December 31, 2025 • 34 mins
Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks are joined by FOX College Football analyst Chris Petersen to discuss the evolution of college football’s bowl season and the impact of the transfer portal. Coach Petersen opens up Indiana’s turnaround under head coach Curt Cignetti and the difference between development programs and larger schools. Finally, the trio break down the 2026 QB class and how to prepare a team for a deep playoff run.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
And now Move the Sticks with Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
What's up everybody, DJ and Bucky Here on Move the
sticks and Buck as we get ready to close out
twenty twenty five.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
Having one of our favorite guests on the show today,
Love Man.
Speaker 4 (00:17):
Chris Peterson has been an outstanding coach everywhere he's been,
and I just moved beyond on the road, first watching
him at Boise and then watching the job that he
did at You Dub. Just a great organizer, a great
quarterback developer, someone who understands attention to detail.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Can't wait to have a conversation with Yeah, he is.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
He is one of the best, and he's someone who
we've been fortunate enough to get to know over the years.
Always dispenses a lot of wisdom. I think you guys
are going to enjoy our latest conversation with Chris Peterson.
All right, Buck, excited to have coach with us again
here Coach Peterson, appreciate you joining us.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Man.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
How are you doing.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
I'm doing great. It's bowld time. It is playoff time.
I mean, it's awesome now biting in it watching it.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Yeah, I mean, and you've got so many incredible moments
on the sidelines, you know, memorable moments from bowl season.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Is it bummy out at all?
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Just with where we are kind of with the status
of the non playoff bowl games. Go a little further
on that question, yeah, I mean when you just look
at how big those games used to be, even if
you weren't in a championship environment. I remember just the
scouting days, if I never had to worry about who
was going to be playing or not playing. I was like, man,
this is good on good competition. I'm going to that game.
(01:31):
It's an evaluation opportunity. And now I'm watching games and
I'm like, I watch a lot of college football, but
I have to watch these games in my computer open
because I don't know who any of these kids are.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Yeah, yeah, no question, I'll tell you. I think one
thing that's kind of happened. I mean, we're just seeing
this college football landscape continue to shift and adjust, you know,
every week, it feels like and I think one thing
is the bowl game situation. Because of the playoffs. I mean,
the playoffs are like these matchups them and up are
(02:01):
like wow, I mean what the storylines are unbelievable. And
I've kind of always felt there's too many ball games anyways,
and now it's kind of maybe less in those. But
I will say this, the bowl games are still very cool.
They still are very important. I think the matchups, you know,
are always unique. The records are kind of similar in
(02:22):
all those things. The events. You know, these people put
these ball games on. It's I mean, they planned this
for the entire year, and they do a spectacular job
treating the schools tremendously and it's a really cool, fun event,
a great way to end your season. And then the
last thing is, you know, it's always like at a
(02:44):
minimum to get to a ballgame. I that's the minimum.
And it's your last time to be together as a staff.
Some of these staff members are going to move on,
and this day and age is probably half your team
and so and you know, some of these kids you
been was still for a handful of years, and even
kids that have been there one year or two year,
(03:04):
you're with them every day. And it's so intense this
arena that you're in. And so to wrap this up
and have one last you know, go around with them,
it still is on the inside pretty dark cool.
Speaker 4 (03:18):
You know, coach, I think it's so funny now because
of the way the portal dates are, so many guys
are if you're not in the playoff, your older players
are opting out, and so what you're seeing in essence
is almost like a free spring game before you get
the spring ball where Sark talked about only having like
sixty seven sixty eight guys available and how they just
(03:38):
basically treated it like a very competitive, good or good
series of practices to kind of jumpstart what they're going
to do in the spring. If you're coaching now, is
that how you would view the bowl games with the
number of opt outs and portal jumpins, where you just
take the core of what you have and say, hey,
let's just find and get ready for next year.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Yeah, that's a great question, Bucky. I mean that frustrates me,
these kids opting out. I mean, it's football, and there's
a chance to get you know, it's like, but the
chances of this if you're going to be a first
rounder and you're playing in just some old ball game,
I get you. But other than that, go play football,
Go finish this thing the right way. I mean, you
(04:19):
get hurt in workouts, you know, preparing for the drafty
most of these guys are opting out and this is
really the last significant ball that they're going to play.
The majority of these guys, they all think they're going
to do this stuff, and it's like they've been listening
to too many people that don't really know what's going on,
these agents, parents, etc. And so I think that's, you know,
(04:40):
a little bit frustrating. But I will tell you this.
I mean, I don't know why they don't add in
part of this contract that they're paying these kids, because
they're all getting something. Part of it is you're playing
in the ballgame, and if you don't, you're giving up
a bunch of this money. I mean, if it's going
to be transactional, it's got to be transactional both ways.
And so that's just my feeling on this whole thing.
You know, I get it if you know you're going
(05:04):
to because you look at the playoffs, nobody's really opting
out of those. That thing's really important, and so the
playoffs get a little bit more water down. But still
the kids that show up and play it's fun to watch,
you man. They care, they're going hard, and some of
this is a jump start into next season. Like you're
talking about coach.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
You you're wired in on the on the coaching side,
and obviously you've had a chance to mentor a lot
of these young coaches that are out there. But I
know that community is so tight knit. Did you when
did you know about Signetti? And when? When did you
realize how ridiculous this whole thing is, with how fast
he has turned to Indiana Hoosiers into the number one
(05:44):
team in the country.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
I this is the crazy. I don't know Kirk Signetti.
I know his brother Frank pretty well known for a
long time, so I've known about this family and what
he has done there is mind blowing. It is I've
never seen anything like it. That guy, I keep saying
in twenty years but maybe my entire career, like everybody,
(06:09):
and he's really bad for college football because everybody.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Thinks we're going to get the next guy.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
We're going to get the next guy, and it doesn't
take time, and we're going to get this done. And
it's like lightning in a bottle. What's going on in Indiana?
And I'm still like last year I was kind of
like doubting him the whole way and then they won
all their games and they lost to Furt and I'm
like okay, and then he's talking about, hey, we're not
going back, we're building on this, and I'm like, yeah, right,
(06:35):
and he was exactly right. They are building on this
and so really cool and it is amazing. And in
some ways this is the benefit of the transfer portal
that it's created a lot more parody at the upper
echelons on the guys that have the money and can
(06:56):
play the game. So that is really fun to see.
But like it's not any one thing. I mean, you
have to be all in at the presidential level to
say we're playing all chips are in. You have to
have an eighty that is completely aligned with this head coach.
You have to have a head coach that has tremendous experience.
(07:17):
And I love Signetti's past, how he's gone from small
school to a little bit bigger school to a little
bit bigger school, but it's all these smaller schools and
the track record is kind of very similar all the
way along. And then you give him a chance and
he really has been through it and he knows what
he's doing, he knows his way. He's not trying to
be somebody else that he's really not. He's super authentic
(07:40):
to himself. He knows what works for him, and then
the transfer portal to like that's the quick jumpstart. He
had all these JMU players that were good, underrated players
and some other ones that he's pieced in there. It's
been phenomenal to watch and the fans have no idea
(08:01):
how hard that is to do. And it is kind
of like catching lightning in a bottle. I don't think
we're going to see anything. I mean, there may even
somebody else will hit the wrong the ground running pretty fast,
but from where Indiana was we're talking about, I mean,
you're not going to see that very often, even with
the transferport you know, Coach is funny, you were talking
(08:21):
about the path that Signette took where you kind of
went from developmental program, developmental program up the ladder.
Speaker 4 (08:29):
So you kind of made this move going from Boise
to Washington where you went from a developmental program where
you guys were doing it.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
To having more resources.
Speaker 4 (08:36):
So when I look at Matt Campbell going from Iowa
State where he's always kind of had to punch above
his weight to now take it over for Penn State,
how challenging is that jump when it comes to your
recruiting what you used to recruit at Iowa State.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Now there's a different kind of.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
Player that you have to recruit at Penn State. How
challenging is that?
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Yeah, you know, again we're talking about apples and oranges.
When I left Boise to come to Washington because the
transfer portal was not there and not open like it is,
and so that was I remember thinking I wanted half
of our team at Boise to be at Washington. It's
like these guys would hit the ground running. You know,
it's always about the players. You know, the coaching matters,
(09:19):
but players matter more. And we had so many good
players over there, so it's different. And but what I
think is important now is what we're seeing is, and
it's really sad in a lot of ways from where
I come from, is the separation between the haves and
the have nots. So where are we drawing that line?
(09:42):
I mean, in general, we're drawing into Big ten and
the SEC. There's someone else in other conferences are too
off and those type of things. But what you're seeing
there is they have the money. And there's much more
parody going on with the Vanderbilts Indianas you know, Illinois
all those people are now they're in the game and
(10:04):
they can get these players and they're getting people to
visit and committed guys that they normally wouldn't get. But
on the other extreme, the true like developmental places back
in the day, where you found these diamonds in the
rough and you spend a couple of years developing. It's like, wow,
how did we get this guy and how this happened?
Those guys get snatched up right away and so there's
(10:25):
no developing those guys. So the rich places they have places,
they actually are the developmental places because they're going to
be able to keep these kids that show a lot
of promise longer than these other places that are used
to developing places. So that is hard to stomach from
where I come from.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
Coach is someone who played at Appalachian State. They've tried
to turn us into a junior college man. We go
find these seeds we've found forever, invest everything in them,
and they start playing well, and then we get to
watch them play in the SEC the next year. That's
just kind of how it unfolds it for that level
of program. I want to transition a little bit the quarterbacks,
and I've been you know, studying these guys starting on
(11:06):
the draft stuff and Mendoz and Dante more will see
in the college football playoff. But I was reminded going
through it how challenging it is to get to the
evaluation with just kind of where we are from RPO standpoint,
Like you just see a bazillion of them. So my
answer to that is, I've tried to just cut up
and watch the third and seven plus throws where I
can see these guys actually have to read things out
(11:28):
a little bit, see their visions, see their poise, you
know all those things. But have you just from studying
the game as long as you have been around it,
as long as you have what would you say are
the keys for being a successful player at that position?
What would you be looking for right now if you're
going out to find a quarterback?
Speaker 1 (11:45):
Yeah, you know, it's it's so interesting just how tricky
that is. Right, we do it from high school to
the college, and then everybody else is doing from the
college to the and it's still such an art and
you're not. Yeah, it's just it's it's amazing. And I
think there's so many variables, you know, outside the game
(12:08):
itself that really play into it. And as you guys know,
this is such it's the most tricky position in all
of sports. It's the coolest position, you name it, the hardest,
the trickiest, the coolest in all of sports. That it
all comes back to you. But you need these ten
(12:29):
other guys like doing their job at such a high
level to even give you a chance. But I think
I just think it's it's just so interesting. But I
think you're right in terms of how to evaluate them.
I would try to do that in high school as well.
Like I wanted to see third downs. I wanted to
see red zone football, so can we cut out some
(12:49):
of those throws? I wanted to see two minute drills,
like these critical situations, like that's where they start to
really show their colors. And it's just it's so hard
to know. I used to be of the mindset early
in my career. These diamonds in the rough, these quarterbacks
(13:11):
that have all these this potential, haven't done a lot,
haven't played a lot. Oh, we're going to develop them.
That's the one thing that I learned over time. I'm
not into those guys. I want those I want those
ten thousand hour experts, you know, those experts like Banks reps.
There's some truth to that. It's like these kids and
(13:33):
these high school coaches are so good these days, and
the sophistication of some of these high school offenses. When
these kids see these things for a couple of years
in high school and throw for a bunch of yards,
to me, that's developing their instincts, the things that you
can't really teach. They feel this timing, they feel windows.
(13:54):
If they don't have that, it's almost like this maturation
phase that they missed, and there's always going to be
something missing. So I'm looking for these kids that have
thrown a lot. I think that that's what's really cool
maybe about the nil thing going on in college, that
these kids can stay a little bit another year and
(14:16):
get more reps to see these windows, these tight windows,
these certain things at a little bit slower pace than
they're going to see at the next level. I think that,
like Dante More is the perfect example, this is going
to be such a tricky decision for him, because in
(14:36):
my opinion, there is no doubt this kid should stay
in college and get these reps.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
It's team start. He's got there, he starts right now.
There you go and you know.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
I've done some stuff at the Lead eleven and I
remember when he was down there in the Lead eleven.
So I've seen these kids in high school and you
see how they're developing, and I mean, he's on track
to do something. But you know, this game is such
a game of confidence, so is life like confidence is cash.
(15:08):
The number one job of a coach is to develop
confidence in his players, and certainly at that quarterback position.
And so the more reps and the more success he has,
whether it's in high school the college level, the better
it's going to translate to the next level. So Dante
Moore probably could be the first quarterback pick or the second,
a top whatever pick when it's all shudden done he
(15:31):
comes out, but then he's going to go to probably
not that great of a team. They're going to throw
him to the Wolves too early where it could be
winning games, getting more reps, all those type of things.
And so now it comes back to the same old thing,
the money. And it's like I've said this, even the
money just can ruin everything. It's great, and it's just
(15:54):
you know, and it's like it's like life changing money
at that level, and then that high of a pick,
but for the long term success is that the best thing? Man?
That's a tough decision.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
Hey, Buck, buck real quickly.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
That's that's what we've talked about forever though was it
used to be at this or that it was? I
know I need the reps, but man, how do I
turn down the money? And for all of the issues
we have in this whole new landscape, Buck, we've been
talking about them forever.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Now you can. You can get some of the money
and get the reps.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
And that's where the college benefits and the NFL benefits.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
It really does.
Speaker 4 (16:28):
And you know, it's one of those things where you're
trying to sit down with a young player and tell them, look,
we can prepare you to have success in the league
if you stay. So you can go for the quick cash,
which is to go now, but the long term play
is to be ready. And you throw out all those
examples of like the bo Nixes and the brock Purdies
and the guys that played for a long time. If
(16:49):
you show them that Jayden Daniels even, you show them that,
it is a lot easier to see the guys who
had extensive resumes have a lot of success in the
pros because as coach talked about ten thousand reps man
ten thousand hours just being able to bank it.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
Yeah, and you know the crazy thing too, is I
mean the money that we're talking about for the Dante
Moores and these quarterbacks. Now, like I'm we're here in
four and five million dollars, I mean, like what what
I mean? So that's real money, and you could that's
that can be life changing money, just that alone. And
so then you wear you weigh that like, Okay, I'm
(17:26):
still pretty good here, not as good as on the
top ten pick. And then you know you're worried about
the injuries and all those things. Are your stock dropping
for whatever reason. But interesting decisions that these families and
kids have to make not easy.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
Yeah, and you know it's interesting to see. And again
to me, it's it's about getting the experience. And it
doesn't even really matter where you go. We live in
a world where the last pick in the draft is
making over fifty million dollars a year, so it's more
important just just get yourself ready, believe in yourself, and
then off you go.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
I got a question for you guys, if you're from
what we just talked about if we're Dante More, if
you're Dante More, what are you each doing?
Speaker 2 (18:09):
Are you staying I'm going back to school. I'm gonna
I'm gonna go back to school. I'm gonna make five
million dollars a year. Whatever you're gonna make it. Organ
I'm gonna have an insurance policy for some type of
catastrophic injury that if you know, the worst case scenario,
so I'm covered from a financial standpoint, and then buck.
When I entered the NFL, I've got the starts under
my belt, and I think every throw matters. I'm this
(18:29):
is what drives me nuts is when people hit me
up and go, yeah, but you know with the offense
they're in, and how does that? I don't care.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
I don't care if you're just just They need to throw.
They need to throw and throw and throw and throw,
and every coverage they see, every throw they make is valuable,
and it's an investment in yourself and.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Coming on the heels of coach. I saw Bo Nicks
a couple of weeks ago.
Speaker 4 (18:48):
You got a chance to see him live, and I
think he is the best example of someone who really
maximizes college experience.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Played a lot of games and.
Speaker 4 (18:56):
Might have been lightly regarded and even underrated going into
the pros when when I watch him, the game is
in slow motion for him in terms of the way
that he plays it as a young player. I just
think it's been proven over time, the more colegis stars
you get, the better it's going to be for you
as a pro. I just think we have too many
(19:17):
examples of that being successful for guys with a large
sample size, and we've seen too many failures with guys
who barely started a year plus in the league.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
And you know, probably the best example of that this
year's the guy you started talking about, Fernando Mendoza. I mean,
I watched this kid the entire time at CAL and
it was kind of just head scratching because he'd makes
some throws where you're like wow, and then he'd makes
some other throws that you're like wow, the opposite play
like really, and so you're like, does he not you know,
(19:51):
have that it that I was kind of talking about
in these ten thousand hours and all those type of things.
And then he goes to a different system and gets
more in the surroundings different I mean, and now he's
going to maybe be the top pick of the whole thing.
So I love that that you guys are staying in school. Coach.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
Coach.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
First of all, that is the it's that's known as
the wow wet quarterback because it's the wow I like that. Yeah,
So that's my That's what I've labeled that over the years.
But the other thing with Mendoza, and we've said it
with bo Nicks, like bo Nicks benefited from the hard
times at Auburn, he had a real adversity. He didn't
necessarily have the best players on the field that they
were going into. We've seen it with a lot of
(20:28):
these quarterbacks that have had success. Perty's one that you
mentioned as well, Buck, Like these guys who've had to
go to war without the you know, the five stars
everywhere and having better dudes than the dudes they're playing against.
I think that's an advantage for them along their development. So,
I mean there's a lot of different traits you can
look for in quarterbacks, but guys that have played a
lot and guys who've had some adversity, Coach, that seems
(20:48):
like a pretty good place to start.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
You win with achievers, you lose with potential. I mean,
that's across the board, but certainly at that position. I mean,
that's exactly what we're talking about. They put it on
tape time and time again. There's probably a really good
chance that they're going to do it down the road.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
Coach, I got a question from a preparation standpoint. These games,
these playoff games are coming up in the next day
or so. It's a lot different than the regular cadence
and rhythm of the regular season. You used to playing
every week. Now in the playoffs you have this extended time.
How challenging was that for you as a head coach
getting your team ready to play? And it was different
(21:28):
because it was the bowl game, But now in these playoffs,
how much would you have to change your routine to
get your team ready to play.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
Yeah, that's really interesting and that's a great question, and
I don't know the answer to that exactly. To me,
it's very similar to like you starting this season. You know,
it's like how much scrimmage are you gonna do? Like
how much good on good, how much live how much practice?
In general? You know, there's so much to be set,
(21:57):
Like this layoff is so long, and there's no question
you lose some rhythm and timing in this, especially at
the end of the season, because you're just not going
to scrimmage. I mean, if you did a session or
two that's live, that's probably anybody's even going to go
there if that just for the timing purposes. But it's
(22:19):
really hard and so you always look back. I know
this at the start of the season, how did we
start the season? We didn't start very good? Okay, do
we need to tweak some things? And you're I mean
that thing was like a Rubik's cube to me. I
was always fiddling with, like our August calendar, like how
do we start like fast and get out of the
gate fast? Forward to the bowl seasons? You got this
(22:41):
time off, it's kind of similar like starting again, and
so what does that look like? The one thing that
I know, like and we saw it last year. Part
of it was some of the matchups, but like the
teams that did better like out of the gate with
it were not the teams that had to buy that
had that extra layoff team time. So that's a tricky question,
(23:03):
and I think every team is different. That healthier team
who you're trying to bring back, that's a really complicated
issue and it's I think really hard to like just
in general talk about this because it's very team specific.
Speaker 3 (23:18):
I remember talking to one of the Georgia coaches on
the field before the championship game against TCU, and I said, well,
how you guys feeling. He said, well, our practice whatever
it was five or six days ago, was an absolute
bloodbath war, like.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
These guys are ready to go. And I was like,
and he watched that game, I'm like, it was not
a fair fight. But I mean they were ramped all
the way up and they were they were nine on
seven and they were getting after it that week. But
that's got two things, right, coach' That's a you have
a lot of depth, so if you lose one guy
in a session like that, you're okay. But the second thing,
I think it's they've been in these wars, a lot
(23:52):
of these wars and kind of know what it takes.
How big is the experience for these teams having maybe
been through some of this stuff.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
I think, I think, think really really big.
Speaker 4 (24:01):
You know.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
I think about this matchup between Oregon and Texas Tech coming,
that's one of the ones I am so excited to see.
I can't wait for that game. But that's one of
the things that jumps out to me, like Orgon has
been through it here now a little bit, you know,
with Dan Landing and the history of that program, and
this is completely new for Texas Tech. And so that's
probably the number one thing that jumps into my mind
is how are they going to handle this stage because
(24:23):
it does feel a little bit different. But you're right,
you know, it's interesting because I remember we would go
to bowl games, and I remember this one bowl game
in particular, and the high school coaches from the area
will come to your practices. You know, they want to
They don't care about the game, they want to see
how practice. And I remember this one crew coming and
they had the day before been to the other team's
(24:47):
practice and then they came to ours and they said, wow,
that was impressive. I'm like, what, he goes, Well, we
went to the other team's practice and that didn't look
like much of a practice, and we're watching you guys,
that was impressive, and you know exactly what happened. We
got the doors beat office and I'm thinking, I'm thinking,
(25:08):
we're going to get out of these guys. We know
how to practice, and we got a run out and
I'm like, you know, I don't know what matters, practicing
good or not. No playing good in the game matters.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
So anyway, that's too good. Yeah, that's It.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
Reminds me of the coach.
Speaker 4 (25:27):
We do these All star games all the time, and
we'll see one team, the team that is organized and
disciplined and detail.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
And running through and it gets smashed, guaranteed every.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Time you see it. Exactly you run through other team,
can't get three reps in a ten minute period. Everybody,
all scouts up in the stands like this is the
most worthless practice of all time. They're gonna get your
teeth kicked in. You go to the game when they
beat them by thirty points.
Speaker 5 (25:52):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
So I'm talking about the team that.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Had the better quarterback ended up winning the game. Coach,
It's funny how that ends up last one, coach, And
I'll let you run here. But when when you look
at these playoffs and you look at kind of the
grinder that some of these teams, especially if you don't
have a buy, you know, it's a long road. And
we talked about the rookie wall in the NFL, that's
almost not even the case for these teams that have
(26:15):
been through the playoff. What's the key as you get
to the end of that journey, as you're at the
very end, to make sure that hey, you're ready to go,
but we're also got our legs underneath this as we're
going on a very long journey here.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
Yeah, you know, it's interesting when we went to the
playoffs again, this was a four team playoff and we
lost to Alabama in the first so we didn't get
the second game. So that's a little bit different than
what some of these guys the grinder that they're going on.
And I think if I was back in it, what
I would be doing for sure, have already had done,
(26:46):
is going right to the NFL guys and talking about
how do you practice late in the season, and how
do you practice when you're in these playoffs? What does
that look like? Because you know, it's been I've had
some of these conversations with some of these pro head coaches.
Like the thing that's amazing to me is these Thursday
night games. I mean, are you hitting me? Let alone
(27:11):
game planning, but just the physical wear and tear, Like,
how do you do it? So they don't practice, They
put their tennis shoes on and it's walkthroughs at best,
and it's their back to their groove calls and you
know those plays that they've run a thousand times and
window dress them so they know those type of things
and a couple of little wrinkles, but they don't practice.
And so I think there's an art to that as well.
(27:32):
But that's that's what I would do, is I would
lean heavily on the NFL guys that have been through this.
I've talked. That would be like a big time off
season research project, and then I would talk to some
of them late if we were going to the playoffs. Hey,
just double check and are you seeing these things like
I'm seeing in terms of maybe what our calendar looks like,
because I'm telling you that calendar, how this whole thing
(27:53):
lays out for your playoffs. Getting to this point, there's
not right and wrong. Like you said, Kirby Smart, it's
going to be a bloodbath.
Speaker 3 (28:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
Most other people are like, we're not touching each other,
like stop it, we're putting flags on. I'm all my
good guys in the game. And if we're getting hurt,
we're getting hurt there not in practice.
Speaker 2 (28:12):
The coach, I'll leave you, I'll leave with this last
Kirby smart story on once You Run. But I have
a buddy on the UH on the personnel side over there,
so I had called him. This is a couple of
years back. It was during the season, so I called him,
and you know, Kirby does the UH. He does the
microphone at practice, a lot of these coaches do, so
you can kind of hear it blaring through the facility
that must have been the indoor. So I call him and
(28:33):
I can hear Kirby and he is just screaming and
he is get dog cussing these kids, and I'm like,
so finally, i was having a hard time communicating because
I'm hearing so much Kirby in the background. As I'm
talking to him and he's out the practice, I go, Hey,
who the heck do you guys play this week? He goes, oh,
it's our bye week.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Exactly exactly. Well, that's you know, that's kind of the
old adage of you have to act and this is
basic and not totally true, but in general, you have
to act exactly opposite of your team. So if you
have a buy, or you're playing someone not good you
know good, or or you have played well, you need
(29:17):
to come at him like he done nothing. Buy story
with a buy like what we don't make casey. But
if it's like we haven't played well, we got this
huge game, it's you know, they're kind of a little
bit nervous, like, no, you're mister polsity. We got this.
You're good. You don't surprised me. Kurby's coming out of
that hard.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
It's a seaw, man, it's a coach's job. You got
to balance the seesaw on that, on that whole thing. Hey, coach,
we love as I I know Bucky, you and I
we always love taking notes when we're talking with you.
We got some great stuff today. Man, enjoy the heck
out of these college playoffs. I know you will. And
let's let's catch up down the road.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
Sounds great. I appreciate you both. Thanks for having me on,
and happy New Year to you guys.
Speaker 3 (29:57):
Happy new year, thank you. Coach. Well, there you go, Buck.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
I always enjoy coach Pete when he comes on, and
again some great stuff. Talked about quarterbacks, third down, red zone,
two minute drill. You've talked about that before, so that
was something just to reinforce. I love the phrase that
the number one job of a head coach is to
build confidence in your players. Confidence is cash, is what
he said. So I have absolutely loved that. And he
(30:23):
said you win with what did he say? He wins,
you lose with potential? Yeah, I got to read my
own writing. Yeah that was that was great, fantastic. I
always loved talking with him.
Speaker 3 (30:35):
Man.
Speaker 1 (30:36):
Man, it's such a good one.
Speaker 4 (30:37):
And you know, I just think the perspective that he
brings in how crazy it is right now to be
a head football coach. And I know people will say, like, well,
the coach is getting paid a lot of money. They're
winding and complaining. But DJ, as you and I know, man,
this is definitely not the college football landscape that we
know as players and even as scouts. This is a
completely different deal. Like we always talked about it being
(30:59):
minor of the football, but now this is uncharity water
when it comes to whatever is going on in this landscape.
But I will say this, all that chaos aside, these
games are so good.
Speaker 5 (31:12):
Even the bowl games, like even the bowl games, like
the regular non descript bowl games that I've been watching,
even those games have been good. So it's crazy.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
I don't know who any of the players are, though, Buck,
but you know, I might watching I watch the USC
game against TCU, and I watch it. We live out here.
I've watched it every week. I know who their guys are,
and I'm watching it. I'm like, who the heck is this?
This guy's playing running back, he's listed as a corner.
I never even what's going on.
Speaker 1 (31:40):
Just all of it.
Speaker 4 (31:41):
Like it's almost like tuning in to a random high
school game around the corner, like, oh.
Speaker 3 (31:48):
I guess up in town.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
I just go pop in and see there's all freshman.
I was looking through it every everybody. I was like,
lying in freshman, freshman, fresh running back, freshman, tight end, freshman, receivers, freshman.
Speaker 3 (31:56):
It's just all freshmen.
Speaker 4 (31:58):
I mean, but I'm I mean, in a way, it's
a jump start to spring ball because you get a
chance to look at whatever. And I was telling coach
Steve Sarkisian talked about he all the guys opted out
and how you only had like sixty or seventy guys
that he could practice when hey, he had to lean
into some of the stuff that he learned from being
with Atlanta and Dan Quinn and Good on Good and
(32:21):
basically just trying to get these guys ready to play,
and I mean you get a looxi, a looxie of
what you have and some of the gaps that you have,
And that used to be the benefit of the bowl
game practices, but now I think people have just split
it up and said, well, you know, the bowl game
is just basically spring ball A and then we'll go
to spring ball B in March. You kind of get
it going.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
I mean, that game was on and they said USC's
D line coach was calling the defense because Dan Lenna
just left to go to past like the day before.
And then TCUs got their OC was their tight ends
coach in that game because they're OC had left. So
I'm like, you got a tight ends coach calling off
and the D line coach calling defense and a bunch
(33:02):
of freshmen running all over the place.
Speaker 3 (33:03):
Like it's just.
Speaker 2 (33:04):
It's hard to just to recalibrate of figuring out what
this is. It's not really a win or loss situation,
just trying to look at some young guys and get
ready for the spring.
Speaker 3 (33:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (33:15):
And that's funny, right, because like it used to be
such a big deal to win and do those things,
and now it is more like kind of like a scrimmage,
like like you teach you scrimage. You want to get
these guys on tape. We want to see some concepts.
We want to see how they react to certain situations
and all that. It's not a controlled environment, but in
a way, it's a way to get live rest for
your young guys without consequence.
Speaker 2 (33:38):
There's win or not. Yeah, no, that's just where it is,
all right. This has been a fun one Happy New
year to everybody. We appreciate you hanging with us. We'll
see you next time. Right here, I'm with the sticks.
And now Move the Sticks with Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
What's up everybody, DJ and Bucky Here on Move the
sticks and Buck as we get ready to close out
twenty twenty five.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
Having one of our favorite guests on the show today,
Love Man.
Speaker 4 (00:17):
Chris Peterson has been an outstanding coach everywhere he's been,
and I just moved beyond on the road, first watching
him at Boise and then watching the job that he
did at You Dub. Just a great organizer, a great
quarterback developer, someone who understands attention to detail.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Can't wait to have a conversation with Yeah, he is.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
He is one of the best, and he's someone who
we've been fortunate enough to get to know over the years.
Always dispenses a lot of wisdom. I think you guys
are going to enjoy our latest conversation with Chris Peterson.
All right, Buck, excited to have coach with us again
here Coach Peterson, appreciate you joining us.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Man.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
How are you doing.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
I'm doing great. It's bowld time. It is playoff time.
I mean, it's awesome now biting in it watching it.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Yeah, I mean, and you've got so many incredible moments
on the sidelines, you know, memorable moments from bowl season.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Is it bummy out at all?
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Just with where we are kind of with the status
of the non playoff bowl games. Go a little further
on that question, yeah, I mean when you just look
at how big those games used to be, even if
you weren't in a championship environment. I remember just the
scouting days, if I never had to worry about who
was going to be playing or not playing. I was like, man,
this is good on good competition. I'm going to that game.
(01:31):
It's an evaluation opportunity. And now I'm watching games and
I'm like, I watch a lot of college football, but
I have to watch these games in my computer open
because I don't know who any of these kids are.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Yeah, yeah, no question, I'll tell you. I think one
thing that's kind of happened. I mean, we're just seeing
this college football landscape continue to shift and adjust, you know,
every week, it feels like and I think one thing
is the bowl game situation. Because of the playoffs. I mean,
the playoffs are like these matchups them and up are
(02:01):
like wow, I mean what the storylines are unbelievable. And
I've kind of always felt there's too many ball games anyways,
and now it's kind of maybe less in those. But
I will say this, the bowl games are still very cool.
They still are very important. I think the matchups, you know,
are always unique. The records are kind of similar in
(02:22):
all those things. The events. You know, these people put
these ball games on. It's I mean, they planned this
for the entire year, and they do a spectacular job
treating the schools tremendously and it's a really cool, fun event,
a great way to end your season. And then the
last thing is, you know, it's always like at a
(02:44):
minimum to get to a ballgame. I that's the minimum.
And it's your last time to be together as a staff.
Some of these staff members are going to move on,
and this day and age is probably half your team
and so and you know, some of these kids you
been was still for a handful of years, and even
kids that have been there one year or two year,
(03:04):
you're with them every day. And it's so intense this
arena that you're in. And so to wrap this up
and have one last you know, go around with them,
it still is on the inside pretty dark cool.
Speaker 4 (03:18):
You know, coach, I think it's so funny now because
of the way the portal dates are, so many guys
are if you're not in the playoff, your older players
are opting out, and so what you're seeing in essence
is almost like a free spring game before you get
the spring ball where Sark talked about only having like
sixty seven sixty eight guys available and how they just
(03:38):
basically treated it like a very competitive, good or good
series of practices to kind of jumpstart what they're going
to do in the spring. If you're coaching now, is
that how you would view the bowl games with the
number of opt outs and portal jumpins, where you just
take the core of what you have and say, hey,
let's just find and get ready for next year.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Yeah, that's a great question, Bucky. I mean that frustrates me,
these kids opting out. I mean, it's football, and there's
a chance to get you know, it's like, but the
chances of this if you're going to be a first
rounder and you're playing in just some old ball game,
I get you. But other than that, go play football,
Go finish this thing the right way. I mean, you
(04:19):
get hurt in workouts, you know, preparing for the drafty
most of these guys are opting out and this is
really the last significant ball that they're going to play.
The majority of these guys, they all think they're going
to do this stuff, and it's like they've been listening
to too many people that don't really know what's going on,
these agents, parents, etc. And so I think that's, you know,
(04:40):
a little bit frustrating. But I will tell you this.
I mean, I don't know why they don't add in
part of this contract that they're paying these kids, because
they're all getting something. Part of it is you're playing
in the ballgame, and if you don't, you're giving up
a bunch of this money. I mean, if it's going
to be transactional, it's got to be transactional both ways.
And so that's just my feeling on this whole thing.
You know, I get it if you know you're going
(05:04):
to because you look at the playoffs, nobody's really opting
out of those. That thing's really important, and so the
playoffs get a little bit more water down. But still
the kids that show up and play it's fun to watch,
you man. They care, they're going hard, and some of
this is a jump start into next season. Like you're
talking about coach.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
You you're wired in on the on the coaching side,
and obviously you've had a chance to mentor a lot
of these young coaches that are out there. But I
know that community is so tight knit. Did you when
did you know about Signetti? And when? When did you
realize how ridiculous this whole thing is, with how fast
he has turned to Indiana Hoosiers into the number one
(05:44):
team in the country.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
I this is the crazy. I don't know Kirk Signetti.
I know his brother Frank pretty well known for a
long time, so I've known about this family and what
he has done there is mind blowing. It is I've
never seen anything like it. That guy, I keep saying
in twenty years but maybe my entire career, like everybody,
(06:09):
and he's really bad for college football because everybody.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Thinks we're going to get the next guy.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
We're going to get the next guy, and it doesn't
take time, and we're going to get this done. And
it's like lightning in a bottle. What's going on in Indiana?
And I'm still like last year I was kind of
like doubting him the whole way and then they won
all their games and they lost to Furt and I'm
like okay, and then he's talking about, hey, we're not
going back, we're building on this, and I'm like, yeah, right,
(06:35):
and he was exactly right. They are building on this
and so really cool and it is amazing. And in
some ways this is the benefit of the transfer portal
that it's created a lot more parody at the upper
echelons on the guys that have the money and can
(06:56):
play the game. So that is really fun to see.
But like it's not any one thing. I mean, you
have to be all in at the presidential level to
say we're playing all chips are in. You have to
have an eighty that is completely aligned with this head coach.
You have to have a head coach that has tremendous experience.
(07:17):
And I love Signetti's past, how he's gone from small
school to a little bit bigger school to a little
bit bigger school, but it's all these smaller schools and
the track record is kind of very similar all the
way along. And then you give him a chance and
he really has been through it and he knows what
he's doing, he knows his way. He's not trying to
be somebody else that he's really not. He's super authentic
(07:40):
to himself. He knows what works for him, and then
the transfer portal to like that's the quick jumpstart. He
had all these JMU players that were good, underrated players
and some other ones that he's pieced in there. It's
been phenomenal to watch and the fans have no idea
(08:01):
how hard that is to do. And it is kind
of like catching lightning in a bottle. I don't think
we're going to see anything. I mean, there may even
somebody else will hit the wrong the ground running pretty fast,
but from where Indiana was we're talking about, I mean,
you're not going to see that very often, even with
the transferport you know, Coach is funny, you were talking
(08:21):
about the path that Signette took where you kind of
went from developmental program, developmental program up the ladder.
Speaker 4 (08:29):
So you kind of made this move going from Boise
to Washington where you went from a developmental program where
you guys were doing it.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
To having more resources.
Speaker 4 (08:36):
So when I look at Matt Campbell going from Iowa
State where he's always kind of had to punch above
his weight to now take it over for Penn State,
how challenging is that jump when it comes to your
recruiting what you used to recruit at Iowa State.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Now there's a different kind of.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
Player that you have to recruit at Penn State. How
challenging is that?
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Yeah, you know, again we're talking about apples and oranges.
When I left Boise to come to Washington because the
transfer portal was not there and not open like it is,
and so that was I remember thinking I wanted half
of our team at Boise to be at Washington. It's
like these guys would hit the ground running. You know,
it's always about the players. You know, the coaching matters,
(09:19):
but players matter more. And we had so many good
players over there, so it's different. And but what I
think is important now is what we're seeing is, and
it's really sad in a lot of ways from where
I come from, is the separation between the haves and
the have nots. So where are we drawing that line?
(09:42):
I mean, in general, we're drawing into Big ten and
the SEC. There's someone else in other conferences are too
off and those type of things. But what you're seeing
there is they have the money. And there's much more
parody going on with the Vanderbilts Indianas you know, Illinois
all those people are now they're in the game and
(10:04):
they can get these players and they're getting people to
visit and committed guys that they normally wouldn't get. But
on the other extreme, the true like developmental places back
in the day, where you found these diamonds in the
rough and you spend a couple of years developing. It's like, wow,
how did we get this guy and how this happened?
Those guys get snatched up right away and so there's
(10:25):
no developing those guys. So the rich places they have places,
they actually are the developmental places because they're going to
be able to keep these kids that show a lot
of promise longer than these other places that are used
to developing places. So that is hard to stomach from
where I come from.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
Coach is someone who played at Appalachian State. They've tried
to turn us into a junior college man. We go
find these seeds we've found forever, invest everything in them,
and they start playing well, and then we get to
watch them play in the SEC the next year. That's
just kind of how it unfolds it for that level
of program. I want to transition a little bit the quarterbacks,
and I've been you know, studying these guys starting on
(11:06):
the draft stuff and Mendoz and Dante more will see
in the college football playoff. But I was reminded going
through it how challenging it is to get to the
evaluation with just kind of where we are from RPO standpoint,
Like you just see a bazillion of them. So my
answer to that is, I've tried to just cut up
and watch the third and seven plus throws where I
can see these guys actually have to read things out
(11:28):
a little bit, see their visions, see their poise, you
know all those things. But have you just from studying
the game as long as you have been around it,
as long as you have what would you say are
the keys for being a successful player at that position?
What would you be looking for right now if you're
going out to find a quarterback?
Speaker 1 (11:45):
Yeah, you know, it's it's so interesting just how tricky
that is. Right, we do it from high school to
the college, and then everybody else is doing from the
college to the and it's still such an art and
you're not. Yeah, it's just it's it's amazing. And I
think there's so many variables, you know, outside the game
(12:08):
itself that really play into it. And as you guys know,
this is such it's the most tricky position in all
of sports. It's the coolest position, you name it, the hardest,
the trickiest, the coolest in all of sports. That it
all comes back to you. But you need these ten
(12:29):
other guys like doing their job at such a high
level to even give you a chance. But I think
I just think it's it's just so interesting. But I
think you're right in terms of how to evaluate them.
I would try to do that in high school as well.
Like I wanted to see third downs. I wanted to
see red zone football, so can we cut out some
(12:49):
of those throws? I wanted to see two minute drills,
like these critical situations, like that's where they start to
really show their colors. And it's just it's so hard
to know. I used to be of the mindset early
in my career. These diamonds in the rough, these quarterbacks
(13:11):
that have all these this potential, haven't done a lot,
haven't played a lot. Oh, we're going to develop them.
That's the one thing that I learned over time. I'm
not into those guys. I want those I want those
ten thousand hour experts, you know, those experts like Banks reps.
There's some truth to that. It's like these kids and
(13:33):
these high school coaches are so good these days, and
the sophistication of some of these high school offenses. When
these kids see these things for a couple of years
in high school and throw for a bunch of yards,
to me, that's developing their instincts, the things that you
can't really teach. They feel this timing, they feel windows.
(13:54):
If they don't have that, it's almost like this maturation
phase that they missed, and there's always going to be
something missing. So I'm looking for these kids that have
thrown a lot. I think that that's what's really cool
maybe about the nil thing going on in college, that
these kids can stay a little bit another year and
(14:16):
get more reps to see these windows, these tight windows,
these certain things at a little bit slower pace than
they're going to see at the next level. I think that,
like Dante More is the perfect example, this is going
to be such a tricky decision for him, because in
(14:36):
my opinion, there is no doubt this kid should stay
in college and get these reps.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
It's team start. He's got there, he starts right now.
There you go and you know.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
I've done some stuff at the Lead eleven and I
remember when he was down there in the Lead eleven.
So I've seen these kids in high school and you
see how they're developing, and I mean, he's on track
to do something. But you know, this game is such
a game of confidence, so is life like confidence is cash.
(15:08):
The number one job of a coach is to develop
confidence in his players, and certainly at that quarterback position.
And so the more reps and the more success he has,
whether it's in high school the college level, the better
it's going to translate to the next level. So Dante
Moore probably could be the first quarterback pick or the second,
a top whatever pick when it's all shudden done he
(15:31):
comes out, but then he's going to go to probably
not that great of a team. They're going to throw
him to the Wolves too early where it could be
winning games, getting more reps, all those type of things.
And so now it comes back to the same old thing,
the money. And it's like I've said this, even the
money just can ruin everything. It's great, and it's just
(15:54):
you know, and it's like it's like life changing money
at that level, and then that high of a pick,
but for the long term success is that the best thing? Man?
That's a tough decision.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
Hey, Buck, buck real quickly.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
That's that's what we've talked about forever though was it
used to be at this or that it was? I
know I need the reps, but man, how do I
turn down the money? And for all of the issues
we have in this whole new landscape, Buck, we've been
talking about them forever.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Now you can. You can get some of the money
and get the reps.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
And that's where the college benefits and the NFL benefits.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
It really does.
Speaker 4 (16:28):
And you know, it's one of those things where you're
trying to sit down with a young player and tell them, look,
we can prepare you to have success in the league
if you stay. So you can go for the quick cash,
which is to go now, but the long term play
is to be ready. And you throw out all those
examples of like the bo Nixes and the brock Purdies
and the guys that played for a long time. If
(16:49):
you show them that Jayden Daniels even, you show them that,
it is a lot easier to see the guys who
had extensive resumes have a lot of success in the
pros because as coach talked about ten thousand reps man
ten thousand hours just being able to bank it.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
Yeah, and you know the crazy thing too, is I
mean the money that we're talking about for the Dante
Moores and these quarterbacks. Now, like I'm we're here in
four and five million dollars, I mean, like what what
I mean? So that's real money, and you could that's
that can be life changing money, just that alone. And
so then you wear you weigh that like, Okay, I'm
(17:26):
still pretty good here, not as good as on the
top ten pick. And then you know you're worried about
the injuries and all those things. Are your stock dropping
for whatever reason. But interesting decisions that these families and
kids have to make not easy.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
Yeah, and you know it's interesting to see. And again
to me, it's it's about getting the experience. And it
doesn't even really matter where you go. We live in
a world where the last pick in the draft is
making over fifty million dollars a year, so it's more
important just just get yourself ready, believe in yourself, and
then off you go.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
I got a question for you guys, if you're from
what we just talked about if we're Dante More, if
you're Dante More, what are you each doing?
Speaker 2 (18:09):
Are you staying I'm going back to school. I'm gonna
I'm gonna go back to school. I'm gonna make five
million dollars a year. Whatever you're gonna make it. Organ
I'm gonna have an insurance policy for some type of
catastrophic injury that if you know, the worst case scenario,
so I'm covered from a financial standpoint, and then buck.
When I entered the NFL, I've got the starts under
my belt, and I think every throw matters. I'm this
(18:29):
is what drives me nuts is when people hit me
up and go, yeah, but you know with the offense
they're in, and how does that? I don't care.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
I don't care if you're just just They need to throw.
They need to throw and throw and throw and throw,
and every coverage they see, every throw they make is valuable,
and it's an investment in yourself and.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Coming on the heels of coach. I saw Bo Nicks
a couple of weeks ago.
Speaker 4 (18:48):
You got a chance to see him live, and I
think he is the best example of someone who really
maximizes college experience.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Played a lot of games and.
Speaker 4 (18:56):
Might have been lightly regarded and even underrated going into
the pros when when I watch him, the game is
in slow motion for him in terms of the way
that he plays it as a young player. I just
think it's been proven over time, the more colegis stars
you get, the better it's going to be for you
as a pro. I just think we have too many
(19:17):
examples of that being successful for guys with a large
sample size, and we've seen too many failures with guys
who barely started a year plus in the league.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
And you know, probably the best example of that this
year's the guy you started talking about, Fernando Mendoza. I mean,
I watched this kid the entire time at CAL and
it was kind of just head scratching because he'd makes
some throws where you're like wow, and then he'd makes
some other throws that you're like wow, the opposite play
like really, and so you're like, does he not you know,
(19:51):
have that it that I was kind of talking about
in these ten thousand hours and all those type of things.
And then he goes to a different system and gets
more in the surroundings different I mean, and now he's
going to maybe be the top pick of the whole thing.
So I love that that you guys are staying in school. Coach.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
Coach.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
First of all, that is the it's that's known as
the wow wet quarterback because it's the wow I like that. Yeah,
So that's my That's what I've labeled that over the years.
But the other thing with Mendoza, and we've said it
with bo Nicks, like bo Nicks benefited from the hard
times at Auburn, he had a real adversity. He didn't
necessarily have the best players on the field that they
were going into. We've seen it with a lot of
(20:28):
these quarterbacks that have had success. Perty's one that you
mentioned as well, Buck, Like these guys who've had to
go to war without the you know, the five stars
everywhere and having better dudes than the dudes they're playing against.
I think that's an advantage for them along their development. So,
I mean there's a lot of different traits you can
look for in quarterbacks, but guys that have played a
lot and guys who've had some adversity, Coach, that seems
(20:48):
like a pretty good place to start.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
You win with achievers, you lose with potential. I mean,
that's across the board, but certainly at that position. I mean,
that's exactly what we're talking about. They put it on
tape time and time again. There's probably a really good
chance that they're going to do it down the road.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
Coach, I got a question from a preparation standpoint. These games,
these playoff games are coming up in the next day
or so. It's a lot different than the regular cadence
and rhythm of the regular season. You used to playing
every week. Now in the playoffs you have this extended time.
How challenging was that for you as a head coach
getting your team ready to play? And it was different
(21:28):
because it was the bowl game, But now in these playoffs,
how much would you have to change your routine to
get your team ready to play.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
Yeah, that's really interesting and that's a great question, and
I don't know the answer to that exactly. To me,
it's very similar to like you starting this season. You know,
it's like how much scrimmage are you gonna do? Like
how much good on good, how much live how much practice?
In general? You know, there's so much to be set,
(21:57):
Like this layoff is so long, and there's no question
you lose some rhythm and timing in this, especially at
the end of the season, because you're just not going
to scrimmage. I mean, if you did a session or
two that's live, that's probably anybody's even going to go
there if that just for the timing purposes. But it's
(22:19):
really hard and so you always look back. I know
this at the start of the season, how did we
start the season? We didn't start very good? Okay, do
we need to tweak some things? And you're I mean
that thing was like a Rubik's cube to me. I
was always fiddling with, like our August calendar, like how
do we start like fast and get out of the
gate fast? Forward to the bowl seasons? You got this
(22:41):
time off, it's kind of similar like starting again, and
so what does that look like? The one thing that
I know, like and we saw it last year. Part
of it was some of the matchups, but like the
teams that did better like out of the gate with
it were not the teams that had to buy that
had that extra layoff team time. So that's a tricky question,
(23:03):
and I think every team is different. That healthier team
who you're trying to bring back, that's a really complicated
issue and it's I think really hard to like just
in general talk about this because it's very team specific.
Speaker 3 (23:18):
I remember talking to one of the Georgia coaches on
the field before the championship game against TCU, and I said, well,
how you guys feeling. He said, well, our practice whatever
it was five or six days ago, was an absolute
bloodbath war, like.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
These guys are ready to go. And I was like,
and he watched that game, I'm like, it was not
a fair fight. But I mean they were ramped all
the way up and they were they were nine on
seven and they were getting after it that week. But
that's got two things, right, coach' That's a you have
a lot of depth, so if you lose one guy
in a session like that, you're okay. But the second thing,
I think it's they've been in these wars, a lot
(23:52):
of these wars and kind of know what it takes.
How big is the experience for these teams having maybe
been through some of this stuff.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
I think, I think, think really really big.
Speaker 4 (24:01):
You know.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
I think about this matchup between Oregon and Texas Tech coming,
that's one of the ones I am so excited to see.
I can't wait for that game. But that's one of
the things that jumps out to me, like Orgon has
been through it here now a little bit, you know,
with Dan Landing and the history of that program, and
this is completely new for Texas Tech. And so that's
probably the number one thing that jumps into my mind
is how are they going to handle this stage because
(24:23):
it does feel a little bit different. But you're right,
you know, it's interesting because I remember we would go
to bowl games, and I remember this one bowl game
in particular, and the high school coaches from the area
will come to your practices. You know, they want to
They don't care about the game, they want to see
how practice. And I remember this one crew coming and
they had the day before been to the other team's
(24:47):
practice and then they came to ours and they said, wow,
that was impressive. I'm like, what, he goes, Well, we
went to the other team's practice and that didn't look
like much of a practice, and we're watching you guys,
that was impressive, and you know exactly what happened. We
got the doors beat office and I'm thinking, I'm thinking,
(25:08):
we're going to get out of these guys. We know
how to practice, and we got a run out and
I'm like, you know, I don't know what matters, practicing
good or not. No playing good in the game matters.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
So anyway, that's too good. Yeah, that's It.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
Reminds me of the coach.
Speaker 4 (25:27):
We do these All star games all the time, and
we'll see one team, the team that is organized and
disciplined and detail.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
And running through and it gets smashed, guaranteed every.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Time you see it. Exactly you run through other team,
can't get three reps in a ten minute period. Everybody,
all scouts up in the stands like this is the
most worthless practice of all time. They're gonna get your
teeth kicked in. You go to the game when they
beat them by thirty points.
Speaker 5 (25:52):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
So I'm talking about the team that.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Had the better quarterback ended up winning the game. Coach,
It's funny how that ends up last one, coach, And
I'll let you run here. But when when you look
at these playoffs and you look at kind of the
grinder that some of these teams, especially if you don't
have a buy, you know, it's a long road. And
we talked about the rookie wall in the NFL, that's
almost not even the case for these teams that have
(26:15):
been through the playoff. What's the key as you get
to the end of that journey, as you're at the
very end, to make sure that hey, you're ready to go,
but we're also got our legs underneath this as we're
going on a very long journey here.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
Yeah, you know, it's interesting when we went to the
playoffs again, this was a four team playoff and we
lost to Alabama in the first so we didn't get
the second game. So that's a little bit different than
what some of these guys the grinder that they're going on.
And I think if I was back in it, what
I would be doing for sure, have already had done,
(26:46):
is going right to the NFL guys and talking about
how do you practice late in the season, and how
do you practice when you're in these playoffs? What does
that look like? Because you know, it's been I've had
some of these conversations with some of these pro head coaches.
Like the thing that's amazing to me is these Thursday
night games. I mean, are you hitting me? Let alone
(27:11):
game planning, but just the physical wear and tear, Like,
how do you do it? So they don't practice, They
put their tennis shoes on and it's walkthroughs at best,
and it's their back to their groove calls and you
know those plays that they've run a thousand times and
window dress them so they know those type of things
and a couple of little wrinkles, but they don't practice.
And so I think there's an art to that as well.
(27:32):
But that's that's what I would do, is I would
lean heavily on the NFL guys that have been through this.
I've talked. That would be like a big time off
season research project, and then I would talk to some
of them late if we were going to the playoffs. Hey,
just double check and are you seeing these things like
I'm seeing in terms of maybe what our calendar looks like,
because I'm telling you that calendar, how this whole thing
(27:53):
lays out for your playoffs. Getting to this point, there's
not right and wrong. Like you said, Kirby Smart, it's
going to be a bloodbath.
Speaker 3 (28:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
Most other people are like, we're not touching each other,
like stop it, we're putting flags on. I'm all my
good guys in the game. And if we're getting hurt,
we're getting hurt there not in practice.
Speaker 2 (28:12):
The coach, I'll leave you, I'll leave with this last
Kirby smart story on once You Run. But I have
a buddy on the UH on the personnel side over there,
so I had called him. This is a couple of
years back. It was during the season, so I called him,
and you know, Kirby does the UH. He does the
microphone at practice, a lot of these coaches do, so
you can kind of hear it blaring through the facility
that must have been the indoor. So I call him and
(28:33):
I can hear Kirby and he is just screaming and
he is get dog cussing these kids, and I'm like,
so finally, i was having a hard time communicating because
I'm hearing so much Kirby in the background. As I'm
talking to him and he's out the practice, I go, Hey,
who the heck do you guys play this week? He goes, oh,
it's our bye week.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Exactly exactly. Well, that's you know, that's kind of the
old adage of you have to act and this is
basic and not totally true, but in general, you have
to act exactly opposite of your team. So if you
have a buy, or you're playing someone not good you
know good, or or you have played well, you need
(29:17):
to come at him like he done nothing. Buy story
with a buy like what we don't make casey. But
if it's like we haven't played well, we got this
huge game, it's you know, they're kind of a little
bit nervous, like, no, you're mister polsity. We got this.
You're good. You don't surprised me. Kurby's coming out of
that hard.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
It's a seaw, man, it's a coach's job. You got
to balance the seesaw on that, on that whole thing. Hey, coach,
we love as I I know Bucky, you and I
we always love taking notes when we're talking with you.
We got some great stuff today. Man, enjoy the heck
out of these college playoffs. I know you will. And
let's let's catch up down the road.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
Sounds great. I appreciate you both. Thanks for having me on,
and happy New Year to you guys.
Speaker 3 (29:57):
Happy new year, thank you. Coach. Well, there you go, Buck.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
I always enjoy coach Pete when he comes on, and
again some great stuff. Talked about quarterbacks, third down, red zone,
two minute drill. You've talked about that before, so that
was something just to reinforce. I love the phrase that
the number one job of a head coach is to
build confidence in your players. Confidence is cash, is what
he said. So I have absolutely loved that. And he
(30:23):
said you win with what did he say? He wins,
you lose with potential? Yeah, I got to read my
own writing. Yeah that was that was great, fantastic. I
always loved talking with him.
Speaker 3 (30:35):
Man.
Speaker 1 (30:36):
Man, it's such a good one.
Speaker 4 (30:37):
And you know, I just think the perspective that he
brings in how crazy it is right now to be
a head football coach. And I know people will say, like, well,
the coach is getting paid a lot of money. They're
winding and complaining. But DJ, as you and I know, man,
this is definitely not the college football landscape that we
know as players and even as scouts. This is a
completely different deal. Like we always talked about it being
(30:59):
minor of the football, but now this is uncharity water
when it comes to whatever is going on in this landscape.
But I will say this, all that chaos aside, these
games are so good.
Speaker 5 (31:12):
Even the bowl games, like even the bowl games, like
the regular non descript bowl games that I've been watching,
even those games have been good. So it's crazy.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
I don't know who any of the players are, though, Buck,
but you know, I might watching I watch the USC
game against TCU, and I watch it. We live out here.
I've watched it every week. I know who their guys are,
and I'm watching it. I'm like, who the heck is this?
This guy's playing running back, he's listed as a corner.
I never even what's going on.
Speaker 1 (31:40):
Just all of it.
Speaker 4 (31:41):
Like it's almost like tuning in to a random high
school game around the corner, like, oh.
Speaker 3 (31:48):
I guess up in town.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
I just go pop in and see there's all freshman.
I was looking through it every everybody. I was like,
lying in freshman, freshman, fresh running back, freshman, tight end, freshman, receivers, freshman.
Speaker 3 (31:56):
It's just all freshmen.
Speaker 4 (31:58):
I mean, but I'm I mean, in a way, it's
a jump start to spring ball because you get a
chance to look at whatever. And I was telling coach
Steve Sarkisian talked about he all the guys opted out
and how you only had like sixty or seventy guys
that he could practice when hey, he had to lean
into some of the stuff that he learned from being
with Atlanta and Dan Quinn and Good on Good and
(32:21):
basically just trying to get these guys ready to play,
and I mean you get a looxi, a looxie of
what you have and some of the gaps that you have,
And that used to be the benefit of the bowl
game practices, but now I think people have just split
it up and said, well, you know, the bowl game
is just basically spring ball A and then we'll go
to spring ball B in March. You kind of get
it going.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
I mean, that game was on and they said USC's
D line coach was calling the defense because Dan Lenna
just left to go to past like the day before.
And then TCUs got their OC was their tight ends
coach in that game because they're OC had left. So
I'm like, you got a tight ends coach calling off
and the D line coach calling defense and a bunch
(33:02):
of freshmen running all over the place.
Speaker 3 (33:03):
Like it's just.
Speaker 2 (33:04):
It's hard to just to recalibrate of figuring out what
this is. It's not really a win or loss situation,
just trying to look at some young guys and get
ready for the spring.
Speaker 3 (33:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (33:15):
And that's funny, right, because like it used to be
such a big deal to win and do those things,
and now it is more like kind of like a scrimmage,
like like you teach you scrimage. You want to get
these guys on tape. We want to see some concepts.
We want to see how they react to certain situations
and all that. It's not a controlled environment, but in
a way, it's a way to get live rest for
your young guys without consequence.
Speaker 2 (33:38):
There's win or not. Yeah, no, that's just where it is,
all right. This has been a fun one Happy New
year to everybody. We appreciate you hanging with us. We'll
see you next time. Right here, I'm with the sticks.
Hosts And Creators
Daniel Jeremiah
Bucky Brooks
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