2025 Mountain West Football Media Days - Day 2 Hour 2

Episode Transcript

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

Speaker 2 (00:03):
In Las Vegas at a conversation I know Cam and
I have both been looking forward to with the head coach,
the Boise State Broncos, Spencer Danielson coach.

Speaker 3 (00:12):
I just got to start with last year.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
I mean I remember talking to you here last year
in Vegas, and we'd seen a taste when you took
over the year before. And you were so confident last year,
so clear about what your priorities in life were and
how you were trying to lead the program. But did
you know you were going to have that kind of
season that you ended up having.

Speaker 4 (00:31):
Yeah, Paul, I mean I loved our conversation we had
last year with you guys. And I mean, first off,
for me, I give Jesus all the glory, man. I mean,
I believe he's called me to Boise State to have
an impact and through all the things of me as
the interim to get in the job, to what he's done.
That doesn't always mean that everything's gonna be easy, and
you wouldn't gage, I don't mean that, but it's just
I know, guys called me there to have an impact

(00:52):
and seeing that group of young men that said what
they wanted to do and then actually went out and
put the work in to do it. That's uncommon, it's
uncommon for for everybody, and just seeing him do that,
I'm just so thankful that I was a part of it.
Was it was an amazing experience. I was learned a ton.
I'm learning something every single day. She just asked my wife,
you know, I mean like there's there's a lot of
things that God's working, but just it was. It was

(01:14):
an amazing experience. Thank you Jesus for the opportunity just
to be a part of it. And just so excited
what God's doing at Boise State.

Speaker 5 (01:20):
I'm sure.

Speaker 4 (01:21):
I mean hiring matt Ends for Fresno State, I think
is a home run. Higher was so just so cool
to see the things that are happening college football. But
just blessed to be a part of what what happened
last year.

Speaker 6 (01:31):
I mean, can God call you away from Boise State,
maybe down to the SEC or something, so you know,
we don't have to deal with you in your Boise
State Broncos.

Speaker 2 (01:39):
Wait a second, I heard he was going to take
another job in southern California.

Speaker 5 (01:43):
Yeah, oh yes, yeah, so I was telling all this.

Speaker 4 (01:47):
So I went to a ZUSA PACIFICA and and I
mean my life was changed there. Victor Santa Cruz, Brian Wilmer, All,
I mean I got I can go down the list
of coaches because I was coaching wasn't in my It
wasn't in my history. You know, I got great parents.
My dad was in the army, my mom as a teacher,
but it wasn't. I went into college, I was like,
I want to make money when I graduated, I want
to do that. And my life was just changed by

(02:10):
the coaches there. And so obviously was there and been
a boys state for a long time. So APU canceled
football in twenty twenty.

Speaker 5 (02:17):
They just brought it back. Thank the Lord.

Speaker 3 (02:19):
That's great.

Speaker 4 (02:20):
Yeah, And it happened like during spring break for us,
for our staff, and so it's out there when our
staff comes back. I was like, guys, you know that.
You know I'm gonna go where God's called me to go.
And I feel like He's called me to take the
APU job. You can hear you.

Speaker 5 (02:36):
Can hear a pin dropt man, you know what I mean?
So little A.

Speaker 6 (02:43):
Sorry for hijacking your question. No, no, that that that's great.
Can you talk about it's so impressive of what you've
been able to do, you know, taking over as the interim,
winning a Mount West title, and then I mean the
run last year was historic. Boise States had a lot
of those runs, but that was a historic run. Buying
the College Football Playoff. What allowed you to do that?

(03:04):
What allowed you to not be the guy, to become
the guy and to be able to have so much
success in such a short amount of time.

Speaker 4 (03:12):
Yeah, well, I mean, first off, guys, it's I'm not
that cool, I'm not that smart.

Speaker 5 (03:16):
I'll be underwhelming.

Speaker 4 (03:17):
I just I believe them cult there and I believe
in what God's doing. And when you got a group
of young men, you got a staff that is aligned
on the same page. And that's what I feel my
job is as a head coach, set the vision, set
the trajectory, and then it's everybody's job to go be
their best to go accomplish it.

Speaker 5 (03:36):
And that's what our team and staff to lash.

Speaker 4 (03:38):
Not perfect, like said, and I talked to him, we
lost to Penn State, right, we got to find a
way when we're in that game to win that game.
But I'm so proud of our team with expectations, with
outside noise.

Speaker 5 (03:47):
I feel like my job is.

Speaker 4 (03:48):
To create clarity, give everybody truth, and then make sure
everybody knows what time it is and where we're going.
Like that's why I don't do a lot of football anymore.
Some people ask me, what are you doing on third down?
I said, I ask our coaches? You know what I mean, Like,
I'm just I'm so about clarity and passing a vision
and making sure our cultures where it should be every day.

Speaker 5 (04:06):
I define culture as how.

Speaker 4 (04:08):
You act, how you interact, and how you respond. And
so I got to see that every day because you
can say who we are at Boise State or Fresno
State or Santuo State or fill in the blank. If
we're not acting that way, I'm lying to you.

Speaker 5 (04:20):
We're not that.

Speaker 4 (04:21):
And so that's really what I focus on, and that's
where I think, from being the interim to last season,
where I am now, that's really what I'm on right now,
to make sure that we can continue to sustain excellence,
you know. And it's and especially at Boise State. We've
been picked to win the conference eighteen straight years. But
I'll tell you this, there's been two opportunities on the
blue when Fresno State beat the dog out of Boise

(04:42):
State to win the Mount West Championship in those years
when we were picked to win it. And that's the
awesome part about our conference, the alicest part about competition,
that you got to earn everything you get in life,
you gotta go earn everything you get in football.

Speaker 7 (04:54):
And that's what I'm focused on every single day.

Speaker 2 (04:57):
And Cam really enjoyed the first one in Boise, by
the way, I think he.

Speaker 6 (05:01):
Was exercised a lot of demons from two thousand.

Speaker 5 (05:05):
I was shot my key card work the next day next.
I appreciate it, guys.

Speaker 2 (05:11):
I'm thinking back, Cam, and I spoke to one of
your players yesterday, Jaden Virgin Morgan, and one of the
things that stood out was he said it was eye
opening for him when you took over to see someone
who didn't just say things but actually backed it up
with the way he lived. And last year you were
so bold in your faith. That got a lot of
attention nationwide. It also drew some criticism. There was an

(05:33):
op ed in the newspaper in Boise that really got
my attention from a Jewish sports writer who was offended
initially but your response kind of softened him. And I'm
just wondering what that journey for you. I mean, were
there days where you're like, hey, am I doing this right?
Because I'm taking some slings and arrows, but I keep winning.
How did you navigate that in a season where all
kinds of other opinions about what you were doing were

(05:55):
coming to the surface.

Speaker 5 (05:56):
Yeah, I got.

Speaker 4 (05:57):
A lot of great people around me, Paul, It's a
great question. First, I got a phenomenal athletic director and
Jeremiah Dickey, who supports what we are doing, being a
like all about having an impact for these kids, and
we want to be a light on a hill, Like
I want to have an impact not only on our
team but in.

Speaker 5 (06:16):
The college football landspace. And he supports me in that.

Speaker 4 (06:19):
Now, there's a lot of things I believe in being wise,
you know, and no different from me. I pray a
lot about like, Lord, let me be wise and my words.
Because I do work at Boise State University. It's not
a private Christian school. We have a lot of players
on our team. Some are Christians, some are Lds, some
are Muslims, some want nothing to do with religion.

Speaker 5 (06:35):
All are welcome and loved.

Speaker 4 (06:37):
But I want everyone to have a foundation that's not
football because football will end for everybody. And so there's
been a lot of things over the past really two
years where you're kind of going to sleep at night, like, Lord,
am I missing something here?

Speaker 5 (06:49):
Could be?

Speaker 4 (06:49):
Football, could be, relationships, could be transfer portal, could be
my faith? And how open I am about I just
I try and trust the Lord, and I have a
lot of people around me that I could pick their brain.

Speaker 5 (06:58):
Am I missing something? What are some things we gotta
do better?

Speaker 4 (07:01):
I try to be very wise and how I do
things not perfect to that, but try to be very calculated,
even in a space where everybody's gonna give you their opinion,
and even if you're doing well, they're gonna give your
opinion on things you should have done better, and especially
the things that you maybe haven't done well, they're gonna
try to pile on. That's just the space. That's the
reality of my job. And have really good people around
me that help support me in it, to make sure
I don't change, to make sure I'm consistent, and I

(07:24):
know where true north is too.

Speaker 6 (07:26):
President State looked out a couple of years ago. Ashton
Genty was hurt when when Boyse came to Fresno, which
luckily for them, they ended up winning that game with
really close, close, tight game. We didn't get to see
Ashton Genty in person. I really wanted to see that.
Did you catch yourself at times last year just kind
of standing back and appreciating what you were seeing on
the football field from him?

Speaker 4 (07:48):
Well, first off, before I ans the can I remember
that game at Fresno clear as day when it was
what was it five seconds left in the half and
there was a kickoff return to the house and then
we lose and the entire Bulldog fan base is just
booing as I'm walking from the I mean, it was

(08:08):
a low moment in my life. I'll be honest with you.
I've had two losses at at Fresdo state play. I mean,
your guys fan base is amazing. But Ashton Gentia, He's
just first, I want everyone to know he's a better
person than he is a football player, and I think
that's very uncommon where guys that have all this talent
and all this publicity. I mean, he's He's a phenomenally

(08:30):
young man, extremely high character, was very blessed to be
able to baptize him at church this off or the
off season prior to last year.

Speaker 5 (08:38):
He's just the type of kiddy.

Speaker 4 (08:39):
He's that kid that'll go for thirty four carries two
hundred and twenty five yards in the game and no
one is practicing harder than him on Tuesday.

Speaker 5 (08:47):
So when when he does that, the rest of your
team's like, I'm going to figure out my elbow that sore.
I mean, my tight hamster. You just got a lot looser,
you know what I mean?

Speaker 4 (08:55):
Like this, when you're when your best players are your
hardest workers, you always got a shot, and we haven't
always had those guys. Sometimes your best players, the ones
are like I'm gonna kind of ooze through the week,
not him, And that's created a culture and a legacy
that hopefully continues to reign through for for years to come.

Speaker 2 (09:13):
I guess we've got to ask him about that guy
who returned that kickoff at the.

Speaker 5 (09:16):
End of the hell.

Speaker 6 (09:17):
Yeah, I mean, you know it's gonna be very odd
to see h But I mean, how how excited are
you to have him? How is he fit in? I mean,
we loved him at Fresno. He's a fantastic player, huge personality,
I know, huge person. Just wait till game day though he.

Speaker 5 (09:41):
Told me to get ready for gave that boy.

Speaker 6 (09:43):
Buckle up you.

Speaker 4 (09:44):
He's a he's a great So we don't recruit a
lot of transfers. James Montgomery when he was at Fresno
State is the running back coach recruited the league, and
so it's really good for me to know about a
kid's character, what he's good at, what he what maybe
he's working to grow in And so got to know
my league really well over kind of that late December
early January time. And since he's been there and he

(10:06):
had a phenomenal spring, he's got an edge about himself.
But even seeing him grows, that's why I told my said, man,
I got one year and I and my goal is
to change your life forever, to be the best husband
father that you can be. And even though you've been
in for a year, like this will always be home.
Presdo will be two, but this will always be home
for you, and I don't take that lightly.

Speaker 5 (10:24):
And so seeing him grow in his habits.

Speaker 4 (10:26):
He's an elite football player, I believe, but I care
about his life when he's do one more year college
football and then it's real life maybe NFL, but I like,
I don't want to miss that and seeing him grow
in those things, and he's stepping up even his leadership role,
who he is and even his personality. I'm like, dude,
there's gonna be a time to say things, gonna be
a time not to That's you maturity and growing as
young man. That matters to me because at some point

(10:46):
this is life's coming for you here in a year.
But man, he's a phenomenally young man.

Speaker 5 (10:50):
I love being around him. He's got an edge about himself.

Speaker 4 (10:53):
He works his tail off, and I'd say he'd probably
one of the best springs of anybody on our entire
team just who he was as part of our program.

Speaker 2 (11:01):
I know you've got to run to another interview, but
I've got to ask you about the preseason Offensive Player
of the Year, Maddix Mattson. At this time last year,
people weren't sure who your quarterback was gonna be. I
think he cemented himself pretty well. What do you appreciate
about him?

Speaker 4 (11:14):
Yeah, well, he's been counted out his entire life. I
mean that's just who he is. If he was here
right now, he's the most low ego, high output hit.
I mean, coming out of high school, had two offers,
one of.

Speaker 5 (11:25):
Them being Boise State.

Speaker 4 (11:27):
He comes to Boise State and everyone thinks everybody else
in the quarterback room is going to play before he does,
and he just consistently proves people he's a hunter, like
that's just his mentality. He's elite competitor, no moments too high,
no moments too low, and who he is for a team,
he keeps us on that razor's edge. And now it's
his team. I told him that this Ausos said, that's

(11:47):
your team. That doesn't mean go put your Superman cape on.
It means be the best version of yourself. And seeing
him really step up into that role, I really believe
he's gonna be one of the better quarterbacks around because
of how he works and how he is with his team.

Speaker 5 (12:00):
I love him dearly. He's earned everything he's got.

Speaker 4 (12:02):
Nothing's been given to him in life, nothing's been given
to him in football.

Speaker 5 (12:05):
He's earned every bit of it.

Speaker 2 (12:07):
Well, Coach November, first, it'll be exciting between now and then.
Good luck. Keep doing what you're doing. And it's been
a lot of fun to watch.

Speaker 1 (12:13):
No.

Speaker 4 (12:13):
I appreciate you guys a lot and Honestly, I feel
like you guys got a home run higher in Matt
has I think the world of Fresno State. The battles
we've had have been through the roof.

Speaker 5 (12:22):
And I appreciate you guys to tell you, God bless you,
God bless you.

Speaker 2 (12:26):
At Spencer Daniels in Boise State, Wow, Cam, I've lost
count of the times I think we've heard from a
coach that made you want to.

Speaker 3 (12:36):
Get out there and go hit somebody.

Speaker 6 (12:37):
Yeah, it's been quite a few today. You really just
you know the energy that they speak with and the
leaders that they are. They just exude that. And throughout
my football career I played my best and developed my
most when I played for a coach like bat Pat Hill,
Lovey Smith. I mean, these are leaders of men, And

(13:00):
when a coach sits down in front of us, yeah,
they can get me going. I don't have any eligibility
left and I wouldn't be very good, but man, I'd
give it a shot.

Speaker 5 (13:09):
Well.

Speaker 2 (13:09):
And if we were grading all the coaches today on
who looked the sharpest, I think we'd have to give
the edge to San Diego State's second year head coach
Sean Lewis, who hasn't coached against Fresno State yet, but
he'll be indoctrinated into.

Speaker 3 (13:22):
That old oil can rivalry.

Speaker 2 (13:24):
On October twenty fifth at Valley Children Stadium, you'll hear
from the coach of the Aztecs when our coverage continues
from Mountain West Football Media Days twenty twenty five.

Speaker 1 (13:32):
It's Mountain West Media Days on Fox Sports Radio.

Speaker 3 (13:35):
You heard from the players.

Speaker 2 (13:36):
Now we get to hear from coaches, and we have
San Diego State Sean Lewis with us coach.

Speaker 5 (13:42):
You had a.

Speaker 2 (13:42):
Taste of being the league guy at Kent State last year.
Your first year at San Diego State got off to
a good start, second half of the season, some close losses.
Where do you see momentum building into this year with
maybe a more manageable schedule.

Speaker 8 (13:56):
Yeah, I mean where he goes what the schedule is, right,
I think the thing that we can pull to that
gives me great encouragimon As a way that this season
ended as we went into the winter portal, Right, everyone's
looking for stability on their roster, to be able to
have retention and then have veteran leaders that know how
you want to do it in house and the way
that you're going to do it. And for us to
be able to retain seven of our all conference players
that had extra years of eligibility remaining, you know, to

(14:18):
keep them home to you know, have trade, to have
ross guys that you talked to yesterday that had a
lot of opportunity, a lot of dollars that were thrown
their way, you know when when it was portal season,
not only in the winter time but in the spring.
To have those guys, to have that continuity, to have
that retention, and to continue to do that great work together,
Like the guys told us exactly what they were looking for,
and by stay input and doing the work together gives

(14:40):
us great momentum, gives us great encouragement. We've had a
tremendous offseason. Love where the team's at and excited here
in twelve days for us to report to camp and
start getting after it.

Speaker 6 (14:49):
Yeah, I mean, what is what does year two versus
year one look like for you? You know, you come in,
you try to establish a culture. You try to get
players to understand exactly what the x spectations are. Now
you've had that year, they do have a little bit
more of an understanding. How do you go from establishing
that culture and building on that in a year too.

Speaker 8 (15:08):
Yeah, I mean day by day, right, I mean like
success is always a lagging indicator, right, Like we want
to put the ninety second rice pocket in the microwave
and you know, dying in ninety seconds, you're good to go,
and you've got a championship program. But anything that's worthwhile
and anything that's going to be consistently good over time
and not just occasionally great in these little moments, like
I want to be able to look back and for
our program and say, hey, year and in year out,

(15:29):
we stand on a strong cultural foundation. That's what we
established last year. And building the relationships and the continuity
and acquiring the necessary talent and depth of talent you know,
within the roster has been critical for us to be
able to then take that next step. Right, But it's
one thing to have them. Now you've got to develop
them and you've got to get your your schemes implemented
and understand, Okay, hey, there's a there's a way in

(15:51):
whish that we want to play this game. But then
there's strengths and weaknesses that we need to enhance and
that we need to mitigate as we move through each year,
but you know, across the board, I think the depth
of our talent is significantly better than where it was
a year ago. I'm really really pleased with the leadership again,
as we alluded to, with players and staff that we have,
you know, on the MESA and eager to get going

(16:13):
in camp, which is out of such a critical point
in time to really expedite and you know, grow who
we are and where we're at as we get ready
for Stonybrook Week one.

Speaker 3 (16:22):
Yeah, Stonybrook Week one.

Speaker 2 (16:24):
You got cal a little later on on the schedule,
a trip to Northern Illinois. I know that's not going
to be easy, but you're familiar with that part of
the country. In that conference, well at that conference now
we'll see what Northern Illinois does in the Mountain West
in the future. We saw Trey and Ross yesterday and
impressed with both of those young men. Really impressed with

(16:44):
the stats Tray put up last year, and we asked
him to set a bar and he didn't want to,
but twelve and a half sacks last year, what do
you think he's realistically capable of this year?

Speaker 3 (16:53):
Is kind of the centerpiece of that defense.

Speaker 8 (16:55):
I mean, it's a cliche answer, right, But like Trey's
going to give us everything every single day, and regardless
of his individual stats, our overall win ross record for
any players and coach that you guys speak to while
you're here, right, Like, that's a byproduct of their patterns
of behavior. And you guys got a small taste of
who Trey is and how he carries himself. And from
the moment I took over in the program and we

(17:15):
sat down for the very first time, like you could
tell he carries himself differently, and he's got to focus
in his eye that you know, he's going to give
you all that he has, and he wants to be
a sponge for knowledge and to learn more and more.
So he took that first initial step of transitioning off
the ball and becoming closer and the four two five,
and obviously had an exceptional season, right And now he

(17:36):
still has, you know, his first initial mentor in that
edge role in coach al Rich who's transitioned to you know,
our defensive coordinator. But coach Manning steps in with his
plethora of expertise and vast, you know, depth of knowledge
that he's been soaking up since he's been there. And
has added a few more tricks to his tool belt,
and so you know he's excited to go to work
and excited to you know, give our tackles hell in

(17:57):
training camp here, Like there were so many times in
spring ball where we couldn't even get a one minute
drill off the ground because of him, because you know,
we're not game plan. It's like that goodness, he is
on our boundary. You know, he's on our side with everything,
so he can go terrorize other people this fall.

Speaker 6 (18:10):
How important is it to have a guy like that,
not just his production on the field, but his leadership
off the field to try to help continue to instill
the culture that you're talking about so younger guys understand
things may change, you know, you might have to make
a position change or something. But if you buy in
every day you can turn yourself into this type of player,

(18:32):
you can help your team tremendously.

Speaker 8 (18:33):
Yeah, it's it is huge, right for all the reasons
that you said to where now when we first showed up, right,
like you're kind of selling hope, you're selling belief where
a guy individually like Trey, Hey, there's perfect concept, right,
Like we're trained professionals where We're going to help you
guys grow and achieve all your dreams, and so we're
looking at your skill set, we're looking at what you
can do an exceptional level, so you can have undeniable

(18:56):
production because ultimately, all these guys want to go play
on Sunday. I want to help them achieve that dream. Well,
the only way that you make that happen is if
you have undeniable production on Saturdays. So treys on everyone's
radar because he had undeniable production on Saturday that regardless
of what you say about his measurables or anything else,
like okay, hey, at the end of the day of
the NFL in particular, right as a results are in
a business, like he can go get the quarterback, like

(19:16):
those guys change the math of the game.

Speaker 5 (19:18):
And so having him do that. And then ultimately, when
one of your.

Speaker 8 (19:22):
Best players is your hardest worker and is also willing
to be coached, demands coaching not only like allows you
to coach him, but demands it rep after rep after rep. Yeah,
everyone else sees that example and they're like, oh, well,
if coach going beyond Contrey like that, well I ain't
getting any special treatment.

Speaker 5 (19:41):
Like yeah, you're done right, right, And like that's how.

Speaker 8 (19:43):
We all go further together by you know, myself being
coached by my staff and the other younger guy seeing
how we you know, work with the older guys and
the more quote unquote talented guys, right, but that we
can all grow together. And then for his vocal presence,
where he has taken a major step this aus is
because he's kind of he has that credibility established in
the locker room now right where less or hey, I'm

(20:04):
moving positions, I'm trying to find myself. Well, he squarely
knows who he is now and what he's capable of doing, right,
And so when he speaks, like he can say it
once and I probably gotta say it twenty times, right,
but if he says it to his teammates, all right,
it's getting up like, hey do it. Tray said it,
like let's go, let's go to work.

Speaker 2 (20:19):
And that's a dynamic that I think is often overlooked.
And as you talked about it, it just made me
think of where you were before you came to the Mesa,
in a place in college football that's had a lot
of attention on it the last couple of years in
Boulder with Neon Dion that experience. Were there some things
that you took from being around him and the uniqueness
of his leadership that helped you find even more of

(20:43):
a niche in terms of who you are and how
you want to leave.

Speaker 8 (20:45):
Yeah, I mean again, it strengthened a lot of things
that I believed in. And you know, obviously the one
thing I took from coach there was was how I'll say,
the team is critically important. The team is above anything else, right,
but kind of that pro model, if you will, Like, hey,
the team's really important, but the me the individual matters
as well, right, So the team comes first, but the
individuals do matter, right, And so making sure that you're

(21:06):
able to have those one off relationships and hey, the
whole organization and the whole entity, kind of knowing and
understanding a little bit that you know, Hey, like a
guy like Trey who's established himself, it's really really important
that Trey is ready and helps the team, you know,
on Saturday, right, so hey, maybe on a Tuesday when
it's some normal down stuff, like Trey's gonna get treated
a little bit differently than the red shirt freshman who's
gonna be getting normal down reps for the first time,

(21:26):
and we all got to know that that's okay because
Tray needs to be optimal on Saturday right to where
in the past, I think we all kind of approach
this whole collegian game as like cookie cutter approach a
little bit right, as opposed to, hey, it's more nuanced.
And then this year to year, right like, as we
all are working through as coaches, how do I retain
year after year my roster? Well, I prioritize the team,

(21:47):
but I understand that the individual matters and the individuals
make up the team. And that's the dichotomy, and that's
the balance that we are all juggling in this nil
revshare era, which is really really exciting.

Speaker 6 (21:57):
Is there any way for you in the recruiting process
to identify characteristics in kids that you say, Hey, this
is a kid that I think if he signs with
us and comes here, like, we can keep this kid
for a couple of years, we can develop him and
he's really going to buy in. Are the things that
you can identify?

Speaker 5 (22:15):
Yeah?

Speaker 8 (22:16):
Absolutely, I think the simple things in terms of how
they interact with their family members, right like if they
show up on your campus, with the social media crew
of their own and they're trying to we laugh about that, right,
But I mean like we've got some guys that roll
in the campus and you're like, wait, you got you
got your own cameraman, Like what are we talking about?
You're like, this is a junior day, right, and you know,
so I.

Speaker 3 (22:36):
Thought we were talking about San Diego, not Bolder.

Speaker 6 (22:38):
Yeah we are, Okay, absolutely are right.

Speaker 8 (22:41):
So it's you know, you you get to the more
time that you can spend around the people that you are,
you know, recruiting that you want a part of your program, right,
you're evaluating all of that. It's not only hey, the
physical attributes and the physical characteristics for whatever position you
want to play in between the white lines, but.

Speaker 3 (22:59):
Like what is there character criteria?

Speaker 5 (23:01):
What do they prioritize?

Speaker 7 (23:02):
Right?

Speaker 8 (23:02):
Like if in the first whole conversations that they're having
with me they bring up money, like, we ain't gonna
be talking very long because because if that's a primary
driver for you, then okay that that really isn't going
to change. I can change your get off, I can
change how you catch a football, I can change how
you change pad levels and get you bigger faster, stronger.
But if in your core and the ethos of your

(23:23):
family that raised you money is a primary driver, it's
always going to be that. And you know, we are
never going to be the one hold in the biggest bag,
and that's fine, but you give me enough in that
bag to go be competitive and build a competitive roster,
which our community has and they've stepped up. And you know,
keV competed with us. Now we won't be all right,
and we're gonna be able to go and mix it up.

Speaker 2 (23:42):
So you know, I know you've got a lot of
other people to talk to you, coach, but we appreciate
some time with you. And I realized, since this is
your second year and the Bulldogs and Aztecs didn't play
last year, you're gonna get your first taste of this
Oil Can Trophy rivalry this year in Fresno in October.

Speaker 3 (23:57):
So I love your thoughts on that.

Speaker 2 (23:58):
And since you're such an offensive I've got to hear
your view on your quarterback position.

Speaker 3 (24:02):
Yeah, and what that's going to look like in twenty
twenty five.

Speaker 8 (24:04):
Yeah, I'm thrilled about the opportunity to compete in this rivalry. Right,
I think of all the changes and all the things
that are going on in college football. Like one thing
that we have to protect and we need to hold
near and dear are the marching bands and the rivalries.
It makes college football different, right And so I was
upset when the schedule came out, you know, a year ago,
that we didn't get the opportunity to compete and to
you know, have another chapter in this very historic rivalry.

(24:26):
So I'm excited for it.

Speaker 5 (24:27):
I'm excited for the opportunity. You know.

Speaker 8 (24:29):
I'm excited about our quarterbacks as well, as you alluded to.
We got two great kids that the room as a
whole again talking about quality of talent, quality of depth.
I'm really really happy for Danny O'Neil and the precition
that we helped him develop and get to and where
he's at. But where our room sits right now is
better than where it's at a year ago, you know,
just in terms of overall talent, the quality and the
depth of that talent and what both Jaden and Bert

(24:52):
bring to the table. And I'm excited to use both
of their skill sets and unique ways this fall. And
you know, both of them will be on the field.
One will be the primary driver, and so one will
be a secondary role and we'll figure all that out
through camp. But I know this, and I know this
well enough that you know, there's only so many great
players that I got on my boundary with me. And
if they're standing next to me and they're not in
between the white lines, they're not helping us win ball games, right,
So gotta get them on the field, got to, you know,

(25:13):
utilize them in a lot of different ways. And excited
to do that this this fall, and excited to come
up and visit you guys in October.

Speaker 3 (25:19):
You gotta wear a suit to Fresno.

Speaker 5 (25:21):
You want to get off the bus.

Speaker 8 (25:22):
Absolutely, look at Sharp's big business man, you know, and
we're in the business of a winning ball game.

Speaker 5 (25:27):
So look good, feel good, play good, right.

Speaker 2 (25:29):
Love it absolutely, Just don't get in the oil from
the oil cannon.

Speaker 3 (25:32):
We'll be all right for sure.

Speaker 2 (25:33):
Looking forward to seeing you then, Thanks coach, Thanks guys,
appreciate you. Sean Lewis San Diego State at Rivalry will
be renewed October twenty fifth at Valley Children Stadium. Missed
playing the as Techs last year and Cam I think
that's one of the teams that can really make some
headway this year. Looking at the as Tech schedule, They've
got some winnable non conference games.

Speaker 3 (25:53):
They could have some momentum by the time they come
to Fresno.

Speaker 6 (25:55):
Yeah, the Mount West the future Pac twelve. It's better
for football when Fresno State and San Diego State are
both really good and play those competitive games. I mean,
think back to the early Jeff ted For days. San
Diego State was the team in the Mount West and
as soon as Fresno State beat him, like, you ascend
yourself to the top of the league. So can't wait

(26:17):
for them to make the trip back to Fresno. Was
it was not right Fresno State not playing San Diego
State last year just didn't feel right.

Speaker 3 (26:26):
And you're right.

Speaker 2 (26:26):
I think when the Bulldogs forced for Shot Penny to fumble,
that changed the whole balance.

Speaker 3 (26:30):
Power in the league.

Speaker 2 (26:31):
Yeah, and it hasn't necessarily shifted back toward the Aztecs yet,
but they want to do that this year. That was
Sean Lewis, the Aztec's head coach. We're gonna spend the
rest of our time today with your Fresno State football
head coach, Matt Enttz. He joins us when our coverage continues.

Speaker 1 (26:46):
It's Mountain West Media Days on Fox Sports Radio Cam.

Speaker 2 (26:49):
We've heard from a lot of the coaches around the
Mountain West, a lot of great coaches in this league.
But what about you. I've kind of been wanting to
talk some bulldog football.

Speaker 6 (26:57):
That's why we're here right to talk about all the
other teams in the conference, but focus on President of State.
Always weave some President State into all those conversations. But
great to have coaching sitting in front of us right now.

Speaker 5 (27:09):
I appreciate it. Guys.

Speaker 2 (27:11):
So, coach, you've probably been taking some things in too,
as you've answered a million questions so far. Has it
has it changed at all your perspective on what's in
front of you here in about a month?

Speaker 5 (27:22):
No, yeah, yes and no.

Speaker 7 (27:25):
You know, still trying to first year in the league,
get an idea kind of what the league is like
having that coached in it, and we really leaning on
a couple of coaches we have on our staff who
have All I know is I can control kind of
the guys that are in our locker room and give
them direction, and as long as we can put the
best product possible, you know, then I think will be

(27:45):
extremely competitive but I think, you know, coming to an
event like this, you kind of get the idea of, Hey,
football season is right around the corner, and you know,
we crank up a week from what yesterday, we get going,
and so it's a it's an early season with an
early game, and and you know, I.

Speaker 5 (28:00):
Feel like we're in a good spot right now.

Speaker 2 (28:02):
And Cam, I'm guessing that if he needs to lean
on his coaching staff, you old buddy John Baxter probably
has a folder on every program in the mount last
ye give.

Speaker 5 (28:10):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (28:10):
That dude's about us thorough as anybody you'll ever meet, right,
and he's been doing it for a long time. I'm
just curious you're responsible for so much as the head
coach of a football program. Probably feel like you're drinking
out of a fire hose. Still, maybe just getting to know,
like you said, the conference, getting to know the Central Valley. Still,
I mean, what if you if you had some priorities

(28:33):
coming into training camp that you wanted to accomplish. Have
you gotten those things done? Are you still kind of
working on all of those things that you want to
get ready for Game one in Kansas?

Speaker 4 (28:45):
Oh?

Speaker 7 (28:45):
I think we're still, you know, a work in progress.
There's a lot of things that we have accomplished, I
think since January or the start of the spring semester.
And you can do that when you put when you
have good people in charge those areas. We have. We
have made drastic changes in our functional strength, functional speed,

(29:06):
and coach Andy Ward was a critical piece of that.
Kelly cernecar nutritionists has been unbelievable and now we're just
we're hiring an assistant nutritionists now too, so that area
continues to continues to grow, you know, Martin Kine over
with our athletic training and medical staff. I mean, we're
healthier than we've been, you know for a long time.

(29:28):
We got through springball really healthier than we had probably
the previous four or five years, and so all of
those things are leading up to hopefully a successful fall camp.
Would I love to dive in and be able to
be more ex'es and o's, of course I would, But
sometimes the landscape of college football doesn't allow that right now.
But you know, one of the things that I wanted
to do over the summer was get around the valley

(29:50):
a little bit more and and have I done it enough?
Probably not. But I think we've made a good start.
You know, from Bakersfield all the way up to Turlock
and and a lot of places in between have made
stops for my wife and I have made efforts to
just to get out and see some things. And it's
amazing how many bulldog fans and you know, passionate fans
that you bump into along the way. But no, it's

(30:12):
a work in progress. We're we're a long ways from
being where we want to be. But I've told our
players and incremental gains is going to be critical. We're
going to stack a lot of good days on top
of each other, and that includes coach Hans too. I
need to I need to stack good days, and so
do I tell myself it's this is as bad as
it's going to be today, and guess what on the
eighteenth of eighteenth of July would be better? And so

(30:33):
we're going to keep building.

Speaker 3 (30:35):
I like it.

Speaker 2 (30:36):
And I'm kind of reflecting on a conversation Cam and
I had earlier with ken Neio Montallo of San Jose State.
He was very candidate, saying, you know, I didn't realize
last year that Freslo State was such a big rival
with me for San Jose State until I got to
the stadium.

Speaker 3 (30:47):
Yeah, now I get it.

Speaker 2 (30:49):
It sounds like you're doing a lot of that due diligence,
but you're also getting to know these other coaches, and
here in Vegas that's an opportunity for that. How have
they welcomed you and how do you feel about the
caliber coaches in this conference in general?

Speaker 7 (31:02):
Well, I know there's tremendous coaches in this league. I've
had the opportunity to coach against the number of them
at different spots along the way. Have actually worked on
the staff with like Jason Eck who's at New Mexico.
We were on a staff together at a Division two
school in Minnesota, coached against coach Choke a number of
different times when he was at Montana State. Spencer and

(31:22):
I have become friends just kind of kind of accidentally
bumped into each other and then now have shared phone
numbers and reach out and connect. And you know, uh,
coach Calhoun at at air Force, I mean, his record
speaks for itself. You know, one of the most successful,
you know, college football coaches, you know, in the country,

(31:44):
and to do it at an academy is really impressive.
And I know what they've done. You know, both offensively
and defensively over the years, IS is very impressive. And
so I'm excited to be part of the league. And
again that that's a little bit of the you know
nerves that I have too.

Speaker 8 (31:58):
Is.

Speaker 7 (31:58):
I don't know everything about everything in the league. But
there's a lot of change too in the league. I
mean you look at you know, head coaching turnover, there
was there was a fair number, I know Bronco just
moved from from one school to another, you know, but
there's been some shifting. There's some new coaches, new things,
you know, schematically that'll show up as the year unfolds.
But you know, where we can have the biggest impact,

(32:20):
Where Matten's gonna have the biggest impact is making sure
that I take care of the Bulldogs and put us
in the right situation.

Speaker 5 (32:26):
Coach.

Speaker 6 (32:26):
I'm really curious. I haven't had the chance to talk
to you, you know on the air head coach at
North Dakota State, very very difficult conference. You know, you
had a lot of success, a couple of national championships,
you'll even go to USC. What was that process like
for you leaving North Dakota State where you had tremendous

(32:49):
success and going and learning under somebody like Lincoln Riley,
you know, to you know, broaden your understanding of college football,
to pick up extra skills, Like what was it that
was so intriguing about making that move?

Speaker 7 (33:06):
Well, I think I'm going to go back to the
when the thought process initially started. I'm one of those
people that continually challenge our players to be uncomfortable, because
when you're uncomfortable, that's when growth happens. And so I
always use the analogy. You know, it's easy to study
for a class that you're getting an A in, right,
it's the one that you're struggling that you put off

(33:26):
till the end, right, because that's you know, that's when
you're uncomfortable.

Speaker 5 (33:30):
And I think there came a moment where I needed
to listen to my own advice.

Speaker 7 (33:35):
You know, I would have loved I mean, I loved
every second of North Dakota State in my experience there.
I still have a son that plays there and so
still invested emotionally, and you know, you know, I think
about that program and I want them to have tremendous
amount of success. But for me to grow, I needed
to I needed to throw a big curveball at myself.

(33:56):
I needed to change some things up. I wasn't. I
wanted to still continue to be a better version of myself,
a better coach, a better head coach. And so when
the opportunities presented itself, and there was a couple others
out there at the time, but this was the one
from a geographical standpoint, getting to you know, a blue
blood program, one that you know everyone in the country knows.

(34:17):
But you know, working with Lincoln, working with what I
thought was a tremendous defensive staff, getting back to ball
a little bit was maybe what I needed.

Speaker 5 (34:26):
It allowed me just to be a football coach. You know.

Speaker 7 (34:29):
I was able to help kind of navigate some things,
give him some feedback what I thought. But there was
a lot of time for me just because I was
just a position coach where I could put pen to paper,
I could come up with maybe a next time, if
there is a next time. Ever, you know, here's some
new thoughts. Maybe I'll do it differently, maybe I'll do
it the exact same way. You know, what I was

(34:51):
doing before was the right way to do it. I
got a greater insight on on the world of revenue
share slash nil national recruiting and just another way of
operating a program. I mean, uh, you know you talk
about you know, an organization USC. I mean, there is
a ton of people associated with that program and to

(35:11):
see it, you know it firsthand, was was tremendous. And
I think I took away a lot of things from
that experience, good and bad. Things that I would do, things.

Speaker 5 (35:20):
That I want.

Speaker 7 (35:22):
And hopefully that will enable me to be a better
version of of or be a better football coach moving forward.
But you know, I think a lot of those drives
in the morning and at night was when it kind
of I had those you know, that hour drive to
work that our drive home was when I was able
to kind of formulate some ideas and and I wasn't
in a race to become a head coach again, but
when it was Fresno State and I knew the support,

(35:45):
I knew the energy of red Wave, the tradition, the history,
the location, the recruiting footprint that we had, the boy,
there was a lot of things that that that were
positives about this position.

Speaker 2 (35:57):
You know, you say the hour drive home and if
folks just tuned in, no, he doesn't live an hour
away from the president of State campus. Now he's not
in Delano or Mercede or something. He was talking about
LA where he was probably ten miles away and it
took an hour at the silver lining of LA traffic.

Speaker 3 (36:11):
Finally, that's right.

Speaker 2 (36:12):
You talked about getting back to coaching ball, So let's
talk a little ball, and let's talk about the defense.

Speaker 3 (36:17):
I know that's what Cam wants to focus on. First.

Speaker 2 (36:19):
You have some proven playmakers on that side of the ball,
but you've also added a lot from the portal. What
has you excited about this Bulldog defense and what do
you think that defensive identity is going to be.

Speaker 7 (36:31):
What has me excited is the seamless transition that we've
seen with the incoming players that we've brought in and
the current players that were on the roster. If you
came to practice, you wouldn't know that anyone was, Hey,
this is their first experience of being a Bulldog or
they've been here for four years. And I think that
shows a level of maturity in our locker room and

(36:51):
on our roster that it's about putting the best product
out there regardless of who's there. It's bigger than any
one person on our program. So that that that what
That's what as as a head football coach has me excited.
I think you're gonna see defensively in aggressive style.

Speaker 5 (37:09):
Uh.

Speaker 7 (37:09):
You know, we want to play fast, we want to
play with clear minds. Coach Benedetto and his staff or
our unbelievable mentors and teachers of the game and so
and you've seen that through the summer. There's been great
development through spring. I think they probably had a little
bit of a leg up on honest offensively because of
the continuity of the staff.

Speaker 5 (37:28):
Uh.

Speaker 7 (37:29):
You know, most of all of our defensive staff had
familiarity with that program.

Speaker 5 (37:34):
Uh.

Speaker 7 (37:35):
You know, Coach Williams, who is currently on our on
the team here at Fresno, has enough experience that you know,
cover three still, cover three, cover fours, cover four. You know,
he he's able to trans you know, transform and and
andto work within the system really well. But I think
it's going to be an aggressive I think Coach Benedetto

(37:55):
does a great job of coming up with different versions
of pressure. Five man front, six man front, seven man front.
I think the the other thing that is, and this
helps because of the veteran presence we have at safety,
is they do a tremendous job of disguising coverages.

Speaker 5 (38:11):
And as long as we can continue to change.

Speaker 7 (38:13):
That pre and posting that picture for that quarterback create
a little bit of hesitation, that always gives opportunity for
our guys up front to get home.

Speaker 5 (38:20):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (38:21):
What I was out at spring practice maybe four or
five times, and I was super impressed at the way
that your guys were communicating on defense, you know, because
there's a lot of match stuff that they were running.
They were they were exchanging guys quite a bit, but
it was pretty seamless. And to install a system, you know,
in that short amount of time and to see guys

(38:43):
really understanding it at that level was very impressive. When
you talk, you sound so much like Pat.

Speaker 5 (38:49):
My former coach Pat Hill.

Speaker 6 (38:51):
You know, it's just the mentality you want to You
want to set a physical tone right off the bat.

Speaker 3 (38:56):
And.

Speaker 6 (38:58):
If you can physically dominate an opponent every single snap
running the football, it sounds like you would be totally fine.
I would running that football every single snap.

Speaker 5 (39:09):
Have you.

Speaker 6 (39:11):
Been able to get buy in from everybody in the
program that this is the way that we're going to
approach what we do. We are going to be the
most physical team in the Mount West next year in
the Pac twelve. Have you gotten a sense that guys
are like, all right, I'm down with that. I'm ready
to go with that test style of football.

Speaker 7 (39:29):
I do get a feeling of that, and I even
get a feeling our skill kids are brought into that
version because they know if there is a threat of
a successful run play, it only going to open up
what we can do on the perimeter. I've encouraged our coaches,
I've encouraged our quarterback room that hey, we don't have yeah,
will there be some play action things that are set

(39:51):
up because people are going to start sniffing around the
line of scrimmage and we can hit some home runs.
But also we need to be able to throw access
if if the corner's playing off, let's get it out
to them. Let's let a receiver make somebody miss and
a five yard throw turns into a twenty yard game.
But they're playing off because they're playing zone, because they're
trying to get eyes on the runframe. I think there's
a it all can compliment each other, you know, But

(40:15):
the quickest way to get to the top, to me
is to win the line of scrimmage. And I think
you go back, you look at every level of football.
You look at you know, what's going on at the
Power four level. Who are the teams that are always
consistently there, Well, they win the line of scrimmage, you
know when you talk about Georgia's and Michigan's and Alabama's
and Ohio States and so on, and so they win

(40:36):
the line of scrimmage. Well, you know, we want to
be that type of team, you know, here in the
Mountain West, and as we navigate and move into the
Pac twelve, you know, the quickest way for us to
ascend is we need to dominate the line of scrimmage.

Speaker 2 (40:49):
You'll have a chance to do that at Kansas August
twenty third, and we're looking forward to that. But what
we don't know yet is who's taking those snaps. And
I was watching the clock. Took thirteen minutes for the
word quarterback to be mentioned, and he said it when
you said.

Speaker 7 (41:01):
Quarterback room, Yeah, you saw a very strategic class quarterback room.

Speaker 2 (41:06):
So break that down for us because those guys, you know,
I know they want it badly.

Speaker 3 (41:10):
We saw Jaden Mandal in the Bowl game.

Speaker 5 (41:12):
E J.

Speaker 2 (41:12):
Warner was with you in the spring, and Joshua would
transferred out. Now Carson Conklin has come in the guy
who emerges for that opening day starter.

Speaker 3 (41:22):
What is he going to have to do in fall
camp to win that job.

Speaker 7 (41:24):
He's gonna have to show total understanding of what we're
doing offensively. He's gonna have to be situationally aware because
there's gonna be times in games where the pressure is
gonna elevate. We're gonna be in the two minute mode,
we're gonna be in the red zone, we're gonna be
an end of a game scenario. And he's going to
have to have the moxie and the confidence to operate

(41:46):
everyone else and get them lined up and a guy
who can make all the throws, make all the decisions
that we need. But also, you know, I do want
to have the ability to I don't want to live
in this world, but I want the ability where we're
going to be able to utilize a little bit of quarterback.

Speaker 5 (42:02):
Run game at different times.

Speaker 7 (42:04):
It could be on third down, it could be on
base downs, but we're going to make people have to
defend fifty three and a third. You know, they're gonna
have to defend every inch of the field. I've always
told everyone my philosophy offensively is I'm going to make
everyone defend everything that I hated to defend as a coordinator,
and so you know, I'm going to it's my time
to get it back right. And so because the more

(42:25):
you spend on quarterback run game, you take it away
from all of a sudden eight man spacing and fitting
the run game under center, and or you know, all
of a sudden, we're showing all this quick game out
there and they're spending less time on run game. So
you know, making teams have to defend it all because
it does take away from your your total preparation. That's

(42:45):
just my experience being a coordinator for years.

Speaker 6 (42:47):
Coach, I'm curious in your time that you've gotten out
in the valley and had conversations with fans. How detailed
x's and o's do you get talking with people, because
I mean, you're just sitting here talking and you're rattling
them off, and you're talking about eight man box and
just guys in pre snap. I mean, you're just it's
it sounds like you want to talk like that all
the time.

Speaker 7 (43:04):
I would, I would, uh, you know, I tell our
I tell I tell our coordinators I know enough to
be dangerous, probably, but uh, I don't dive into a lot.
They want to know about personnel. Of course, I've been
asked about the quarterback position. You know, if it's if
it's not been once, it's been a hundred times, you know,
which is fine, you know. But that's part of the

(43:24):
reason why why Fresno State was so enticing, because Red
Wave it matters, and it matters to our administration, it
matters to our president, you know, it matters to our community.
We are the Central Valley's team from from Bakersfield to Modesto.
You know, we we we're the Green Bay Packers of
of that area.

Speaker 5 (43:45):
And I love that.

Speaker 7 (43:47):
I've I've been places before very similar to that, and
we want to embrace that. And I want people to
be hungry for information. It's exciting to know that people
are paying attention, people are talking to But we got
our tickets. You know, we're ready to go. We're going
to Kansas or we're going to Oregon State. I love
hearing that from our fan base. Now it's it's our

(44:08):
job to put a good product on the field.

Speaker 2 (44:10):
We're going to the kickoff dinner August fourteenth tickets. Now,
I don't know if Cam's embraced the Green Bay Packers analogy,
you know, as a former Chicago.

Speaker 6 (44:17):
Borry, No, I apologize. I understand where you're coming from.
Great respect for the Packers, but no, let's keep the
Packers out of the.

Speaker 3 (44:26):
Coach. Thanks for all your time.

Speaker 2 (44:27):
Looking forward to a lot of conversations all year, just
for our fans because I know they want to know.

Speaker 3 (44:31):
Can you give us maybe one strong.

Speaker 2 (44:34):
Attribute of each of those quarterbacks competing for the job
that you see now that has them in the mix
to win this job?

Speaker 7 (44:42):
Yep? You know, if you know, just ej is a
If a gym rat is correlated to basketball, then he's
a film rat right now. You know, just a guy
that you know, but that doesn't surprise anyone with his
upbringing and and it's a football family. He's played a

(45:03):
lot of football, so he has a lot of experience
to lean on. And again, being an effective quarterback comes
down to pictures. If you've seen these pictures before, and
that's what you try to do in practice, the emulate
pictures so that way you get on game day. You
need to play faster, clear minds, you know, you play faster.
He has that in his in his tank, he has
all those reps, and so that probably gives him a

(45:25):
little bit of an advantage. He's been here in the spring,
Jade mandel Man, you talk about someone who has worked
unbelievably hard this summer, going above and beyond. I challenge
our guys always it's easy to do the required. I'm
looking for guys that do the unrequired, who are willing
to do put that, and he has he is He

(45:45):
has gone and found people to help him become a
better version of himself, and so really excited about what
he's bringing back. And then you know Carson, you know,
runner up for what FCS player Freshman of the year
through for three thousand yards thirty touchdowns, kind of has
that that moxie, uh, not afraid of anything. I don't

(46:06):
want to say gunslinger mentality, but he's confident enough to
think that he can put in anywhere, anytime, any place.
And you need to have some of that, you know,
because you want a guy who's going to be quick
in decisions and confident, but also have a skin like
a duck at times where hey, okay, that wasn't a
good throw, but I got to get ready. The next
play is the most important one, and so they all

(46:26):
bring something. Coach Davis has ha juste a tremendous job
of communicating with that room that we're only going to
be as good as the sum of the room. We
all have to continue to push ourselves because if the
number two guy is a number three guy or whatever,
continue to push the envelope, well, then the starter is
going to be really, really good and special for us.

(46:48):
And so but we need that room to be ready
because again, it's a crazy game. It's a you know,
injuries are the worst part of it. It's part of
the game that make you sick. And so everyone has
to be prepared.

Speaker 6 (47:00):
Anything that you're most excited about going into year one
as the head coach at President of State.

Speaker 5 (47:05):
You know, I think I don't know if excited is
the right word. The unknown.

Speaker 7 (47:09):
I was telling you guys before we got on the air,
we're doing a Mott game. I mean we are doing
I mean we are trying to emulate coming on off
the field, you know, trying to leave nothing to chance.
I don't believe in hope is a strategy, you know,
I hope we can pull this off and so I'm
sure our player is gonna be like, holy smokes, I
mean back and forth from the locker room. But we're
gonna do it exactly like we went on a game day,

(47:31):
just to make sure that there are no surprises. And
I want our players to feel like we are going
to be the most prepared football team in the country
going into every game. We have a process. Our process
doesn't guarantee victories, but it does guarantee competitiveness, and so
that's all we want. We want to have an opportunity
to be close late. We're going to coach the heck
of our kids so they understand situational awareness. We got

(47:53):
to we got to continue to press. Eliminating the unnecessary
penalties are the things that we can control, false starts,
off sides, emotional penalties. And I think we'll put a
good product on the field. We're gonna play with a
lot of energy. We got kids that love football, and
that's what I'm That's what I'm really excited about, is
just the continuity in the alignment that we have in

(48:14):
our locker room right now. It's a fun group to
be around. We've got a great staff. They're fun to
be around as well, but we're all gonna learn a
lot as we navigate the season together.

Speaker 2 (48:22):
Sounds like you need to be there for that mock
game cam so he can practice answering your questions on
his way.

Speaker 6 (48:28):
Yeah, and we're gonna make it as real as possible.

Speaker 2 (48:30):
So there you go, Coach, good luck this year. I
know it's going to be a fun we're at and
the Red Wave will be behind you.

Speaker 5 (48:37):
So I appreciate you.

Speaker 7 (48:38):
Thank you, guys, thanks for everything you do for Bulldog
football and for our athletic department.

Speaker 2 (48:43):
Matt, It's August twenty third, the season open, our first
coach and show at the Point Pattio Barnbistro will be
two nights before on the twenty first cam. Thanks for
hanging out last couple days manning the Blast.

Speaker 6 (48:54):
Every year gets better.

Speaker 3 (48:56):
Can't wait.

Speaker 1 (48:57):
It's Mountain West Media Days on Fox Sports Radio.