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Ryan Leaf on New PAC-12 Era, Development of The New PAC-12, Utah State's First Season, + More · The Sean O'Connell Show

• 0:03
  Speaker 1: You are tuned to The Shan O'Connell Show from the
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  Speaker 1: Murdoch Chevrolet Studio of ESPN seven hundred at ninety two
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: to one a half am.
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: Welcome back to the Shawn O'Connell Show. Welcome in college
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: football legend, My good buddy, Ryan Leaf.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: So nice to reconnect with Ryan Leaf, who will be
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  Speaker 1: the lead Pack twelve analyst on the USA Sports this
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: year as there's a new era of PAC twelve football.
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: Ryan, Sir, how are you welcome to the show again?
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  Speaker 3: Thank you, my friend. It's been a while.
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  Speaker 2: How are you doing doing great? Man?
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: You know, three kids, the oldest back in school as
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: of yesterday, and just plug it along.
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: How are you and the family?
• 0:50
  Speaker 3: Babe?
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  Speaker 4: Sean has three kids now he's got us beat now
• 0:57
  Speaker 4: he's got three kids. I think last time we saw you,
• 1:00
  Speaker 4: I mean when you got when you came up to
• 1:02
  Speaker 4: the spot in Park City, you only have the one.
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think we did only have one.
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  Speaker 1: Now I got three little girls seven seven four and two.
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  Speaker 3: Seven four and two yeah. Yeah.
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  Speaker 4: Mc diver's eight bo is two.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 4: So we're a little bit behind you. I don't know
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  Speaker 4: if that's gonna change, you know, I'm an old man.
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  Speaker 1: So well, I'm not exactly young either, but uh, by
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  Speaker 1: the way, being an old dad is awesome because you know,
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  Speaker 1: you get all the selfish stuff out of the way
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  Speaker 1: when you're young, and then you get to just be
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: pour into your kids when you're our age.
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  Speaker 4: I dude, I agree totally. I mean it's I took
• 1:41
  Speaker 4: I turned.
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  Speaker 3: Fifty this year. I'll be sixty five when.
• 1:44
  Speaker 4: She graduates high school. I just feel like it's there's
• 1:48
  Speaker 4: a there's a youthfulness and an innocence that's keeping me
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  Speaker 4: that way too, watching it through their eyes, which I
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  Speaker 4: love so like I have no I have no you know,
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  Speaker 4: instinct all to live vicariously through them. Like, so, my
• 2:02
  Speaker 4: son's playing sports now, I'm just like, you know, I
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  Speaker 4: just love watching him compete and enjoy the ride home afterwards,
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  Speaker 4: and it's that's that's the fun part. I like have
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  Speaker 4: no no you know, competition of me involved in anything
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  Speaker 4: when it comes to any of that stuff.
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  Speaker 1: Now, your your lovely wife also an athlete, So I imagine
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  Speaker 1: the children are at least genetically going to be predisposed
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  Speaker 1: to some excellence there. But are you do you already
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  Speaker 1: recognize it an eight year old? Some of your own competitiveness,
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  Speaker 1: some of your own sort of mentality in your son.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, he came down from the playroom the other night
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  Speaker 4: upset and we didn't know what was wrong, and I
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  Speaker 4: was like trying to get him to communicate his feelings
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  Speaker 4: and everything like that, and I sat him on my
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  Speaker 4: lap and because.
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  Speaker 3: I thought it was maybe you know, the fact that
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: we made.
• 2:51
  Speaker 4: Him come down and eat dinner. You know, that can
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  Speaker 4: always be a real trigger for these eight year olds,
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  Speaker 4: you know, having.
• 2:55
  Speaker 3: To stop doing what they're doing.
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  Speaker 4: But he he's been trying this new soccer move, this
• 3:02
  Speaker 4: this this kick, rainbow kick, and he was just so
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  Speaker 4: frustrated that he wasn't able to do it. So he
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  Speaker 4: was like almost crying, and I sat with him. I
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  Speaker 4: was like, well, hey, you know, I know nothing about soccer,
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  Speaker 4: so I can't really teach you.
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  Speaker 3: So I said we can.
• 3:17
  Speaker 4: Look up like like YouTube tutorials, and he was like
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  Speaker 4: it just changed immediately. He watched him. And then last
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  Speaker 4: night he had he called me up to the play
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  Speaker 4: ruiny and he had it down. He's kicking up all
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  Speaker 4: over the top of his head and running it down.
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  Speaker 4: I mean, yeah, he's the only thing about soccer for him.
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  Speaker 4: He's probably gonna be like six nine, So I don't
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  Speaker 4: know if that's going to be a soccer player that
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  Speaker 4: everybody's looking at out there, but maybe a goalie.
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  Speaker 1: He's only eight. He'll figure it out between now and whatever.
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  Speaker 1: He's got to figure it out, all right. So back
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  Speaker 1: in PAC twelve country, now, the PAC twelve reconstituted version
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  Speaker 1: of the conference. Your alma mater, Washington State still there,
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  Speaker 1: Oregon State's still there, Utah State up in Logan still
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  Speaker 1: going to be there.
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  Speaker 2: They're going to be a new part of the past twelve.
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  Speaker 1: Give me a sense of your your level of you know,
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  Speaker 1: intrigue optimism over what this reconstituted PAC twelve conference is
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  Speaker 1: going to be on the national landscape.
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  Speaker 3: Well, I think you know, it immediately becomes the fifth
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  Speaker 3: best conference.
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  Speaker 4: In all of college football. You could maybe argue, because
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  Speaker 4: of the lack of its size, it could be as
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  Speaker 4: competitive as the ACC in some settings.
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  Speaker 3: So, you know, this was a vision that.
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  Speaker 4: Teresa Gould had when the relignment happened and everybody vacated
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  Speaker 4: the PAC twelve and left Washington State and Oregon State behind.
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  Speaker 4: I don't think there was ever a moment where either
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  Speaker 4: one of those teams after they had met with Teresa
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  Speaker 4: Gould that they were going to go anywhere else. They
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  Speaker 4: were going to rebuild the brand of what the Pac
• 4:46
  Speaker 4: twelve was. And this is the vision that has become
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  Speaker 4: a reality now that that became a live July first,
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  Speaker 4: and will have their first games kickoff on September fifth.
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  Speaker 4: You know, this this is a conference that has UH,
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  Speaker 4: you know, has some bold ideas about what they want
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  Speaker 4: to be in a college football landscape that is incredibly
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  Speaker 4: confusing out there regionality wise. You know, Texas State is
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  Speaker 4: the lone school that's outside the Mountain in Pacific time zone,
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  Speaker 4: so you know, I think, you know, this will be
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  Speaker 4: a much different look than than a lot of those
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  Speaker 4: other conferences that in terms of travel and regionality and
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  Speaker 4: things like that. So I'm excited. It was a really
• 5:30
  Speaker 4: neat offer to head the group for USA Sports and
• 5:33
  Speaker 4: their inaugural year of their five year contract to broadcast
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  Speaker 4: the league and UH and we open up September fifth
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  Speaker 4: with Wyoming at Colorado State for Jim Mora UH and
• 5:45
  Speaker 4: his introduction.
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  Speaker 3: To the Pac twelve conference.
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  Speaker 1: A lot of conversation in college football, especially this time
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: of year, and I can't wait for it.
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  Speaker 2: To go away.
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  Speaker 1: We can do x's and o's, but uh, you know,
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  Speaker 1: there's these resource conversations and can you compete?
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  Speaker 2: Do you have the money to compete?
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  Speaker 1: Are you just gonna develop if you're a PAC twelve team, now,
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  Speaker 1: if you're a Conference USA team, you're just going to
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  Speaker 1: develop the next SEC players and Big ten players? And
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  Speaker 1: are your coaches going to be able to retain anything.
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  Speaker 1: I'm intrigued by this PAC twelve because I know plenty
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  Speaker 1: of people up in Logan at Utah State and know
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  Speaker 1: guys on that coaching staff. I have a decent sense
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  Speaker 1: of what their resources look like, what their nil looks like.
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  Speaker 1: I don't know what it looks like for Washington State
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  Speaker 1: and Oregon State right now, because of where they come
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  Speaker 1: from and how much holdover there is, right I don't
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  Speaker 1: know what it's like for Boise State. Is there a
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  Speaker 1: significant disparity right now between the top of this new
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  Speaker 1: conference and the bottom of this new conference when it
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  Speaker 1: comes to available resources relative to their competitors.
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  Speaker 3: I don't think so.
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  Speaker 4: But you know, we won't know a lot of this
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  Speaker 4: until we say the games. And to your point and
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  Speaker 4: how you started it, all this respeculatives, you know, a
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  Speaker 4: lot of times, you can spend a lot of money
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  Speaker 4: and resources towards getting these players, and you know, do
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  Speaker 4: you have the right coach that can essentially put together
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  Speaker 4: a team of mercenaries year in year out, because that's
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  Speaker 4: what it's ultimately going to be. I mean, you look
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  Speaker 4: at some of these rosters around the country and there's
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  Speaker 4: an instance where there's seventy new players on a roster.
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  Speaker 4: So you can't go into what you thought last year.
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  Speaker 4: You can't really go into what the rankings are preseason
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  Speaker 4: thinking that this team should be good, so let's rank
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  Speaker 4: them high. The fact that they do that and continue
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  Speaker 4: to do that is it kind of falls in line
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  Speaker 4: with the resources and support angle of things in terms
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  Speaker 4: of what you think it's going to be.
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  Speaker 3: And so I do feel like all.
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  Speaker 4: The programs, the sixth in particular, that are coming to
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  Speaker 4: the PAC twelve, there's been a there's been a real
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  Speaker 4: upstart in support because of the brand of the conference
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  Speaker 4: that we went around about two weeks ago and saw
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  Speaker 4: four of the universities, three of which are entering the
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  Speaker 4: new PAC twelve, and you could hear and see the
• 8:02
  Speaker 4: influence with the athletic directors, the presidents of the university
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  Speaker 4: on campus, the things in the support that has been
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  Speaker 4: given because of the brand of the PAC twelve and
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  Speaker 4: how that had influenced it.
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  Speaker 1: Last year in the expanded College Football Playoff, you had
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  Speaker 1: two non Power four teams crack that field of twelve,
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: and that was not according to the plans of the
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  Speaker 1: powers that be, So the automatic qualifier status got changed
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  Speaker 1: up a little bit. But I'm still looking at like
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  Speaker 1: a Boise State, I'm still looking at Washington State, and
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  Speaker 1: I'm thinking, Man, can one of these new PAC twelve
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  Speaker 1: teams be a College Football Playoff team? You've had an
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  Speaker 1: opportunity to, you know, be closer to this and to
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  Speaker 1: talk to some of the people I haven't been able
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  Speaker 1: to talk to. Is that the vision for the eventual
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  Speaker 1: conference champion, Like, not only are we going to be
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  Speaker 1: the new PAC twelve champs, but in that conversation for
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  Speaker 1: a college foot playoff.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, that was the hope from the start.
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  Speaker 3: So, you know, I've had to have.
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  Speaker 4: A lot of hard discussions with Washington State fans and
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  Speaker 4: supporters over the last couple of years in the development
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  Speaker 4: of this new PAC twelve conference. I have to make
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  Speaker 4: it very clear to them that Washington State has a
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  Speaker 4: better chance to play in the College Football Playoff than
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  Speaker 4: they ever had in.
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  Speaker 3: The old Pac twelve.
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  Speaker 4: They haven't won a championship since two thousand and three.
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  Speaker 4: You know, as much as they revered Mike Leach and
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  Speaker 4: everything he was able to do at Washington State, they
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  Speaker 4: never won anything. They didn't win a division, they didn't
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  Speaker 4: play for a Pac twelve championship, none of it. So
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  Speaker 4: this gives Washington State and some of the teams I
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  Speaker 4: think at the very top, Boise State, who was just
• 9:41
  Speaker 4: there two years ago, Oregon State, and you know, you
• 9:45
  Speaker 4: don't quite know what the other teams are going to
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  Speaker 4: present at the table, but it gives them the best
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  Speaker 4: shot to play for a college football playoff that they
• 9:51
  Speaker 4: ever had, I think, in their previous conferences. So they're
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  Speaker 4: excited for that. The biggest thing I have and I
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  Speaker 4: love about this conference so far as I have no
• 10:01
  Speaker 4: idea who you would pick to come out on top,
• 10:04
  Speaker 4: I think Boise State, you would think just because of expectations,
• 10:07
  Speaker 4: prior history, the ability to keep a lot of their
• 10:11
  Speaker 4: roster together. But you have no idea, and my only
• 10:15
  Speaker 4: fear kind of like the old Pac twelve, like you
• 10:17
  Speaker 4: and I used to talk about all the time was
• 10:19
  Speaker 4: how they could can cannibalize one another.
• 10:21
  Speaker 3: You know, if you have a.
• 10:22
  Speaker 4: Team that wins the conference championship sitting at nine to three,
• 10:25
  Speaker 4: you know it is that a team that's going to
• 10:26
  Speaker 4: get into the College for Well Playoff. Well, you know,
• 10:29
  Speaker 4: they may still be highly ranked as the Pac twelve champion,
• 10:32
  Speaker 4: and that's ultimately what it takes to the College for
• 10:34
  Speaker 4: Weell Playoff guidelines, the fifth highest ranked conference champion gets
• 10:39
  Speaker 4: into the College Football Playoff. And so I think that
• 10:42
  Speaker 4: puts the Pac twelve and these eight schools in a
• 10:45
  Speaker 4: very good position to come knocking on the door of
• 10:48
  Speaker 4: the College for Well Playoff once the end of November comes.
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: Ryan Leaf is our guest here on the Sean O'Connell
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: Show talking reconstituted Pac twelve Conference, where, of course the
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: Utah State Aggies will be plying their trade this upcoming
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: college football season. Bronco Benden Hall has been a really
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: high level coach for a very long time. Spent a
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: lot of time at BYU, had success at Virginia, stepped
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: away from the sport for a while, came back with
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: the Utah State opportunity, did some good things with that
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: group last year. I look at teams like Utah State.
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  Speaker 1: I look at teams a lot of these teams in
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  Speaker 1: the PAC twelve conference and where other places. A lot
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: of it is, hey, do you have the money to
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: compete in the Big twelve? Do you have the money
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: to compete in the ACC? Do you have enough to
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: get these five star recruits in the Big ten. I
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: think coaching matters more in the Big twelve, or excuse me,
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: in the Pac twelve right now, than it does in
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: most of these other conferences. And the Aggies have a
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: good one. What is your sense of what that team
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: could be in this new conference?
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  Speaker 4: I agree. I think coaching plays a huge role in
• 11:55
  Speaker 4: this aspect of things. I think it plays a huge
• 11:57
  Speaker 4: role at the tops of those other conferences too. And
• 12:00
  Speaker 4: I talked about the gathering a team full of mercenaries
• 12:03
  Speaker 4: and putting the team together every year. You know, I
• 12:05
  Speaker 4: don't know if there's a better one out there than
• 12:07
  Speaker 4: then Lane Kippen. You know, Mel Tucker was extremely good
• 12:10
  Speaker 4: at that, you know his early tenure there at Michigan State.
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: So you find the.
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  Speaker 4: Right coach who can meld together, you know, players that
• 12:19
  Speaker 4: weren't on the roster a year ago holdovers guys that
• 12:22
  Speaker 4: are developing, and possibly it could be viewed as a
• 12:27
  Speaker 4: you know, a player that's going to step up to
• 12:29
  Speaker 4: a higher level the next year, but you need to
• 12:31
  Speaker 4: utilize him the most this year.
• 12:32
  Speaker 3: You know, those types of coaches are a big.
• 12:34
  Speaker 4: Deal, and I think Bronco's definitely an individual that can
• 12:37
  Speaker 4: get the most out of his guys. You know, this
• 12:39
  Speaker 4: is a new era of college football, and so some
• 12:42
  Speaker 4: of the guys that have been in it for a
• 12:43
  Speaker 4: long time, you are, you're going to find out pretty
• 12:47
  Speaker 4: quick whether or not they can meld to what this
• 12:50
  Speaker 4: new format of what college football looks like. So I
• 12:53
  Speaker 4: think there's some really good coaches in this conference. You know,
• 12:55
  Speaker 4: there's a lot of new coaches. I think coach Moore
• 12:57
  Speaker 4: brings the you know, a ton of respect because of
• 13:01
  Speaker 4: what he was able to do at Yukon. I mean,
• 13:03
  Speaker 4: the guy has been spectacular no matter.
• 13:05
  Speaker 3: Where he's gone.
• 13:06
  Speaker 4: Immediately, you know, you look at his time at Yukon
• 13:09
  Speaker 4: and turning that program around right away, and then you
• 13:13
  Speaker 4: look at his time in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons.
• 13:15
  Speaker 4: Been his first year with them, they go to the
• 13:17
  Speaker 4: NFC Championship Game. So he knows what it takes to
• 13:19
  Speaker 4: get the best out of somebody, and maybe a team
• 13:21
  Speaker 4: that he hasn't coached before to get them to believe.
• 13:24
  Speaker 4: Really like what Kirby Moore was bringing to the table
• 13:26
  Speaker 4: so far at Washington State. But again, you know, until
• 13:29
  Speaker 4: the games are played, you don't quite know. And Washington
• 13:31
  Speaker 4: State has to play Washington in Week one for the
• 13:34
  Speaker 4: Apple Cups. That would be very very interesting to see
• 13:37
  Speaker 4: how they start, how they deal with failure, how they
• 13:39
  Speaker 4: deal with success, all those things when you have a
• 13:41
  Speaker 4: new head coach in place, with this new landscape of college.
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: Football, I hope you don't mind me expanding the scope
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: of our conversation a little bit outside of the Pac twelve.
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: But you know, you've been around the game of football
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: for a long time. You've experienced the highest highs in
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: some of the lows associated with it, and you know
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: there's an insight that comes from your level of experience,
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: especially playing the quarterback position. We got a really interesting
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: situation at the University of Utah right now where a
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: guy who'd been in place for twenty one years as
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: the head coach is no longer there and the heir
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: apparent has always been Morgan Scalley, and now he takes
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: the reins for real for the first time. But he
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: does this with a new offensive coordinator. He does this
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: with a quarterback who we have very high hopes for,
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: but who had followed the previous offensive coordinator on his
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: path up through college football relative to that Ryan. When
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: it's a relationship you have, especially a close one with
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: your offensive coordinator, and then you have to experience a switch,
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: what does that do for a quarterback or maybe to
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: a quarterback.
• 14:46
  Speaker 4: Well, it could be very daunting, you know, especially when
• 14:51
  Speaker 4: you go to a university, you usually go for the coach.
• 14:54
  Speaker 4: I mean the reason I went to Washington State was
• 14:56
  Speaker 4: because of Mike Price, right. I mean I can't imagine
• 14:59
  Speaker 4: year or two that if he were to have left
• 15:02
  Speaker 4: and the offense that I was learning and developing. You know,
• 15:04
  Speaker 4: the best thing that happened to me was I was
• 15:07
  Speaker 4: with him for four years and by the time we
• 15:09
  Speaker 4: got to that Rose Bull season, you know, I could
• 15:11
  Speaker 4: read what he wanted to do on every single play.
• 15:15
  Speaker 4: We just we just knew it. So that's always a
• 15:17
  Speaker 4: difficult transition. Okay, it doesn't mean it's insurmountable. You know,
• 15:21
  Speaker 4: you have a good game plan you. And another thing
• 15:23
  Speaker 4: is if your offensive coordinator is willing to do things
• 15:26
  Speaker 4: that really showcase and highlight you as a player. Sometimes
• 15:29
  Speaker 4: offensive coordinators and head coaches in particular, they're still set
• 15:34
  Speaker 4: their ways that they don't get out of their own way.
• 15:37
  Speaker 3: They say, my way.
• 15:38
  Speaker 4: Works, do it my way, and that's how we were successful,
• 15:41
  Speaker 4: when in this day and age, that's not how it works.
• 15:44
  Speaker 4: I mean, you look at Sean McVay when he took
• 15:46
  Speaker 4: over for the Rams. He looked at Jared Goff and
• 15:49
  Speaker 4: you know, after that first year with Jeff Fisher, who
• 15:52
  Speaker 4: just tried to impose everything that he did, Sean and
• 15:57
  Speaker 4: Bay came in and said, what do you do best?
• 15:58
  Speaker 4: And let's how do we how do we make us
• 16:01
  Speaker 4: great because of what you do great? And so I
• 16:03
  Speaker 4: hope that's the same situation you have and in Salt
• 16:06
  Speaker 4: Lake City there in Utah, that someone that comes in
• 16:09
  Speaker 4: and is willing to have a theory and have a
• 16:12
  Speaker 4: plan and a scheme together offensively, but know how to
• 16:16
  Speaker 4: get it done with the guy that's that's the one
• 16:18
  Speaker 4: that's cashing your chests for you essentially, and that's important
• 16:23
  Speaker 4: fast to find out. And you find that out pretty quick.
• 16:25
  Speaker 4: You know, you find out pretty quick and early games
• 16:28
  Speaker 4: on what that scheme and what that transition is going
• 16:31
  Speaker 4: to look like.
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: There's a cliche that gets thrown around, and I'm guilty
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: of throwing it around myself that you should always, you know,
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: experience a big leap forward in your second year as
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: a starter, especially if it's freshman to sophomore year. And
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: you know, BYU had bear Bachmeyer last year come in
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: as a freshman and look great, and now he's going
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: into his second year as a starter, his second year
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: in college football as a guy who's played that position,
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: what is that growth like from year one to year two?
• 17:05
  Speaker 4: You don't actually, I don't think you actually recognize that
• 17:08
  Speaker 4: it's happening. You're just doing the work, and then you
• 17:11
  Speaker 4: get into games that things seem to have slowed down
• 17:14
  Speaker 4: a bit, that that seemingly felt like what it was
• 17:16
  Speaker 4: for me, even so much.
• 17:18
  Speaker 3: So I started my last couple, you know, my.
• 17:20
  Speaker 4: Last couple of games with my freshman year, and then
• 17:23
  Speaker 4: my next year it felt like things had started to
• 17:25
  Speaker 4: slow down. And then when we played some really elite
• 17:27
  Speaker 4: defenses and teams, you could see, you know, some of
• 17:32
  Speaker 4: the patterns, you know, weren't as weren't as slowed down
• 17:35
  Speaker 4: and you had to improve on them and things like that.
• 17:37
  Speaker 4: And then going into year three in that system, I mean,
• 17:40
  Speaker 4: it was like everything had come to a stop and
• 17:43
  Speaker 4: I could kind of dictate everything that was going on.
• 17:46
  Speaker 4: So I would anticipate that it will feel very comfortable
• 17:50
  Speaker 4: with what's happening, you know. Bottom line, it comes down
• 17:55
  Speaker 4: to the competition level. You know, when you get into
• 17:56
  Speaker 4: those most competitive situations, you know, when they're trying to
• 17:59
  Speaker 4: limit you and what you do best, how you deal
• 18:02
  Speaker 4: with that. You know, do you deal it with that
• 18:04
  Speaker 4: in a healthy positive way or you know that's what
• 18:07
  Speaker 4: you hope. But you're right, there's a significant leap. You know,
• 18:10
  Speaker 4: you should learn and you should get better each and
• 18:13
  Speaker 4: every time you step on the football field.
• 18:15
  Speaker 3: And sometimes that gets you.
• 18:17
  Speaker 4: Know, interrupted during the season because from what the off
• 18:21
  Speaker 4: season brings, because it gets so long, injuries happen and
• 18:25
  Speaker 4: things of that nature. But there should be a significant
• 18:27
  Speaker 4: leap in terms of how he sees the field, how
• 18:30
  Speaker 4: he interprets what defenses are trying to do to him,
• 18:33
  Speaker 4: and then the communication level between him and his coaches
• 18:37
  Speaker 4: on how they want to get things done and when
• 18:39
  Speaker 4: things go bad, how to fix them?
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: Ryan Lee, for another minute or two here on the
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: Sean O'Connell show. You made I don't know if you
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: would call it a side hustle if it's your main passion,
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: but you've you've made a successful path in doing a
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: bunch of these speaking engagements and talking about, you know,
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: some of your struggles and the cautionary tale of you know,
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: being accountable and all these great things. And I wonder
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: what advice you might have for Puka Nakula, who obviously
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: played his high school ball here. The whole Nakoupah family
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: has connections in our home state in Utah. He's right
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: now the best young or one of the top three
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: young wide receivers in the league. It seems like the
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: only thing standing in the way of him. And you know,
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: not only being the highest paid wide receiver ever at
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: least for a time, but also achieving true greatness at
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: the NFL level is his own kind of like Tomfoolery,
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: what advice would you have for somebody like Pooka Nakula
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: right now who's got everything in front of him.
• 19:39
  Speaker 4: Well, I can relate to him so easily in terms
• 19:42
  Speaker 4: of feeling like you're a pretty much bulletproof, you know.
• 19:46
  Speaker 4: I do feel like some of the steps he made
• 19:48
  Speaker 4: this offseason, you know, seeking support, going to rehab, things
• 19:53
  Speaker 4: like that, seemed like it was going in the right direction.
• 19:55
  Speaker 4: So you'd like to think there's been a and an
• 20:00
  Speaker 4: improvement in that aspect of things and how he's dealing
• 20:03
  Speaker 4: with stuff. But it fascinates me when I see it
• 20:07
  Speaker 4: play out in real time with some of these young
• 20:09
  Speaker 4: players who are so successful and are having so much success,
• 20:14
  Speaker 4: because I go, how could they be doing that? And
• 20:16
  Speaker 4: then I think back to where I was in that place.
• 20:17
  Speaker 3: Where I was just not listening to anybody.
• 20:19
  Speaker 4: I was just doing whatever I wanted to.
• 20:21
  Speaker 3: Do because I thought I was right and no one
• 20:24
  Speaker 3: could tell.
• 20:24
  Speaker 4: Me any different. The biggest thing for Pooka is like
• 20:26
  Speaker 4: he hasn't gotten paid yet. He's still, you know, being
• 20:29
  Speaker 4: paid on his rookie contract, where he was a you know,
• 20:33
  Speaker 4: a draft pick further down than anybody expected that he
• 20:37
  Speaker 4: wouldn't have would be this good, you know, And so
• 20:40
  Speaker 4: you don't want to interrupt that, you know, And if
• 20:44
  Speaker 4: he's willing to act out in this way and kind
• 20:46
  Speaker 4: of do whatever he wants to before that becomes to fruition.
• 20:49
  Speaker 4: That's that's a scary proposition to have. I did like
• 20:52
  Speaker 4: the signs of this aw season. Like I said, it
• 20:55
  Speaker 4: looked like he was trying to make some improvements. Like
• 20:58
  Speaker 4: I tell all players, I've spoken to seventy nine universities
• 21:01
  Speaker 4: now ever since Alabama coach had Nick Staban brought me
• 21:04
  Speaker 4: in almost ten years ago. You know, there's nothing. There
• 21:08
  Speaker 4: is nothing.
• 21:09
  Speaker 3: I know.
• 21:09
  Speaker 4: You have all these resources at your fingertips now with
• 21:13
  Speaker 4: social media and the player's tribute and your ability to
• 21:16
  Speaker 4: speak directly to your your fans and the public without
• 21:20
  Speaker 4: necessarily an interpreter with the media. There really isn't much
• 21:27
  Speaker 4: benefit to you talking while you're a player.
• 21:31
  Speaker 3: Plain and simple.
• 21:33
  Speaker 4: The only focus is you should be the head of
• 21:35
  Speaker 4: a fortune five hundred company, which is you as a
• 21:39
  Speaker 4: player at the NFL level. You know, when it's all
• 21:41
  Speaker 4: said and done, because these careers are so short, you
• 21:44
  Speaker 4: can have the rest of your life to be a want.
• 21:47
  Speaker 4: It's not going to transfer into more, you know, endorsement dollars.
• 21:50
  Speaker 4: If you're good enough, If you're a good enough player,
• 21:53
  Speaker 4: that's going to take care of itself. And so that's
• 21:55
  Speaker 4: a hard thing to ask them because no one wants
• 21:57
  Speaker 4: to certainly hear that from me especially, It's still important
• 22:01
  Speaker 4: that I give that give them that advice. You know,
• 22:05
  Speaker 4: years down the line or after some troubles, they may
• 22:07
  Speaker 4: be able to look back on it and go all
• 22:09
  Speaker 4: those are the words that hit me when I needed
• 22:11
  Speaker 4: it the most, you know, and that's the important piece
• 22:13
  Speaker 4: on why I continue to do it.
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: As you have gone around to these campuses and had
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: an opportunity to talk to coaches and players, how how
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: different are players now? How professional are they? I mean,
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: these guys, some of them are making millions of dollars.
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: Even those who aren't making millions might be setting themselves
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: up with at least a little nest egg or a
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: house payment or something like that. How much have you
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: watched in these tennis years that the student athlete change?
• 22:41
  Speaker 2: As you've gone around to these multiple campuses, I.
• 22:44
  Speaker 4: Think I agree with you in terms of the professionalism
• 22:47
  Speaker 4: of it.
• 22:47
  Speaker 3: You know, I was just at the Washington.
• 22:49
  Speaker 4: State you know camp Fall Camp, and they are pretty
• 22:54
  Speaker 4: much running it like a professional camp. The way the
• 22:57
  Speaker 4: walkthroughs exist, the practice, the time I'm off, the nutrition,
• 23:01
  Speaker 4: the strength and condition. I mean, it's you know, if
• 23:04
  Speaker 4: you're going to be paid like professionals.
• 23:07
  Speaker 3: I think these coaches are starting to understand.
• 23:10
  Speaker 4: That we're going to treat you like professionals in terms
• 23:12
  Speaker 4: of how we prepare and go about business. And I
• 23:14
  Speaker 4: feel like I've seen a change. But listen, plain and simple,
• 23:18
  Speaker 4: no matter how much money.
• 23:20
  Speaker 3: Some of these kids are going to be making, there's
• 23:24
  Speaker 3: still an innocence to college football.
• 23:25
  Speaker 4: And that's why I still love it. That's why I
• 23:27
  Speaker 4: love showing up on campuses to speak to these young men.
• 23:32
  Speaker 4: I love showing up on campuses to call these games
• 23:34
  Speaker 4: because once that season kicks, it doesn't matter about the money.
• 23:38
  Speaker 4: In a lot of ways, it's about the innocence of
• 23:40
  Speaker 4: college football that still exists, the pageantry, the environment, and
• 23:46
  Speaker 4: that's what makes it so much fun to be a
• 23:47
  Speaker 4: part of.
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: Last thing before I let you go, how much does
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: broadcasting and you know, evaluating games from that standpoint, how
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: much does it scratch the football itch?
• 23:59
  Speaker 2: In Ryan late?
• 24:01
  Speaker 4: It does it completely there, there's no you know, relative
• 24:06
  Speaker 4: ith down the line that needs to be scratched further
• 24:08
  Speaker 4: that it does exactly what it's supposed to.
• 24:10
  Speaker 3: It keeps me well.
• 24:12
  Speaker 4: Informed, it keeps me involved. You know, Like I said,
• 24:15
  Speaker 4: I turned fifty this year, and I feel like, you know,
• 24:18
  Speaker 4: I'm just I was just at Boising. We were talking
• 24:20
  Speaker 4: about it and also started bringing up people started bringing
• 24:22
  Speaker 4: up the last time boys got shut out was nineteen
• 24:25
  Speaker 4: ninety seven, and when we beat them fifty eight to nothing,
• 24:28
  Speaker 4: you know, it's like it's you just get pulled back
• 24:31
  Speaker 4: into the college atmosphere of how much you loved it.
• 24:35
  Speaker 4: And then I get to prepare each and every week
• 24:38
  Speaker 4: the same way I did as a player. You know,
• 24:39
  Speaker 4: you get the film, you break it down, You're looking
• 24:42
  Speaker 4: at the opposing teams players, you meet with coaches.
• 24:45
  Speaker 3: You show up to the venue, you meet with the coaches.
• 24:48
  Speaker 4: On the game pregame, you feel the environment, you know,
• 24:50
  Speaker 4: the music, the locker rooms, the stadiums, the lights, and
• 24:56
  Speaker 4: then you step in front of the microphone and you
• 24:58
  Speaker 4: just do what you've all w He's been able to do,
• 25:00
  Speaker 4: and that's talk about football. You don't overcompliment, complicate it.
• 25:06
  Speaker 4: You were harken back to the days where you were
• 25:08
  Speaker 4: sitting on the couch with your dad watching football growing up.
• 25:10
  Speaker 4: That's how I call football games, and and it turns
• 25:15
  Speaker 4: out I'm pretty darn good at it, and so I'm
• 25:18
  Speaker 4: really excited when the season comes, I'm or about, you know,
• 25:21
  Speaker 4: ten days away from getting kicked off here, and you know,
• 25:26
  Speaker 4: I couldn't be more grateful that I get to continue
• 25:29
  Speaker 4: to do this.
• 25:31
  Speaker 3: In my life.
• 25:32
  Speaker 4: And so I and I'm going to be able to
• 25:35
  Speaker 4: bring my son to a game this year. I think
• 25:37
  Speaker 4: he's old enough where he is understanding it. He can
• 25:40
  Speaker 4: be quiet in a lot in the in the broadcast
• 25:42
  Speaker 4: booth and and enjoy and see what dad gets to
• 25:46
  Speaker 4: do for a living. So I'm excited for that too.
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: Well, it's always great to see all of your success.
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: Miss getting to talk to you more often, so let's
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: stay in better touch. And thanks so much for joining
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: me on the show today.
• 26:00
  Speaker 4: Oh you bet, buddy. It's so good to hear from
• 26:02
  Speaker 4: you saying to you congratulations on the family, and tell
• 26:05
  Speaker 4: your wife hello, and yeah, we'll do this again too.
• 26:08
  Speaker 2: All right. That's Ryan Leef.
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: You will see and hear him on USA Sports coverage
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: of the new PAC twelve conference, where, of course, ron
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: Cole metten Hall in the Utah State Aggies will be
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: competing this year.
• 26:21
  Speaker 2: Whittingham mentioned