Valdosta State QB and Harlon Hill finalist Sammy Edwards joins the show to breakdown the dazzling offense in Titletown, and we’re joined by Pacific Lutheran AD Mike Snyder to talk about all the brand deals being made by the lutes up in WA. Trevor and Kobe check out some former D3 stand-outs making the jump to Power 5 schools, check out small-school products landing on UFL teams, and a coach going from D2 to D1.
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00-3:19 Episode Overview
3:20 Sammy Edwards – Valdosta State
22:00 Mike Jacobs from D2 Lenoir Rhyne to FCS Mercer
28:10 D3 Players transferring to Power 5 Schools
40:47 Mike Snyder – Pacific Lutheran
59:30 UFL Rosters
Apply to be a D1R Athlete here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSczZ-pJdt-kIkmJvABXAcpw-PhJ56EdRdQYoDOQxOVW7RICVg/viewform?usp=sf_link
Follow Us On:
Twitter – D1_Rejects
Instagram – division1rejects
DISCLAIMER: Any outside videos/content used as discussion topics are protected by fair use and are not intended to infringe on the copyright of the owners.
Hello welcome back to division one rejects I’m your host Kobe Manzo kicking off this off season the right way we had a great episode last week with Kyle sheets we’ve got two more great guests that will be joining me here tonight Mike Snyder the athletic director from
Pacific Lutheran the squad we talked a lot about last week in terms of their name image and likeness deals for those guys over there on the west coast and then Samy Edwards the man under centor for the valdasta State Blazers down there in title toown he finished third
Place in the Harland Hill voting this year he had quite the phenomenal year Trev he was fun to watch yes that’s where you chime in yeah I just uh I don’t have a ton to add I that’s okay that’s okay um but otherwise tonight we are going to kind of jump
Around a little bit we’ve got a division 2 playoff coach who made it to the quarterfinals um this past year and has had a lot of success at the division 2 level over at Lenor Ryan he’s taking a job going to an FCS Squad that just made their first playoff birth potentially in
Their school’s history there their squads On The Rise we not talk too much right now but uh we’ll get into that in a little bit we also have two division three transfers offensive and defensive line respectively going from division three to power five football UCLA and North Carolina pick up some big time
Transfers we’ll talk about it more but it’s just very surprising especially like the position they play The Trenches yeah that’s where people talk about like you always see you know what’s the biggest difference from D3 D2 to FCS and people talk about yeah you’re going to find some dudes at skill positions that
Can go and play just about wherever but they they always say the line play is kind of what differentiat yeah exactly even I remember that’s what Dion Sanders said too like going from F coaching FCS because Jackson State’s FCS right I believe so yes going up to swack yeah
Then going up to Colorado he said the biggest difference is the trenches and even his son said that too yep yeah he said the same thing you’re right so I’m I’m very curious to dive into that a little bit more and we will uh finally though we have some small school
Products landing on UFL rosters 40 plus players from division 2 Division 3 and nii respectively there’s a few Community College Jo guys as well but that we don’t really cover that within our realm and our sphere over here lot of guys getting opportunities in the United
Football League which uh if you had not noticed the XFL and the usfl have merged into the UFL of fls uh none of them Florida actually uh but this merger is big for both leagues because now they don’t compete with each other and I’m excited to talk about it a little bit
Later and I think the best part about it is there’s a lot of guys from small school football getting real opportunities they had a dispersal or dispenser Ral draft I’m going to figure out the word choice later but very interesting a lot of stuff we’ll cover
Uh later if you want to get right to those any of those guest conversations or any of those topics I just talked about on YouTube time stamps video chapters bottom of the screen fast forward to any part of the episode you’d like likewise same for Spotify Apple podcast you name it wherever you’re
Listening all those time SP stamps excuse me uh will be in the description subscribe to us on YouTube over 1K now a lot of great things planned for this offseason otherwise follow us on the socials be up to date with everything d1r we appreciate you we’ll get right into that conversation with Sammy
Edwards to kick things off joining the show tonight the signal caller of one of the nation’s best passing attacks the super Region 2 offensive player of the year the only thing better than the a ra down intitle town is the flow on this man’s head repping the Bulls It’s Sammy
Edwards what’s up fella what’s up man man just here admiring man it looks good looks good how long it take you to get that growing up you know I think it hasn’t taken me too long a year or two usually keep it pretty long so kind of
Maintain it but don’t cut it short too often just enough so it like sneaks out the back of the helmet right I feel like that’s always the the play right yeah I was a former lacrosse guy so lettuce lettuce is what it’s called it’s a big that makes sense that makes sense yeah
It’s like that definitely came over from hockey my brother’s a big hockey guy so I think that that lingo kind of has transcended a little bit into that LAX realm a little bit but uh what’ you play in lacrosse uh I was a midfielder okay I
Can see that I like it I like it now hell of a football player too by the way I’m sure a lot of people have figured that one out and you know just talking about your progression I me let’s jump right into it dude you look
At your season as a whole as someone who yeah I got to watch you a good bit this year but before this year I didn’t know who the hell you were I think a lot of people were probably in that same boat you’ve burst onto this National scene as
In division 2 football out of out of really nowhere and you complete six passes in 2021 one in 2022 and now you complete 326 and you thrown for over 4,000 yards how do you over the course of that those couple years man one just keep the faith
Right and keep the confidence in that yeah I can be the guy and it might not be now it might not even be a year from now but eventually I’m going to have my moment and I’m going to take advantage of that how do you do that yeah so um
Freshman year came in uh golf I came in with Gary G um he was there in 2021 uh he kind of sat me down and told me they needed um a second string and he said I would have a chance to compete but that was before I knew they had a kid called
Ivory Durham that could throw the ball 75 yards and probably runs a four five so um that was kind of hard to beat coming out of high school but you know um didn’t reg law uh got decent bit of playing time my freshman year just
Because we did go to The Natty that year and we were putting up some good points on people so I got some got some time towards the end of the game um 2022 wasn’t really the case um you know went five and six wasn’t a good season so you
You said I had one p attempt uh first down by the way third and four I think so there you go pretty good percentages um hell yeah but yeah um I saw I saw um you know growth and development um waiting two years and I mean nowadays
With the transfer portal you don’t see that often um I just saw value in sitting behind Ivory and I think he was a good kid and um you know I wasn’t mad that I wasn’t starting or anything like that so I think those two years really U
Made me hungry for you know my opportunity and I think those two years kind of made me into the guy I am today totally wouldn’t have it any other way especially looking back at the season that you did just have but it is interesting you talk about Ivory and a
Guy that I’ve seen play a little bit and the only time I’ve seen him play is the national stage right because they’re able to they as in this program and we’ll talk about that in a little bit but able to just remain on the national stage how was it though being behind a
Guy like that in which you know correct me if I’m wrong but your play style is definitely a little bit different you talk about the athleticism um and not to say that you’re lacking in that area at all but just talk about a dude that is
Just a freak when it comes to the the measurables and some of those things that he was able to do on the football field what was it like being behind him looking at that game and kind of adapting it to your own because if you
Go out there and try to be the next I Durham it’s not going to work out right you have to be the only the one and only Sammy Edwards so talk about that process right yeah the dude super electric um whatever he does um you know he could
Throw the ball 70 run a four five um and super Shifty um he’s a good kid though um our play styles are definitely a little different I think he spins the ball a lot better than I do um I think you know I really kind of adapted my
Game to more of the mental side um I think I really advance and uh knowing football and kind of getting to know my opponent and I think I win off the field more than I went on the field um I think I take that to heart not saying that he
Didn’t but you know I can’t get by uh you know running out of the pocket and scrambling for 70 so and is it tough playing that the mental game because when you’re when you know you’re the starter right coming into the year and you’re going week by week and you’re prepping for the
Opponent right and you go out on Saturday and now here you go you can see if all that prep amounted to literally anything or it you know blows up in your face and it just was not anything now being the backup though is a different case because you’re still going through
A lot of the same prep work you’re sitting at all the same meetings uh with your coach and probably coming in on your own with a couple of those other guys and breaking down film but you don’t get that immediate feedback on Saturday of is this enough prep am I
Doing things correctly you’re not getting that response from the other team because you’re not having the chance to go out there and showcase that I think again just goes back to like Keeping the Faith how did you adjust kind of your preparation Style into this
Year and how has it grown in the last couple years yeah so um those two years um as a backup quarterback I don’t think anybody kind of realizes how hard of a job that is you’re kind of a a guy walking that line you know you want to
Be prepared because you know anything can happen but at the same time you get to week seven and haven’t played a snap it’s kind of like H this is this is getting old yeah it’s not very fun um but yeah I mean it’s just a complete 180
Um from you know the past two years to this year and um you know I’d leave no doubt when preparing I think I take that very seriously I mean the GSC is no joke so um coming week in and week out they’re going to throw something
Different at you I’m sure I’ll get a lot of different stuff this year just because of the success I had last year on the field um but yeah I always I always love challenging myself in that part of the game coach Jackson said it was the best conference in the country
We had him on here and he said that with a lot of conviction man what have uh your impressions been of of the conference and of your head coach the man at the helm of this program that is obviously one year away from the playoffs you guys are right back into
The thick of it yeah um yeah the GSC is no joke um you know we have I think I read a stat or something I could be wrong but you know more than one team more than two teams um that made the GSC playoffs or made the playoffs for the
GSC um for however many years but you know I think good players come out of the GSC I mean we’re in the South so you’re going to have a lot of athletes being recruited there um and you know I’ve known countless people from West Florida like Austin and you know Delta
Like Patrick um you know I respect those guys a lot um and I think they’re um you know they play real um sound football in the GSC um I don’t think people give it much credit just because it’s hard to see a D2 school as a school with good
Coaching but I mean especially when you are surrounded by a ton of top tier FBS Talent down there right and I think that’s what some other leagues especially when you look at maybe some of the lower like division 3 I is a great example super prominent along the
East Coast West Coast not nearly as much but east coast a ton of great D3 schools up in there and yeah there’s totally FBS squads that are that are great in that region but especially you get into the like Northeast region that’s like that’s small school territory in there man it
Just it means more in those kind of areas so it’s interesting to be in a market like you guys in a lot of the gulf sou South teams share where you’re not the favorite in the area you might not even be number two but you’re still playing like damn good football that’s
Tough yeah it’s funny to see you know which which school will find that D1 guy that’s that’s floating around it’s like a you know FBS power five receiver and you’re like how did how did he get there and you know he kills you and gives you a hundred or something like that but
It’s you hey my my boy like you don’t belong here I don’t know what uh what convinced you otherwise or what kind of circumstance led to it I’ve played with those guys I’ve played against them it’s much better when they’re on your sideline huh yeah right yeah I think now that we got
12 and two we got some of those transfers um so that’s that’s a good change a speed for that so um yeah and in terms of Coach Jack you know um I believe in everything he does um I think he’s a super energetic super um you know
A guy with conviction um and I think you need that and you know to the public I think he can see or seem you know a little over the top or a little exuberant but that’s just his personality and I wouldn’t change it for the world and you know he might see
Random um but I think he does everything for a reason um you know if you sit down and talk to him um you’ll you’ll understand that he does things that you couldn’t even see um weeks or days into the future and he’s already planning that out um he plans a he plans things
You know further advaned than anybody and um you know he plays mind games um he’s like a he’s like a Jedi so that’se he’ll he’ll kind of uh you know every new guy that kind of comes in doesn’t really understand that doesn’t understand that he’s doing that for a
Reason um he’s trying to get the best out of you and if he doesn’t he don’t like that then you weren’t good for us anyway um so it’s kind of funny watching him getting on to the new guys and realizing that he did that to me at
First um and you know that he there is no one above the law either he’ll cuss my ass out um with no hesitation so two things first that was hell of a promo you just cut I love it uh and three things I lied three things two the word
Choice on par exuberant I think it’s a great word to describe him and you talk about that that emotion almost just wearing the emotions right on your sleeve like you can see how this dude feels and it’s relatable because there are people that are very guarded in the
Way that they the they act the way they express their emotions you can’t quite get a read on him from what little I’ve seen from your head coach you know exactly how he’s feeling at any given point and and he’s very straightforward about that a black and white guy and and
I can certainly appreciate that having been coached by guys uh similar in that nature but but the last thing is what color lightsaber would coach Jack have if he were a Jedi this is an important question is a lot writing on this it is an important question
Um you know I might I might give him the Sith category you know um I think he likes being the villain a little too much sometimes I’m gon be honest I think he likes being the villain I think he not what I was expecting so I’d have to
Give him red he takes that role and he loves it so I’ll give that to the Sith that’s badass Fallen Jedi down in title Town y that sounds like a spin-off it’s like Marvel or sorry like Disney will pick that up dude yeah we can make a
Movie out of that for sure they might they might but let’s talk about uh title town a little bit right and you get that name for a reason and that’s competing at the highest level for a very long time going through and and looking at the stats you talk about your losing
Season in 2022 five and six anywhere else hey guys it SS we got next year when you’re at a place like vasta and I go through and I look at the schedule all the way back to 2010 which is where it stops by the way at least on the
Website I didn’t go and try and do any further research I couldn’t find another losing season you guys haven’t had another one in the last decade and that’s something that that program that culture has been instilled long before either you or coach Jackson got there and the fact that you’re able to
Withstand that and uphold that kind of just trajectory as a program is wild especially you had that losing season and it feels like I would assume from your perspective everyone just writes you off in the offseason because you talk about the Gul South powerhouses like West Florida and Delta State that are
Competing for that GSC championship and a birth to the National Championship coming into this year it had to feel like you guys were an afterthought after just one losing season just everyone was just so quick to to write you guys off in the conference and on the national
Stage yeah I think that’s what that’s what motivated us you know the guys who did decide to stay from That season um it wasn’t many um but you know guys like me who didn’t play Still you know had a bad taste in our mouth from That season
It’s you know that five and six season kind of you thought we kicked every puppy in town you know what I mean like you said it’s not normal in Basta that’s how it was we can’t gloss over that that was gold no that was gold I’ve not heard that one before to um
Because you know it’s just we had so much support from the boosters and it’s automatically like you don’t have much money being gifted to you was you know as normal as it was um interesting yeah it’s just um I think that’s was the leading factor to our success and you
Know I think my big thing in just staying here for two years and kind of you know Keeping the Faith like you said um like coach Jackson says um was I got here and you know the culture um of Vasa State football really attracted me um you know watching guys like Rogan Wells
And you know even Dusty boner Lance funderberg or HJ you know all those guys it’s just um it was it was it was awesome to kind of you know be able to kind of restore some of that and some of what those quarterbacks and some of
Those guys have built for Vasa State and I think you know walking up and down that hallway and seeing those names on those boards um you know I think that’s why a part of what I do um why I do it is just kind of restoring that culture
In Vasa state so the the good and the bad I think it’s gotten us to where we’re at now and you’ve done it pal you’ve done it there’s a very select list of guys that throw for 4K plus and do it in a conference and with a
Schedule like you guys had and you talk about oh he played some nii teams well that ni team one of them that you played went on to go win the national championship so that’s not so bad of a win in my book and you know looking at
That and and kind of just looking back and reflecting on this season you go and you’re Harlen Hill finalist and you’re third in the voting behind a guy in Zab zabowski that just put up video game numbers and the reigning harlon Hill winner and John boka and you’re right on
That category it’s from too obviously to me it’s not like one two three it it was one a one B one C and that I think that’s how it felt for a lot of people um and so now I guess the question for me is two years that you’ve had and you
Maybe didn’t have as much to go on and reflect in this off season you talk about yourself being someone who’s very focused predominantly in that mental side of the game and preparing for opponents long before you step in between the white lines now having a whole season’s worth of film and more
Importantly of some mistakes that I’m sure there are some plays that you want back how do you take the next step moving into 2024 yeah there’s always things to work on um I’m super hard on myself um I think that’s a good quality to have so um there’s plenty of things I can
Improve on whether it’s accuracy or just just better understanding situations because I think you know this year did a lot for me in that aspect um think I had to take some hard lessons on the field when I wasn’t fully prepared in that situation so um yeah I mean there’s
There’s always something to improve on um whether it’s getting bigger or stronger too um you know we had a 14 15 week season um and I wasn’t the heaviest guy so taking hits at 185 doesn’t necessarily feel too good so yep towards the end of the season kind of broke down
A little bit so um yeah just focus on getting bigger stronger faster um so yeah should be fun I hear you man and I had to double check the the Bulls C cough me off guard you’re a you’re a Florida guy I am yeah care to explain St Augustine
Florida man it’s uh it’s right under Jacksonville it’s right on the beach I mean I’m talking the Bulls you just like the look or that’s that’s your SC oh yeah yeah yeah yeah Chicago so my dad’s a bulls fan um he was with the Jordan
Era um so yeah I guess I gota got that from him we’re not as good anymore but that’s that’s my kind of that’s my NBA team I I kind of hold so this dope I literally just like my other monitor I pulled it up I was like I swear this
Dude was not I’m like he’s from Florida like he is not yeah it’s odd it’s odd I love it man I love it man Sammy but I’m I’m excited for you guys man a lot of great stuff still to come from this squad and um you
Know the buying from guys like you that that have stuck it out I think that’s got to be a big part of of the squad too and you know if I’m not mistaken like yeah you add in some some Talent from the transer portal it’s not like you’re
Just totally opposed to it but it feels like this team’s trajectory is is definitely in the hands of guys who have been there for multiple years and have endured right right yeah we’ve kind of we got our core guys core guys who have been there core guys who just joined us
Um and I think we really have instilled a culture with the season we had last year and you know it’s kind of my first time being a part of making that culture and kind of adding new guys from the transfer portal and getting them to buy
Into what we do and kind of not accepting what they do kind of getting that out of their system and joining us rather than making it a new team so I’m really interested to see how that goes I like that I haven’t really heard it phrased in that way before but that’s
Exactly how it is right when somebody comes in with certain habits or certain ways of doing things you’re either going to conform to whatever that is or you’re going to make them uh adapt and conform to what you guys already have in place and that’s a reflection of your culture
If you have a strong culture and you have a strong group of personalities and and people with pride in that locker room whether it be coaches and mostly players student athletes on that team you you’ll have guys come in and buy in to whatever it is that you’re selling or
You’re preaching there on campus but vice versa if that culture is pretty weak and doesn’t stand up to some of that and you have a strong personality coming from the portal all of a sudden like you said it it is a different team and it might not be a totally different
Roster but now all of a sudden things change and and that’s a very good way of phrasing it dude I’m excited to see what happens for you guys in 2024 long way until then but uh appreciate you joining me tonight Sammy yeah man thank you for having me absolutely have a good one
Dude all right you too see back from the conversation with Sammy appreciate him hopping on talking a little bit of ball uh we’ve had a couple guys from from that Squad the Austin now and and that stat Trev that I talked about in the interview with him but going back
Through their records right I go back to 2010 that last season in 2022 The First losing season they’ve had in over a decade uh down there in title town so that’s just I mean that’s incredible it they really yes that is incredible through multiple head coaches and starting quarterbacks and coordinators
And all the changes in college football to have that kind of sustained success is very impressive and a man that has done that it’s Mike Jacobs at Lenor Ryan and formerly Lenor Ryan I should say as you see here those are not the colors of the Bears he’s rocking the orange of
Mercer football which I do believe is also a bear they are the so he keeps the mascot it’s got to be comforting must be pretty cool though he has taken the job from a perennial contender in division 2 football Lenor Ryan in four years he was 32 and9 at the helm the
780 uh 780 whatever you say winning percentage that’s the third highest by head coach in Leno Ryan history he led the Bears to a national semi-final super Region 2 Championship uh this past year along with the sa and uh pedmont division championship and two out of the
Four years he went to the playoffs also captured a share of the peont division in uh 22 and they finished the the year the regular season ranked number four nationally TI a program record 13 wins there’s a lot of stuff to hang your hat on and that’s how you get a job like
This right exactly exactly man we talk about about guys oh go ahead I think you’ll probably mention it shortly but Mercer made the playoffs too didn’t they they did and uh that’s why it’s a a really interesting kind of gig and a jump because you talk about
Players making that jump all the time I think as become pretty common place for these especially lower level division ones it’s not a shot at Mercer which is FCS Squad uh these lower level division ones to come through and poach Talent at the D2 level Tavon McCarthy NMU to
Mercer has a great year defensive I mean that’s just a prime example of that uh but we don’t see coaches do this very often especially to a team that has just made the playoffs at the FCS level so I don’t know if you know this did the
Other coach get let go or did he find a new opportunity do you like did you find that out at all um that is a I don’t even know who their head coach was that is a great question let’s going to find find out right now um cuz it’s just kind of interesting
Making the playoffs and I mean I’m sure that’s what okay I did end up seeing this so uh Drew kronic I’m hopefully I’m pronouncing that correctly he resigned to take the offensive coordinator job with navy oh well um yeah because he’s going he’s going up yeah essentially but
If you remember I believe the former I don’t know if remember was the OC or if it was uh one of the other offensive Personnel is now the head coach at Carson Newman a division 2 Squad so there’s a very weird yeah love triangle going I don’t know where the hell that
You know what I mean I believe it was the uh former offensive coordinator could be but someone from Navy because they talked about the triple option and the style of offense he’s bringing to Carson Newman which should be exciting for them oh that’s weird did you see uh
Speaking of Navy their old head coach dra a blank’s name San Jose State correct yeah yeah I don’t know if you saw that too kind of yeah no he said he’s not running the triple option there though which is pretty crazy he’s going to switch up he’s going to switch up say
Why would he do that I don’t know that’s why I wanted to that had to have been a condition of his job like him getting the job maybe I don’t know cuz he like he made it like like they had it for Forever at Navy but like he really
Like evolved it and now he’s not going to run it at San Jose State which I thought was pretty crazy very interesting here’s the uh the actual clip from Mercer football uh the moment that coach Jacobs got announced I’ll play just a snippet of it so you guys
Can uh kind of get a reaction to that one second thing I told I was proud of is that you were true Professionals in this last nine days I think you trusted a lot of us to try to make the best decision as as I told you yesterday I’m
Pretty confident we made the best decision and so without further Ado our next football coach Mike Jacobs I hope you understand just how privileged I am to stand in front of you guys and I I certainly empathize with you you know when I was a player I
Wasn’t a great player but we had a coaching change from after my fourth season going into my fifth season so i’ I’ve been in that chair and i’ I’ve had the change over and kind of the uncertainty so I get where you’re coming from so the big thing for me lot of a
Random apparel on these guys Lear see the jeta right this is going to be this is going to be a partnership we’re going to work our butts off we’re going to win a bunch of football games as a group together but we’re going to do it in a
Manner that make sure that you have the best college experience in the country while we win a bunch of games cuz like I said this thing will not you know nothing ridiculous he’s not coming in and uh not taking any notes out of Dan Camp’s book there but again you just
Don’t see this very often a guy that inherits a winning program like Mercer there’s a lot of guys now that are going to get more professional looks because of that and now you see what happens with the portal there are we going to see a mass Exodus from a squad like that
All these things kind of it’ll be interesting to see if any uh Lenor Ryan players will be playing at Mercer next year yeah and follow him because because they had a lot of really talented athletes on that Squad and that’s where I I agree with you get think couple and
You look at a very similar situation albeit not as prominent of a division one program coach from Pittsburgh state takes the NAU or na Arizon yeah Northern Arizona uh acronyms are not working for me for a second and he poaches a couple of the best players remaining from that
Pittsburg State Squad Kobe catus is a name uh that played wide receiver for them and now he’s following him to Lumberjacks to go play uh division one ball and he was a stud for them for the gorillas so yeah it’s interesting to see that always have mixed feelings about
Like poaching those guys but at the end of the day like they have a relationship with that coach they trust that coach they committed to that a lot of those guys committed to that coach like yeah not exactly the university as a whole yeah some guys don’t commit to the
University they commit to the coaches that are in place yeah and then there’s good and bad to that right because coaching and the stability of the profession is so fickle that’s just not the stability at all and it’s such a what is it it’s a result driven industry right
100% it’s like I mean yeah you said it perfectly I think I oh thank you we’ll talk about two guys who have gotten a lot of results at their respective levels the first one right here from Johns Hopkins University Luke Shuman look at where he’s ending up Trev I just
Find that insane from playing defensive line of division 3 Johns Hopkins he has just committed to play for the Bears excuse me the Golden Bears I do believe correct yes at UCLA man that’s incredible stuff UCLA no they’re the Bruins Bruins sorry I’m off oh that’s
Cal I’m pretty sure yep you’re right so that’s that’s bad hope no UCLA fans listen but either way man the to go and to be able to make this jump as a guy we talked about in the trenches right this is really impressive and something that
I think a lot of people were surprised by again I don’t think many people were surprised by his announcement maybe to jump in the portal after a lot of the accolades uh that he’s gained and you talk about some of the stuff on that list this guy was a finalist of the
William V Campbell trophy which is uh college footballs award that annually recognizes it’s an indidual individual excuse me that has the absolute best in the nation for Combined academic success football performance and exemplary leadership so basically just you’re just an All-American dude yeah and that’s the kind of guy that that lcas apparently
It’d be interesting to see like when he entered the portal I wonder if like what he expected like you would think coming from D3 did he expect to get power five offers I’d love to we should get him on here love to ask that question because like I don’t know
And you’re coming from a D3 gr he was coming from a good D3 but it’s still division three football it’s like I don’t know you you might think okay go up D2 or maybe FCS or even like a group of five school but like he’s going to a
Big big 10 school now I would say yeah big 10 that sounds weird but you’re right it sounds weird and what might actually be even more interesting is to speak to the position coach or the recruiting coach that brought him on one how the hell did you find this dude yeah
Right is this somebody that over the year you get a tip from some kind of connection or some type of scout or something that hey this guy I mean there’s got to be a connection somehow there has to I don’t you don’t just randomly fall upon a blue jay at John’s
Hopkins I don’t think you wouldn’t think yeah there’s got to be some sort of connection man that would be very interesting though to see you know one how do you come across a guy like this and then two how critical is the evaluation because obviously the disparity and talent that you’re playing
At UCLA compared to joh hkin I mean if they’re if they’re offering him he’s got to be a dog no question I’m not bringing question at all like I mean like it must be like I have never seen his film but it must be like he’s he looks like a man
Among I was about to say that bro man amongst boys that’s exactly what I was going to say um and looking at his stats I can at least tell you a little bit He’s listed at 64 255 he’s a senior so it’s good size I mean it’s a good frame
Nothing ridiculous that jumps out of you but again he was at D3 so you kind of get why I mean that’s that’s big for D3 I mean and a guy that can move too like this is not a a lumbering like he’s he’s incredibly athletic from what I’ve seen
Of him and you look at he’s got a good frame um and looking at the stats from these last couple years here and 2023 in particular he had 55 tackles 15 and a half tackles for loss uh nine and a half sacks so certainly had production it wasn’t anything I don’t no
Record-breaking kind of kind of sure I mean if he’s been good for a couple years I’m sure like he’s getting double teamed on every oh absolutely he’s getting a tight end chipping off of him he’s getting running back and a tackle just designated to him like yeah so that
Just talking about that right because you would assume that the year prior to this was a very productive one people kind of understand yeah last year 26 and a half tackles for loss in 14 sacks yeah exactly and this year they’re like we [ __ ] know who you are buddy and
You’re triple team yeah you still had 10 sacks nine and a half but that’s 10 sacks oh dude yeah that’s wild uh he’s also got couple pass deflections Five Force fumbles and and a fball recovery in his career he’s uh accumulated almost 200 tackles for the the Blue Jays over
There and yeah mean that’s legit that’s what that the season before you’re right is definitely the that’s the bar of hey you did this last year we know exactly what’s coming you still can’t stop it that’s yeah it’s legit when you have to game plan for a d lineman offensively
Problem that’s usually a problem I mean someone who’s that disruptive you have to go out of your way to kind of maneuver around or Center your scheme that’s bad it’s Bad News Bears uh but when you have a guy like Zack Greenberg on your offensive line these two played
This year if you remember the Miracle at mberg I don’t know if that rings a bell the last second field goal from Johns Hopkins that was batted and ran into the end zone these two played against each other and now are going to play division one football and I don’t think they’ll
Play each other per se but uh here you have it man Zack Greenberg he’s going from eulenberg to the University of North Carolina that’s sweet the Tar Heels man that’s really sweet that that was what is really cool you think these guys just picked like where they wanted
To commit based on the color scheme because they both were they did a great job mberg uh mberg is red and red and gray red and black Johns Hopkins though has very similar like the these guys like UCLA has great colors and then UNC is just I mean that they have the best
Color question number one for him um but what’s really cool about this is that you know unless they’re borring some kind of injury or something that week these two actually played against each other yeah and so just imagine from a a recruiting perspective and saying like when when they evaluate this guy because
Obviously both these coaches at their respective schools are going through and watching just about every snap these guys have played at the at this level you had do a think somewhere in there like who who’s this guy going yeah what’s yeah this kid’s legit you know
What I mean so how does that feed into it and I know a lot of kids use that as a little bit of a bump in recruiting to say Hey you know this should be the first clip in your film if you know it’s a dude that’s going to go play Power
Five like that’s showing that you belong there too I I wonder how much of that play played into the process these commitments came pretty close next to each other see this one was announced on on January 15th as far as Greenberg goes he had uh he’s a grad transfer has two
Years of Eligibility left which is big time for him that’s big especially no it’s big for UNCC it is that’s true no that’s that’s very true um and a couple of his other offers included ECU Troy Yukon some other FBS schools but I don’t believe he really started receiving
Power five attention until UNCC showed interest which is interesting because again you get this attention from these these group of five squads that’s all well and good it really takes something more for one of these teams to take a even take a look at you and then to
Follow up with you and eventually put that offer on the table so again I’d love to speak to both sides about this about what this recruiting process was like and like you said did you did you [ __ ] expect this like is this was this real that’s what I would want to
Know like like going in did you did you think like it’s going to be power five offers and I know do you know what his size is like yeah so he’s listed at 64290 okay so he’s he’s right at that yep it’s kind of the same I think the
Same but like it’s not not anything the numbers don’t jump at you 64 is I mean for D1 that’s actually this below is actually below average yeah 290 cuz 64 290 is about average for D2 football I would say mhm no I agree so again he’s
Got to just be a dog to like be getting these offers yes so I mean obviously he was in all conference also in All Region selection this past year um also on the academic honor role way to go way to go good [ __ ] Zach academic weapon student
Athlete um but yeah I mean a lot of things have have he’s done his work and it’s hard to evaluate offensive lineman I got the stats page pulled up here would you like to know what the stats say about him uh I mean he’s an offensive line no stats there’s no stats
So that’s that’s a good thing though yeah that’s you’re right if it’s like offensive linemen are like referees if you know who they are it’s not a good thing exactly you like them they’re just just the GU doing their job yeah you you either know offensive linemen when they’re like at the top
Level like like the elite like the five all offens lineman in the NFL or the worst or they’re the worst like the one guy for the Chiefs that uh always jumps off sides everyone knows his named Taylor yes oh that’s funny yeah no but again just going back to to overall man
Like this is really cool to see these D3 guys get these opportunities get these chances and it it will be interesting to see one how they perform at the next level obviously we’ll be following these guys uh intently because I’m excited to see what kind of impact they make and
Two if this happens with more guys this becomes more prevent because right now man there are so many players leaving and entering different schools that you know a lot of these places are trying to figure out how they get an edge and bringing in a guy from division three a
Division 2 and nii Squad you know these guys aren’t going to take [ __ ] for granted they’re going to be there to work their ass off and to live out a dream for themselves yeah they’re just like blessed for the opportunity like yeah they’re like so honored to even be
There like and you look at a guy like Conor near is a great example last year went to go play for Oklahoma after uh winning a national championship with Ferris State and someone who for him didn’t play a ton of meaningful snaps they returned one of the best
Tacklers in the Big 12 I believe one of the leaders in the conference but they added near because as a graduate transfer he whether it’s D3 D2 ni wherever he’s bringing four years of football experience exactly this is a very similar case here with Greenberg who didn’t miss one season due to a
Season ending injury excuse me he’s played a lot of football a lot of meaningful football in the playoffs as well well and when you bring that kind of experience to any kind of locker room in that position group this could certainly be a case I don’t have it in
Front of me but think about it maybe an offensive line group that is just very young that was just going to get to that point think about kind of goes back to the whole transfer portal as a coach think about this when you’re at like the highest level of football for college
Like you’re at UNC they’re trying to make the playoffs they’re trying to win a National Championship do you want to have a young player travel that’s never played any meaningful snaps or if you can bring in a guy like that that’s played for four years of college football wouldn’t you rather have that
To like and that’s the whole Allure of the transfer portal right yeah and I mean then you have Arguments for bolt is it better to develop your own player I mean there’s going to be arguments but it it’s kind of an interesting talk about and then you put it you bring in
Another like guy that could be a potential leader yes how much how much impact can he have on the younger kids or the younger players to become better linemen themselves that’s where I see it more is the off the field and in the locker room mentorship and being around
The guys like this is that if you do even if you do have a very talented young class and I think that’s why I brought the Conor situation right a dude that you know that leading tackler that they brought back in the Big 12 was like a freshman or sophomore uhuh and the
Other linebackers in that room that core of linebackers all underclassman yeah so bringing in a guy with all that experience like I said Conor didn’t play a ton of snaps at oklah exactly like not not saying anything about Conor like I I played against him he’s a great football
Player um but some of those guys might be more talented than him physically exactly but he has the the playing experience that he can give them advice and explain how he would do things and help them his ceiling isn’t necessarily as high as some of these other players because they’re naturally potentially a
Little more gifted out of high school but a guy like that it’s like it’s like having another coach almost yeah yeah yep it’s kind of that thing it’s kind of that thing when like you you sign a backup quarterback that’s like old can’t play football anymore but like okay I’ll
Give an example Teddy Bridgewater he hasn’t played a snap all year like he has no B he’s he already said he’s retiring after the year he’s just he say that I didn’t know that he’s like I’m retiring but or you bring in the salty vet Joe flacko well yeah that happens
Too hey and then the old dog learns a couple new tricks Trill he’s learned a lot of them or you got uh he was sitting and shaking now he’s rolling over or you got a guy like Chase Daniels that has never played but has made like 40 million
Journeyman living the dream is what he’s doing that’s not bad that’s not bad at all me what what could be better than that H but before we get in talking about some small school products landing on UFL rosters we’ll cut to the conversation with Mike Snider the uh
Athletic director that was a tough one from Pacific Lutheran talking about their deal with open doors and Landing their athletes some nil deals joining me tonight the man at the helm the athletic department over at Pacific Lutheran he’s a big reason why athletes there have capitalized some nil deals across the
Board the man himself Mike Snider what’s going on hey how you doing tonight excited to get you on here you got a sweet little backdrop there what is this uh what is this rumor in yeah it’s uh it’s our conference room here in the athletics department so it’s a a nice
Wall there with uh our loot in the background and uh that’s where we bring all of our recruits try to show it off a bit okay okay so let’s stay on the loot for a second you Google Loot and I see an instrument it looks like a violin
It’s not exactly a dragon or a bear maybe not the most intimidating of figures the mass SC is a night though sir Lan salute is that a is a play on the word yep yep yep you got it you got it so our actual guy or our person in
The uh in the costume you’ll see at our games the name is Lance loot you’re right okay uh so what that is so our history is we at one point we were a lot of different things at one point uh we were the I think the Gladiators and uh
We did move into the knights and so loot though is a is a playoff of the Lutheran like that was one of our old the Pacific Lutheran Lutheran but uh when when folks say you know what’s a loot the the answer is I’m a loot and uh and it’s
Funny what that means though is like so our core values run with that acronym so leadership Unity teamwork excellence and service and so literally when we talk about what a loot is we say it’s anybody who embodies those sort of uh core values and qualities and so we’re not
Like a random Bulldog or tiger or whatever You’ said we’re we’re unique and you have to be if you’re going to encapsulate all those values hell yeah that’s sweet that’s very cool yeah and I’m sure there’s a lot more people like me that poke fun at it but there’s a lot
More there behind it that’s that’s pretty cool dude how many times have you have you had to uh explain that uh uh quite a few quite a few yeah I mean I’ve only been been here for about two and a half years but uh I think it was I heard
That first thing that I’m a loop piece was my first uh uh opening convocation here in the fall and one of our VPS stood up in front of the incoming class and said that and I was like man I’m using that I totally deing that and uh
Double down with all of our core values mixed into that two and a half years over there in Washington not California as I uh I think I wrongly assumed um or I don’t know where I saw that I might have just been pulling that from who knows where but let’s let’s talk about
Uh what you guys have G on over there in the nil Marketplace uh your kind of partnership with open doors over there and I think where I’ll start this at is talk about your expectations obviously being there two and a half years so you’re you’re there through this entire
Process right and the nil deals being the top 1% was kind of all of the rhetoric heading into this the Caleb Williams of the world the Caitlyn Clarks of the world if you will that are household names yeah they’re going to profit off of this because they’re already nationally recognized brands in
Their in themselves right uh I think it may be a Dion quote I don’t remember it’s I’m not a businessman I’m a businessman and that’s like the best thing to summarize nil in the world we knew it was going to have an impact on the power f five schools we knew there
Was going to be a little trickle down to FCS maybe D2 but now all the way down to the division 3 level what were the expectations for like for you guys heading into all this yeah well I think this this actually starts prior to my arrival here at the the last school I
Was the Athletics director at Illinois College another D3 School in the midwest uh it’s something that I was tracking on when I was there my my final semester or final year there uh you know you start hearing a lot of the stuff percolating up whether it was from the lawsuits and
Different conversations around name image and likeness and uh you know I was I thinking about that and I’m a very competitive guy and I thought okay what what how are we going to take advantage of this and what does this look like for us u in our athletics department and um
You know in this realm of D3 nil one of the things that I just kind of plays in my head is I’ve got a a good friend of mine that works at Ohio State and one day he and I were talking about the work that we do in our departments and he’s
Like hey we do the same thing and I said you’re crazy you’re you’re at Ohio State I am I’m in a D3 and he’s said no we do the same thing it’s just my budgets have a few more zeros and so that’s good I like that so that kind of stuck with me
Too is I thought yeah I was like well this this is going to be primarily as you say you know the part of the the the big schools the the power four now um and kind weird looks like um but why not us and if we can be an early adopter
Maybe that helps us in a lot of different ways and so fast forward into moving into the role here uh you know I already had some contacts with the folks at at open Indo and and a couple other businesses and kind of look comparing what’s what and I just found that uh
What they provide for their platform and what they do and I’m not gonna make this an infomercial you know but what they do for their their platform and their support and and uh you know just the the what they do for our student athletes is
Is awesome and it was uh I felt the most robust offering out of the different groups I was talking with and um and it’s held true I mean we’ve got some great people we’re working with over there and uh they’ they’ve they’ve been true partners the last couple years
That’s great to hear yeah and I was going to ask you know a little bit obviously about that in in the platform in open doors but you answered a few of those bits already and uh I had the chance to go down to Baltimore uh for the NCA like student athlete leadership
Forum this past year and and heard Charlie Baker speak down there who um have a lot of respect for him was first time I heard him speak seems like a super just rational like just a dude like he just seems like a dude and those
Are the kind of guys you want to have in charge uh of an organization like the NCA which is its own freaking governing body in itself but anyway the key takeaway from him regarding this whole landscape is the transparency or lack thereof in this landscape at least uh
Even just back in what was it like March and to see where that’s come and I believe that’s where open doors I’m sure you can kind of agree with this kind of where they come into the picture is that having almost a Level Playing Field and legitimizing maybe some of these things
That were happening before these platform stepped in and offered a landing plag or a platform excuse me for some of these uh deals to be created were there deals happening before you guys created this Marketplace was this a way of kind of consolidating that and putting it all under one umbrella so
That maybe it’s more easily managed than oversaw yeah there there were um there was one athlete in particular um who’s now uh competing he’s used in his grad grad year doing did a grad transfer another school down in Alabama but he was a a starting basketball player for
Ush for a few years All Conference guy who really had that entrepreneurial mentality and he was out building his brand and uh I mean he has hundreds of thousands of followers on on Instagram and Tik Tok he’s got his own uh apparel that he’s got a website for he sells his
Own apparel stuff but he had deals with some pretty National level U products uh one of which was I think it was body armor and there was some other things too but yeah um so yeah he was kind of the one that really got the big push
Going for for puu athletics in that realm but then uh you know we’ve we’ve had some folks follow and after and that’s where the platform comes in is that it’s it’s a it’s a great system for us to be able to uh when when our student athletes have something that
That’s presented to them they can submit it to us to review it make sure it’s all under proper compliance uh the platform also gives them some education with some different videos it uh uh grades out kind of looks at their social media platforms and kind of says here how you
Can build your brand better if you did X Y and Z okay interesting so some of our student athletes have come along since and have really taken advantage of those those aspects yeah so now seeing that as almost a Trailblazer right seeing a a student athlete go about it with that
Kind of mindset that you mentioned and and really carve away I’d imagine that after that there were quite a few people like well [ __ ] I didn’t know we could do that right like I didn’t know this was really as attainable maybe and yeah you
Have to do a lot of work to gain that kind of following uh there are a lot of people that try and do it I’m trying to do it for this for this show and for this platform right there there’s so many people competing for only so so
Many eyes and ears and that’s where it comes in and that is where the value is in these followers and these different kind of metrics what kind of common characteristics have you seen among your athletes that have generated some of these deals outside of yeah you know
They have a lot of followers what kind of characteristics have you seen from them yeah I mean they’ve generally speaking not always but generally speaking it’s somebody who’s got a an outgoing personality somebody who’s willing to put themselves out there sure um and and I think that’s important
Because if you’re if you’re going to do the the type of style of going door too in the Tacoma Market there’s a lot of doors and you’ve got to be willing to to go do that um you know so to to do that sort of work you’ve got to have a
Resilient mentality you’ve got to have this confidence um and and and that’s great I’ll be honest a lot of our athletes are not doing that sort of work they’re doing the things where there’s opportunities that come forward that either get sent to me directly or through the platform and it’s hey if if
You uh meet these certain qualifications apply for this thing and you might make 50 bucks for posting something on your Instagram account or putting out a Tik Tok or something along those lines and so it’s it’s not as personality based um and then we’ve had uh I think their
First fall of of really doing this thing with open doors we had the first uh D3 autograph deal where we had somebody reach out to a volleyball athlete and I wanted her to sign a volleyball so they mailed the the volleyball into the office she signed it she made whatever
It was on it sent the ball back that’s Co so so those sort of things happen you know um yeah and the more exposure our athletes can get the more opportunities they can get to to build their brand whether it is with their social media accounts um what they’re saying what
Their videos are what they’re doing I mean that helps not only in the current nil Spectrum but it also helps them when they move on you know when they when they go when they graduate they’ve already got a an electronic platform there or or a brand there where uh
Employers can go and look and really get a better idea about the person that looking to hire that’s big yeah and I like how you touched on yeah the the personalities are a big part of it because that’s how you usually generate a lot of that following is is by doing
Something maybe a little bit different or doing something a little weird and and people enjoy that they find some kind of entertainment value from it uh but having those other metric and things be the the leading factor is interesting for me so you’ve had people reach out
One to you directly and also two through the platform just kind of putting out feelers as to say like hey you know help maybe you be you or just the the platform in general be a middleman and help us find maybe the right person for what we’re looking for yeah I mean we’ve
Had so um just recently just this past week there was some opportunities that came through and it was you know if your followers on one of your platforms is this level you’re qualified if you’re from this state you’re qualified for this other thing and like scholarships
Like looking through the list of all the scholarships for yeah yeah and and then and then on the flip side um we so we’re we’re in Under Armour school as you can kind of see here we U and we’re one of the the few out here in the Northwest
And uh so we we had the opportunity when under arour wanted to do a photo shoot our sales rep came to us and said hey we need some athletes we’d love to have some folks that come down and do a deal with us to do a photo shoot and our our
Quarterback track athlete and a women soccer athlete were selected they went down for a couple days down to Portland and uh did a photo shoot and now they’re their image is in Under Armour retail shops all across North North America and Central America and uh you know they so there’s there’s
Some of these really small things and there’s some things that are massive like that for some D3 schools like us which is great I wanted to get around to that man I had that one waiting and I’m glad that you just brought it up naturally I love it I like you took the
Freaking page out of my book um but that’s so sweet and it’s surreal I think and when you look and just type in like a Google Search and I you know you just type in just doing my little research like Pacific Lutheran nil and what’s the
First thing that pops up like two loots featured in Under Armour photo shoot and I’m like wow like really like that is that’s such a cool piece and for those two I believe one of the direct quotes was like this is one of the the greatest
Experiences of of my life as as far as it comes to Athletics obviously there’s other things outside there’s more than life than sports but you know these experiences that they create for people too I’m sure is another part of the the puzzle that is just often shoved under
The rug like the fact that they’re able to go do these things while they’re in college being a full-time student athlete uh and have these experiences has got to be such a cool piece for you guys so yeah how did that you touched on it a little bit but how did that come
About it was just a matter of representation it sounds like yeah so like I said our sales rep reached out and uh he said hey we’re we’re looking I’m GNA put you in contact with the the marketing folks from Under Armour uh they they’re looking to do a shootout on
The west coast up there in Portland and they’d love to use some of your athletes and and they said that they’d send along some of the qualifications some of the things that they need to see and so um I sent out a an email blast to all the student athletes saying hey here’s
What’s going on here’s what the needs are here’s you have toit you know and uh I think it was something like a couple different photos of them running or video of them running uh you know maybe some other aspects too just so they so the UnderArmour folks could kind of see
What this person might look like and envision them in their ads and uh yeah those things got submitted they submitted them directly you know I don’t have a role in that all I can do is just say opportunity I can’t I you know not allowed to broker any deals not allowed
To to work on any payments or anything like that so I just said here you go and I didn’t know what was going to happen and then I found out uh few weeks after that that they selected the two folks uh you know Kiana and um Darius and uh yeah
They they were down there and and had a blast and I think you know Darius uh has I think it may have led to a few other things for him after the fact um least I think there was some conversations with maybe some some other deals that might
Be spinning off of that so that’s awesome yeah it was a great opportunity for him and for both of them and and uh you know when we talk about small school opportunities I guarantee most people don’t think oh photo shoot with Under Armour but we were for to have that
Absolutely not and I think shine and light in the the selection process that’s what I really wanted to hear about and I’m glad you covered it because for an outsider maybe you think yeah Under Armour says we need a male athlete and a female athlete right and what do the athletic department just
Looking come together and you sitting in this conference room where you’re at and say you know all right guys who are our most our two most photogenic student athletes on this campus like who do we think and I would have just I would have loved to seen the room just been like
Man like well there’s you know so and so here yeah no I I that criteria is very interesting for me so was either photos or videos of them running or is it participating in their sport was there anything to that consideration any kind of uh certain parameters with their
Given sport so I think that their actual U marketing line what they were trying to do was was a about running and so it was just they need some some folks who were athletic someone who could who had good running form someone who just would look good doing that piece interesting
Um but they weren’t necessarily saying we need a football athlete or a women soccer they said we want we need to have somebody who does who who runs as like a primary part of their sport so you know we’re not going to have any golf athletes for that one because they’re
Not running around and and uh so yeah so it was okay what are we talking about here and I think actually we had this deeper conversation it was you know soccer basketball track football cross country you know those sort of things um we thought those ones had people in it
That would primarily be running a lot um during their sport so they might have the best Fortune finding somebody that they wanted to have in their in their shoot so um yeah so we put it out there and and you know got what we got so yeah
I’m never going to be in a room trying to figure out who’s the most photogenic that is that is not as’ be a tough meeting man it’d be tough I know I love it uh and that’s just cool to see the kind of the criteria and goes
Into that obviously I’ve worked with our marketing department here and some other outside freelance uh photo and video so obviously working on the other side of that I’ve seen what goes into trying to acquire talent and when you have certain parameters for for those kind of things
But obviously like I’ve never worked for under armers marketing team I don’t know what goes into those kind of meetings and those decisions so it is interesting to see that but to close it off I mean talk about the next next steps for you guys how does this platform continue to
Grow and and evolve over there yeah I mean as I mentioned earlier I’m a very competitive person I always want to win in everything we do and that means you know I want our athletes to win in the classroom to win on the fields uh win in
Nil and so we always want to make sure we’re we’re always on the front edge of the next thing down the road and so I I’ve keep my eyes open you know talking with our partners at open doors they’re offering some different uh pieces on their platform that we’ve been talking
Through about if it’s something that we think we could take advantage of or not uh we recently signed a u a brand licensing deal and uh kind of working through some a some Avenues with that as well that we’ll be making I think an announcement here in the next few weeks
Uh about uh a really cool nil opportunity for all of our student athletes so uh when it comes down to it is you know we we believe what we’re doing is to best support the entire uh student athlete experience and um if you don’t do that in nil you’re missing one
Of those facets and so um I encourage all my colleagues you know get involved do what you’re do do what uh you can to support your student athletes as you would in every other area and that’s just what we’re doing too and we’re just trying to make sure we’re paying
Attention and always looking for that next great thing well said appreciate you coming on here breaking it down um answered all my questions man that was uh that was really neat and and something that we haven’t had a chance to to talk about a lot and by the way I think you’re the
First ad to come on the show that’s yeah that’s got to count for something I don’t know if that makes you feel any different or well I’ve set the bar at a certain level down here you’re next that’s good but no I’m I’m happy about that it’s good to to get different
Perspectives uh you know we hear from a lot of different coaches and players specifically and uh to hear from someone who potentially is a little bit more detached from that scene still talking about things that affect uh these athletes at every single level of whether it is football which we
Obviously focus on a lot or some of these other sports both male and female it’s great to to get the Insight from you Mike so I appreciate you uh thank you very much man have a good night I appreciate you hopping on here absolutely take care thanks for having
Me yes sir see you appreciate Mike joining us here tonight and we’re going to wrap things up here Trev with some small school products landing on UFL rosters that’s United Football League correct and you know we touched on it in the opener the XFL the usfl they merge
And what I actually really like and what they did Trev I don’t know if you saw this the champions from last year’s XFL and usfl leagues are going to play the opening kickoff uh to for this inaugural season of the U UF excuse me so that’s
The I believe it’s the battle Hawks and stallions I know Birmingham stallions win the usfl I want to say it was the battle Hawks it it was AJ McCaron that was Bing out for him so that’s sweet and and they’re basically saying you’re going to come watch this football let’s
Try and give you the best football we in week one so that we thing is funny like we were talking about this I don’t know probably six months ago and we were we mentioned like the only way for them both to last is if they they merged and
Yeah they did that we got some brains on us so do they but it’s common sense though you cannot you can’t compete the spring football Market is only going to attract so many eyes and Common Sense would say when there are two different entities drawing from the same pool yeah
You’re only going to get half yeah because your product is not that much different my in my opinion on it it felt like the usfl was struggling a lot more than the XFL agreed and a part of that was the ownership ownership to the whole being having one location yes that was
Really probably a cost-saving piece for sure it was a cost-saving piece but like you even watching the game you’re like wow there’s five people at that game right now like because yeah so it’s there’s no excitement to it no wonder the in Birmingham stallions won the league it’s in Alabama it’s in
Birmingham Alabama it was in B it was at UAB Stadium I believe so yes I agree with that I think another piece of it was the rules the XFL entices people with a little bit of a a new it’s like if Doritos released it’s a new flavor
You know what you’re eating but it’s just a little different it’s just a little something a little different you might like it you might not and I think it’s good to see these new rules that they’re doing because it could maybe permeate to the NFL maybe you know the NFL is watching it
With interest because why like if if a rule a new rule proposed rule is going to crash and burn in this league oh [ __ ] well that saves us any I’m surpris the NFL didn’t want to like partner with them too coming down the line now the mered why make him a competition why
Make him competitors and just buy them that’s what you know that’s what the NFL does best too and I I don’t know [ __ ] but I guarantee something has already been in the works to just take over the whole deal yeah and then it could be a like a feeder League because eventually
That’s what these guys want to do right for most of them the UFL is not the end goal for these athletes no it I mean they don’t make enough money there to begin with like so a couple just kind of notes on this uh training camp Begins
For the UFL on February 24th in Arlington and then we’ll see all eight League teams bring 75 players to Camp before rosters are paired uh down to 50 before the regular season starts on March 30th so there’s some good like numbers dates for you and when we go
Through here there are players from D3 D2 ni on every single team I do believe one two three four five six seven eight yeah so all eight teams have small school football players on it pretty sweet man there wasn’t one team that was like nah we’re going to ruin the graphic hey I
Just I just was looking at some things but I looked I was looking on Google about the UFL the UFL estimated like player like how much like salary is every year it’s going to be $97,000 is their average that’s like the median yeah which is much better than it
Was Prior I think so definitely and and now it would be interesting to see because I know depending on the league they were taking care of Housing and meals and some other things I wonder if that’s included at as a but 97,000 at least it’s like these guys
Are making an actual like good living cuz legit like they’re actually making good money yeah that is and you think like you said there’s going to be guys in the higher end of that yeah I don’t know what the minimum is it could be $20,000 you’re not going to see some
Kind of multi-year Million Dollar Deals but you could you could definitely have guys making one $200,000 you the quarterback some of these squads like these guys make bank for sure definitely triple figure or six figure guys excuse me Triple figures that’d be bad uh but
When you look at uh the list here I’m not going to go through all the names cuz there’s like 40 guys dude I’m not going to go through every single name of the guys that that made it a highlight a few that we’ve had on the show which is
Pretty sweet there are around 40 guys from D2D rosters awesome 27 from division 2 I I counted 37 I think actually Marquette King technically was from Fort Valley State so I should have put him on here too the punter he’s in this too I think I didn’t realize he was
A D2 guy yeah Fort Valley State uh so there go yeah I understand that you just said that um but out of these guys that I had there was 27 out of division two six out of division three and four out of nii so D2 represent man that’s pretty
Cool sweet talk about some of the highlights here U as far as guys that we’ve had on the show which is sweet Trey Bots the defensive tackle from Colorado State Pueblo who got a chance with the Ravens he was a udfa and went over to Baltimore uh for a little bit
Glad to see he’s getting another chance we had him on he was a great guy one of our favorite guests that we’ve had Chim aor the offensive tackle from Benedict he’s one of the four nii guys to represent in this league super excited for Chim he obviously spent some time
With the Eagles and now as a bounceback is is in the UFL and another one uh Jay clava the defensive end from Grand Valley State who had on the show it feels like forever ago man but trust me when I say like I remember every single
Guy that comes on here and so when I’m scrolling through and I see a couple of these names like it warms my heart like that’s that’s really cool and I we’ll get more of these guys on here for sure as we continue we got a long off season
With a lot of different guys have long off seon uh but look at some of these squads on here and couple gleak guys by the way Hollow was one of them Dennis Johnson defensive tackle from Grand Valley is on there uh and then you also had a couple guys from
Sagen uh Richard Bowens the third from Sagen as a corner so couple corners from sag playing I saw that professional ball I believe there’s a running back from s there is also a running back yes and I’m totally blanking on his name it’s uh Nate mccre yeah who was obviously a stud
I remember uh he was a stud for sure uh a couple Ferris guys as well defensive line and corner from Ferris and Austin Edwards and uh Alex Thomas so gak is at least the upper kind of tier of the gak is well represented in this list have
Gotten a lot of uh Pro representation I think to kind of get off that a little bit when we talk gak specifically that goes back to the pro representation you have in the gak and Grand Valley for years has done a pro day at the end of
Each season they’ve had the talent to they’ve won so many games that yeah you’re going to get eyes on your guys when you win those kind of games but now sagona Valley is also doing their own Pro they’ve done that the past couple years yeah so that was I want to say
They’ve only it for two or three years only like it’s still a recently new development yeah but they they have the facility for it so they do and they have the athletes like now you’re seeing and I I really do believe yes you have to be
A fantastic athlete and and get in front of whatever to to make it to the next level but if you don’t have the eyes on you it doesn’t matter who the hell you are so exct for them to have these opportunities for their guys to go out
And perform in front of a bunch of professional Scouts excuse me whether it be NFL UFL the freaking zfl uh they’ll play like if if you you just need to get in front of those eyes so the fact that gak has done that I know there are other conferences
That do that I think the gak is kind of at the front of the pack in terms of getting a lot of eyes and exposure on their guys at these school specific Pro days you see a lot of these small school guys get caught up in you know having to
Drive three or four hours to a big division one school that’s even they can even get in right because if you’re not a at that school or be in that conference there’s not you don’t have a connection there there’s not a lot of Leverage so usually it’s agents trying
To get their guys into these Pro and then when you get to the pro day you really have to show out like to stand off the sheet because nobody was expecting to be there and what sucks is nobody’s coming there for you exactly they’re not there for you they’re not
Like oh so and so from wherever is going to CMU they’re not looking for you there Central Michigan by the way not Carnegie Millan sorry Central Michigan University I realized very commonly referred to as CMU by by that area of the country huh which is funny but for us CMU is I mean
The Midwest everyone knows CMU is Central Michigan even if you’re not from Michigan if you’re from like the surrounding they know what CMU is isn’t that funny though that is funny I didn’t know that the tartans I believe like a little black dog yeah he’s pretty cool
Actually yeah uh one of the like highest academic institutions in the country I did know that yeah for what it’s worth the coach that came and recruited me to uh Carnegie he was a dick what imagine if he’s listening to the show right now he’s such an
Ass he comes in myself and and my quarterback at our our school that um you know like I had a 32 Act 4.0 like I I had grades like he came in and basically told the both of us looked at our transcripts and was like yeah I don’t know you guys might be
Able to cut it at our school like you might be able to that’s like you would led the meeting off with and we’re like why did you just call us out of class buddy like can I go back to yeah algebra yeah I want to go back uh no football
Was talked about in that meeting uh that’s not a place I’d want to go no so interesting I’m sure he’s long gone they got a great program over there that’s no shots at those guys they uh have owned the president’s conference president’s Athletic Conference for a long time
Until this year when Grove City had their way with them but uh back to the UFL a little bit a little side tangent I just never forget that it was a very very weird experience um otherwise though you know we’ve seen a couple guys on here Mano might be the only
Representation from the nsic Pittsburgh state is well represented on this list couple guys from Slippery Rock two players by the way we got a corner and I believe a wide receiver if I do remember correctly that were from uh Mary Harden Baylor out of division 3 so pretty sweet
Representation there and then there was a cool story here Jake Lina is an offensive lineman out of Augustana the division 2 Squad in South Dakota on the website he was actually listed as an assistant offensive line coach so seemingly had kind of moved on from his playing career and stuck around with the
Auggies or the Vikings or whatever to help out and Coach their offensive line unit and now is taking the step back to play in the pros and purs a dream dude yeah that’s awesome that’s really Co I’m sure a guy like that I mean he was
Probably in shape still to be ready to play oh hell yeah probably that practice every day I’m going to do I’m going to double check real quick but I know on the website because I try and like there’s a lot of names but I try and do
A little bit of factchecking for all these guys make sure they’re on the actual uh rosters and so on and so forth and it looks like he also played in the usfl and he was drafted 2022 in round 20 of the usfl draft round 20 round 20 I that’s that’s crazy apparently
Played 10 games in the usfl so uh I’d imagine out of College gets the chance in the usfl maybe something doesn’t work out or he just finishes and don’t know what his future looks like hey the fallback let start coaching get the career going yeah yeah yeah UFL comes
Calling we’re back baby we are so back that’s cool it’s pretty sweet that’s really cool wasn’t there another coach yes from Fort Lewis the wide receivers coach who is uh backing and playing some ball I thought there was a line coach too Windgate you’re talking about the offensive line coach from Windgate for
The b battle Hawks I think Renegades played for the Arlington Renegades two blue teams I got confused but yes the the offensive line coach uh Brian something from Windgate the B yeah that’s what I was thinking and you know talk about finish up coaching and then to go in the off
Season like I remember him putting out a tweet like hey guys sorry not on the recruiting Trail right now I’m competing for an XFL Championship well like could you have a bigger Flex than that dude and imagine dude imagine coming back for like Spring ball if he made it I’m assuming he did
Yeah well I don’t know CU Spring ball is spring football yeah that’s weird like I don’t know I don’t I I wonder what happen I tried to get him on here before I’ve talked to him a little bit we’ll see if we can do that but um imagine
Coming back and like all right what we what film are we watching coach we’re watching my film from last week we are literally watching me this is what I do and is there a better way to teach people though I mean you can’t you really can’t argue that like no this
Is what I did last week in my game yeah so this is what I’m going to teach you guys yeah and if I can do it you you guys absolutely yeah I I already hear it and he comes in with like LeBron like the two ice things on the knees you
Know yeah he’s like man you know if this techniqu works for me against probably some former division one all you know what I mean playing against him and he’s like then you guys is good enough if I could do this against a five-star recruit you guys can do this this kid
Could be my son I don’t know how old he is I don’t think it’s Brian Furs I’m going to Kobe’s about to message him right now Brian fartz played college football at wasburn and he’s the looks like tight ends and fullbacks coach now H at winggate but yeah that’s him guess what
You know spent six years in the NFL wow you know what tight end and fullbacks do though they block too so he can still pull up his film hell of a lot of blocking yeah I do believe he was playing uh Center but cool yeah pretty
Cool it he was the battle Hawks it was the battle Hawks I was wrong I was wrong you got confused I did two BL it was the fat awks uh man he played for the San Antonio commanders in the arena the AA arena is that arena league that’s no
That’s AFL I don’t know bro I don’t know I don’t I don’t freaking know I don’t think it exists anymore no that’s about all we have for today though pretty cool stuff we’re going to get some of those guys from the UFL or some of those new additions to those UFL rosters on
Excited for those guys very cool thanks TR yep
