably over. I don’t think anybody could beat them, but that’s just what I’m looking at.

I could be wrong, but this might be the best team roping I’ve ever seen. I don’t know the stats, but the times are unbelievably fast every night. If you’re 4.2, it’s not even any good anymore unless it’s just a bad night of team roping, and that’s crazy when you think about it. I think it’s unbelievable how people have learned how to rope here. It’s unbelievable to me. I think it’s unbelievably good, I really do. I was telling somebody, to me, all 15 teams have ability in there, and it didn’t use to be that way. But it is now. Headers have been heading them fast for a while, I mean, now they’re doing it really fast, but the heelers heel them first jump. They didn’t use to do that 15 years ago. Nowadays these guys can do it. The steers are strong and they look hard to rope, but I think people are doing a good job. I think it’s been awesome to watch. It’s truly impressive. The young guys are doing good, the old guys are roping good. It seems tough every night.

Maybe because I’ve roped there a lot, I see it different. I don’t care what seventh place in the round is because they pay six and you’re kind of there to win. So that’s what go off of, too. Then the average is tricky because–and I’ve been in this situation before–you can try to win in the average, but if you’re just going for that, you’ll never place. So it’s really hard; once you’re good in the average, it almost ruins the rounds for you. Unless you’re Driggers just trying to battle back in the average. But if you’re winning the average, it’s hard to take too many chances with two rounds to go because that’s $86,000 and you’re not going to really win good in the rounds unless you’re just trying to do it. So, it’s a tricky situation. It’s harder than people think.

I think a lot [have stood out]–it’s just not one guy. I mean TWade, they’ve messed up a lot, but when they catch they win first place, which matters the most. I’d never really seen the Profili kid enter very much because we kind of didn’t cross paths, but its looks like he’s been roping awesome there. Driggers and Junior, they’re always good. Those three big-name teams, they look like they were in the hunt from the beginning. They’re always exciting to watch, but I think everybody’s fast. It looks like the Yeahquo kid is heading good. Brenten Hall’s headed good. Almost everyone has roped pretty dang good. I’m sure there’s a couple teams that haven’t, but that always happens. And it’s a weird rodeo. I’ve tried to tell people, you can be as prepared as you want and you go there and things start going bad, and it’s just hard to fix it; I can’t explain it.

I’m not like anybody else–I’m not picking it apart. I do think it’s been awesome, I really do. There’s been one “easy” round, technically. But when 4.1’s easy–and there were four of them so then fifth was 4.2, and it didn’t win much. But it’s not just been 3.9s, we’re talking 3.4s, 3.5s, there was a 3.2 plus five. I mean, that’s getting up to times where I’m shocked. And that’s on big steers; just imagine if the steers were little how fast it’d be.

Kory Koontz

• 22-Time NFR Qualifier
• 1997 NFR Champion

No one has been exempt from making some mistakes. Typically there’s more than just one team left with all the steers caught after five rounds. I know that they broke the steers in, they roped them at a jackpot or something ahead of time, and so I had the idea that the roping would just be way tougher. Now, the rounds have been really fast. But there’s just been a lot of mistakes and I don’t know, maybe that’s where rodeo has gone. Everybody’s trying to be so fast every night that mistakes are made. It’s high risk. But I was surprised at just how many mistakes have been made throughout the week by everyone. No one is exempt, so it’s made it to where it feels like unless TWade and Thorp miss the last two–which could happen–they’ll probably win the world.

Dustin and Levi, I think, are just too far away and no average help. It’s going to take doing exactly what happened last night, two nights in a row–it seems like–for Driggers and Junior to win it. I haven’t really penciled it out, but I have watched every night.

There’s two rookies that I feel like have really stood out: J.C. Yeahquo and Kaden Profili on the heeling side. To me, those two guys have really stood out. Now, I know they’ve both made mistakes, but to come in and kind of make some highlight shots and be real solid for the most part has been really cool to watch. Yeahquo and Buddy Hawkins, they still have an outside chance if the right things happen and they win in these last two rounds. They could jump up there and have a chance.

I’ve thought it’s been good watching. I’ve thought there’s been probably more 3-second runs than you typically see, but I also think there’s more 3-second runs throughout the whole year than you typically see. So, that’s where rodeo has gone, and more than ever I think this year has been sure enough 10 one-headers.

I’ve seen Luke Brown rope really smart–really impressed with Luke. When he was leading the average or he had them all caught, he roped accordingly. Then TG missed one and it dropped them down, but then, shoot, Luke just sped up and then turned a couple to be really, really fast.

I will say this: The heeling looks hard. The steers are big. If the head horses don’t, sure enough, get down and pull them, it just makes a hard heel shot out of it. It looks like the guys that are on the faster heel horses that can get out there and get up and around the steer are making the best shots. The guys that are a little behind or get a little trapped to the inside are not pulling those shots off very good; they’re just more difficult. I kind of made a living my whole career what I call blocking and tackling. And even at the NFR I would end up to the inside, but I was real comfortable roping to the right or under my right stirrup. But it looks like things have progressed so much, and so many people all throughout the year are so used to having more space, really keeping things a little more in front of them, and the guys that are doing that seem like they’re making the best shots. Then the guys that get trapped to the inside a little bit, heeler wise, they’re having a hard time.

One thing that I’m really happy about is that I’ve thought Coleby Payne has roped really good also as a first-timer. I’ve thought Clay Smith has just been flawless. I know he broke some barriers and there’s a couple of little things, but my strategy just as a heeler that had been there a lot was kind of like what Joe Beaver said one night of don’t be late–be in the barrier. If you break it, take the plus 10, rope the steer one foot or two feet and get a time, and then the next one, you take that same start and you’re probably going to ding the barrier and the steer’s right there. So, I’ve felt like Clay Smith has probably, as far as the average goes, he’s out headed everyone as far as being consistent and really staying focused. I do expect that to continue, and then I hope they catch them last two fast and win a little more in the rounds but then win the average. And for Coleby to do that his first year, I think would be really cool.

There’s a lot of different things happening that are causing mistakes, but it’s still good watching. I love watching it, I love seeing these guys. But like Driggers and Junior, I really and truly expected them to catch all 10 and to do it fast. That was just what I thought. Then Junior struggled a little bit, Driggers loop dadgum went off in his hand–just weird stuff can happen there. But to just grit it out and keep battling, there’s so much money each night that man, there’s a lot of teams that are going to win a lot of money. I’ve had a good time watching it.

I expect TWade and Thorp to make a really fast run tonight, and then I think it’s going to allow them to rope their last one with less pressure. That’s kind of what I could see happening because there’s the ups and the downs, and last night TWade got a neck catch, that steer hit hard and didn’t handle good at all, and Thorp basically laid it right behind him. But I don’t expect that to happen again. I do expect TWade to come back sharp. I don’t think I really even care what they draw–good or bad. I just expect slick horns, tight and I’d say 3.6 or 3.7 and win really good money, and then almost take a little pressure off of them to just go do it again in the 10th round and not have much to worry about. That’s kind of what I could see playing out.

Brady Minor

• 13-Time NFR Qualifier

Obviously it changes nightly. It starts out and everybody wants to think about the one run or the second round, and it’s a different effect every night. But we’re getting down to where there’s not many nights left to change it much. The steers are big and strong, and they’re roping for $33,000 a night this year, so I get why guys were wanting to go at them. But I really thought up to last night there’d be more caught in the average than there is.

There’s certain guys that have stood out. The cream rises to the top, and Driggers has come back from a hiccup in the second round, a horse change and they’ve been battling back every night. You think someone’s doing the best and then it changes. Cody Snow was about to be on a roll and waved it off last night, and that drops him down in the average a long ways. In the average, I thought Jonathan Torres was heeling about as good as you can heel; they had a little hiccup with a barrier, but it seems like he cleaned everything up the first half of the NFR. It looked like Kaden Profili was the best there, and he was just nailing them; I thought he did a heck of a job. I know how hard it is there to heel because it happens so fast. And he did a hell of a job. It seems like he’s had a couple bobbles in the second half.

Tyler Wade stood out for a while, and now he’s only caught half of them. And the thing they talk about is the guys that are having a chance for a world title, they’re all kind of going for the go-rounds. They’re kind out of the average. Coleman’s in the average and Clint Summers is in the average, but Tyler Wade’s completely out of the average. Dustin Egusquiza’s completely out of the average. Driggers has a chance for a bottom hole in the average. But it looks like with as much money as you win the go-rounds, it’s kind of down to two one-headers. Right now, the ball’s in Tyler Wade and Wesley Thorp’s court. But like I said, they’re completely out of the average, so they’ve got to win something in the go-rounds to keep their big lead. If not, you’re going to see somebody like Driggers, Coleman or Summers come from behind with placing in an average check to put a little heat on them.

TWade, he’ll definitely rope last tomorrow. He may rope behind those guys and have a little bit of a better idea of what he needs to do, so that’ll be a big advantage. Tonight I think he ropes after Coleman and Driggers, so a little bit of an advantage to know what he’s got to do with getting to rope after they do. If they stumble, then he knows he can just catch. And if they don’t stumble, he knows he’s going to win the round.

One thing I’ve seen is Junior Nogueira has $11,000 more won than Kaleb does, so he’s looking a little better than Kaleb as far as catching the No. 1 team. So, Junior just needs to win a little bit and place in the average to have a pretty good chance. Kaleb, he’s got to bring the heat. I talked to him earlier and he said he just needs to crank two back and see what happens, and see where the chips fall.

Like Joe Beaver said, it’s different this year because the top two guys are out of the average as far as TWade and Driggers. Which Dustin now has dropped even further in the projected standings than he was before last night, but they are all out of the average. There wasn’t really an average race. Everybody’s always talking about an average check coming in, well, there’s not much of an average check coming in for anybody. Driggers is seventh. [Split world champs] has happened in years past. I was going in eighth in the average one year and went to fifth just in round 10.

So, different guys can make you win money by them missing. Say you win second in a go-round and you only think you’re going to win your $26,000 or whatever it is, well if two or three guys in the average miss in front of you, that gains you another $20,000. So, you can win money by other people messing up, basically.

But it looks like Driggers is the only guy that’s got a chance in the average. Coleman and Clint Summers are right there third and fourth in the average, and they’re both on a little bit of a heater the last couple rounds roping good. Everybody wants to talk about Tyler Wade, Kaleb Driggers and Dustin Egusquiza, but Clint Summers and Coleman Proctor, they’re right there on their tails. But if they want to win a world title, they’re going to have to go with some go rounds with their average money.