Softy and Dick 12-29 H1: Westover Takeover.

Husky Tight End Jack Westover had a conversation with Dick Dain before the team left for New Orleans, we listen to that conversation. Jacks's dad, Brandt Westover, joins the show to talk about the magical run UW has been on this year.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
As part of our tireless coverage ofthe NFL. I'm your home for the
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(00:23):
kJ r FM. Welcome, Welcometo a Friday, our final show before
the Washington Huskies face the Texas Longhorns. Tons of anticipation. It is a

(00:44):
Washington State Beef Commissions Football Friday,proudly brought to you by Washington's beef farmers
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(01:07):
likes a little little beef. HughMillen joining us on the show today.
How are you doing, mat Oh? I'm doing all right. But you
like a little beef, don't youyou're a big beef fan. I gotta
imagine he doesn't, right, likeI'm a guy, right American boy?
Yes, yes, absolutely, youknow, speaking of everything, it's what's
for everything? Speaking of a guythat I'm sure likes a little beef.

(01:29):
We're gonna we're gonna have a littlefun in the first half hour of the
show. We're gonna do a Westovertakeover of the first half hour of the
show because I think Jack Westover isone of my favorite players in the Washington
program over the last few years.To watch this kid come out of obscurity
be an I Formation fallback for theJohn Donovana that vaunted that innovative John Donovan

(01:57):
offense. Remember that, Hugh,You love the John Donovan offense, didn't
you. I was straight out straightout of your playbook, wasn't it.
Oh yeah, yeah, I breakout in high you know, just below
my navel. Yeah, it's likecrazy when I watch that stuff. But
I used to love watching him asas a lead blocker in the I formation.
It like took me back to likenineteen seventy eight, you know it

(02:20):
was. It was good stuff there. And then he turns into just a
fabulous pass catching versatile tight end ina much more entertaining offense with Ryan Grubb
and and Kaitlyn de bor. So, I thought it'd be fun. I
had a conversation with Jack right beforethey left for New Orleans, so in
this segment, I kind of wantto play that, play that interview for

(02:40):
you get your take on what you'veseen from this kid. And then I
thought, you know, a mutualfriend of all of ours, right,
Rick Neweisel yesterday mentioned the name BrantWestover on the show yesterday. He said
he was a longtime friend of ofBrant Westover, as are you. So
I thought it'd be cool. Hey, we're doing a Westover takeover. We'll
play Jack's interview and then we'll upto his dad, who goes to every

(03:02):
single game and has been to everysingle game home and road. Just just
a kind of a cool hometown story. And let's face it, a college
football landscape in twenty twenty three thatdoesn't have a lot of hometown stories,
right, I mean, we aregetting further and further away from college athletes

(03:23):
playing their you know, playing theircollege football kind of in the neighborhood where
they grew up, especially in theera of nil so Anders. Do you
have that we good? Let's hearthis is just a couple of days ago,
right before the Huskies left for NewOrleans. Here's my conversation with Husky
tight end Jack Western. Well,Jackie got a little break. You guys,
could you have an early Christmas soyou didn't have to travel anywhere for

(03:45):
an early Christmas? So what youguys end up doing as a failing just
relax the got the body back,it's a neutral. It's feeling feeling a
lot better. The joints are feelinggood. And yeah, just relaxed around
the TV. And yeah, youwatch it lot of football when you're when
you're hanging out or not. Really, have you had enough of football after
you get off the practice field?Yeah, I mean I try to,

(04:06):
but it's uh, you know,you like to get your time away from
football. You like to do otherthings. For sure. This Texas team,
I mean you're familiar with them fromlast year. So how much can
you take from what you see onfilm and the Alma bowle last year?
Yeah, I mean I think lastyear just taking away the x's and o's
perspective, just kind of what theydid schematically. I'm just defensively keeping everything

(04:29):
in front from personnel wise, youknow, players change, players get better,
they get stronger. So I mean, I'm expecting you know that front,
their front sevens, legit back undspretty good too. So I think
just just taking what we can fromlast year. Schematically, you guys have
had so many close games that youguys have had to persevere through and you

(04:50):
did every single one of them.I mean, you guys are undefeated against
the top twenty five teams in thelast two years. What does that do
to you going into a situation whereat some point is probably the game is
probably gonna teeter on the blade ofa knife, right, You're gonna have
to make the play again, andTexas hasn't always made that play down the
stretch. Yeah, I mean,I think just worrying about us, worrying

(05:12):
about what we do and and wherewe succeed. You know, I think
where we do our best is whenwe're doubted and when our backs are against
the wall. That's when that's whenyou get the best version of the Washington
football team. That defensive front.Man. I mean, it's it's huge,
it's powerful. A bunch of NFLguys talk about the confidence you have
in your offensive line that I thinkwas unheralded for a time, but they

(05:33):
might not be unheralded anymore because alot of people are talking about that old
line now nationally. Yeah, Imean, I think it's everything you want
in line, just progressively getting betterthroughout a season. But you don't often
see and the biggest thing is theyrise to the level of their opponent.
And you know, maybe that's notthe best thing. Maybe it is,
but you know, I think,uh, you know, us as a

(05:54):
whole, you know, tight endsincluded. You know, we rise to
the occasion when you know people doubtus and when you know the the defense
across from us, as Harold didand legit I asked Eddie this question.
I want to ask you too.You guys have had so many individual plays
this year that if this play doesn'thappen, or that play doesn't happen,
or this play doesn't happen, wearen't talking about a Sugar Bowl game.
I mean, we're talking about Idon't know, an an Alimable or a

(06:15):
Fiesta Bowl game that's not in thefinal four. Is there one that kind
of stands out in your mind thatyou're like, I'm gonna think about that
play and how I felt that playforever for me personally. I mean,
there's been a bunch, but Ithink the game I look back on is
the ASU game. I think thatwas really more of a learning moment and

(06:35):
a turning point where it happened soearly in the season, and we were
very fortunate and at that point itwas so early that we could we had
a you know, we had weeksto learn from it and weeks to build
off of what had happened, andI think that ASU game was really critical
for our success throughout this whole season. Well, the one difference in that
ASU game is just the pressure thatMike was under the entire game, and

(06:59):
maybe go back and maybe explained becausethat seemed to be a one off because
almost every other game, you guyshave kept Michael very kale. I think
that that game was kind of thefirst time we had seen you know,
different pressures. You know, it'steam like a defense scheme, up pressures
specifically for what we were showing.That was the first kind of game we
really felt that, and they dida really really good job schematically just giving

(07:25):
us looks we weren't really used to. We hadn't seen before. And so
you know what, you know,a bunch of you know six seven,
you know pressure seven man pressures,guys dropping just really funky looks. And
I think again, like it happensso early in the season that you know,
it gave us, gave us alittle leeway to you know, learn
from it and build off of itthroughout the season. And you know,

(07:46):
now teams give us those looks,and now we can do really well against
them. Finally, obviously, thedifference between going to the Sugar Bowl this
year and the Almobile last year isobvious. I mean, the Almobiles fun.
You want to win it, butit's fun. I mean, you
got to make this fun as welltoo. You're going to New Orleans.
You know you're gonna be celebrated aroundthat city. So how do you balance,
Hey, we want to have fun, we want to take everything in

(08:07):
and yet this is the biggest gameof our lives. Yeah, I mean,
I think it's obviously understanding the moment, understanding that you know this,
you want to remember it, butyou know you're not gonna remember it if
you didn't have fun with you know, you're gonna have regretted if you didn't
have fun with it, So it'sgonna be nothing new. You know,
every game this year we've you know, this is kind of the personality of
our team. You know, nomoment's too big and we just everybody's themselves

(08:30):
no matter what the occasion is.And that's why we have had so much
success this here is we just themoment's never too big, and we thrive
in those moments. So, youknow, just having fun with the moment
and being ourselves. Appreciate it.Man. You know one of the plays,
a couple of plays I'm gonna rememberover. I'm gonna remember Jack west
Over freaking one handed catches on fourthdown. All right, I'm saying it.
I appreciated Dick oh Man, greatkid. And you a guy that

(08:52):
you've known for a while before hewas a University of Washington husky. Right.
Yeah, well I've known Brandt forforty years. A great guy.
As as Rick said, you know, just one of one of the all
time. I'll tell you what,the next word I hear from somebody's mouth,
disparaging Brandt would be the first andit will never happen. He's just
that that kind of guy. Andand yeah he was he was in a

(09:16):
state of flux about what he wasdoing. He thought he was going to
be a basketball player. I thinkat one point, uh, he had
I don't want to tell Brand's story, he'd be better coming from his mind.
But I thought that that he,uh, he was looking at basketball.
I thought he I think he thoughthe was gonna be taller. And
then there was a point midway throughWe'll let him tell the story that that
he kind of said, Hey,let's kind of flip the script with football

(09:39):
and and and you know, wehooked up and my son threw to him
and I get out, you know, and the Brand was like, well,
what do you think? And youknow, I'm laying eyes on his
guy, so we can we canfill in some of the blanks on that
story. So yeah, uh,and then I was able, very fortunate
to uh to coach him during hissenior year. Unfortunately got hurt after two
games. But yeah, yeah,there's some history there. Yeah, well,

(10:03):
we'll hear some of those great stories. Brant Jack's Daddell join us in
the next segment. Let's talk aboutsome of the points that I brought up
with Jack. First of all,the balancing of the work and the fun
when you go to a big bowlgame. So take us back to Miami
nineteen eighty five. I mean asbig a game as Husky football has had

(10:24):
in a long long time, rightthere at the level of a Rose Bowl.
And you guys have to have fun. You're in Miami, but you
also have the biggest game of yourlives coming up. So how did Don
James balance that out? Well,we got there earlier than I think these
guys were. I think we wererelatively early, and and we had there

(10:45):
was a night where they had acruise ship where Oklahoma, all the Oklahoma
players and all the Husky players werewere on it, and they invited all
the local models. So the modelswere already there before we got this.
Sure you hated boy that rough night. Yeah, sorry. But then at
some point later in the night,uh, there's you know, I guess

(11:07):
call it a disco or whatever,but we were on the verge of a
big old melee brawl and Ron Holmeshad to grab the microphone and kind of
restore some order. But yeah,you know, look, it's a lot
of testosterone. You know, it'sa few you know, it's a week
before the game or what have you. But uh, you know that was
memory but in that coach James kindof knew that some of the guys found

(11:31):
their way to the to the thecocktail waitresses, and so we had to
stand on our heads, you know, with our hands behind our back,
and roll around on our next forabout twelve minutes the next day in practice
to kind okay, yeah, justyeah, it was it was kind of
a not so subtle message about howDJ felt about it, But but that

(11:52):
was a week in advance. Ithink I think the main thing is is
there's there's a way to do itwhere you get to enjoy the experience and
you've earned it, but you kindof ratchet it up. I think it's
like, hey, have fun earlierin the week, and then we're gonna,
you know, day by day,we're gonna ratch it up and turn
it more into a business trip.So it starts as a vacation that just

(12:15):
gradually morphs into to the focus youneed to play the game. And Jack
mentioned being battle tested and going throughall of these trials and tribulations over the
course of the year where they havebecome the first team in Division I history
since we've gone to split out andbecome Division one where they have won nine
consecutive games that have all been decidedby ten points or less. Is that

(12:39):
just, you know, is thatenoughing or is that a serious edge that
Washington would have over Texas if thisgame goes down to one possession with four
or five minutes left, one wouldthink so, right, I mean,
it's enough of a factor that Washington'splaying in the Sugar Bowl instead of in
the Rose Bowl as the number oneseed because Washington had all of the advantages

(13:05):
over Michigan in terms of strength ofschedule, strength of record, and the
only thing Michigan had was game controlswell and their brand, right, right,
And the brand shouldn't matter when itcomes to something wrong. It shouldn't.
But it was remarkable to me thatRhys Davis never even in the entire
what hour, hour and fifteen minuteprogram, he never even raised the question

(13:28):
to the panel, is like,wait, why is Michigan on the one
line and not Washington? Washington's undefeated, right, And it was never even
discussed. And so I just thinkthat it falls back to brand and possibly
some geographical biases. But but okay, so that caused you to be the
number two seed, but it maybe your benefit from the Huskies as you

(13:52):
said, because if they're in aone score game halfway through the fourth quarter,
they're just like, okay, businessas usual. Know how to close
land this plane and you know,and it'll it'll be it'll be a smooth
landing and everybody will cheer the pilotlike they know how to get this done.
They certainly do. So our WestoverTakeover continues in the next segment.

(14:13):
You just heard from the sun Jack, Now hear from the Dad Brant and
what it's been like to, youknow, to raise as a died in
the wall Husky, to raise asun that's a died in the wool Husky
that is now playing for his hometeam in the National Championship game. And
we'll have, I would undoubtedly we'llhave a big role in that hopefully win

(14:35):
for the Dogs. We'll talk toBrandt coming up next on ninety three point
three KJRFM. Now back to theWashington State Peak Commissions Football Friday on your
home for the twelfth man in theNFL Sports Radio ninety three point three kJ
r FM. Softie and Dick withoutthe soft one, but Softie will be

(15:13):
joining us a little bit later onin the show five o'clock to be exact.
He is winging his way to NewOrleans. You can follow his trip
as uh as only Softy can do, right, chronicling his trip on social
media every step of the way fromthe UH, from the the Washington Husky

(15:35):
Bow down to Washington going on onthe plane right now, to how many
purple clad people are on the UHare on the plane just it's gonna be
a lot of fun to chat withDave Softy Maller at five o'clock today,
we got a lot of Hugh BreedLove Millan talking both Huskies and Seahawks,
and uh we get are we good? Andrews we uh we fired up here

(15:56):
with with our guests coming up,Brent rust westcote Over is gonna join in
just a couple of minutes here.But Hugh, I mean, I can't
think of a time when I've beenthis fired up for a dog's game.
I mean, it has to goback to nineteen ninety one and in the
ninety two Rose Bowl. But thisis a this is a situation we're kind
of rekindling some really really old feelingsfrom our youth. And a guy that's

(16:19):
had a lot of feelings over thelast few years watching his son play tight
end, first full back and thentight end for the Washington Huskies. Brant
Westover, the father of Jack Westover, joining us here at ninety three point
three KJFN brand. How you doing. I'm doing well. Well, it's
official. I am no longer BrentWestover. I am Jack Westover's dad.
That's right. You have been dubbedhey, you know, and that's a

(16:41):
great honor as well. That's agreat honor. I am totally fine being
referred to as Dixon Fane dad.I know Heugh was totally referred to a
totally fine being referred to the dadof his two boys as well. But
give us kind of the background ofthe Westover family because I talked about how
your roots were deep in Husky culture, but you know, the maybe maybe

(17:03):
dive into how deep they truly run. Yeah, well, my mom and
dad both went to theb We movedwhen I was the kids who I never
really became a Husky as a littlekid, but I went to school,
back to new job in seventy eightto eighty two, and that was Don
James era and you know, justtotally dove in road tripping fraternity brothers to

(17:26):
games. A couple of Rose Bowlsin the early eighties, the Orange Bowl
in eighty four, went I flewout to Miami, watched Hugo and beat
the Oklahoma Center, went to thetwo ball overdue, and then I actually
took the entire family to Atlanta insixteen, including a sixteen year old Jack
westber Wow. So it's it goesdeep. It's a long long history with

(17:51):
the Huskies. And you were inthe fraternity system. You were a fight
olt that was a Fiji, sowe weren't in the same house, but
but we ran with a lot ofthe same guys. So we've known each
other long time. Fill us injust along the line of Jack's athletic uh
uh. You know, he saidthat he grew up a Husky and you
just kind of outlined it. Butbut just some of the memories you have

(18:12):
with him as an athlete, uh, you know, being a Husky fan
and and and how his whole athleticcareers evolved as a kid and then in
through high school and and and andbecoming a Husky. Yeah, I think
you know, it's funny he reallygrew up a basketball fan and a basketball
player. And I have season ticketsto football, but also basketball, and

(18:37):
I think he really became Husky throughbasketball. First. I mean, he
wants to run the wrong war teamsand you know Nate Robinson, those guys,
and just really fell in love withthat group of people. And you
know, then I think the hardpart was in high school or even before
high school. He's really focused ona career in basketball, and they played

(18:59):
in an each a team, andI think he thought that was his future.
But then, you know, Ithink things happen where you stopped going
and he wanted he knew he wantedto be a college athlete, and he
made the switch in the middle ofhigh school. Me he got independicized in
Preshman Or high school, miss basketballSubmary year, transferred to a day because

(19:22):
of the school things, and listenedhams with eligibility and stuff like that.
Junior year besides, I'm gonna gooff football first year. For the first
game of the season, he Semonslips on his foot and Tarry Ligglansay's ankle
can't play football or basketball. Sohere we are summer for our senior year.

(19:44):
He has not played any football.I call some friends and say,
hey, what should we do?And they said, well, go to
summer camps. So we go tothe Hussy's Ummer camp in June of eighteen
and he wins the MVP of thecamp and one of one of the m
vps. He then then, asyou had mentioned earlier, I introduced you

(20:04):
to him because I felt like youare a great you can make it a
great analysis of visibility his college ability, and so he joins them outside.
Hey, and you guys. Wego to seven and seven in campus U
DOV and led by Cale Miller andcoached by Hugh Millan. They won the
tournament and the coaches take notice.He goes back to the second camp of

(20:27):
U DOV and the offer preferred walkon. Now. At the same time,
he's traveling in the state, goingto Eastern going to Montana State,
going to Montana, and these guysare like, who are you? Where'd
you come from and basically saying,look, we're going to offer you a
scholarship. But when he see sometapes, we have no tapes. So

(20:51):
anyway, we're going to this anI center went check with Jack, and
you love this. I go,Jack, look at you're not going pro
you got a purb walk on atthe Great University, get education, learn
under coach Pete, this is whereyou want to be and you're a hussy.
You've been a husky whole life.You've gone to games. This little
kid, you loved it, andso that was kind of the decision to

(21:14):
make. It's kind of funny.I mean, I don't know if he
believe what I said, but he'skind of went with the program. So
it was nice. Well, andhe's played through so much change. You
so you mentioned coach Pete and thenhe was an Affirmation fullback, a legendary
I Firmation fullback under under Jimmy Lakeand John Donovan. Now he's catching passes
from the greatest, the greatest quarterbackin college football. I mean, how

(21:36):
is he How is he just handledall the ups and downs of the last
few years. Well, I'm justso proud of the kid. I mean,
he he's persevered through injuries, hiscommitment, sacrifice, but he's in
himself and he's been so luckative mentorsin his life like the coach Pte's staff,
Jordan Papou recognizing him early on andtoday with he's coach Shared and Shephard

(22:00):
and the Border and other guys.I mean, he's just amazing staffs in
great people like you knowing who havebeen great influence in his life. It's
been really really fortunate. Well youkind of say that West I we could
talk for another half an hour.It's it's a it's a great story.
But but let's now pivot off ofJack and now we want to dive deep

(22:23):
into a college football dad, becausethis had to have been something for you.
I mean you just said, look, he had two games in his
entire senior year, right, noscholars no scholarships of power five. Uh,
walk on in the manner you described, but he was really an impact
early on. It wasn't like hisfifth year red shirt year that. I

(22:45):
mean, he's been a pivotal partof the central part of this team.
What has it been like for you? All your buddies text in you and
this and that just like like likeshare with us the dad part of all
this, and with Lisa the mompart of this as well. Oh,
I know, it's it's the emotionsthat have been unbelievable this last five years,

(23:07):
six years. Now. You knowyou'll laugh when he when he first
came a Husky red shirt, It'slike they all did. And they are
an option of dressing for a game, and Jack basically said, no,
I'm not playing dressing And I remembersaying to him with it, Jack,
to your mom dad a favor andputting you for him on I just want

(23:27):
to take a picture of you inthe uniform in the sideline, and I'm
playing one day. I'm playing oneday. I'm like, yeah, right
right. I had no belief inthat, but I remember we're down in
Arizona. I know Dick mentioned I'vegone to every game a half every the
last five years. The game,but the Arizona game, he's playing like

(23:48):
two plays a game, and allof a sudden, I'm looking down in
the corner and he scored the touchdown. I'm like, you've got to be
kidding me. I mean, andmy daughters there, he's crying, my
Wifeyenne. It's crazy. I mean, the emotional, the it's just the
crazy upston downs that you go throughas a parent, but being a Husky

(24:11):
makes them. It's more much morevaluable to my experience, my wife's experience.
It's been unreal. Well, brandI want you to have a fabulous
time with your family. What's thewhat's the number total number of folks heading
to New Orleans from the west OverKlan, whether it's friends or for ten
of us. I've got the uncles, those sisters, We've got the old

(24:33):
group going. So it's gonna bea helva trip. Well, you have
a great time, and thank youfor joining us, and best of luck
to you and Jack down there inNew Orleans. We appreciate you joining us.
Oh, thank you guys so much, appreciate it. Thanks Wes.
He love to you and your family. But brand west Over, that's our
that's our west Over. Takeover therein the end of two thirty half hour,
it's time for you to take overthe show. When we come back

(24:55):
from the top of our headlines,he's going to give you what to watch.
He's gonna break down how this gamecan be won by the Washington Huskies.
We'll do that next on ninety threepoint three KJFM.