October 29, 2025 • 8 mins
Head Coach Willie Fritz Joins Ahead of Saturdays West Virginia Match Up
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
What thirty three on the Matt Thomas Show with Boss
Matt here with you in Toronto for Rockets and Raptors
tonight for the first time since two thy seventeen. The
Cougars went on the road last week and knocked off
a top twenty five team in Arizona State, and the
Cougars entered play this week number twenty two in the
Associated Press pol. A lot of that is because of
(00:21):
the man that joins us now with the great teammates assembled.
It's Willie Fritz with us here on Sports Talk seven
h eighty and is presented to you by the joint
Chiropractic Coach. Congratulations, You've had a lot of nice wins
in this two year run. But how fulfilling was the
performance going against an Arizona team that just knocked off
Texas Tech the week before.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Yeah, I'm really proud of our guys. Don't battle through adversity.
They played other tails off for four quarters and you know,
you do it on a road in front of the
sold out crowd. It was really good in all three phases.
You know, played will not the whole game, but you know,
bits and pieces. It was enough for us to come
(01:01):
out of there with the w so very proud.
Speaker 4 (01:03):
Of the guys.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
Heavy heart to say the very least. With Coach Hester's passing,
take us through if you don't mind what you told
the kids and and how they progress. And obviously you
went right to honoring him right after the victory against
a issue.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Yeah, you know, I found out, Uh I passed away
till sixteen on Saturday morning, and I had some people
that kind of reached out to me, and you know,
and the way Coachester was, he told his family not
to say anything until after the after the game, and uh,
but he got out and you know, we had a
meeting with the players and coaches were all there, and
(01:42):
you know, we did a good job, and he was talking.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
About you know, Coachester stories.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
He was a really unique individual and the kids all
loved him, and you know, so we talked about it
and I said, you know, the one thing he'd want
us to do is come on and just play as
hard as I possibly can, and and uh, you know,
do the best we can. And you guys really handle
it in a mature manner, and coaches as well, and
(02:05):
we're proud to be of honor them with a big win.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
And the uniforms will be black before the game here
against West Virginia, which something he loved, and we'll be
looking forward to seeing that. Strength and conditioning coaches have
a unique relationship with these kids. They may be sometimes
conduit to their position. Coaches maybe a buffer between the
head coach and the players that also see them, perhaps
more than anybody else. You have to really dig down
(02:34):
deep when you're assembling a staff, Willie, I don't want
to put words in your mouth here, but you have
to make sure the right guy is running that side
of the program because it's not so much what they're
doing during the course of the season, it's how they're
taking care of their bodies and getting ready for the
season during the off season.
Speaker 4 (02:48):
No, it really is. You know, Kurt was the first
guy I hired when I got here.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
He was with me at previous school, did a fantastic
job there for as that two lane he was at Louisiana.
Speaker 4 (02:58):
Tech, did a great job there.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
You know, I just knew I needed to bring him
over and you know, for this job, and you know
those guys are around him, you know year round. You know,
we work out five days a week, you know in
the summer and in the spring, you know, workout, you know,
two or three times a week during the season, and
then he's also out there you know, during practice and
(03:21):
all that kind of stuff. So they do have a
very unique relationship with the guys see him all the time,
and you've got to have somebody that's, you know, giving
him the correct message, and Kurt certainly did that day
in and day out.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Wellie to the game again, Connor Wegman, looks like you
got to beat up pretty bad. You have asked him
to throw the football, he does it beautifully. The groundwork,
the rushing attempts, I thought, and not only were well timed,
especially with that fifty yard run early in the contest,
but he was very patient in the backfield. Is that
something that just came to him or is you've seen
(03:57):
him improve when it comes to kicking and choosing his
battles and what holes to try to go through.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Well, he was a really good runner in high school
and he ran quite did in high school, some bit
scrambled some of the designed runs, and at his previous
school he ran the ball well you know, yeah, we
went back and looked at tape and we were wanted
to get.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
Him over here.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
We looked at that, and so he's a dual threat quarterback.
Got very good speed runs, you know, twenty one miles
an hour, which is extremely fast for quarterback, and you
know that he has the ability to be a really,
really accurate passer, and you know, so no, it doesn't
really surprise us. You know, some games you don't know
what the script's going to be till you get out there.
(04:38):
And one of the advantages we had is they were
having a ta hard time with quarterback runs, so you know,
we went back to it a few times and counter
did a sensationial job just running vertical. A lot of
times guys want to run east west and you know,
and you can get five yards and.
Speaker 4 (04:54):
They go east west and the two yards.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
He did a really good job seeing increases and cracks
and getting vertical. We sometimes talk about seat two split
to you get two guys and kind of widen one
of them and put your foot in the ground and
get him between him and you know, take as you know,
quite as big a shot as you would if he
tried to run over a guy.
Speaker 4 (05:13):
But he did an excellent job running the ball. He
also did an excellent job throwing the ball on Saturday.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
You never want any of your players to get hurt,
but it's a byproduct of the sport. Do you say
a little extra more of a prayer when it's your
quarterback on those runs, and do you tell him, perhaps
give him different advice as compared to laying down or
not trying to get that extra yard because he's afraid
maybe that one extra hit may knock come out. I
mean that may be the case for any quarterback, but
(05:40):
I always know that dual threat guys are always very
sensive because they're still explosive. At the same time, they're
also probably a little more prone to getting hurt.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Yeah, you know, we work on those different things. And
you know, you want to fall forward. Too many times
guys are sliding and that's almost more difficult than falling forward.
Plus I met market where you begin the slide. And
but yeah, it's just like I was talking about C
two split to we're not trying to run over again.
We're trying to run in between two targets and you know,
hopefully pop out on the other end. You take clients
(06:09):
and clothes instead of head on hits. And uh, you know,
but sometimes you know, you got to get first down
and uh, you know, by any means meant necessary. And
another great thing about Connors, he's a tough guy and
he's he plays football and uh, you know so, uh yeah,
we we don't want to have a whole bunch of
hits on the kV. But you know, every once in
a while in the game, that's what it takes to win.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
You've had two very nice wins against two upper echelon
teams in this conference. Uh, the obligatory. How do you
avoid the letdown against the West Virginia team that's struggling
minor league so far this year?
Speaker 2 (06:44):
Well, I just I think our kids understand how important
each and every ball game is.
Speaker 4 (06:48):
And you know, our goal didn't change each week. We
want to.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Improve and get better, and you know, we want to
be on the on the climb. We don't want to
be on just sent down that mountain. And uh you know,
so we're working hard at you know, every single day
of improving and luckily I got a lot of good
leaders that are doing a good job of also you know,
voicing the message that the coaches talk to him about
(07:12):
all the time as well. You know, we talk about
it on Monday and we watch the game that we
just got done playing on Saturday. We flesh you down
the toilet, we move on to the next opponent.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
I don't know if you do it much. I don't
know if your kids do it much. But you are
in the thick of things in this Big twelve. Obviously,
running the table will be the easiest way to get
to that championship game. Are you doing much standings watching?
Are you looking at scoreboards? Or are you doing what
most coaches do, just focus on what's in front of you.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
I just kind of focus. I probably watch less football
than than anybody. You know. We stay up here, I
get up here real early, and we leave late. By
the time I get home. I really don't care too
much about watching football unless I got a buddy's team
playing some somewhere. Every once in a while, I'll see
a pro game and have one of my former players
(08:02):
out there playing.
Speaker 4 (08:03):
By the way, Marcus Cholengeses.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Signed a new contract with the Patriots.
Speaker 4 (08:08):
We're so happy for Marcus.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Sure, but uh, you know that's uh, you know, I
I just, uh, you don't really try to focus on
the task in hand.
Speaker 4 (08:16):
I tell our guys all the time, you know, if
you want to be elite.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
You got to be able to you know, focus on
you know, one thing at a time and be the
very best you can at it. And you got to
be consistent your effort. And that's what we try to
do all the time.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
Willie, thanks for the timer's always congratulations, looking forward to
catching the game on Saturday. Best of luck against the
Mountaineers and we'll talk again next week.
Speaker 4 (08:39):
Thank you, Go Koog's
What thirty three on the Matt Thomas Show with Boss
Matt here with you in Toronto for Rockets and Raptors
tonight for the first time since two thy seventeen. The
Cougars went on the road last week and knocked off
a top twenty five team in Arizona State, and the
Cougars entered play this week number twenty two in the
Associated Press pol. A lot of that is because of
(00:21):
the man that joins us now with the great teammates assembled.
It's Willie Fritz with us here on Sports Talk seven
h eighty and is presented to you by the joint
Chiropractic Coach. Congratulations, You've had a lot of nice wins
in this two year run. But how fulfilling was the
performance going against an Arizona team that just knocked off
Texas Tech the week before.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Yeah, I'm really proud of our guys. Don't battle through adversity.
They played other tails off for four quarters and you know,
you do it on a road in front of the
sold out crowd. It was really good in all three phases.
You know, played will not the whole game, but you know,
bits and pieces. It was enough for us to come
(01:01):
out of there with the w so very proud.
Speaker 4 (01:03):
Of the guys.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
Heavy heart to say the very least. With Coach Hester's passing,
take us through if you don't mind what you told
the kids and and how they progress. And obviously you
went right to honoring him right after the victory against
a issue.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Yeah, you know, I found out, Uh I passed away
till sixteen on Saturday morning, and I had some people
that kind of reached out to me, and you know,
and the way Coachester was, he told his family not
to say anything until after the after the game, and uh,
but he got out and you know, we had a
meeting with the players and coaches were all there, and
(01:42):
you know, we did a good job, and he was talking.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
About you know, Coachester stories.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
He was a really unique individual and the kids all
loved him, and you know, so we talked about it
and I said, you know, the one thing he'd want
us to do is come on and just play as
hard as I possibly can, and and uh, you know,
do the best we can. And you guys really handle
it in a mature manner, and coaches as well, and
(02:05):
we're proud to be of honor them with a big win.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
And the uniforms will be black before the game here
against West Virginia, which something he loved, and we'll be
looking forward to seeing that. Strength and conditioning coaches have
a unique relationship with these kids. They may be sometimes
conduit to their position. Coaches maybe a buffer between the
head coach and the players that also see them, perhaps
more than anybody else. You have to really dig down
(02:34):
deep when you're assembling a staff, Willie, I don't want
to put words in your mouth here, but you have
to make sure the right guy is running that side
of the program because it's not so much what they're
doing during the course of the season, it's how they're
taking care of their bodies and getting ready for the
season during the off season.
Speaker 4 (02:48):
No, it really is. You know, Kurt was the first
guy I hired when I got here.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
He was with me at previous school, did a fantastic
job there for as that two lane he was at Louisiana.
Speaker 4 (02:58):
Tech, did a great job there.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
You know, I just knew I needed to bring him
over and you know, for this job, and you know
those guys are around him, you know year round. You know,
we work out five days a week, you know in
the summer and in the spring, you know, workout, you know,
two or three times a week during the season, and
then he's also out there you know, during practice and
(03:21):
all that kind of stuff. So they do have a
very unique relationship with the guys see him all the time,
and you've got to have somebody that's, you know, giving
him the correct message, and Kurt certainly did that day
in and day out.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Wellie to the game again, Connor Wegman, looks like you
got to beat up pretty bad. You have asked him
to throw the football, he does it beautifully. The groundwork,
the rushing attempts, I thought, and not only were well timed,
especially with that fifty yard run early in the contest,
but he was very patient in the backfield. Is that
something that just came to him or is you've seen
(03:57):
him improve when it comes to kicking and choosing his
battles and what holes to try to go through.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Well, he was a really good runner in high school
and he ran quite did in high school, some bit
scrambled some of the designed runs, and at his previous
school he ran the ball well you know, yeah, we
went back and looked at tape and we were wanted
to get.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
Him over here.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
We looked at that, and so he's a dual threat quarterback.
Got very good speed runs, you know, twenty one miles
an hour, which is extremely fast for quarterback, and you
know that he has the ability to be a really,
really accurate passer, and you know, so no, it doesn't
really surprise us. You know, some games you don't know
what the script's going to be till you get out there.
(04:38):
And one of the advantages we had is they were
having a ta hard time with quarterback runs, so you know,
we went back to it a few times and counter
did a sensationial job just running vertical. A lot of
times guys want to run east west and you know,
and you can get five yards and.
Speaker 4 (04:54):
They go east west and the two yards.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
He did a really good job seeing increases and cracks
and getting vertical. We sometimes talk about seat two split
to you get two guys and kind of widen one
of them and put your foot in the ground and
get him between him and you know, take as you know,
quite as big a shot as you would if he
tried to run over a guy.
Speaker 4 (05:13):
But he did an excellent job running the ball. He
also did an excellent job throwing the ball on Saturday.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
You never want any of your players to get hurt,
but it's a byproduct of the sport. Do you say
a little extra more of a prayer when it's your
quarterback on those runs, and do you tell him, perhaps
give him different advice as compared to laying down or
not trying to get that extra yard because he's afraid
maybe that one extra hit may knock come out. I
mean that may be the case for any quarterback, but
(05:40):
I always know that dual threat guys are always very
sensive because they're still explosive. At the same time, they're
also probably a little more prone to getting hurt.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Yeah, you know, we work on those different things. And
you know, you want to fall forward. Too many times
guys are sliding and that's almost more difficult than falling forward.
Plus I met market where you begin the slide. And
but yeah, it's just like I was talking about C
two split to we're not trying to run over again.
We're trying to run in between two targets and you know,
hopefully pop out on the other end. You take clients
(06:09):
and clothes instead of head on hits. And uh, you know,
but sometimes you know, you got to get first down
and uh, you know, by any means meant necessary. And
another great thing about Connors, he's a tough guy and
he's he plays football and uh, you know so, uh yeah,
we we don't want to have a whole bunch of
hits on the kV. But you know, every once in
a while in the game, that's what it takes to win.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
You've had two very nice wins against two upper echelon
teams in this conference. Uh, the obligatory. How do you
avoid the letdown against the West Virginia team that's struggling
minor league so far this year?
Speaker 2 (06:44):
Well, I just I think our kids understand how important
each and every ball game is.
Speaker 4 (06:48):
And you know, our goal didn't change each week. We
want to.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Improve and get better, and you know, we want to
be on the on the climb. We don't want to
be on just sent down that mountain. And uh you know,
so we're working hard at you know, every single day
of improving and luckily I got a lot of good
leaders that are doing a good job of also you know,
voicing the message that the coaches talk to him about
(07:12):
all the time as well. You know, we talk about
it on Monday and we watch the game that we
just got done playing on Saturday. We flesh you down
the toilet, we move on to the next opponent.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
I don't know if you do it much. I don't
know if your kids do it much. But you are
in the thick of things in this Big twelve. Obviously,
running the table will be the easiest way to get
to that championship game. Are you doing much standings watching?
Are you looking at scoreboards? Or are you doing what
most coaches do, just focus on what's in front of you.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
I just kind of focus. I probably watch less football
than than anybody. You know. We stay up here, I
get up here real early, and we leave late. By
the time I get home. I really don't care too
much about watching football unless I got a buddy's team
playing some somewhere. Every once in a while, I'll see
a pro game and have one of my former players
(08:02):
out there playing.
Speaker 4 (08:03):
By the way, Marcus Cholengeses.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Signed a new contract with the Patriots.
Speaker 4 (08:08):
We're so happy for Marcus.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Sure, but uh, you know that's uh, you know, I
I just, uh, you don't really try to focus on
the task in hand.
Speaker 4 (08:16):
I tell our guys all the time, you know, if
you want to be elite.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
You got to be able to you know, focus on
you know, one thing at a time and be the
very best you can at it. And you got to
be consistent your effort. And that's what we try to
do all the time.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
Willie, thanks for the timer's always congratulations, looking forward to
catching the game on Saturday. Best of luck against the
Mountaineers and we'll talk again next week.
Speaker 4 (08:39):
Thank you, Go Koog's
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