Stephen A. Smith on Jax Ulbrich prank calling Shedeur Sanders: 'He should have his ass whipped'

Stephen A. Smith had a pointed message for Jax Ulbrich, the son of Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, who was revealed as the key cog in the prank call Shedeur Sanders received during Day 2 of the 2025 NFL Draft. Ulbrich was part of a group that called the former Colorado quarterback and pretended to be New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis. 

Video was released of Sanders being faked out at a potential selection and told he would have to “wait a little longer.” Ulbrich said his actions were “inexcusable” as part of an apology, but Smith believes further punishment is necessary for the young man.

“I have a rhetorical question, where is the picture of the kid? See, it’s not criminal, but it’s unethical. It’s classless. It’s amoral, to some degree. I’d like to see the face of that kid. Sometimes, you need to be embarrassed. That’s what needs to happen to you,” Smith stated, via First Take on Monday. “Now, in my opinion, this kid, I sincerely hope, to Jeff Ulbrich, I sincerely hope he whipped his kids ass. That’s an ass whipping. That is a required ass whipping.

“So your dad is a defensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons. You go into his laptop computer and find a number for Shedeur Sanders, and you prank call him. First of all, it was cruel and it was classless to Shedeur. It jeopardized your dad. What if the Atlanta Falcons didn’t believe it was your dad, that it was just you? What if they had believed it was him? I don’t believe that for one second, I don’t believe the defensive coordinator for the Falcons — I don’t believe that man did it. I don’t believe he had anything to do with this. I think it would be unfair to accuse him of that.

“But what if the Falcons didn’t believe him? What if the NFL didn’t believe him? Your dad could’ve lost his job. Because you want to prank somebody, and be cruel and insensitive, knowing what Shedeur must’ve been going through, you would be some privileged little brat that would do something like that, and take joy out of somebody’s misery like that, at the expense of your father. We’ve talked about a lot of things in football. Have we ever talked about Jeff Ulbrich? Have we ever mentioned him on national television? But he’s a household name this morning, because his son didn’t think about his daddy, who unquestionably loves him, took care of him, raised him — you’re in college now, no doubt still living off daddy, and you would do something like that to him. You should be ashamed of yourself.

“You should have your ass whipped. I know you’re 21, but at the very least, roll up on campus and slap you upside your damn head. What an insensitive thing to do. Just as equally to Shedeur is what he did to his own father. At no time did he think about the consequences — the potential consequences, ‘This could come back to my dad, since I got it from his computer.’ It ain’t like you got it from one of your boys or something. You went into your dad’s work computer.”

Stephen A. Smith on Jeff Ulbrich's son, Jax, prank calling Shedeur Sanders:

"I sincerely hope he whipped his kid's ass. That's an ass whipping. That is a required ass whipping."https://t.co/eiTYNojmcgpic.twitter.com/w6BZz63kNK

— 5 GOATs (@5GOATs_) April 28, 2025

As you can tell, Stephen A. Smith was passionate about Jax Ulbrich’s mistake. Even though the young man has apologized, he wouldn’t blame Shedeur Sanders for seeking his pound of flesh.

Prank calling potential NFL Draft picks isn’t a new thing, but it’s never been more public than it is right now. It’s evident it’s a cruel thing to do to someone looking to accomplish their lifelong dream. We’ll see if the NFL decides to punish the Atlanta Falcons for the latest case of it.