2025 Mountain West Football Media Days - Day 1 Hour 2

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's Mountain West Media Days on Fox Sports Radio.

Speaker 2 (00:03):
August twenty third is when it all kicks off in Lawrence,
Kansas against the Jayhawks. You've heard from some entertaining guests already,
and we've got more to come. In this hour. You
get to hear from a couple in Novada Wolfpack stars,
including their new quarterback Chubb but Perty, who happens to
be the younger brother of forty nine, or quarterback brock Perty.

(00:23):
You're also going to hear from your two Bulldogs who
were here, Jacob Spoemer and Alzillian Hamilton. In any minute now,
we were going to talk to the director of the
College Football Playoff, so he's been hopping around the room
and he may have been hijacked again, but hopefully we

(00:44):
can talk to Richard Clark here in just a moment.
A reminder that we're with you again tomorrow from one
to three and on both days Ck on Sports both
on nine to seventy and Bakersfield in thirteen forty in Fresno,
we'll have an additional conversation from everybody here in Las
Vegas at the Mountain West Football Media Days. Fresno State
picked fifth in the preseason poll just one preseason All

(01:09):
Conference selection in Alzillian Hamilton, the defensive back. So we're
going to be joined now by a former Air Force
Academy linebacker who played on that great nineteen eighty five
squad under coach Fisher DeBerry that went twelve and one
and finished eighth in the country. I don't know if
that's the top line on his resume most days of
the week, but I bet on a day like today

(01:30):
for Richard Clark that one's a lot of fun it is.

Speaker 3 (01:33):
I wish that could be the top line, but it
was like forty years ago, so nobody remembers except you.

Speaker 4 (01:40):
Well.

Speaker 2 (01:40):
I also remember that you were the superintendent at the
Air Force Academy when my nephew went there. He just graduated.
He's now a second lieutenant and got to be going
to fighter pilot training after a couple years of grad
school at Purdue. Of all the jobs that you've had,
director of the college football Playoffs, superintendent of the academy,
b one, bomber pilot, what's been the most satisfying for you?

Speaker 3 (02:03):
Wow, that's a good question. They're all different, but I'll
say this one thing they all have in common is
you got to have thick skin because you take a
lot of fire all the time, So whether you're in
a bomber getting fired out by the enemy or getting
beaten up by Congress, or having fans and commissioners and

(02:24):
coaches on your case about the football playoff. But the
other thing that I had in common with all them
is I loved them all. I mean, they were just
all phenomenal jobs. And I felt blessed to be a pilot,
it was a dream. I felt blessed to be the
superintendent the academy, to work with the young people like
your nephew and the other students. There are just amazing

(02:47):
American people. And now here to be full circle from football.
You know that got me my start really in the
Air Force. To be involved with college football again at
this let just an honor or privilege. So a lot
of parallels there, but full circle and here I am again.

Speaker 2 (03:06):
I know Cam's got some good CFP questions for you,
but I got to ask one more. Just as my
mind is going listening to you talk, I'm really curious, like,
what is a bigger burden or a bigger burden of
responsibility having the potential to oversee the destruction of the
world with nuclear capabilities, or dealing with the SEC and

(03:31):
the Big Ten and all these powers that be that
want their way with the college football playoff.

Speaker 5 (03:36):
Give me a nuclear weapon anytime.

Speaker 6 (03:40):
I had a feeling, I had a feeling.

Speaker 3 (03:43):
No, it's it really. I will be so honest here.
I love being a part of this enterprise. It's it's tough,
but you know what, the the uh, I'll say, varying
opinions and college sports, college athletics, especially college football, that's
what makes it great. I mean, that's what makes people
love it that your fans, you're passionate about it, and

(04:07):
you're entitled to your opinions about it. And I love
being a part of it. And I used to be
an obnoxious fan myself, complaining about everything that everyone did
all the time. So I you know, now, I'm going,
all right, you really were kind of out of control,
weren't you.

Speaker 5 (04:23):
But I love it. I think it's great.

Speaker 7 (04:26):
Yeah, I'm not to fire at you, but you're at
the Mount West media days last year, Boise State gets
a bye and all of a.

Speaker 6 (04:35):
Sudden the rules change.

Speaker 7 (04:38):
Yes, you know, tell me I'm not crazy for thinking
that a Mount West team gets a top four seed
gets a buy and because of that, now the rules
are a little bit different.

Speaker 3 (04:50):
It's not because of that I think that that decision. Honestly,
we were thinking about that before we even started the
playoff last year. So because we you know, as we uh,
those were the rules that were set forth early on,
even before I got to c FP, And as we
started talking about that and really seeing what the lay

(05:11):
down of the playoff was going to look like before
we even started the playoff, we thought, you know, maybe
this is something we really need to look at. We
wanted it to play out, and we wanted to see
how it was gonna, you know, just whether it could
resolve itself or not. But we thought that there might
be some issues there just in the seating, and so

(05:34):
after it played out, we decided that, yeah, let's let's
do this. And and frankly, it's not about anyone's performance
or anything that happened, because the playoff last year was spectacular.
We we have no complaints about anybody's performance. Every team
that was in there absolutely deserved to be there and

(05:54):
to be where they were. But you know, you want
to see teams that earn it during the season to
get rewarded for it. And if you're ranked number four,
number one, two, or three, you deserve to get a
bye just based on your ranking. And we want as
much as we want to honor our conference champions, which

(06:15):
we will will continue to have the top five conference
champions in the playoff, we also want to reward those
teams that get ranked one through four. They deserve a
credit for that. And so I think it was a
good decision, and the commissioners thought about it a lot
long and hard, and then they watched it happen and

(06:35):
play out, and they decided that it was the right
thing to do. And I agree with it, frankly.

Speaker 2 (06:41):
And sometimes it kind of doesn't matter whether you agree
or not, right. I mean, you kind of have a
difficult job here where you're the face, as you said before,
you're the one that has to be on the receiving
end of all the shots. But there are a lot
of people that I think the general public doesn't realize
really have the power to decide.

Speaker 5 (06:58):
Yeah, you're right.

Speaker 3 (06:59):
Whether I agreed or not didn't matter. I just said
that to make myself feel good, but.

Speaker 5 (07:04):
I didn't mean it like that. No, But you're right. Yeah,
So the way it works.

Speaker 3 (07:13):
Really is the conference commissioners, the ten including Commissioner of Bars,
the ten Conference commissioners, and the athletic director of the
university in order Dame. They are the decision makers. They
are the board. We call them the management committee, but
they're the board that really runs college football playoffs. I
am the executive director, and I execute the decisions that

(07:36):
are made, but I also my staff and I bring
them the options and we analyze, we look, we collect data,
we think through and we give them different courses of
action that they might consider. We give them the pros
and cons of those courses of action or what they
might not do, and we give them a recommendation and
we say this is what we think is best. Then

(07:58):
they talk about it, discuss it, and they try to
come to a consensus on whatever the decision might be,
and then we go and execute that. So we have
a role in it, but we are not the final
decision makers, and I'm not, but I am the one
that has to execute whatever that final decision is. So
I got to own it, you know. It's like yep,

(08:19):
got it. And I'm used to doing that, you know.
I mean, in the military, you provide your best military advice,
and there's always someone that outranks you. No matter how
high ranking you might think you are, there is always
someone that outranks you. And there might be and usually
as someone else that says, Nope, this is what we're
going to do, and you don't have the luxury to go, well,

(08:42):
that's not what I want to do, so I quit. No,
you've committed to it and you're going to execute to
the best of your ability.

Speaker 7 (08:48):
How active is that process that you're talking about, I mean,
the landscape of college athletics is continuing to evolve. How
active are you and your crew taking these ideas or
potential ways to move forward to the ten conference commissioners?
In the ad from Notre Dame, how active is that

(09:09):
process for you guys to try and stay, you know,
on the cutting edge and continuing to put the college
football playoff in the best possible position every year.

Speaker 5 (09:18):
Yeah, that's a great question. Cam.

Speaker 3 (09:20):
We were very active. In fact, over the course of
the last six months, we met with the commissioners twice
a month and we were constantly bringing them different things
that we needed and to consider. And so what we
do is we're always thinking, We're always looking and thinking
about how can we get better. One of our core

(09:41):
values is excellence, right, but what does excellence mean? Excellence
as we define it is elevating your performance, always trying
to get better, better today than you were yesterday, better
this season than you were last season. And that is
our commitment to us. So all these months since February,
since we played the you know, since the end of

(10:03):
the season, we did all of our after action stuff.
We were just thinking, how do we make it better?
What do we need to do to move to the
next level, And let's bring it to the commissioners basically
getting permission, you know, and getting their thoughts and their
very experienced groups. So they give us their ideas and
then we go and implement. But we're constantly because things

(10:24):
keep changing. I mean, there's always something and we go,
all right, how can we get better as a result
of this event or this change or this thing that
just happened. And they're very good at responding and giving
us their ideas. In fact, they're very good responding. They
are not shy. They will let us know exactly what
they think. And then and then we go and we

(10:45):
make it happen. And we're going to do as long
as I'm here, we're going to always continue to evolve it.
But that's not to say that we want it always changing.
You know, we don't want to see like these big,
massive changes that are going to happen. Sometimes they do
have to happen, but we'd like to get I think,
to a nice, steady state where we're just making minor tweaks,

(11:06):
but where fans were student athletes, where players and coaches
can really understand what the expectation is going to be
the next season. So tweaking, though, is a good thing.

Speaker 2 (11:19):
That's what I wanted to ask you about. We're talking
to Rich Clark, the executive director of the College Football Playoff,
which last year had the Mountain West champion Boise State
in those top four seeds. I remember when it was
no national championship game. Right we're having split national champions
because of the polls. And then it was two, and
then they said we need to go to four. And
then Craig Thompson was one of the ones that banged

(11:40):
the drum and said let's get to eight. Now we're
at twelve, but everybody wants to go to sixteen. And
you just said it would be nice to just make
minor tweaks. That's what I was wondering. Do you have
a sense a timeline of when it won't be Yeah,
but it's not this or it could be this, but
there's this stability of this is what it is, and
now we can just folks us on executing that and

(12:01):
making it better and better each year.

Speaker 5 (12:03):
Yeah. So I think.

Speaker 3 (12:06):
December first is a deadline for us to settle on
a on what we believe will be the format for
the next six years. That's a December first deadline that
we have. But that does not mean that the commissioners
couldn't change it in two or three years. But I don't,
but I know, I know that they don't want to

(12:27):
do that. I know that they want to come to
a decision that is going to be good for at
least the next six years. And that's that's the term
of our contract with ESPN. That's the term that we're
all operating under right now. And so what they're doing
now is being very deliberate because they don't want to
make a fast decision that's not the right decision. And

(12:50):
so I think that this, you know, we're going to
play this year out this coming season is a twelve
twelve team playoff similar to the format we had last year.
We change the seating a little bit, and then next year.
Our hope is that we have landed on a format
that we're gonna execute for the coming six years. And

(13:11):
I think it's gonna be a great one. And and
the other thing I want to make sure people understand
is they go, well, what you know, is there an
urgency to it? Yes, there is. However, we're gonna have
a decision because even if they decide to agree to
disagree on this, then we stay with the format that
we're in. So it's either gonna be the current format

(13:32):
or they're going to agree on a new format. But
one way or another, we're gonna have a decision, and
one December is our deadline.

Speaker 7 (13:39):
How there are a lot of factors that go into
all those decisions. Is there a hierarchy of like obviously
TV and revenue is a part of it. Locations of
games and bowl game affiliations is a part of it.
Student athlete experience is a part of it as well.
Is there a ranking? Are there are there a prior

(14:00):
plorities that you said that maybe hold a little bit
more importance than some other aspects that come into those decisions.

Speaker 5 (14:06):
Yeah, that is a good question.

Speaker 3 (14:08):
I would say that we haven't really prioritized those elements.
But they're all important factors because you know, and you
hit on most of them that we have to think
about because you go to sixteen, you start running out
of windows to put them on TV. Now you're playing
on top of your own games, or you're playing on
top of the NFL when when you know that's going

(14:30):
to hurt the viewership. If you go to sixteen, maybe
you're extending the season too long for our student athletes
and that's not a good thing necessarily either. But then
if you don't go to sixteen, now you're limiting the access.
And you asked any player they'll go, would you play
another weekend if you had a shot at the national championship?

(14:50):
Do you think anybody's going to say no? So you know,
there these are the things that we have to balance,
and it's hard to say that you would prior ze
one because they all are working in concert with each other,
and you have to bring all of those elements together
to understand what the options are, what the pros and
cons of them are, and then try to make the

(15:10):
best decision that you can. So I would say there's
no hierarchy in those but everything that you mentioned, it's
very insightful, but our critical elements of what we have
to consider. So it's not an easy decision by any stretch.

Speaker 2 (15:26):
Yeah, and clearly you don't have an easy job, but
it's pretty clear you're the right man for the job
and you enjoy it.

Speaker 5 (15:33):
I'm glad you think so.

Speaker 2 (15:37):
I was gonna say, we can't give you any medals
and there's no more promotions, but I do think that
in a way, you're still serving our country and if
we can get everybody together on the same page with
college football, then maybe our country can solve some of
the other problems too.

Speaker 5 (15:51):
Well.

Speaker 3 (15:51):
I'll say this, I do view college football as a
unifying piece of our culture. You know, people love college
football worse second only to the NFL our our our
college football Playoff, not just college football, but the college
football Playoff is second only to the Super Bowl. And

(16:13):
people love it and they love college football, and it's
only growing in popularity.

Speaker 5 (16:18):
And so.

Speaker 3 (16:20):
I think for the sake of the country, we want
to make it great, and we want to make it
something that people get unified and it's one of the
few times where people agree to disagree and they do
it in a in a good way and the spirit
of of what it should be. You know, you get
you hear some heated arguments and people are yelling and
screaming at each other, and they put their arms around

(16:40):
each other and walk away. That's how things are supposed
to work. You're not always going to agree with people,
but that doesn't mean you have to hate them. It
doesn't mean that that you're still not brothers and sisters
in some.

Speaker 5 (16:52):
Form or fashion.

Speaker 3 (16:53):
But we have to learn to agree to disagree sometime
and then and then move along and keep keep the
train going. And I think we do that in college football.
We get to the playoff, and you know, everybody accepts it.

Speaker 7 (17:05):
Anytime someone talks about any sort of college football playoff,
if they're missing something or if they're not doing something,
I'm going to defend you to the end because I mean,
I love everything that you're talking about. You're taking all
those things into consideration. You're really trying to move this
college football playoff to the best place that can possibly be.

(17:27):
And with all of your experiences as a college athlete,
you know, first and foremost been serving your country. I
think you're perfectly suited to lead this thing.

Speaker 6 (17:36):
Into the future.

Speaker 7 (17:37):
So appreciate you spending some time with us, with us,
this was super insightful.

Speaker 3 (17:41):
No, I appreciate it, Cam and Scott, you know, and
I want to thank you guys, because you're the ones
that get it to the fans, that help them to
understand what's really happening, and that's what makes it great.
People are engaged, they're interested, and we want to be transparent,
but you're the ones that do that for us. So
thank you for having me. But thank so what you
do to help move this sport up.

Speaker 2 (18:03):
All right, we'll count on the best CFP ever.

Speaker 5 (18:05):
It will be. It will be. Thank you, guys.

Speaker 2 (18:08):
It's Rich Clark from the College Football Playoff.

Speaker 1 (18:10):
It's Mountain West Media Days on Fox Sports Radio.

Speaker 2 (18:13):
Guys, last year getting to know coach Choke and seeing
what his vision of Wolf Peck football is. How big
a jump do you feel like you can make in
year two?

Speaker 8 (18:23):
Yeah, I mean I think that we can make a
good jump for us and we just really are excited
about playing great competition through the Mountain West this year.

Speaker 9 (18:31):
Yep, Yeah, Coach Show, I mean Yeah.

Speaker 10 (18:35):
Coming in this second year, he's he was huge on
like relationships with the guys, us building that team, camaraderie,
being around each other a lot, just enjoying being at
the facility, put in the work, and I feel like
just that alone is gonna make a huge difference for
this year.

Speaker 5 (18:49):
All Right.

Speaker 7 (18:50):
I got to ask you guys predicted order of finish
this year, right, you guys ended up at the very bottom,
number twelve, A.

Speaker 6 (18:59):
Little extra juice.

Speaker 8 (19:00):
I just feel like that's someone's opinion on our team,
and that doesn't affect us.

Speaker 6 (19:05):
We put the blinders on every day and show up
to go to work.

Speaker 9 (19:08):
So, I mean, it is what it is. We're gonna
have a chip on our shoulder for sure.

Speaker 10 (19:11):
Like it's almost I mean we were three and ten
last year, but we you know, lost six six games
that were one score games or something like that.

Speaker 9 (19:19):
So, uh, just put in the work this year.

Speaker 10 (19:21):
Take it one day at a time, one game at
a time, enjoy the process, and just don't focus on
the outside noise.

Speaker 2 (19:28):
Coach Choke seems like a pretty colorful guy to play for.
There are times where where as serious as he is,
he gives you a little chuckle too.

Speaker 8 (19:37):
Yeah, I mean, he he, he feels like a play
He's like the definition of a player's coach.

Speaker 5 (19:43):
I feel like.

Speaker 8 (19:44):
Did I mean, he feels like he's in the trenches
with us, working just as hard as we are to
make this thing turn around. And that's an awesome leadership
characteristic of coach choke and uh so yeah, when you
have a real relationship with your head coach, obviously you're
gonna mess around with them a little bit and have
a good, good couple of laughs in there.

Speaker 9 (20:04):
Yeah, for sure.

Speaker 2 (20:07):
So I was looking up at number ninety nine here
on the roster and says you're from Anchorage, Alaska.

Speaker 6 (20:13):
Yes, sir, born and raised.

Speaker 2 (20:17):
So a cold night in Reno.

Speaker 5 (20:22):
Is pretty uh pretty good for me. I don't like
the heat.

Speaker 6 (20:25):
That much, so.

Speaker 8 (20:28):
Anything basically in the nineties, I'm I'm in my house,
so uh yeah, it's Reno weather is pretty money though,
compared to Alaska. I mean, it is nice to get
having some warm weather out.

Speaker 6 (20:40):
There, for sure.

Speaker 2 (20:42):
So, Chubby, you're from Arizona? Is is he the guy
who's outside in shorts when it's a blizzard.

Speaker 9 (20:47):
Oh yeah, that's how sure. I mean it was.

Speaker 10 (20:49):
We were golfing the other day, and I think it
was in the eighties and he's like, he was like,
we gotta park in the.

Speaker 9 (20:53):
Shades, Like, bro, it's in the eighties, kidding, this is awesome.

Speaker 5 (20:58):
I love the heat.

Speaker 9 (21:00):
I absolutely love the heat. I mean in the cold
is whatever.

Speaker 10 (21:02):
Like I always base everything off football, So if it's
cold during football, it's like, obviously as a quarterback, you
don't want to throw the you gotta stay warm a
lot where when it's already hot, you're you warm up
in five minutes. So but yeah, Thomas, he could get
you in shorts and a T shirt if it's forty
eight degrees.

Speaker 6 (21:18):
So yeah, I'm the complete opposite.

Speaker 8 (21:20):
I'd much rather it be, you know, a zero degrees
out than a hundred degrees.

Speaker 6 (21:25):
So we're both on different ends of the spectrum now right.

Speaker 7 (21:28):
I'm relatively ignorant about Alaska. I know that the sun
sets very late in the summer, but how late growing up, Like,
how long were your summer days? And were you like
you usually like, hey, come come home when the street
lights turn on, but if the street lights never turn on,
you get unlimited times out. I was I was it
growing up in that type of environment.

Speaker 6 (21:48):
It's pretty wild.

Speaker 9 (21:50):
Man.

Speaker 8 (21:50):
I mean the nights, it feels like your day doesn't
really start until like noon, because like you have dinner
at like nine or ten o'clock at night and then
you go to that. But I just brought four of
our teammates up there, and we were out there fishing
at like two.

Speaker 6 (22:06):
Thirty in the morning. Sun out like I mean, it
wasn't like beaming on you.

Speaker 8 (22:10):
But son's like right there and not enough to go
fishing and see what's going on.

Speaker 6 (22:15):
So it's a very unique place to be raised for sure.

Speaker 2 (22:20):
And the fish are pretty big in those parts.

Speaker 6 (22:22):
Oh yeah, yeah, I mean fishing is life up there?

Speaker 2 (22:25):
What's the biggest fish you've ever caught up to?

Speaker 8 (22:27):
I've got of like a thirty five pound king salmon.
That's pretty big for us. Like that's that's that's big. Yeah, bro,
you're kidding me. That's I mean, there's bigger ones, bigger
I think. Yeah, the halibit get really big up there.
But you know, my really, when we were fishing a lot,
I was helping like guide a lot of people growing up,

(22:48):
and so I'd be the guy kind of running the boats,
getting the fishing set ups and then and then seeing
other people catch the fish, which that's almost more than
I enjoyed that, almost more than catching the fish myself.

Speaker 7 (22:59):
Yeah, you have to know where to go to allow
those guys to catch the fish exactly.

Speaker 6 (23:04):
Yeah.

Speaker 8 (23:04):
And when you see the joy on some guy when
he's looked up and it just goes wild all of
a sudden, and you know, it's a pretty cool feeling.

Speaker 6 (23:12):
See you guys, you know, freak out real quick.

Speaker 2 (23:15):
We're talking to Thomas Whitty and Chubba Purty from the
University of Nevada and Chubba, have you converted all your
teammates to forty nine er fans yet or how does
that work?

Speaker 10 (23:25):
No, I think they're already all forty nine er fans
because I mean in the Bay Area is not that
far away. So there's a lot of guys that were
Niner fans, especially last year. But this year it's been
a little better. I mean they don't talk about it
as much. But yeah, there's a lot of Niner fans, so.

Speaker 2 (23:41):
And we don't want to sit here and talk to
you about your brother all day. I'm sure that's something
that you enjoy, but you might get tired of because
you're doing your own thing there too. But what how
has that influenced your college football journey, relationships with teammates
all that. I'm sure there's there's some pros and cons
to having a brother who's ate a name for himself,
like Broadcas in the NFL.

Speaker 10 (24:02):
Yeah, No, it's awesome. Like I've been telling everyone, I'm
super proud of him and his journey. I mean, he's
overcome a ton of adversity. It's awesome. But you know, obviously,
like if I introduce myself to people, I'm just like,
I'm Chuva.

Speaker 9 (24:14):
I don't like to say the last name.

Speaker 10 (24:16):
Because you're gonna go down a rabbit hole and it's
just over telling, Yeah, my name's Cheva.

Speaker 6 (24:20):
What's your last name? Don't worry about it.

Speaker 10 (24:22):
So, I mean, but I'm super proud of my last name,
proud of him. And he's such a good dude, like
off the field, like besides being a football player, like
that's just my brother. So I mean, he's just amazing
mentor to have and someone I can lean on and
ask for advice.

Speaker 2 (24:38):
And I'm sure there's some things that you do better
than he does that you guys have discovered throughout your
growing up together. Oh yeah, and I've seen everything I've
ever heard about your brother's great. People love him. I've
seen him talk about his faith and inspire other people
through that too. And we see how tough he is
on the field. There's got to be something that you
always beat him at.

Speaker 9 (24:56):
Though, ping pong, I would say, ping pong.

Speaker 10 (24:59):
When we play ping pong, it gets serious in this
in our household, Like we played for two hours straight
and we played literally ten games of twenty one and
we're drenched in sweat, like best of five and the
next thing you know, it's best of seven, best of ten,
and you just keep going up.

Speaker 9 (25:12):
But every time we play it gets heated. So it's awesome.

Speaker 6 (25:15):
That sounds like some.

Speaker 7 (25:16):
Good TV, right you, I mean, and you hold on
to that forever, like yeah, you were forever the better
pon player.

Speaker 10 (25:22):
Like he when we went home in March for my
sister's wedding, he was up two games of zero and
we're doing best of five and I won three in
a row, and I was just letting him have it,
like videotaping him in his face. He's yelling at me
like it's we were sweating my mom. So you guys
gotta get ready for the rehearsal dinner. We hurry him
get ready. But it's just that's how it is all
the time. So and two quarterbacks came out of it.

(25:45):
What a shocker, right, this competitive environment your whole life
and now you guys compete or you said it, you
guys are three and ten last year, but six one
score games. How much have you taken from that experience
being so close, being competitive but not getting over the
hump to win games? How much have you used that
last season to build into twenty twenty five?

Speaker 9 (26:06):
You get it on.

Speaker 8 (26:06):
That, Yeah, I think that, you know, you learn a
lot about yourself when you go through those through those
a season like that, you know, with six one score games,
you're so close. And what we've what we've really invested
in this year is a team camaraderie and team building
and bringing in the right guys who match our culture
that we're trying to build. And so when it gets

(26:29):
to like the fourth quarter and you're down by a
touchdown and you got to do it, you know, the
team doesn't separate.

Speaker 6 (26:35):
The team actually comes closer together.

Speaker 8 (26:37):
And I think you know that investment in team building
will really pay dividends.

Speaker 6 (26:41):
And then yeah, that's scary stuff.

Speaker 7 (26:43):
Man, when you start to come together in those intense
moments where other people crack, like, that's how you win
close games, that's how you get over those humps.

Speaker 6 (26:51):
So yeah, got to be able to fit it. Yeah, totally, yes, sir.

Speaker 2 (26:55):
And chumming for you. I'm just curious because last year,
you know, you're competing for time at the quarterback position.
We saw you get in there a little bit, but
they usually don't send a guy to media days unless
he's the guy and he's getting the opportunities, he's been
handed the keys to the car. What does that mean
to you and what should people expect from your performance

(27:15):
this year at that position?

Speaker 10 (27:17):
Yeah, I mean last year, I mean I played receiver,
running back, I played all I was all over the place,
showed up in like seven games at a different position
or something like that.

Speaker 9 (27:26):
But yeah, finally healthy this year.

Speaker 10 (27:28):
Back at like quarterback mainly, and you know, focusing on quarterback,
focusing on our team and really just like I've been
telling everyone the all all the other interviews is you know,
focusing one one day at a time and just practicing
hard with the guys and getting excited for fall camp.
And you're not not getting too far ahead of ourselves.
Just focus on today being the moment and that's really

(27:50):
my goal and uh performance wise, you know, just gonna
prepare like crazy and then see what happens and go
from there.

Speaker 7 (27:57):
So yeah, I'm what are you guys most excited for
leading into twenty twenty five?

Speaker 8 (28:03):
I mean, yeah, we're excited to play some great competition,
you know, State that State Games one. I mean, go
in immediately to a really tough team in a tough environment,
and we'll see what we're made of.

Speaker 7 (28:16):
Yep, enjoy that because it will be inexperience, oh regardless
of anything else, Like, right into that environment.

Speaker 6 (28:24):
It's special. So yeah, you guys appreciate it.

Speaker 10 (28:26):
I appure Yeah, because as a little kid, you dream
of those motors again kidding me, so yes, sir.

Speaker 2 (28:32):
Well, and October fourth will be fun too, because you
guys are coming to Fresno. Yes, sir, Have you been
around Nevada long enough to feel the passion of that
Fresno State Nevada rivalry?

Speaker 9 (28:44):
I haven't you.

Speaker 8 (28:45):
I mean I've been around the program for this my
sixth season, so yeah, yeah, I've played in the pit
and I've walked down that ramp it's an electric environment.
You guys have great fans and we're really excited to play.

Speaker 2 (28:58):
You haven't felt it yet, ming h.

Speaker 10 (29:00):
I mean my mom, she's from California, Southern California. She's
had she's had some friends that went to Fresno and
they talk about Fresno.

Speaker 5 (29:06):
They love it.

Speaker 9 (29:07):
Uh, they love going there.

Speaker 10 (29:09):
And yeah, like like from Thomas and some of my
other buddies like that have played there.

Speaker 9 (29:13):
They say, like the environment there is.

Speaker 10 (29:14):
Awesome, it's loud, it's one of their favorite stadiums to
play because it's like it gives you that college feel.

Speaker 9 (29:19):
So I'm excited to play there for sure.

Speaker 7 (29:22):
Yeah, some profanities maybe will be coming at you.

Speaker 6 (29:24):
I don't, I don't.

Speaker 7 (29:25):
I can't guarantee anything, but yeah, it's it's a it's
a it's a fun environment. Yeah, and you know Fresno State, Nevada,
it's always heated. We're talking to to Jeff Ramy earlier
recruited by Fresno State and Nevada. Make the decision to
go one or the other. You know, maybe some guys
want to go to UCLA but don't get the opportunity
and play with a little bit of a chip and

(29:46):
I feel like that rivally, everybody just.

Speaker 10 (29:48):
Had a little ship on their shoulder, and that's what
that's college football, that's what makes it so much fun.

Speaker 2 (29:52):
So you know, I have to apologize again, Sha, but
because I'm just thinking of the people listening to this
and they're like, you got to ask me about his
brother and what's with his name?

Speaker 6 (30:03):
Where did that come from?

Speaker 2 (30:04):
I know you've told the story a million times, but
give us the quick version of of how you ended
up being called Chubba.

Speaker 9 (30:09):
When I was one years.

Speaker 10 (30:10):
Old my first birthday, I was thirty eight pounds, so
my dad gave me the nickname Chubba.

Speaker 9 (30:15):
My real name is Preston.

Speaker 2 (30:16):
Though, so how often do you get called Preston?

Speaker 5 (30:19):
Never?

Speaker 10 (30:20):
And then like people on our team will be like
they see it like on something. I were like, who's
Preston and they don't know who it is and everyone
starts laughing.

Speaker 9 (30:28):
They're like, that's Shobba. Like what they like, I thought
Chubble was your real name.

Speaker 7 (30:31):
I was like, nope, thirty eight pounds at one year old, yes,
I mean that's he was getting it done.

Speaker 9 (30:36):
Yeah, yeah, I had rolls on rolls on my arms.

Speaker 2 (30:39):
So well, you're pretty lean and mean. Now I appreciate
anything else you think fans should be watching for this year.
From the Nevada football squad in twenty twenty five.

Speaker 8 (30:50):
I would just say, you know, pay attention, you know,
you know, I think that we're building something special over here.

Speaker 9 (30:56):
Yeah, we're excited and it's a new season.

Speaker 10 (30:59):
Uh so it's twenty twenty five and we're very pumped
up for it.

Speaker 2 (31:03):
So well, good luck at Penn State and we'll see
you guys October fourth.

Speaker 9 (31:07):
Yes, sir, appreciate it.

Speaker 5 (31:08):
Thank you.

Speaker 2 (31:09):
Chubb a party. Thomas Whitty from the University of Nevada.

Speaker 1 (31:12):
It's Mountain West Media Days on Fox Sports Radio.

Speaker 2 (31:15):
Chance to talk to two of the leaders of your
Fresno State Bulldogs, offensive lineman Jacob Spoemer and defensive back
Alsillian Hamilton. Cam. For people who haven't watched these guys
up close and personal you have, What have you appreciated
about these two and their contributions to Presnoe State football?

Speaker 7 (31:35):
Oh Man, As a dB, I gotta start with with
a Z.

Speaker 6 (31:39):
I mean.

Speaker 7 (31:41):
Constant improvement from a young player getting snaps to now
developing into I mean just a leader on the defensive
side of the ball. Someone who you can rely on
to shut a receiver down if you need that receiver
shut down. He's unafraid to be physical in the run game.
He'll come up and hit you, which I always appreciate
as a dB. And then Jacob a key to this

(32:03):
offensive line. I think someone who this offensive line is
going to anchor around this year. So experienced, so played
so many different positions on that offensive line, and I
think one of the most improved impressive, gonna take people
by surprise is the way this offensive line is gonna
play in twenty twenty five.

Speaker 2 (32:25):
Oh, how do you like sound of that?

Speaker 11 (32:27):
I appreciate that, man, I do. Hopefully I can make
it work.

Speaker 2 (32:30):
It's gonna be a little different for you this year,
isn't it. Yes, sir, explain to everybody how different it's
gonna be and why.

Speaker 11 (32:35):
Moving from left tackle to center. Man, it is a
different game, more physical inside you gotta be a little heavier.
But it's also more on the mental side too, you know,
knowing what the defensive scheme is every week, knowing what
their pressures are, knowing that if we have a play
and then line up in this, we change the play
to that, and then when we change that play, what's

(32:55):
the defense going to do? But it does make me
it easier when you got a coach like Crafford that's
been at the highest level possible. He's picking his brain
all the time. He's a very, very modest and a
smart human and it's always good to pick his brain.

Speaker 2 (33:12):
That sounds like they're gonna have to rely on your
brain a lot too. So people are waiting to see
this offense. How would you describe what the offense is
supposed to play like this year?

Speaker 11 (33:23):
No mistakes, no mental layers, no misassignments, stay on track,
take advantage of the defense falling apart. We don't mess
up they mess up, and always stay ahead of schedule.

Speaker 7 (33:36):
With that offense played with a certain attitude, right, So
when I was out watching spring practice, it just seemed
like a little bit of a different physical mindset. Every
single rep, it seemed like people were competing against someone
on the opposite side of the ball and trying to
dominate physically. How much has that been preached? You know

(34:00):
with coach Ins coming in and the mindset that he
has around offensive football.

Speaker 9 (34:04):
It's definitely increased.

Speaker 11 (34:05):
You know, emphasize, I'm gonna run the ball a lot
thirty forty fifty times a game. H It takes a
lot of the old line, but uh, it makes it easy.
When we got a versatile running back room that runs
the ball hard every play no matter what. Down with
distance and they get up they talk trash. It makes you, uh,
it makes you want to get up and like help him.

Speaker 9 (34:26):
You know what I'm saying, Just.

Speaker 11 (34:28):
Do all you can for them to just succeed.

Speaker 2 (34:31):
Get up and talk trash. And maybe some of that's
been directed in Alzillian Hamilton's direction. Do you notice the
difference in bryceon Donaldson when you hit him now?

Speaker 5 (34:39):
Isy?

Speaker 9 (34:40):
Uh?

Speaker 4 (34:41):
You know he's he got a year in the lift
and you know his body slimmed down, he's getting stronger
and faster. So you know you got to come in
with a little boom. He can go hit Bryson. You
gotta come on a little boom.

Speaker 2 (34:51):
For a And as Cam mentioned, we saw you hit
people with the little boom last year and then a
lot of fans were concerned when it looked like, you know,
you might be going somewhere else. What ultimately kept you
at Fresno State and wanting to finish your career as
a bulldog.

Speaker 4 (35:06):
You know, during my process in a transfer portal, I
have built a bond with coach Z. You know, he
just built a bond talking throughout my whole process and everything.
And Dan I had Coach B. He reached out to
me too and just talking to me and everything. And
I would just sat down with my dad and I
was just like, I think, I just want to finish
what I started at Fresno State.

Speaker 7 (35:27):
Yeah, talk about what that's going to look like this year,
because as I mentioned earlier, we've seen your evolution, right,
We've seen you be more comfortable play at the line
of scrimmage, play off, make plays on the ball, come
up and tackle physically. What have you been working on
to take your game, you know, to the highest level
you can in twenty twenty five.

Speaker 4 (35:47):
I'll say for me, I'm always around the ball, So
I just need to get them picks in my hand.
That's all I need for real, and just continue to
be physical in the run game show teams on physical
all the time.

Speaker 2 (36:00):
When you do get a pick. It seems like your
your mentality is you feel like you should score when
you get the ball in your hands. Am I getting
that right?

Speaker 5 (36:09):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (36:10):
Is there something you feel like in that moment when
you get your hands on the ball.

Speaker 4 (36:15):
See when I got the ball in my hand, is
it's like turning to receiver. I gotta go find that
end zone?

Speaker 2 (36:22):
And Cam, did did you notice anything about Azy today?
Anything standing out about his appearance?

Speaker 7 (36:28):
I mean the big chain that he has around his
head covering that's not hard, right, what's.

Speaker 2 (36:34):
The story going on there?

Speaker 4 (36:36):
The chain is based on my clothing brand I had
for about two three years. You know, I make hoodies, jackets,
and shirts and everything I got, even socks with the
logo on it too. Then my quote on the back
of my hoodies and shirts is a zillion ways to
get it. So basically like there's a zillion ways to
work to whatever goal you're trying to get to in life.

Speaker 2 (36:57):
Well, and if people are listening and they want to
find it, how do they engage with you on that
athlete sports? Uh?

Speaker 6 (37:03):
Huh?

Speaker 4 (37:03):
They want to go in there and call my brand.
That's a real appreciate it for me?

Speaker 2 (37:09):
Is that something you have to manage on a day
to day basis? You got people helping you with it?
How's that work?

Speaker 4 (37:14):
They reach out to me, talk to me about what
I want for my next upcome and drop and everything,
and then they do the rest of the.

Speaker 9 (37:20):
Work for me.

Speaker 2 (37:21):
See what you missed out on when you were playing camp?

Speaker 7 (37:23):
All right, man, building your own brand as a college
athlete is a reality now that you can.

Speaker 6 (37:28):
Take advantage of.

Speaker 7 (37:29):
Yeah, it would have been fun at least to try
and fail at something like that, which easy.

Speaker 6 (37:34):
You're doing well.

Speaker 7 (37:35):
That change is saying you're doing well taking all the
off the field things. That has changed something since you
guys have been a part of college football. Now there's
direct payment from your university. When I played, there was
zero dollars, right, no nil, no opportunities to profit off
your name, image and likeness. How have you been able

(37:55):
to manage that aspect of it while also trying to
develop as football players? And like you still have to
go to class too, Right, it's still part of it.

Speaker 11 (38:05):
I'd say it's more than just money. It's more of
a helping out your family. I mean, he's give us
more opportunity, but at the end of the day, it's
for me and him. It's more than just the nil money.
I don't want to transfer a couple hundred thousand. We'd
rather stay here, learn from great coaches, learn from the staff,
learn from people who did at the highest level, and

(38:27):
eventually get there. That's our goal. So that's why we stayed.
That's why we didn't. It's all about the money in
our opinion. But uh yeah, some people, some people trick
it for the money. I mean, you can't blame them though,
twenty one year olds trying to help out their family.
But uh, for us, it's different. We want to we
see the bigger picture and our end games.

Speaker 4 (38:47):
The league as to me and I was cool, but
it's always chased your goal over the money.

Speaker 5 (38:54):
The money will follow.

Speaker 4 (38:55):
You. Don't worry about your the money, just worry about
your goals.

Speaker 2 (38:59):
So I think a lot of fans don't really know
what to expect this year. You know, so many new coaches,
a lot of new talent. We'll see who's playing quarterback.
You know, some proven receivers moved on. What are some
of the things that you guys have seen just even
in summer workouts before you break fall camp that tell you, yeah,

(39:19):
Fresno State can go to Lawrence, Kansas and win that
opener on August twenty third, or Fresno State can win
the Mountain West this year. What are the things that
you guys see that have that belief well and up
inside you.

Speaker 11 (39:30):
I'll speak on the offensive side of the ball. We
do got a lot of people that haven't played bulletdog football.
But there's also had some people that have been here
three four years that haven't played yet that's gonna play
and that they're just scratching to get on the field. Man,
and I'm happy for him. I can't wait for them
to go do it and support them a hundred percent.
I got there back, they got my back, and just

(39:51):
four quarters of non style football. Give it everything you got,
do whatever you gotta do to win. That's what you're
gonna expect.

Speaker 5 (39:58):
You know.

Speaker 4 (39:58):
If I'm gonna speak for the deef Societ of all,
you know, we got a we got a dv's group chat.
We counted the days down every day. Sam Harris thirty
seven days, he counted days down. We always talking about it.
But you know, the defense we just hype. We just
all talk about counted days down. Just being being ready
to play anybody. You know, go anywhere, anytime, anywhere about
what team you play. They gonna get the hardest four

(40:19):
quarters out of Freslon State football.

Speaker 7 (40:22):
Have you guys gotten a sense of what training camp
is going to be like based on your experience in
springball with co Chance. I mean, I said, I was
out there four or five times and it was high level.
The communication was was strong. Guys were competing every single rep.
Have you got an idea of what training camp is
going to be, the intensity, the competition that you know,

(40:43):
offense versus defense is going to have, because it was
it got heated at times during the spring practice.

Speaker 4 (40:48):
It's uh, his camp is getting a little closer to
the season, so they they my brothers and everything, but
we go have to be physical with them just because
that's how you get physical and learn and be ready
for your game and prepare. But they all know it's love.

Speaker 2 (41:04):
Well, and I know there's nothing you guys love more
than playing at home in front of the red wave.
Fresno State led the nation in group of five attendants
the last couple of years. For people who haven't done that,
who haven't come down the ramp, who haven't you know,
finished a win in the fourth quarter in front of
a packed house, can you describe for us what that
feels like.

Speaker 11 (41:23):
It's just playing for something bigger than just the football team.
But the fans in the valleys, they show up whenever
they show up in Vegas, Boise, Kansas, Michigan, Purdue, and
it's just a blessing to play for him. They're loving
no matter wins or loses. It's just it's like family oriented,
and it's a blessing.

Speaker 4 (41:45):
Just going down that ramp, you know. For me personally,
I get the jitters like it's getting time for the game,
you know, and that just that just gets us high energy.
We all in a ramp talking to each other, like
let's go, let's wake it up. You know. Just playing
in front of a rare wave is just great.

Speaker 5 (42:00):
You know, it's great.

Speaker 4 (42:01):
All all my five years, have.

Speaker 2 (42:04):
You guys memorized all your new teammates names?

Speaker 9 (42:06):
Yet?

Speaker 4 (42:08):
Still still learning?

Speaker 5 (42:09):
Progress?

Speaker 4 (42:10):
We do we do. We gotta do the name game.
That's what we need to do. That's how we remember
everybody named well.

Speaker 2 (42:17):
And I asked that because I mean, you guys know
a little more than the fans do. But the fans
they're saying, wait, where did these guys go? Who are
these new guys? So you probably do have a feel.
I bet you both have some guys on your radar.
You're like, hey, that's the name that fans are gonna
know by the middle of the season. Can you can
you throw us a couple of bones here of guys
you think are going to make some names for themselves.

Speaker 11 (42:39):
This fault offensive side. I'll go offensive line. Gino came
from USC He's a tough player.

Speaker 5 (42:46):
He's old.

Speaker 9 (42:46):
Give him that he's old.

Speaker 11 (42:48):
He said, yeah, warn off those knees. But now he's
a good player. Men. He smart TOOJJ is very smart.
He's a competitor to man. Speedy, running back, room fast, talented,
always worked hard, quiet guy though, quiet guy. Receivers, man,
you know, I don't really spend too much time with

(43:09):
the receivers. They go over there and do the pretty stuff.
But uh, a lot of dudes, man, A lot of
dudes that haven't played bulldoff football that I'm excited for.

Speaker 4 (43:18):
All right, Just some guys I can say, thats they young,
but they will get on that field and make an impact.
I'll say Ethan that we got from n I U.
Ethan Turney. He's a safety, he's been he's been a
guy I've been looking at. I've been talking highly about
him since i've seen him in springball. And then another
guy I'll say is that hasn't played Fresno State football

(43:39):
is JP. He's an old guy too, he's up there
in age, like, yeah, he knows a lot of football.

Speaker 7 (43:46):
Old guy like twenty three, right, four four pushing twelve.
I mean that's all for that's gold for college football.
I love it though, the kind of the new blood
coming in. How has it been for you guys, I
mean your veterans here right, you understand bulldog football. You
know what the expectations are, you know what we pride
ourselves on. Kind of incorporating that mindset of mentality to

(44:10):
guys who may not understand what Bulldog football is all about.

Speaker 11 (44:14):
It helps with the sum of my coaches. Stain I
played here, JD. But even the new guys haven't came.
But the three four year guys haven't really played. They
they hold the standard two. They work hard, they leaders
to so it's just like a just a learning process
for them. But they're learning, and uh, it's fun.

Speaker 4 (44:34):
I'll say, oh, okay for everybody on our team. As
everybody's learning the standard of Bulldog football and then they're
showing it on the field. They show them flashes of
it on spring ball. You know now we got a
whole nother fall camp to learn even more with those guys,
so by week one they'll be ready.

Speaker 9 (44:53):
You know.

Speaker 2 (44:53):
And Jacob mentioned JD. Williams your position coach A Z
and you mentioned coach Crabtree your position coach. I know
you've got your coordinators, Coach Davis, coach Benedetto. But the
headman mad Ants Bulldog fans are still trying to get
to know him. Are there some things that he's said
or he's done that have made an impression on you
guys that are helping you believe in what you guys

(45:16):
are trying to accomplish this year.

Speaker 4 (45:19):
I'll say one thing with coach and is h he's
for sure keeping a tradition of Fresno State football. That
was one of the first things he said to us
when he had a meeting with the team and Dan.
He was just staying, like, we will be the most
physical team, and like he's just been showing that for
us and putting in it on our lists all our
runs and just we've just been building that mentality for
Row for the fans.

Speaker 11 (45:39):
I want to get to know him. It's not really
much about him, man, He's all about football all but
that's what you want as a coach, right. He's always around, lifts, run,
he's always around, always in his office and it's a
family oriented.

Speaker 2 (45:54):
Jacob Spoemer al Zillian Hamilton. I know, I've got one
more question for you, guys. Cam you got anything else
you want to do it?

Speaker 7 (45:59):
I'm just curious saw video Cam Broca broke the all
time stare record. Right, you guys ran every single step
in Bulldog Stadio. I mean, how was that? He looked
dead afterwards? How was that experience? Because I've never done it.
We've done a lot of conditioning in the heat in Fresnough,
but never ran every stadium stare.

Speaker 6 (46:20):
How was that?

Speaker 4 (46:21):
I kind of knew he was gonna beat that record
because he was in the locker room. He had his
air pods and he just sitting there. He was locked in.
I'm like, it's game day for him. He goes he's
finna beat that stadium and he did.

Speaker 9 (46:34):
Excited him.

Speaker 11 (46:35):
Man, can say I played this one that has a
holds your record.

Speaker 5 (46:38):
Man.

Speaker 11 (46:39):
Right after, he texted to Frank Dealina saying the records
are meant to be broken.

Speaker 6 (46:44):
Cam Brocer, I love it.

Speaker 2 (46:45):
Is there a separate category for offensive lineman record on
the stage.

Speaker 9 (46:49):
Yeah.

Speaker 11 (46:50):
Uh, it's not that fast, but it's a I think
the fastest is like twenty two, twenty three. Do you
know who hasn't I think Charles Rumlingger he has it.

Speaker 2 (47:02):
Oh, it's both sides.

Speaker 6 (47:03):
Yeah, I'm not fair, It is not fair. Yeah, he's
like a track app. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (47:11):
Jacob Spoemer, Alzillian Hamilton from Fresno State and fun to
talk to those guys and so many other student athletes.
You heard from some of them here on the radio today.
We've got more coming up the next hour with our
friends ck on Sports both on nine to seventy and
Bakersfield in thirteen forty in Fresno. You'll hear from some
more players and other people around the conference and Cam
we get to do this tomorrow with all the coaches.

(47:33):
Any one coach who you can't wait to talk to tomorrow?

Speaker 7 (47:36):
Yeah, Spencer Danielson. I think what he's been able to
do at Boise State has been so absolutely, so impressive.
And listening to his guys, they just love playing for him,
they love being around him. So I'm despite the fact
that he's the head coach at Boise State I'm super
excited to talk.

Speaker 2 (47:53):
To him tomorrow. I was gonna say, am I talking
to Cam right now? But you're right. I just saw Spencer.
He remembered my name and came right up to me.
He's a real genuine guy.

Speaker 1 (48:01):
It's Mountain West Media Days on Fox Sports Radio