Seasons now name division
like that's being legislated.
How is president State
managing that landscape. Obviously
a lot of coaches here have
been talking about that.
Yeah you know we're we just try
to stay in our lane really.
You know, we do have a
collective now Bulldog bred
that I think is
instrumental and and absolutely necessary
for us to to compete in our lane.
And I think that's, you know,
that's where we just need to stay.
You know, it's we're going to
lose some players over time.
It's just the way it is,
which which hurts my heart,
not just because of your talent level,
but because they've been
in our program 2-3 years.
They're the leaders of our program,
they're singing the messages,
you know, they're holding together
and all of a sudden they leave.
But I can't hold that against the players.
I mean the players, it is what that is.
You know,
until there's some guidelines around it,
we're always going to run the
risk because if we're successful,
our players are going to be sought after,
right?
It's like
free agency, you know? So every
year you have to be ready for free agency.
And you know, what would it be like
if the NFL, every year, every,
every player in the NFL was a free agent,
be pretty difficult, right?
And so that's kind of what it is right now,
but I don't hold it against
the players at all.
On the flip side,
the portal thing I think is good for
players who are stuck in a depth chart,
probably be able to get rerecruited
to make sure they only have a
certain window of opportunity,
to make sure they take advantage of the
window of opportunity to get between
the lines and actually play, you know,
but the NIL thing, we just, you know,
we need to stay in our lane and do our thing.
And if that's good enough,
it's good enough.
It's not.
We just have to find the right
players that are are comfortable
and want to compete in our lane.
I don't know
if you have the answer, but who you think
should be legislating.
That is it the Congress
investigation? Is it the NCAA?
That's that's way over my head.
That's way over my head. I don't know.
But I know some at some point
something needs to happen with it.
I I would hope that at some point there's
some guardrails around this thing you know.
And I don't know what the answers are.
All I know is we just have to
do what we can do. I I do.
I have talked to some really big time
coaches who are dealing with that and
I think they're completely miserable.
You know, when you're bidding
on players and you,
I mean the money has gotten crazy,
you know, and you know,
it's kind of a shame when some of those
people are in that situation at that level.
You know, the education piece does
isn't even talked about recruiting
used to say this is where we stand
in our mathematics apartment,
our language department,
whatever it is, you know,
now most of it is just directed
at the NIL piece, you know.
So it's a landscape we live in right now.
It's no different than any other NCAA rule
or any other process in the NCAA overtime.
It seems to figure itself out and work.
It's working the kicks out.
And I don't think that this
is going to be anything.
Coach,
you're an offensive coach and
you know this is going to be the
first college football season,
I think since like 87 or
88 without Mike Leach.
Hey, did you have any runins with
Coach Leach and and you talk to us
about how much he meant to the game?
Yeah, he was. He was a good friend of mine.
I miss Mike a lot. him and I competed
in the Holiday Bowl one year when he
was at Texas Tech and I was at Cal.
We got to know each other really well and
then we would take Nike trips together
and spend a lot of time together.
One of the more interesting people
you will ever meet were more educate.
Most educated people, intelligent people.
He was just a pleasure to be around.
I I could sit all night and listen the
stories and talk to him about things.
I I had a ton of respect for him
and you know it's very unfortunate
I'm going to miss him.
So in in in true Mike Leach
fashion then ranking the the
mascots of the Mountain West
where does the bulldog stand.
I don't know I can't do
anything like Mike Leach.
I mean that would that's
you can't do that right.
I mean, he he would have something
witty to say like right off the
top of his head, you know. Yeah.
Yeah. We've worked a few times
so I know exactly what you so
he's amazing. He was he is something
else, man. The pirate. The Pirate.
Yeah. Thank you, coach.
And best wishes on the season.
Thank you. Appreciate
it Was just one of the two
Fountain W teams with the top
50 passer rating last season.
Just how do you assess the
quarterbacks in the league,
in our league and our whole
league, I guess as a whole with
that, no, we're we're talented.
We throw the ball around a lot.
I mean there's high-powered offenses
in our conference and typically
that's driven by the quarterback.
Obviously all the skilled positions around
them have to have to do their part as well.
But yeah, there's a lot of talent in
our league at quarterback and and they
run highly proficient offenses, right?
There's a lot of big numbers in our league.
And so I think this is this conference
is one of the top conferences or the
Mountain West Conference is one of the top,
top conferences for quarterbacks. To
be able to come back.
Last year in your first year back
at Fresno State how special was it
to be able to go on and win that
balance championship?
It was, it was great,
not so much for me but for our
players and especially the way it
was done to start one and four and
overcome adversity and go on a nine
game-winning streak and have the third
longest winning streak in the country.
I think that's something those kids
can take for a long time with them.
I think it was such a unique
story and and path.
If we would have won ten games,
it would have been a win, a loss,
a win, a loss, a win, a loss, whatever.
It would not have the same storyline.
I don't think to be in one and
four and being the only team in
in say history to start one and
four and end up with ten wins,
it was pretty significant.
That says a lot about our
program and about our kids,
about the trust and the confidence
and the foundation that we have.
It is would be really easy to
start pointing the fingers and
things spinning out of control,
especially with social media starts
bombarding you about how bad you are
this and that and the other thing.
But they continue their belief and
they kept working hard and they
ended up reaping the benefits.
I
know you don't
want to lose a player, Veterans.
Williams as a caliber worked.
That kind of part of business.
Something was there about him,
what he brought to you, what he was
doing. Evan was a great player.
I, you know, freedom hit him as a freshman.
Great player, great leader for us,
tremendous young man. You know,
wish him all the success in the world.
You know, I think you'll be seeing
him playing on Sundays Monday.
Highly competitive, very
smart. He was like another
coach on the field for us
and just a true team leader
with realignment. The way it's going,
you played two Big 10 teams in 2024. Do you
plan for in recruiting and maybe even in
the Portal to use that as a
pitch of sorts that maybe somehow
get a couple more Midwestern
kids for, especially Portal guys?
Have they played there or something where?
Yeah, I think that's matching
up a little bit this year. We have a
couple kids that came in the portal.
They're from those areas which would be
great for their families to go to, you know.
So yeah, you always look at your schedule
and see what we're typically not.
We don't go all over the country recruiting.
I think 90% of our kids are from California,
you know, but but now,
but now with this portal situation,
portals national, right.
And so you're much more apt
to get more national kids,
not not like spending a ton of
resources going out and beating
the bushes and spring recruiting,
trying to go to every high school.
But it's individualized, right?
And so, yes, I think told us something.
Oh, and by the way,
we get to play Purdue and you're
from Ohio and your family's going
to get to go there.
I don't.
I think that's pretty natural.
There's thought this offseason about
possibility playing spring games
against opponents. That's FCS or
Power Five or what have you. What
are you thoughts about?
If you had the opportunity to
play a spring game against
Sacramento State or something,
or maybe you could go on the
road and play your Cal or
Stanford in the spring games,
that would that be something to be?
I don't think. I don't think
I'd be a fan of that, you know,
because our spring games are just
another practice and you know,
we want to make sure that
that that we're
working on what we want to work on.
So it's all scripted, right?
If you play a game, it's a it's a game,
but it's spring at that point.
I have my fingers crossed if we're
going to get through this last
practice healthy and we can have one
more one more cut of this or that or
whatever And we and so we really try
to control it's a controlled situation
some stuff the different tempos of
if we're going to kick off it may
not be live maybe that you know.
So I think we get enough work
against ourself but it's it's
in a controlled environment.
So that's why I prefer doing
we're doing. We thoughts on a couple
of rules changes for the season.
The clock not stopping at the
first down until 2 minutes and
not extending the first and third
quarter for for a penalty which
in some very unusual circumstances
might create a weird incentive.
But what are your
thoughts on this? I I think they're
fine I think they'll be fine.
You know the the one rule that I've
been kind of outspoken with that
I I'm not a fan of is you can't
have back-to-back timeouts to me
that's to me you have 3 timeouts.
It really doesn't matter when you use them.
I get the, I get the reasoning why,
and it's about not being able
to ice the kicker twice. Okay.
Then just put it on the extra
point play we or the field goal
play where you can ice the kicker.
But besides that,
it's going to come back to bite
somebody this year or something happens.
Quarterback helmet comes off.
You have to call it,
time out to keep it in the game.
Then all of a sudden you have the
wrong personnel going in the game.
You need to call it. But you can't.
You know,
I just don't understand that rule really.
I I think it's it's you have 3 timeouts
and typically if you call 2 back-to-back,
the 2nd one's a 32nd timeout anyway,
which is saving you time.
And that's what the impetus
of the whole rule is,
it's to save time.
So that's the only rule that
I really am not
a fan of. How many players now being
able to take unlimited officials,
particularly in the Portal era.
What's the right number for the institutions?
I know it's increased to 70 for the year,
but should it be 70? Should it be 100?
Should it be unlimited?
Whatever the budget allows, What's the
right number for comedy officials? You
should be able to. I don't know.
I don't know what the right number is.
I kind of like what our number is.
I mean, to tell you the truth, I mean,
you can only take so many players, right?
I mean, it's not like your
roster is increasing.
You can only have 85 guys on scholarship,
right? So that's not changing.
If it went up to 125 guys on scholarship,
then maybe you might have to have more.
Well, yeah, there,
there's no doubt about that.
But at some point they're
going to commit to you, right?
And once they commit,
then you stop taking trips, right.
So, and that would be the next
thing that I would really
vote for is some sort of a
signing period for Portal kids
that lock them down so
that it's not, you know,
you take a commitment from somebody,
you're counting on them,
and then all of a sudden 2 weeks later,
they got off for this NIL
deal to go somewhere else.
And now they're gone,
you know, so there's no real
signing date for Portal kids.
They become part of your thing
as soon as they come to school.
I wish it was a signing
period for Portal kids.
So you knew how to depend on,
you knew how to manage your
roster and you could depend on.
This guy's a part of our team.
So all of a sudden we say okay,
this guy's coming.
He committed to us.
We stop recruiting other players.
2 weeks later,
they get a call from wherever and they get
an NIL deal better than ours or whatever,
and now they're gone.
Now we start over again.
I just wish there was at some
point a some kind of a signing
date for Portal kids.
I coach with Jake Haner going pro
now and you guys are diving in and
continuing a quarterback competition.
What are the traits that you look for
in a quarterback that's going to help
you make your decision? Yeah,
you know, I think it goes
mental and physical toughness,
highly competitive athleticism,
some kind of natural throwing motion.
Those are things that we kind of
look for intelligence, you know,
because you have the best arm in the world,
but if you can't put it all together.
So those are the things we
kind of look for, right?
And as far as characteristics
for our quarterback.
And I think we're in a pretty good
spot right now with our competition
with our quarterbacks because both of
the guys that are at the top of our
competition have been in the arena.
And so that brings a certain
amount of composure and and and
poise and understanding of all the
stuff that goes on in the game of
managing the game as a quarterback,
which is so many things going
on in quarterback.
But if you've done that before
then you could really tell that
those guys are comfortable with.
Now it's just about execution and
putting the other ten guys on
the field position be successful.
What
stands out this season about Boise
State and following last year's
Mountain West championship game,
How much do you think that
elevates what was already a great
rivalry between the two schools?
I'm not sure what stands out any different.
I mean they, I think they are who they are.
They're a great football program,
they're well coached,
they have really good players.
They play at their place.
It's very hostile, very loud.
Thankfully we get to play
them at our place this year,
which is the first time since 17
as far as I when I was a coach.
So it'd be nice to get them at our place now.
But it's it's always about we always
seem to play low scoring games.
You know the one score games here,
one score games there,
they're always very tight.
You know thankfully we've we've
been able to go there and win 2
conference championships at at at
their place which has been highly
competitive and that's the other
thing you go there in those months
you're now you're dealing with the
environment or the the the weather,
right.
And so
and so I think we've been in the snow
maybe last two at least it's been cold
the last two championship games we played
there. What's your take
on Andy Oflos heading into his third
season how how much he's already
accomplished over the last two
years? Yeah, I think he's done
a really nice job of carrying the torch
that have been there for a long time.
Actually. If you go all the way back to
Cutter and Peterson and and then Arson,
you know for him just to
continue in that legacy,
I think he's done a nice job of
continuing with the consistency and and
the brand of football that they play.
Fresno State seemed like one of
the only conference teams that was
able to just stop the, you know,
the triple attack of tailing green,
George Shalani, Ashton Gente.
Why do you guys think you were
able to manage that so well?
I just think our defense improved you know,
over the year.
I think we had more experience.
I thought we tackled better.
We ran into the ball really,
really well, you know.
So I don't know that schematically,
you know, there was one thing
you could hang your hat on,
but you know when the quarterback
gets out in open space,
one-on-one and he's hard
to bring down one-on-one.
So if you're not a good
tackling team in space,
he could really do some damage.
But I think we really
improved over the season of
it being really good tacklers in the open
field. And I don't.
I think we got him in the
open field in that game.
I I think we did a pretty good
job one-on-one of of getting
them on the ground,
which is not easy to do.