Andrew Novak and Ben Griffin are the defending champions in this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
While they’ll try to become the first duo to go back-to-back in the only team event on the PGA Tour, Novak will be paying close attention to another big sporting event this week — the NFL draft, which starts Thursday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN+) in Pittsburgh.
The 31-year-old golfer might be the biggest NFL fan on tour, and he even has a podcast to prove it.
In September 2023, Evan Grenus, one of Novak’s teammates on the Wofford College golf team, asked if he had any interest in co-hosting a podcast focused on the NFL, fantasy football and gambling.
One of Grenus’ friends had bailed on the project. Grenus promised that it would only be a temporary gig for Novak until he found a permanent co-host. Novak agreed to do it as long as it wasn’t just a temporary gig.
“I always kind of thought it was something that would be fun to do, just talk some football,” Novak said. “It doesn’t take a ton of extra work on my part. I watch the games. I feel like I can talk well, and I understand the game pretty well. It’s just something fun that I do on Tuesdays.”
Every Tuesday during NFL season since the fall of 2023, Novak has recorded an hourlong segment for the “ScreenPlay Podcast.” There have been 83 episodes so far, including a recent preview of this week’s NFL draft.
Brian Rolapp, a former NFL executive, did one of his first interviews as PGA Tour CEO on the podcast in September.
Five-time PGA Tour winner Harris English, a die-hard Georgia and SEC fan, once described Novak as an encyclopedia when it came to football knowledge.
“I think I know a good bit about college football and the NFL and naming teams from the ’90s and early 2000s, but he’s better than me,” English said. “Whether it’s Miami, Florida or Florida State, he has a wealth of knowledge from a time when he was probably 6 or 7 years old. The crazy thing is, he shouldn’t remember any of it because he was too young to be watching.”
Novak is a longtime Carolina Panthers fan. He grew up in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, and attended his first Panthers game when he was 4 or 5. While playing at Wofford, where he was the 2017 Southern Conference Player of the Year and qualified for the NCAA tournament twice, he attended a couple of Panthers games each season.
“We snuck into the playoffs last year, which was pretty cool,” Novak said. “We didn’t even make a fool of ourselves against the Rams, which was very respectable. We have really good people in the building. I think Dave Canales is a good coach, and we’ve got one of the better GMs in the league in Dan Morgan. [Team owner David] Tepper needs to stay out of the way, but I think the trajectory is really good right now.”
Novak’s favorite college football team is Miami, which he started watching in the early 2000s. The 2001 Hurricanes team, led by quarterback Ken Dorsey, tailback Clinton Portis, wide receiver Andre Johnson, tight end Jeremy Shockey and safety Ed Reed, went undefeated and won a BCS national championship. Novak became hooked on the Canes.
If Novak isn’t playing in a PGA Tour tournament in the fall, he’ll get his work done at the driving range in the morning and spend the rest of the day glued to “NFL RedZone.”
On his podcast, Novak isn’t afraid to offer strong takes. He was intrigued by the Jets’ trade with the Raiders in March, which brought quarterback Geno Smith back to New York, where he was the starting quarterback from 2013 to the 2015 preseason.
“The Jets needed a quarterback,” Novak said. “I still don’t think that that necessarily means they won’t draft one. I don’t think Geno’s the answer there, but it’s a start maybe.”
Another deal that Novak didn’t like was the Falcons’ signing of former Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who has a history of concussions and lost his starting job in Miami after throwing 15 interceptions last season.
Falcons starter Michael Penix Jr. is still recovering from left ACL surgery in November after tearing the ligament in Week 11 last season. The Falcons released quarterback Kirk Cousins on March 11 after only two seasons of a four-year, $180 million contract.
“Typical Falcons,” Novak said. “That’s a little weird to me. I don’t know what they’re doing over in Atlanta. Honestly, that could be a situation where by Week 6 or Week 7, both are injured and they’re playing their third quarterback. Both of those guys get dinged up so much.
“I really don’t know what’s going on with the Falcons. As a Panthers fan, I don’t mind it.”
Novak does his homework to prepare for his podcast, including rewatching college games to get ready for the NFL draft preview shows.
Surprisingly, he isn’t completely sold on Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza of Indiana, who is projected to be the No. 1 pick by the Raiders. Novak believes Mendoza has the makeup to become an NFL quarterback, but Novak does have concerns about his skillset.
He likes that the Raiders signed former Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum to a three-year, $81 million contract in March, making him the highest-paid interior lineman in NFL history.
“A really good center is huge for a rookie quarterback,” Novak said. “It takes a little bit off the plate of the rookie, not having to make the line calls and maybe see the pressures. Hopefully, Mendoza’s not having to overthink. I do want to see what [new Raiders coach Klint] Kubiak throws at him, because all I saw him throwing at Indiana was back shoulders and RPOs. I didn’t see much else.”
In his only season as Indiana’s quarterback, Mendoza completed 72% of his passes for 3,535 yards and 41 touchdowns with six interceptions, leading the Hoosiers to a 16-0 record and the school’s first College Football Playoff National Championship game.
That run included a 27-21 victory against Miami in the title game, in which Mendoza threw for 186 yards on 16-for-27 passing.
“There were a few times in that national championship game he tried to go over the middle,” Novak said. “It wasn’t pretty. It’s kind of like a wide receiver with a limited route tree coming out of college. It might take a bit of time for him to get used to throwing some different throws and seeing some different routes.”
Former Alabama offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor is another first-round prospect with potential red flags, according to Novak. The 6-foot-7 366-pounder is projected to go in the top 15 picks in many mock drafts.
“I feel bad calling out any name, but I’m not sold on Kadyn Proctor,” Novak said.
If Novak was an NFL general manager, he would stay away from prospects from Florida.
“Again, biased, but usually you shouldn’t draft Florida players because they bust at an incredible rate in the NFL,” Novak said. “That’s not fair to any of them but, like, take it up with all the guys that went [to the NFL] ahead of you.”
He does give high marks to former Gators center Jake Slaughter, who is projected as a Day 2 pick.
“As long as you don’t take a Florida player in the first round, they can turn out fine,” he said.
One NFL draft prospect that Novak doesn’t have concerns about is Ohio State safety Caleb Downs. Novak attended Miami’s 24-14 victory over the Buckeyes in a CFP quarterfinal at the Cotton Bowl Classic on New Year’s Eve. Even though the Hurricanes won, he was impressed with Downs, who captured the Jim Thorpe Award as the best defensive back in the FBS last season.
“Every single play, it was like, ‘Oh my god, that guy’s there again,'” Novak said. “He’s just always in the right spot. I don’t know if it’s just instincts or what, but he just always seemed to be in the right spot. He got his hands on the ball, forcing fumbles, making tackles in space. I was very, very impressed.”
Another can’t-miss prospect? Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr., who had 9.5 sacks last season. Novak watched Bain work against Texas A&M offensive tackle Trey Zuhn III in the Hurricanes’ 10-3 win in a CFP first-round game.
“Zuhn is probably a Day 2 pick, and Bain just made him look silly,” Novak said. “At the end of the day, you can talk about long arms and stuff. But he’s gone against guys that are about to be NFL tackles, and they had no chance against him. He can line up anywhere on the defensive line. Miami moved him around; he’s not a one-trick guy.”
Of course, Novak’s primary goal this week is to win again on the PGA Tour, which he hasn’t done since he partnered with Griffin in New Orleans last year.
After a so-so start to the season, Novak finished in the top 20 in two of his past three starts, including a tie for 16th in last week’s RBC Heritage.
“In golf, you really don’t get to do it much,” Novak said. “Unless you’re Scottie [Scheffler] or Rory [McIlroy] or one of those lucky freaks, you don’t win that much.”
Getting back with Griffin might help his chances. They both live in Sea Island, Georgia, and play together often there.
Griffin told reporters at TPC Louisiana that keeping Novak loose on the course is one of his goals.
“We’ll talk football or something out there, even though I don’t follow it as well as you,” Griffin told Novak. “I don’t podcast.”
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