August 21, 2025 – Head Coach Matt Entz’s First Bulldogs Football Hour, Hosted by Paul Loeffler

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
On the Bulldog Sports Network from Learfield. This is the
Bulldog Football Hour, brought to you by Table Mountain Casino.
Welcome to the Table Pepsi, official soft drink of Fresno
State Athletics, Seed Geek, the official ticketing partner of Fresno
State Athletics, ECU Smarter Banking since nineteen thirty four, and

(00:24):
by bud Late, Easy to drink, Easy to enjoy. Now
live from the Point Pattio barring Bistro, here's your host,
the Voice of the Bulldogs, Paul Leffler.

Speaker 2 (00:37):
Well, good evening, good afternoon at five thirty is at
evening or afternoon?

Speaker 3 (00:41):
I don't know.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
We've got a new start time this year for the
Bulldog Football Hour. We've got a new night Thursday nights.
And we've got a new coach and he's here, Coach
Matt Enttz here at the Point Patio Bar and Bistrow.
He got a crowd of Bulldog fans already enjoying some
great food and whatever they want to drink. And since
the misters are on coach, maybe this is getting ready
for the humidity you're going to have in Kansas on Saturday.

Speaker 3 (01:05):
Huh.

Speaker 4 (01:05):
Potentially, I think there's a chance of rain in the
morning on Saturday, but supposed to I think eighty three
degrees and a little bit overcast, so we'll be ready.

Speaker 2 (01:14):
And you're from Iowa, yep, not too far from Kansas.
I imagine you've got a few friends and family going
to be there on Saturday.

Speaker 4 (01:21):
I think there's a large contingent you and have. The
better person to ask would be my wife. I've tried
to steer all of them through her, but I think
they'll probably be twenty twenty five people that will be
in the area. I think my brother in law is
bringing down all the tailgating required set up and things

(01:42):
like that, so I think they'll be ready to go well.

Speaker 2 (01:45):
And the Kansas Jayhawks are so excited that the Bulldogs
are coming to town that they have sold out this
season opener at Reimagine David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium in
Lawrence three point thirty. Our time is when it kicks
off on Saturday. Our game day coverage we'll start at
one thirty. But we're here tonight at the Point Patti O'barnbistro,
northwest corner of Willow and Knees. We're here till six thirty.
We have tickets to give away, not for the Kansas game,

(02:07):
but for the Bulldogs home opener next week against Georgia Southern.
And Coach, I'm thinking about something you said the other night.
I guess that was a week ago. I had to
kickoff dinner. Great night, I raised a ton of money,
tremendous nights, thanks to everyone who came out. You said
a few things that caught my ear, but one of
them because we were auctioning off a dinner with you
and Brenda, and you said we could do more than

(02:28):
one because you like to eat out. So I'm just
guessing you've eaten here at the Point.

Speaker 3 (02:32):
I have.

Speaker 4 (02:32):
This is one of our mainstays, usually for a midday meal.
When we have recruits in town again, get them out,
show them Fresnel, get to see this side of town.
And the people here at the Point do a tremendous
job of getting us in great service.

Speaker 3 (02:48):
So we've been here a number of times and I'll
probably eat again here tonight.

Speaker 2 (02:54):
Well I hope you do. It's on us tonight. And
that's what I was going to ask you, is what's
your go to here? I know the men changes from
time to time and there are a lot of good things,
but is there something you've enjoyed more than anything else there?

Speaker 4 (03:05):
You know, I think I try to because of the
volume a number of times that we eat here in
the month of June. I think I intentionally try to
change it up every time. But I haven't ran into
anything that I have not liked yet. So again, it's
like I said, they have great service, great people, and
we have a lot of fun. We've had some alumni

(03:25):
events here as well, and so they do a great
job of supporting our program and it's.

Speaker 3 (03:30):
Fun to be back here tonight.

Speaker 2 (03:32):
Well, I want to talk football, although one of the
things you said when you took the job was we
need to focus on what we're feeding our players and
improve the nutrition. So I'm gonna ask you a couple
more questions about the men you hear at the point.
Have you had the steak bites I have?

Speaker 3 (03:44):
I have? Those are really good, really good.

Speaker 4 (03:47):
It's funny when I'm here usually with recruits, it's funny
how those steak bites send to gravitate towards the recruit.
So you better grab one early otherwise you know, if
you're late, you're gonna miss out comes.

Speaker 2 (04:00):
Back to you and you're the one cleaning up the mushrooms.

Speaker 3 (04:02):
That's right, Yeah, that's right.

Speaker 2 (04:03):
I've been there. How about the short rip tacos?

Speaker 4 (04:06):
I have had those afternoon where all of a sudden,
you want, you knew you were gonna eat a big
dinner later, maybe something a little bit lighter. That was
That was a great suggestion by one of the waiters
while I was here one you know, you know, one
of a dozen times I stopped by the.

Speaker 2 (04:21):
Waiters or first class here. They even bring me coffee sometimes,
but I don't need any tonight. It's it's nice and
warm out here on the patio. The misters are cooling
us off. We're here with Coach matt EN's Bulldog Football
Hour till six thirty. We're giving away some tickets tonight
to the Bulldog home opener a week from Saturday. And
if you can't make it here, and if you're here,
write your question for the coach down on a slip
of paper the old fashioned way. We'll get it to them.

(04:42):
If you're not here, you can send your questions in
on social media. Use that x app and the hashtag
fs ask FS like Fresno State ask FS is the
hashtag and I saw a question coming in here, Coach.
That's probably one a lot of people wondered about, just
if they know you're back ground and these two coaching staffs,

(05:03):
there's a lot of cross pollination, isn't there? Fresno State
and Kansas A lot of you guys have gone up
against each other at some point.

Speaker 4 (05:09):
Yep, exactly, there's a familiarity. We've had some you know,
some of their staff have worked with our staff. Just
we have a little bit of a of a Midwest
feel with our staff, and so I think we've bump
bumped into each other on the recruiting trail, have worked
together camps, whatever it might be.

Speaker 3 (05:27):
So there is a level of familiarity.

Speaker 2 (05:30):
And of course Kansas is our tribal would be Kansas
State a team. Fresno State is two and zero against
all time because Pat Hill went to the Little Apple
and pounded them, then they came. They actually showed up
at Bulldog Stadium back in the day. We have to
give them credit for that. But the question was from
one of our great fans on the X app today.
Who was it? It was the dog Father. He's got
a great handle too, he said, has coach has had

(05:52):
any conversations with Chris Climbing leading up to the game
against Kansas. Chris Clemon, for those who don't know, is
the head coach at Kansas State. And you two work
together at North Dakota State.

Speaker 3 (06:01):
We did worked.

Speaker 4 (06:02):
Uh, I worked with coach Climbing for five years at
North Dakota State and then two years at the University
of Northern Iowa. We worked together, so we're both from Waterloo, Iowa.
Have a great relationship. He's a mentor of mine. But yes,
we we've had some conversation. Of course, their game was
one that we looked at just because you know, I
understand and know and and and uh, you know what

(06:26):
kind of what kind of football that coach wants to play,
and so I think that was a great example of
or a good you know, sample size right there. But
we've had some we've had some conversations on just kind
of what they've heard, what the what the intel is.
Of course, you know, we we understand that the huge
rivalry that it is Kansas and Kansas State. But haven't
talked to him of late. They're busy, you know, they

(06:47):
got a week zero game two. I did it share
some texts with him. He was in Ireland, just had
just arrived. Uh and so uh, you know, best luck
to the to the Wildcats at Kansas State this weekend too.

Speaker 2 (07:00):
Yeah, that's a real intriguing opportunity for him. We're talking
to coach matt Ensi's here at the point northwest corner
of Willow and Knees. We're here till six thirty tonight,
New Time, New Night for the show. We'll be here
five thirty to six thirty every Thursday night when there's
a Saturday game, one exception when the Hawaii game rolls
around and the Dogs or are leaving early. And now
that makes me wonder too, as I'm thinking about you

(07:21):
trading text with Chris climbing and game planning the Jayhawks
and all that. I'm sure that's something you've done a
lot of over the years. You know, Hey, this is
my buddy. What does he know about this team I'm playing,
especially early in the year when when coaching changes have happened,
a lot of personnel changes. Have you ever gotten one
of those tips from a friend and then the game
happened and it couldn't have been more wrong?

Speaker 4 (07:43):
Probably, I don't remember off top of my head. But
you know, any I think it's been every year my
coaching career. Year, Game one is always unique. How have
they evolved, how have they changed, how have how have
new staff members altered their game planning, or how they
you know, from fundamentally from an excell and O standpoint.
And then also in this landscape of college football, you know,

(08:06):
the rosters change, you know, dramatically in the spring semester,
and so you're trying to hunt down film of players
at school X, Y, and z just to see what
skill set they have and then trying to guess a
little bit or you know, project what they might look
like in what your opponent might.

Speaker 3 (08:29):
Be doing offensively or defensively.

Speaker 4 (08:31):
So, you know, once you get a couple two three
games under your belt, it does become a little bit
easier to game plan because you you know, teams kind
of start to maybe they are who they are at
that time. But you know, Week one is always unique
and a little bit nerve wracking too, just because of
the new things. What are they going to try to
throw at you that you're not prepared for or you
haven't seen consistently from them previously.

Speaker 2 (08:53):
And I'm sure that you guys as a staff want
to be able to make good adjustments in every game
this year. But if you found over the years that
that first game requires more adjusting on the fly because
there is more of the unexpected, I think so.

Speaker 4 (09:05):
And it probably creates a situation during fall camp that
you have to do a really good job of preparing
for I hate to say it, the what ifs Uh,
you know you're going to chase some ghosts at different
times just to make sure that you have solutions you know,
in your in your toolbox, you know, offensively, defensively, Hey,
they come out and all of a sudden, you know

(09:25):
they're playing a whole bunch of odd front Well what
do we like? Uh, Defensively they're going to jump into
a bunch of unbalanced Well what are what are our solutions?

Speaker 3 (09:33):
What are the answers during the course of the game.

Speaker 4 (09:35):
And so you know, those are things that you know,
you try to continue to stress, you know during the
you know, the twenty five practices that you get that
we're not just preparing for Kansas, but you know, what
you install during fall camp is going to be really
the foundation of what you do throughout the entire season.
And uh, you have to be able to pull and
choose from it on a weekly basis.

Speaker 2 (09:54):
One more question for you before we catch the break
he's coached matt as Fresno State opens at Kansas Saturday
three three. Ready to kick off one thirties when our
pregame coverage starts and you can come meet the coach
here at the point Patti Obar and Bistro tonight. You
might even win tickets. And if you can't make it here,
send us your questions on the x app like the
Dogfather did. So you just mentioned fall camp twenty five practices.

(10:15):
One thing that's impressed me has been consistency. Your messaging
has been pretty consistent. I've heard you say over and over,
want to be the best prepared team in the country,
want to be the most physical team. You told these
guys don't lose that chip on their shoulder, and the
other thing I've heard you say, and maybe more notably,
i've heard your players repeat over and over again. So

(10:36):
they're soaking it in this concept of stacking days of
what we did yesterday isn't lost today if we're handling
it right. So how far do you think your team
has come and how close do you feel like they
are to where you wanted them to be right now.

Speaker 3 (10:50):
Well, that's a great question.

Speaker 4 (10:52):
That's why Week one is so exciting because we finally
get to line up against somebody else and truly get
a great evaluation of where we are. There's no doubt
in my mind we are a better football we'ren't improved
football team from when I arrived in January. Fundamentally from
an execution standpoint, physically we're better. But now we need

(11:14):
to play somebody else to see how.

Speaker 3 (11:16):
We continue to grow and navigate.

Speaker 4 (11:19):
I don't believe in I know a lot of people
talk about the adage, hey, between week one and week two,
that's your greatest growth, and I disagree. I think it's
between week one and week fourteen or week fifteen. I mean,
it's every week you never stopped getting better. There's always
young men on your football team that just need the
repetition someone's going to help us come mid year because
of the way we practice in fall camp. But they

(11:41):
just don't know it yet. They just need to continue
to grow and mature and develop. And that's what's exciting
about football is there's so many opportunities for young men
to impact your team and to help you win games.

Speaker 2 (11:51):
Winning games. That's what the Dogs are trying to do
in twenty twenty five, and it starts two days from now,
three thirty Saturday afternoon Fresno State. It can you can
watch it on National TV on Fox with Tim Brando
on the call. You're going to hear it right here
on the Bulldog Sports Network. And if you'd like to
meet the coach and ask them a question yourself, hustle
on over wh We're at the northwest corner of Willow
and Knees the Point Pattiobarnbistro, and we'll be right back

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Speaker 2 (13:44):
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Speaker 3 (14:15):
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Speaker 2 (15:27):
Welcome back to the Bulldog Football Hour, our first one
this year, and we are here at the point on
the northwest corner of Willow and Knees. Got some bulldog
fans in the house and some of them are going
to win tickets by the time we're done tonight. More importantly,
we have the head coach, Matt Enttz with us. In
future weeks we'll have some bulldog players as well. But
most of you haven't had a chance to meet the

(15:48):
coach or get to know him, even though he's been
making a lot of rounds. Do you have a map
in your offense, coach of what parts of the valley
you've been to in which ones you haven't found yet.

Speaker 4 (15:57):
Yeah, I haven't dove into it that much yet in
regards to where I've traveled, but I have a pretty
good recollection of you know, when we've been up north
down south, it's been great. Bakersfield all the way up
to probably the Modesto area during the course of the
summer that we hit and a couple places in between,
and myself and my wife have kind of you know,
got out in Yosemite, down to Visalia Sequoia National Park,

(16:23):
over to the to the coast as well, so we've
started to familiarize ourselves with the region.

Speaker 2 (16:29):
Was that your first time to Yosemite.

Speaker 3 (16:30):
It was, and it was un the minute you drive
through that tunnel is it.

Speaker 4 (16:34):
Is maybe the most unbelievable picturesque view of anything I've
ever seen, you know, to date, and I'm, you know,
fifty plus years old, I don't think I've ever seen
anything as beautiful as that.

Speaker 2 (16:46):
It's a pretty magical place, and it actually kind of
sounds like we're in Yosemite with the fountain behind us here.
It's not bridal Veil Falls. It's the fountain out here
on the patio of the Point, patio bar and grill.
We're here till six thirty tonight. We've got some tickets
to give away. Jim and Doug and Tom are all
going with salads tonight. Well done, guys. Those are some
big salads too. You know, if you ask them to

(17:06):
put a fresh halapano on there, they'll do it for you.
Nobody wants one to night. Okay, Coach, We're heading to
Kansas and the Jayhawks have a coach in Lance Leipold,
who I know you have a lot of respect for.
They also have, when you look at their roster, some
big guys who are really fast. Yep, And maybe that
is too basic of a scouting report, but maybe you

(17:28):
can give us a little more detail. When you look
at Kansas, what are the things that give you a
little concern that you know you're gonna have to deal with.

Speaker 4 (17:34):
But you know it'll I think offensively, it all starts
with their quarterback. You know, he's a six year senior.
And what's unique is he spent every year of his
career at the same place, and so he is you know,
he's a Jayhawk through and through as and he has
had tremendous amount of success there. So he's a young

(17:54):
man that we're gonna have to do a tremendous job
because he can hurt you with his feet. They get
him involved in the plus one run, big arm can
make every throw and and because of the volume of
offense that you see them execute, you know he has
a great understanding of what they're doing. Offensively, they return
two to three offensive linemen up front, so there's some continuity,
a handful of of of big physical tight ends that

(18:17):
I think do a great job of setting edges at
the point of attack and or on the backside cutting
things off. And you know where it's gonna be interesting.
They have some new receivers I want to say, is
that Emmanuel Edwards maybe big long kid Alabama transfer. You know,
they're talking about he might be the fastest player they've
ever had at Kansas. And so, you know, one of
the things that we need to do to be successful

(18:38):
is we we got to limit explosive plays. We got
to keep them all in front of us. We got
to make them earn it. We can't give up cheap scores.
And so you know, anytime you have a guy who
they can try to get one on one on the
back side of three by one, you know, take advantage
of some single high coverage, you know that makes you
nervous as a as a coach. And and and I'm
sure you know our defensive staff, I know they've had

(18:58):
conversations about it as well. And they got a big
back returning hit three hundred yards last year six two
six one two and twenty pounds. So we're gonna have
to do We're gonna be challenged at every level. And
so our kids know that they've embraced it. They understand
what they're what they're walking into, but they're excited about
the challenge as well.

Speaker 2 (19:19):
You know, I'm thinking trying to put myself in your
shoes because challenges are different. Fresno State opening at Kansas
is different from games you had at North Dakota State,
but there are some things that don't change. And you
coached five years at North Dakota State as the head coach,
on top of all your experience as an assistant. Your record,
I mean, no one can shake a stick at your
record sixty and eleven and fifteen and three in playoff games,

(19:40):
with a couple national championships, and you know, a couple
points away from another national championship. So I'm guessing you
have a gauge or a feel for what makes the
difference between getting off to a great start in the
game and being a little lackluster at the start of
the game. Is there anything you've found over the years
that maybe helps produce that kind of beginning to a

(20:01):
game that you're looking for.

Speaker 4 (20:02):
Well, I think you made a comment earlier. I think
it comes down to preparation and our kids trusting in
their preparation, understanding the game plan so that way we
can eliminate the It's going to be a frenzied environment,
brand new read you know, updated stadium, first game of
the year, and we need to be able to block

(20:23):
out the noise and just make the game of just
make it about the execution on the field. You know,
we've talked a number of times that you know, we're
gonna get there a little bit early on Saturday so
they can get out and see the field. But I said, hey,
just make sure it's one hundred and twenty by fifty
three and a third. It's the same size as the
field you played at in high school. It's just like
the one we have right here at Valley Children's. You know,

(20:45):
the game's the game, but we need to make sure
that we avoid kind of all that extra noise, all
that extra site excitement. But also, you know, there's gonna
be some some things that that they do that happen
that that we're going to be surprised. They're gonna have
a new play, something different. They're gonna have a designer pressure.
You know that they've shown a ton of pressure defensively
from the field, all of a sudden, they're going to
come from the boundary. Well, are we going to allow

(21:07):
that to dictate the next play? And again, how do
we keep stacking plays during the course of the game.
What's you know, the offensively the most. What's how do
we get the next first down? Don't worry about the
next quarter, don't worry about the next score. How do
we get the next first down? And then we keep
stacking those first downs and we'll be successful.

Speaker 2 (21:25):
I guess it's my age, But I can't hear you
talk about measuring the field without picturing coach Norman Dale
and Hoosiers that.

Speaker 4 (21:32):
You're exactly right, yeah, exactly say this is the same
size as what we played on. You know, we all
grew up when we fell in love with Friday night lights.
Don't make it any bigger than it is.

Speaker 2 (21:43):
Yeah, those things are there because they're true. Here's a
question that came in on X with that hashtag ask
fs But TJ. Redwave is sitting right over there and
joining some CHIPS's also, I think he wants to know
who's helping with the logistics of travel, as this will
be your first trip as Fresno State football coach. And
he threw a hashtag on there unsung heroes, So who

(22:05):
are your unsign Exactly?

Speaker 4 (22:06):
He's he's actually here, He's sitting right over there. His
name Ben Hines. Ben Ben's the assistant ad for football
does all of our travel. Really is responsible for a
lot of our support staff, and uh, you know, we
would we could not operate without Ben and all the
people that fall underneath him, operations, academics, equipment, video.

Speaker 3 (22:26):
Uh.

Speaker 4 (22:26):
You know, Ben is the conduit between myself and all
those people and and really you know, gets everyone aligned
every week. And so of course being our first road game, uh,
probably a little heightened pressure for him. But I think
as the season goes on, we'll get more and more
comfortable with with how we travel here at Fresno State.

Speaker 2 (22:44):
And some of that just isn't within your control, right,
you know, when you're traveling that many people, something's going
to go wrong at some point.

Speaker 4 (22:50):
Well, yeah, there's going to be a delay at security,
there's going to be a meal that you know, we're
waiting for something. I've learned and it took me a
long time to get there. But if I can't control it,
then I shouldn't really let it. I shouldn't lose any
sleep over it. I need to just worry about the
things that I can't control.

Speaker 3 (23:10):
Now.

Speaker 2 (23:10):
I think we're going to revisit that topic at some point.

Speaker 3 (23:13):
Easier said than done, right.

Speaker 2 (23:14):
Well, because there's always a story because none of us
learns that lesson with ease, right, it's usually a pretty
painful or frustrating situation that brings it about. You know,
and you have some guys on this team. As I've
gotten to know some of the new guys who've been
through an awful lot in their lives, and you can
see how much hunger and desire they have because of
the perspective that they bring to the table. You know,

(23:35):
you recruit all these players taking a new job, and
close to half your roster is new. But as you've
gotten to know these twenty twenty five Fresno State Bulldogs,
what are some of the things that you didn't know
when you recruited them that you're starting to really appreciate
about this group?

Speaker 4 (23:51):
Well, I think one just the continuity that this group
has created already. You know, that's always the concern. We
brought twenty freshmen in, and we knew those guys would
would you know, get indoctrinated or become Bulldogs? But when
you bring in you know, twenty transfers from numerous other institutions.

(24:12):
Some were in the league, some were from the Midwest, Big.

Speaker 3 (24:14):
Ten schools, you know, ACC schools.

Speaker 4 (24:18):
You know guys wanting to get back to the State
of California. You're always concerned with what's the daily environment
like is does it become clicky? Is there former Bulldogs
the new guys, and then all of a sudden there
becomes tension. And the thing that I've told a number
of people, I tell our staff is just how we
have operated since January to now. If you walked in

(24:42):
our locker room you come to practice, you don't see
a difference. I think there's guys on our football team
who are Jaden Pearson is a young man who is
named captain who transferred in I have never asked him
this question, but I think if I did, if I said, Jayden,
and if you could do it all over again, where
would you start? And I think he say for as
those State Bulldogs, just because he talks about how this

(25:03):
experience has been. It's a valued experience. His knowledge of
the game has has grown tenfold while he's been here.

Speaker 3 (25:10):
And that's what we want to do.

Speaker 4 (25:12):
We want to create a unique experience and just a
really really good college football program that everyone in the
Central Valley, the state of California or alumni and everyone
throughout the country is jealous.

Speaker 2 (25:24):
Of sounds like a plan to me. He's Coach matt
Ensteime for another break. We're here at the Point Patti
Obar and Bistro, northwest corner of Willow and Nees. If
you're not here yet, come join us. If you want
to win tickets and you are here, just write your
name on one of those little slips of paper. We'll
have Coach dram out of the helmet when we're all done.
Tonight here till six thirty. And I've got to tell
you we've got some big news today. There is something

(25:45):
about what Fresno State's going to look like on the
field Saturday that some of you are going to be
real excited to hear. So don't leave, and if you
want to hear it in person, come find us. Find
a parking spot northwest corner of Willow and Knees, right
next to that new grocery outlet that opened up. It's
the Point Pattiobarabistro. And this is the Bulldog Football Hour
on the Bulldog Sports Network from their field.

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Speaker 3 (29:04):
Go Dogs.

Speaker 14 (29:07):
Fresno State football on iHeartRadio k CBL Fresno, khd Y,
Bakersfield KWUSX Docton.

Speaker 2 (29:20):
I don't know how it happened, but the show is
already half over. We're with you till six thirty tonight,
New time, new night for the show this year, five
thirties on Thursday night is when we're going to be
hanging out here. Where else would we be The point
Patio barr and Bistro, Northwest corner of willow and knees.
Everyone's having a good time, good food. Somebody's gonna win
tickets to the home opener, which is a week from
Saturday against Georgia Southern. And we're picking the brain of

(29:45):
the top Dog, the head football coach Matt Ens, who
makes his Bulldog debut Saturday at Kansas three point thirty.
Kickoff one thirty is when our pregame coverage starts and
coach a lot of people are waiting to see. In fact,
this has kind of created a buzz well outside of
the valley that EJ. Warner is Fresno State starting quarterback.
His dad did a few things with his right arm.

Speaker 3 (30:06):
Yep.

Speaker 2 (30:06):
And maybe before we get into EJ and what he's
gonna do, I was thinking about it, and you and
Kurt Warner are close to the same age. He must
have been tearing up high school and college football just
a couple of years ahead of you.

Speaker 3 (30:18):
Yep, I think you're exactly right.

Speaker 4 (30:20):
So I had opportunity when I coach at the University
of Northern Iowa, his alma Manter, had a chance to
meet him years ago. And you know, it's funny how
things work. All of a sudden, here you are recruiting his.

Speaker 2 (30:31):
Son and his son, you know, I'm sure has dealt
with comparisons his whole life, but he's clearly his own guy.
And one thing that struck me about EJ is how
focused he was. I'd be interested, I think our fans
would too in hearing from you about how close that
quarterback competition was and ultimately what gave you and your

(30:53):
offensive coordinator Josh Davis, that conviction that this is the
guy we need taking those snaps in Laurens.

Speaker 3 (30:58):
Well, you know, you're exactly right.

Speaker 4 (31:00):
We have three young men in that room that I
think have tremendous upside, and that's a that's kind of
a abnormal these days in college football, just with the
landscape right now where you're talking about having three quarterbacks
that we feel I could win games for us. And
so it did create some competition, some back and forth,
some probably some days where I was driving home and

(31:22):
wasn't really sure who the starting quarterback was because it
was so nip and tuck and all of them put
a ton of work into their craft starting in spring,
through the summer months and leading up through fall camp. EJ,
you know, did a tremendous job. You know he is
a student of the game. You can tell he has

(31:43):
grown up in a football family, has played a lot
of football, thrown nearly for nine thousand yards in his career.
I think that is a huge asset that he has.
It's just the experience I oftentimes sit. You know, football
is a game of pictures, and the more you see
and the more you go through it, the better you
aired you become. And I think towards as the volume

(32:03):
of install started to kind of swell, he was able
to handle it. He has great poise in the pocket,
very stoic in his approach. Doesn't get too high, it
doesn't get too low, you know. And then we kept
as many metrics as we could. Jared Taylor, one of
our assistants, did a great job of daily getting me
the feedback. Hey, what was the completion percentage against pressure man?

(32:27):
You know, overall completion percent just the production chart. And again,
it's a game of production, it's a game of effort,
and we got to make sure that we have the
right person in that spot.

Speaker 3 (32:36):
But his leadership is really good too.

Speaker 4 (32:38):
He commands the huddle, but he's done it a number
of times, so I think again, leaning on that experience
probably gave him the advantage at the end.

Speaker 2 (32:47):
And we'll get to see on Saturday three point thirty
kick at Kansas as EJ. Warner makes his bulldog debut.
The other part of that, and you just, you know,
you let off by saying what a blessing it is
to have three guys do you really believe have that
upside who can lead you to victory when it's that close.
One guy's really excited and the other guys emotionally could
be devastated because they invested so much and they're so

(33:08):
close to something they've been dreaming about. Have you and
your coaches had a chance to maybe just encourage those
guys and remind them that they may be called upon
at some point.

Speaker 4 (33:16):
Ye had when we announced EJ being the starter, sat
in there with the other two quarterbacks as well, and
made sure that I answered their questions, gave them thorough feedback,
so there wasn't any you know, they couldn't come back
and say nobody had.

Speaker 3 (33:31):
Nobody took the time to explain it to them.

Speaker 4 (33:33):
And so that's my job being the head football coach,
to make sure that we're a matter of fact, that
we're transparent. I told them all when I took the job.
We're going to be extremely honest in our evaluation. You're
going to know exactly where you are. Let's just make
sure that we understand honesty doesn't mean it's negative. It
just means that it's the truth. And they both have
handled it well. But you know, as a team, we

(33:55):
probably had one average practice and that was probably the
day that a lot of these depth chart moves came
out around practice fifteen sixteen, and that was just kind
of an average day that day. Some guys were frustrated,
some guys were really excited, but we needed to make
sure that we got back on track, and we did
the next day.

Speaker 3 (34:15):
But you know that happens. You're dealing with eighteen to
twenty one, twenty two.

Speaker 4 (34:19):
Year olds and everyone wants to be a starter, especially
at the quarterback position. You look at the West coast,
if you just take the West coast, there's only what
maybe ten Division one starting quarterbacks on the West Coast,
And when you start looking at it that way, it
does become a very competitive position and very hard to
become a starter at that spot.

Speaker 2 (34:39):
And one more thing I want to hit on before
we move on. We're talking to coach Matt Enttz. We're
here at the point Patti Obaran Bistro, the Bulldog Football
Hour with you till six point thirty. We'll get some
more questions off social media, send them in on x
with that hashtag ask fs and we'll pass it on
to the coach. One thing that a lot of fans
have asked me or pointed out anyway, when they look
at EJ. Wanders numbers in the past two years at Temple,

(35:01):
one year at Rice, they bring up interceptions. Sure, and
my response, and maybe you have more depth to this,
My response has been, well, look at those teams, look
at what their record was. He's going to have a
better defense at Fresno State and a better running game
in my mind, than he's ever had, So maybe he
won't be in as many situations where he's down by
two three touchdowns and everybody in the building, no, he's

(35:23):
throwing the ball.

Speaker 3 (35:23):
You're exactly right.

Speaker 4 (35:24):
I mean, I think when you look at those stats,
there's probably some situation. You have to be situationally away
or a little bit to understand what the context of
it is. He throwing interceptions because he's under just duress
or behind they're throwing the ball fifty times a game.
I think you have to you have to read into
it a little bit. I'm worried about just what I've
seen right now and for you know, the first twenty

(35:45):
four practices. It's a guy who protects the football, makes
really good decisions. And i'd like to think that, you know,
our online play is going to be, you know, better
than what he's experienced in the past. And I know
we got the right people in place and coaches in
place to do that.

Speaker 2 (35:59):
Speaking of your O line, that's one unit I'm really
excited to see on Saturday, maybe because I'll be watching
the game next to Pat Hill and that's his favorite position,
you know, is O line, and he said nothing but
great things about your offensive line. Coach Zach Krabtree, who's
here tonight, and maybe you can stick a uniform on
him Saturday.

Speaker 3 (36:16):
I'll tell you what.

Speaker 4 (36:17):
Look at him, good looking kat over there on. He's
about six seven. Yeah, that's the way. That's what we
need to continue to recruit guys that look like Coach Crabtree.
So he does an unbelievable job. He the players have
great connection with him. He is a detailed teacher, very organized,
you know, probably one of the top young O line

(36:39):
coaches in the country, and we're super excited to have
him here at Fresno.

Speaker 3 (36:41):
And you're exactly right.

Speaker 4 (36:43):
I think Coach Hill really appreciates uh Coach Crabtree, and
they've created a really good relationship already.

Speaker 2 (36:50):
I do not doubt that one bit. Hey, here's an idea.
Maybe when we come back, we should throw a headset
on Coach Crabtree three two and the three of us
can chop it.

Speaker 4 (36:57):
I think that would be really good he because not
all see a great online coach sheet that he has
a ton of good information.

Speaker 3 (37:04):
He would be really good on the microphone.

Speaker 2 (37:06):
Well, see if we've got a cable long enough to
stretch to six seven and bring him on when we
come back. We're here till six thirty the Bulldog Football Hour,
the point Patti Obar and Bistro come join us. You
might win tickets. Keep it here on the Bulldog Sports
Network from.

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N nineteen twenty five.

Speaker 2 (40:26):
Well, welcome back to the Bulldog Football Hour. We're here
for another twenty minutes at the point Patti Obar and Bistro.
That's when we're giving away tickets to Fresno State's home opener,
which is a week from Saturday against Georgia Southern this weekend.
The Dogs open the season at Kansas, first game in
a stadium that's had nearly half a billion dollars poured
into it in renovations, and the Bulldogs are trying to

(40:48):
spoil that party. Three thirty kick on Saturday one thirty,
our pregame coverage begins. Coach matt Enz is here, and
coach one of your assistant coaches showed up, so we
might as well put them on the radio. And I
want to ask you about how you built your staff
because I noticed here players too. I mean, Finn Claypoole,
you coached against him in the FCS playoffs. Speedy Luke
played against you for Arizona against North Dakota State, and

(41:08):
then you know all these coaches. Josh Davis went up
against him in the playoffs. But you and coach Crabtree
maybe have a little different connection, I guess. Huh.

Speaker 4 (41:17):
Yeah, we worked together at USC and had an opportunity
to see firsthand his impact, his ability to recruit, but
his impact on the field with Texas and O's and
just the relationships that he was able to build with
the players there.

Speaker 2 (41:31):
And Coach Crabtree, how long you been in Fresno?

Speaker 15 (41:33):
Now?

Speaker 21 (41:34):
Got here in January? Uh huh going on eight months?

Speaker 3 (41:39):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (41:40):
What do you think?

Speaker 21 (41:41):
Love it? Love it?

Speaker 22 (41:43):
Great place, great place to live, a little bit little
bit slower pace of life that worre we're coming from,
which is nice growing up in fort Ward, Texas.

Speaker 21 (41:52):
You appreciate it, so enjoin it.

Speaker 2 (41:55):
I get the sense both of you are appreciating the
pace of Fresno versus that one ten corridor through downtown
LA to where my daughter's at school right now. USC.

Speaker 4 (42:07):
Yeah, yeah, oh it was Uh it was good. I
love my time at USC, and I had an opportunity
to work with tremendous defensive staff there and wish them
nothing but the best. But you're right, I mean coming
to a place like Fresne. The other day, I was
with you, Paul, and I you know, with you know,
I say this as as as the greatest compliment that
I could come up with.

Speaker 3 (42:27):
It's it's Midwest.

Speaker 4 (42:29):
California, and the people are great, blue collar, uh, hardworking.
I get to recruit my type of people here, I think,
and I think hopefully the product on the field will
emulate that a little bit. Just a tough hard knows
a bunch of kids that that love the game and
love each other.

Speaker 2 (42:47):
My kind of people. I like that. And and the
Rotary Club at Fresno ate up that Midwest of California
line by the way too. But Coach Crabtree, I've also
heard Fresne called the Texas of California. You feel some
of those parallels with where you.

Speaker 21 (42:59):
Grew up, You do.

Speaker 22 (43:01):
You see the fields, you you see the ranchers around town,
and and and the people, the agriculture, and it feels
it fills the like Coach, it's like the Midwest if
you feel the the kindness of people and the appreciation
of people, and it's it's just an all around it.

Speaker 21 (43:21):
It's been a great place for my wife.

Speaker 4 (43:23):
And let me Coach Crabtree now has some cowboy boots,
so he makes it feel like it's, you know, a
little bit like Texas. When he gets those cowboy boots out,
you better watch out.

Speaker 2 (43:32):
You're gonna wear those on the plane tomorrow.

Speaker 21 (43:34):
On the plane.

Speaker 2 (43:35):
Oh, I can't wait. I might have to get some
photographic evidence of that.

Speaker 9 (43:39):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (43:39):
We've got another question coming in on the X app.
This is from Steve Malonka, who's here tonight from the
Quarterback Club. Even brought some cantilopes if you need candilops.
See Steve, he said, are we going to see uh,
Pat Hill run first type game plan, and how would
you rate our tools, including tight ends for a successful
running game. I think I got two guys here who
can probably answer that question in pretty well.

Speaker 3 (44:00):
Well, you know, definitely we want we want to be
able to run the football.

Speaker 4 (44:04):
We we need to be able to run the football
against Kansas and against everybody all year long. We want to, uh,
you know, shorten the game if we have possession of it,
We'll do that. Uh. I think where I'm excited is
is Zach's done a tremendous job.

Speaker 3 (44:18):
With our O line.

Speaker 4 (44:20):
We have some new faces up there, but UH, guys
that that are that are ready to go, We're gonna
coach them all the way up until kickoff.

Speaker 23 (44:26):
Uh.

Speaker 4 (44:26):
But I think you complement our offensive line with the
tight end room that uh Brian Farrens's has done a
tremendous job with. We have some veteran returner Jake Tarwater,
Richie Anderson, uh Brock Liam has really elevated his play.
Jase Nixon, a high school quarterback that we converted. The
tight end I think is going to be a really
good one.

Speaker 9 (44:46):
Uh.

Speaker 4 (44:46):
We're gonna We're gonna red shirt Gavin Correa at that position.

Speaker 3 (44:49):
Just Cam Beacham, a young man that a lot.

Speaker 4 (44:51):
Of people saw a year ago that was more of
a flex tight end, has bought into the physicality of it,
and so I think you put those two groups together.
We're going to continue to emphasize running the football because
it will set up some shots, it will set up
play action, it'll give us the ability to attack the field.

Speaker 2 (45:09):
Coach Crabtree, if if one of your O linemen had
to fill in at tight end for a game, which
one would you pick? Oh wow, it's kind of an
unfair question.

Speaker 21 (45:18):
We saw.

Speaker 22 (45:19):
Yeah, if one had to fill in for a game,
athletically movement wise, spom Spoemer could go out there and
run around and do it.

Speaker 21 (45:29):
It'd be pretty pretty good at it.

Speaker 3 (45:32):
But then.

Speaker 21 (45:34):
You got some you got some other guys behind him
that you got.

Speaker 22 (45:37):
You got an athlete and and Kyson van Voot who could.

Speaker 21 (45:40):
Go out there and do it for sure. Long big
has good measurables and can run.

Speaker 22 (45:46):
So there's a couple guys in that room that could
do it for you if you needed to be done.

Speaker 2 (45:50):
I haven't broken down all your college game film. I'm
guessing you dreamed of that opportunity. Did they ever let
you run a route or or be a target on
a passing play?

Speaker 21 (45:59):
They did not. Always lobby just like every lineman does it.
Nobody comes about CDU. You start signing a lobby before
it right.

Speaker 22 (46:05):
You go buy the OC, you draw the playoff you saw,
and he says okay, You walk out of his office
and it never gets brought up with you.

Speaker 2 (46:13):
Well, you might be on the receiving end of some
of those conversations.

Speaker 3 (46:16):
This year.

Speaker 2 (46:17):
We're talking to coach matt Ens and Zach Crabtree, who's
the offensive line coach. A couple things on that O line.
You mentioned Spoemer who played tackle last year. He's in
at center. Now we've got McCarg and Fanuez your starting guards.
But I'm really intrigued to see how the tackles play
on Saturday because one of them's brand new. I was
watching him a couple of blocks away last year. If
you can in high school, towering over everybody at six seven,

(46:37):
Braden Walton a true freshman and at right tackle a
guy who I've seen him for years and I always thought, boy,
that guy's got potential. He's got a big frame. He
looks like he could be the best athlete on the
old line, and it's never really clicked into game opportunities
for Roland Fullwood. But he's really changed his game, hasn't.

Speaker 21 (46:55):
He He has.

Speaker 22 (46:58):
I think Roland since we've been here on this bring
has grown physically, but even more so on the mental side.
And just watching him mature and buying to the culture
since we've been here has been fun to watch and
fun to be a part of.

Speaker 21 (47:12):
And I think you start looking at.

Speaker 22 (47:13):
The questions he asked every day in a meeting room
and and his engagement in their attention to detail, asking
little technique questions that you only get from from guys
that have played the position for a little bit. So
I'm fired up for the both of them. Braden Walton,
I remember being a young guy your first career start.

(47:34):
You know you're gonna have a little bit of nerves.
But he's prepared. He's done a great job, and just
the way he's transformed and boughten since he got here
in the spring.

Speaker 21 (47:45):
His summer was.

Speaker 22 (47:46):
Huge for him, just the way he changed his body
and his mindset of mentality. So he's grown up fast
and done a great job for us. He's had a
great camp. I told both those guys today and our meeting,
I'm fired up to Washington, go compete on Saturday and
get a little cut it loose for a little bit.

Speaker 2 (48:06):
And Coach Chens, I guess both of those guys are
a little reflection of what happens when when a new
staff comes in with truly an open mind and a
clean slate, Because there are a number of guys on
this team on both sides of the ball who have
taken advantage of a new opportunity to make a first
impression and look like different ballplayers and it appears they're
going to play. But you've been around this a long time.

(48:27):
Can you give our listeners and the fans here at
the point perspective on how unique it is for a
true freshman to be starting to left tackle and protecting
that blindside.

Speaker 3 (48:35):
Well, it is extremely unique.

Speaker 4 (48:38):
You look at you know, the NFL, that's one of
the highest paid positions that most organizations have. It's a
critical piece to who you are offensively. And again you
know you're you're putting an eighteen nineteen year old out there.
Banig Goodness, he came in January and he's spent the
last eight to nine months with us developing, I would

(48:59):
repeat every thing that coach Crabtree said. He has retooled
his body mentally, he is locked in. He's mister bulldog.
He might be the best recruiter we have on staff
when we bring old lineman to town.

Speaker 3 (49:13):
He's just he's an.

Speaker 4 (49:15):
Unbelievable competitor and loves football, loves his teammates.

Speaker 3 (49:19):
And so.

Speaker 4 (49:21):
There's gonna be issues we're gonna have. There's gonna be
bad plays, we know that, but the next one is
the most important one. And he knows that he has
the support of the head football coach, our entire offensive staff,
and our entire team. So he needs to go cut
it loose and know that we all have his back.

Speaker 2 (49:37):
Can't wait. Saturday three thirty is when it kicks off.
We're gonna take one final break, come back with another
ten minutes with coach ns Coach Krabtree, Can you stick
around or is your dinner getting cold?

Speaker 21 (49:45):
All right? I can stick around.

Speaker 2 (49:47):
All right, We're gonna keep him right here. I've got
one more question for him, and actually, well not right now.
I mean when we come back, there's still some news
that we need to share that I think everybody's going
to be excited about. So we'll let coach NTS break
that news when we come back to the point here
till six point thirty. Hustle over if you want to
win those tickets and keep it here on the Bulldog
Sports Network from.

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Speaker 2 (53:12):
It always goes back way too quickly. The time flies
here on the Bulldog Football Hours, our first show of
the year, but we'll be back here next Thursday from
five thirty to six thirty to point Patio barr and Bistro.
We've got coach matt Ends and his offensive line coach
Zach Crabtree with us for a few more minutes before
we give away tickets for the home opener a week
from Saturday. This week's game, the season opener at Kansas

(53:36):
three point thirty kickoff in a sold out David Booth
Kansas Memorial Stadium. One point thirty is when our pregame
coverage will begin. So we were talking about the offensive
line with the O line. Coach talked about a Pat
Hill style run game, and Coach Crabtree do you have
to like chase Coach Hill off your lawn. I bet
he's been following you around a lot.

Speaker 21 (53:56):
He has.

Speaker 22 (53:57):
Coach has been so good for me and I appreciate
his relationship from the time we've got here being a
practice coming to my office.

Speaker 21 (54:07):
I think I was one of the first couple of
days I was here.

Speaker 22 (54:09):
We sat in my office and talked footwork for about
an hour.

Speaker 21 (54:15):
And then coming by the meeting room and he'll sit
in the meeting room every.

Speaker 22 (54:18):
Once in a while, and it's it's funny. He'll he'll
come up with you know, hey, Coach. I noticed this,
just want to let you know. And I'm like, Coach,
you can tell me whatever you want. You know way
more football than I know. I appreciate it.

Speaker 21 (54:32):
So he's helped us a ton and just to hear
his little.

Speaker 22 (54:36):
Input sometimes sometimes you see something every single day. When
you get new eyes on it and a new perspective
on it.

Speaker 21 (54:44):
It makes us all better. It makes us better as
a program.

Speaker 22 (54:46):
So to have somebody with his expertise around every day
that cares about the Bulldogs, that loves the Bulldogs and
just wants us to be successful as it has been
an absolute blessing for our program, for myself, for this
offensive line.

Speaker 2 (55:00):
And I know our listeners are going to hear a
lot of his love for the Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon.
And Coach, and You've gotten an earfull from Pat too,
And I see the respect that you have for me,
And I think that says something about both of you
guys too, that you're secure enough in who you are
that you're not threatened by having a guy who used
to run the program around. In fact, you want more

(55:21):
of them.

Speaker 3 (55:22):
It seems like, well, I love having him around, and
I too.

Speaker 4 (55:26):
He stops by my office and will give me little
nuggets and little things.

Speaker 3 (55:30):
Hey, I saw this today. I saw that in Zach's
exactly right.

Speaker 4 (55:32):
You see something over and over sometimes you know the
lines get a little bit blurred, and you know, he
can bring you back to reality. He can give you
some great insight. I mean, he's been involved in the
game here just at Fresnel State for probably close to
is it forty years now with his announcing slash head
coach assistant coach.

Speaker 3 (55:51):
I mean, it's just.

Speaker 4 (55:52):
He's a wealth of knowledge, tremendous, you know, knowledge of
the old line. Loves to talk protections all the time.
I mean that is his baby, that is that is
his one thing. He wants to talk about his protections.
And we're going to continue to encourage him to be around.
He was there today and you know, you just see
him milling around and he's down watching the defense, and
then he's back watching the offense, and then he's then

(56:14):
he's over talking to somebody, and then he comes back
and he's watching more, and you know, it's it's it's
great to have him around, and I think it says
a lot about you know, the coaches that we have
on our staff that you know, we're he we want
people like that around. And then coach Tedford's been around,
and Coach hill Uh and a lot of former players

(56:35):
have been back to practice and and and they're the
foundation of this place. And that's why we that's why
we're here right now is because of our former players.

Speaker 2 (56:43):
And in fact, I got to see you welcome dozens
of former players when Coach Baxter talked to them about
a new alumni network. You guys are working on Bulldogs
for Life, and and there was some talking there about
you've got the people that played when it was the
curs of Bulldogs on the helmet and the people who
played when it was the four pod dog. And some
people have been asking me, is there a chance we

(57:04):
may see the return of that four pod dog on
the Fresno State football helmet. I'm thinking you said many
times you kind of fell in love with Fresno State
football in the early two thousands when your buddy Denny
Wagner was coaching on line for pat So have you
thought about that that maybe that forepad may show up.

Speaker 4 (57:21):
We've thought about it quite a bit, and it's gonna
come to reality.

Speaker 3 (57:24):
We are this Saturday.

Speaker 4 (57:26):
We're gonna wear the fore pall the all white foe paw,
the one that was downed on our helmets for a
number of years, especially the years when Coach Hill was here,
and so we're excited about wearing it. And you'll still
continue to see the script Bulldog at different times, but
we want to make sure we embrace everyone who's played here.
You know, it doesn't matter what era that the common

(57:47):
theme is you're a bulldog and bulldog born bulldog bread.
We need to make sure that they all know that
they're welcome here.

Speaker 2 (57:53):
Well, I judging by the reaction here at the point
Patio Barnbistro, I think a lot of people are going
to be excited to see that. And I felt that,
you know, that day with all those alumni, because you
had some guys back to the sixties, the seventies and
eighties and on to just a couple of years ago,
they really felt welcome to what I was hearing afterwards,
and they're said, Hey, I got to tell so and
so he wasn't here today. We got to get him
here next time. You've been around a lot of programs,

(58:16):
do you have some perspective on how valuable the Fresno
State football alumni can be for you.

Speaker 4 (58:22):
Well, I think that's that's something we're trying to figure out.
You know, there's roughly four hundred of them within maybe
an hour to one hundred mile radius that they have
huge lobbying power. You get four hundred former players all
you know, think in the same way or working on
the same project.

Speaker 3 (58:40):
That can be impactful.

Speaker 4 (58:41):
But again, we want them all to get back, We
want them all to be know that they're valued. We're
going to do some different things, like we said with
that organization, the BFL, and so look forward to meeting
more and more of them all the time. We had
five or six of them come back and speak to
our team during fall camp just to talk about their experience,
what it meant to be a Bulldog and just some

(59:03):
of the some of the things that they took from
their experience of playing here at Fresno State a.

Speaker 2 (59:08):
Lot of history and the Bulldogs will try to make
some history Saturday at three point thirty in Lawrence, Kansas.
Coach Crabtree, you played there before I.

Speaker 22 (59:16):
Have as a player. Yeah, I've been there twice. How'd
you do success both times?

Speaker 21 (59:23):
All?

Speaker 2 (59:23):
Right? That boats well for Saturday, yep, Well, I knew
we'd run out of time in a hurry. Guys, thanks
for being here tonight. Have a great dinner at the
Point with your wives, and good luck on Saturday.

Speaker 3 (59:33):
Thank you appreciate it, Paul, Thanks for everything you do.

Speaker 2 (59:36):
Right on. That's coach Matt Enz and his O line
coach Zach Crabtree. One thirty. Our pregame starts on Saturday.
The Dogs wearing the all white four Pop logo on
their helmets for the first time in over a decade.
We'll make sure you can see it on the radio.
Thanks for listening to the Bulldog Football Hour on the
Bulldog Sports Network from Learfield.

Speaker 1 (01:00:01):
You've been listening to the Bulldog Football Hour brought to
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