Mountain West Media Days - Nevada Football Head Coach Jeff Choate

[Music] Mountain West media days rolls on here in Las Vegas we're live at Circa Resort in casino in Las Vegas we're having a blast here today we got to talk with the Players yesterday we get the head coaches today and we continue our run of talking to new first year head coaches in the Mountain West Jeff Cho from Nevada joins us now Jesse Curts I'm Bridget Howard coach it's great to see you we know you're no stranger to the Mountain West but welcome in this capacity as head coach appreciate it it's great to be here exciting time and uh yeah you guys have had to do a lot of research with seven new head coaches uh so that is true yeah we've been nerds the last couple of days we've been nerds doing all the research right well coach you come to Nevada after coaching at Texas um what intrigued you about this role at Nevada opportunity uh you know the last time that I was in this league um in fact the last time that I was at macki stadium was probably a high water mark for uh for the program at the University of Nevada they they beat a really really good boy State team that night and I just remember watching everybody rush the field and the the passion and energy of that place that was my lasting impression of Nevada football and uh the way that Community rallied around that program and the the success that coach alt had had there and the great players that had come through that place and uh to know that it's been that way and it can be that way again and there's a commitment and I think an alignment between President sand ofal and and Stephanie rimp the athletic director and myself in terms of what our vision is and uh you know we're about and man one thing about it there nowhere to go but up and we're going to let it rip nowhere to go but up but to your point this this program um the fan base has tasted that uh reasonably what are your expectations for how quickly you can get back to what your vision of success is yeah and I think that that's defined I think more by trajectory than it is wins and losses how are we playing how competitive are we um we definitely have a challenging schedule and that's one of the great things about the mount West in general I mean whether you're playing the non-conference schedule that we're playing or you're going to have to go compete against a Boise State a UNLV Colorado State and and and all the great programs in this league um that's that's important and so I think uh we've got to microwave it I know this the old 18 to 24 months to to adjust culture that ain't going to work anymore and so um so that's what we've been focused on is is I use the term microwaving it or launching it's not a rebuild it's a launch and I think that there's a lot of people that have kind of bought into that and uh ultimately I I do think this I think we've got talent on our roster that nobody's aware of I'm kind of looking at your notes and and I'm like yeah okay but you don't have that guy you don't have that guy you don't have that guy and so we've under the radar I think put together a really competitive roster and uh through that non-conference schedule those first five games we've got to find out who we are what's our identity we've got to improve week to week and then when we get to the Mountain West we're going to be a dangerous team because I'm not going to I'm not going to play the thing close to the vest like I said when you're picked where we're picked in this league that's a respect thing in my opinion and we're going to let it rip well that's why we have you here by the way is to expose who we should be looking looking forward to so you're going to go ahead and tell us uh who the major players on your roster are uh but when you when you talk about your experience and you know you've seen success at the highest of levels deep in the FCS playoffs as a head coach of Montana State deep in in the uh the college football playoff with Texas and and what you guys tasted a year ago in in the National semis um what about those success stories have you taken do you then use as you're using this this term launch at Nevada well I think you know every single step along the way you learn something right and uh whether it was going to the university Washington and after three years there they're in the cfp Texas three years there they're in the cfp uh the time that I had at boisee uh in the early 2000s um building a program at Montana State and I think that what I've learned is that what I do travels my approach to uh to recruiting my approach to building a staff my approach to relating to players my approach to discipline um my approach to football travels and it travels to the highest level of the game and uh and it it it worked uh it worked at chalice High School too back in the day and so um there's a lot of confidence I think that goes along with that to know that hey I know every place is different Nevada has its uniqueness which is awesome and we're going to embrace that uniqueness and that history and tradition uh and we're going to put our spin on it and we're going to put a product out there that the the fan base can be really proud of Coach Cortez and Henry told us yesterday that you and your speeches make them want to run through a wall you're making us want to run through a wall at least me right now I love hearing this it's so exciting just to hear you know what you want to to make happen here at Nevada um but a couple of the things I wanted to ask you about because it is all about getting know the players creating that chemistry uh making sure everyone's on the same page when it comes time for August um you had a night of champions uh earlier this summer and I asked the guys about it and they kind of gave us a little bit on it what was that why was that so important for you can you give us some insight it's a little bit of chaos training um that's kind of what football is a lot of times and so I think that one of the things that uh you know unfortunately we have a gentleman by the name of Phil cornu who's a uh retired military and as a company called stonewater that uh I've engaged with since my days at Montana State and uh he's pretty creative in terms of some of the things he comes up with in this chaos training but it was really designed to put guys in leadership positions identify how competitive they were going to be in a in environments that have nothing to do with football and uh and force them to make decisions under stress and whether that was getting into the water or you know being on some some crazy you know elliptical deal that they got to do or whatever the case may be um that was the purpose and I think that you learn a lot about kids when you put them under those stressful environments and I think these guys responded the right way uh we did have a significant turnover on a roster after Spring ball but I think that's probably year one and so a lot of those things that we did through the offseason we've had to replicate again in the summer and actually uh we'll kind of have a Capstone event on the 18th uh where we do some really cool stuff that'll be a little bit more out of their comfort zone because now we have our team now we have our team and that's the unique thing about college football now right you don't really have your team until summer starts yeah when we also talked to them yesterday about the charity softball game youall participated in with the law local law enforcement um really cool to see that and especially because when you're trying to come into a program you want the community to buy in to the program um why was that so important for you to take part in um to get out into the local community but also just get to know the local law enforcement and pay thanks to them yeah I think building a bridge I think is important um one of our one of our key staffers this guy named Todd Renwick who is actually the upd chief at uh at the University of Nevada for 20 plus years and and so we have this awesome kind of synergy with law enforcement and all of our First Responders and so we we like well what better way let's get together and raise some money for a charity that's uh that's important for our law enforcement and First Responders in Northern Nevada and have a blast doing it and uh shout out out to the aces they were they were gracious hosts and it was uh it was a lot of fun and uh I don't know it was just it was a really cool event it was very organic it came together the right way and so hopefully it's something we can build and grow on but just another opportunity for us to touch base and and the one thing about Reno Nevada man it is a community oriented place you give back in that community and the more you give the more they give they give back to you uh president sandal when I first took the job he said if you hug this community it's going to hug you back and I haven't forgot that that's really cool we asked the guys who the MVP was of that baseball game I'm going to ask you who do you think it was yeah I think I I I mean it's tight it's tight Baylor horning or chubba py one of those two for sure pie py was the one they said they said by and large chubba pie that was it they said he could be a two sport athlete at Nevada if need be if they needed someone to to be on the baseball diamond and chubba p in what he did speaking of chubba py he's assuming in in the mix for uh at your quarterback battle and identifying who's going to be the leader of your offense uh he Brendan Lewis AJ Bianco obvious ly py p is a name that people know having been at Florida State Nebraska uh this guy coming to your place what value does he add to that competition and ultimately if he is passed with running the offense you know what does he bring to the table yeah I think he and Brennan actually have a really similar skill set they're um they're pretty similar athletes um they both throw the ball really really well good decision makers High football IQ very athletic and so I think we're going to have a very tight competition um it was a little bit but janky because chubba was coming off an injury after he transferred to Nebraska and really didn't get a fully participate in Spring ball and so Brennan kind of walked as the walked off he was the leader in the clubhouse just based on that uh the number of reps that he had and how he performed in the spring and uh AJ actually had a really good spring Big Spring game too and so I think there's those guys and there's a guy that nobody really talks about but I think he's he's I know he's going to have to play football for us because he's so athletic and kid named Anthony griggsby who's a a transfer quarterback from College of Sano okay and so I think you're going to see a lot of different guys especially early on remember I talked about that preseason who are we what do we do well and how do we continue to improve week to week and part of that's going to be identifying our key Playmakers on offense defense and special teams one of the uh the guys that can that can really help your your quarterbacks will be Shawn dollers he he led the team carries over 150 over 500 yards rushing uh scored six touchdowns last season uh in what ways will he help those quarterbacks as they kind of get get their feet Underneath Him and running the offense as a guy behind him that can run the football Sean is a guy that's really maybe maybe the most impressive to me because I think he had every reason to be very resistant through the coaching change and uh I've seen a lot of maturity out of that young man and I think he's not only going to be a bcal for us in terms of running the football I also think he's going to be a really good leader in our locker room and I've already seen that and so we've got some really good maturity in that group Sean has won uh transfer from Boston College Patrick garwo is another um got another transfer from the University of Texas saon red who thinks a Dynamic player played a lot of Wildcat for us at Texas and so it's it's going to be an interesting D Ashton Hayes a local kid this guy can fly his Dynamic with the ball in his hand got hurt in the Kansas game last year and so he didn't or I think it was actually the U Texas State game so he didn't get to play a lot um but yeah I feel really good about the depth in our running back room Cortez Braham Jr a guy out wide that I have to imagine is going to be a big piece of this offense the transfer from West Virginia what about him made you think yeah he'd really fit in with this group yeah I he just has great energy and you guys probably felt that saw we felt it we loved it yesterday and I think he's authentic I think he's truly appreciative he's a guy that's kind of made the rounds you know he's he's done the the group of five power five back to group of five thing and um he is super appreciative of the opportunity that he has at Nevada he is a good worker he's mature um and I love be like he makes you feel good being around him you know like he's got that juice and you got to love that and so uh he's been a critical aspect for us he's really taken a lot of our younger receivers under his wing this is how you work there's a guy that that just transferred from Tarlton State actually started his career with me at Montana State named Jaylen Smith he calls him Jay Smitty so everybody's probably going who's Jay Smitty but he's a guy that uh is a is a really Dynamic football player and those two guys on the edge I think give us pieces that are appropriate to be competitive in this league well another player we talked to yesterday Henry ikaho and we were ecstatic to talk to him your players that we spoke to were great and he's a guy who was at Nevada transferred to Cal now back um being able to see the journey that he's been on knowing the value that is in this Nevada football program and wanting to play for you means what makes me know that I I've I've walked the path the right way uh I think one of the main reasons that he's here is because I coached uh one of his cousins at State who went through a lot of tough times including his father passing away and we were always there to support him and at the end of the day um you know the when you have those individual connections and those relationships and a young man can say no my you know Taylor told me he said you stay with Coach Cho he's going to take care of you and your family and uh to know that he put that trust in us and you know he's going to be a really really good football player in this league he was it 275 pound interior D lineman a cal had to sit out a year may get a year back based on some of the new AAA rules and has totally transformed his body I've seen football at the highest level as we've talked about this guy's a dynamic player he can play and he's going to be a problem in this league especially for offensive tackles played on both sides of the ball too spent some time as a tight end's very well rounded yeah he's been lobbying me I know it's we might have a package little goal line stuff for him there you go when I think of uh Nevada defense over the last couple of years the guy that that usually Rises the top Drew Watts um can be a wrecker uh forced four fumbles uh is he going to be one of your guys that you lean up on not only to be a leader but a playmaker he was one of the big Playmakers on that defense the year yeah yeah I think that uh you know through the middle of our defense I've been really impressed with Drew's Instinct instinctive ability as a player very knowledgeable High football IQ um you know challenged him to kind of really build his body over the off season and he's done a great job of that and so I'm excited to see him uh I think he you know that combination of Kaden Johnson and and Henry on the edge and the combination of of a guy with an experience level and the playm ability of Drew with kni who's like this guy's a physical for he's a tough player uh those two guys in the interior of our our defense um and then you know in the back end I I actually think that we're a little underrated in the secondary I mean I think we've got a really really talented group in the back end Mike coat's coming back and um Keaton Crawford um you know there's Aiden sule is a kid that has really impressed me and during my time there and so I I like our defense I really do I think talent wise we're we're capable of having a really really good squad that on that side having talent is one thing coaching up Talent is another one of your first um tasks when you took the job was to get a staff that that believes in what you believe and and and maybe in some ways can challenge you U but one thing I I do know is you have a staff that has coached at a very high level won at a high level uh been a cord coordinator at high levels what are some of the things that you valued when you were putting your staff together to launch a winner at NADA yeah familiarity and Trust are the top two things for me I think people knowing how I operate is going to create Synergy and make us be able to move faster I don't have to explain everything that I say uh people you know when they hear that certain tone they know what's up and what time it is I've heard that tone for a few people I know what you're talking about and so uh so that's really important and I was able to put together a group that I've uh you know guys that I've I think there's only one guy on our staff that I haven't either coached worked with or worked or they've worked under me and so that familiarity and trust is there and present huge um and guys again that have been winners and been places that know know how to not shy away from recruiting battles and and challenge good players because that's what good players expect uh and not try to be their buddy be their mentor and their coach uh coach one last note on a player that I really wanted to highlight Kiton Crawford comes with you from Texas uh had a great career uh down for the Longhorns what is your relationship like with him why was it why was it important for you that he was on this in this program yeah I thank you so much for bringing Katon up this I talked a little bit about how impressed I was with Shan the dollars maturity Keaton was one of the best special teams players in the country for the last two years at the University of Texas and played significant Downs for us I mean had a huge interception in the Big 12 championship game and uh I think he had another pick against uh against Alabama in that game and um but he wasn't an every down player on defense and I think um the opportunity to come somewhere where he can be the bcow and kind of control the back end grow his body of work as an every down player and grow as a leader and as a person and and he has done that I mean this guy is he's not an overly vocal guy but he's very confident and his his leadership has just exploded over the last six months and so super super proud of him and I do think like when you look at the layers of our defense and you go okay Henry I think he's a guy that is as good as any I've watched enough tape on the Mountain West I know what this thing is all right and I think I have a pretty good eye over 30 years of doing this the second level of the defense with guys like Drew and noi I think we're right in the mix there is we've got enough Talent there and then you look at a guy like Keat and and Mike coats on the back end and you and Aiden CI and kesan Cobb another transfer that we have from Buffalo we've got enough Talent how are we going to play you know and and like I S tell everybody like you know I'm not going to be afid to bring it you know like nobody expects anything anyway so I we're a dangerous outfit I love it we are a dangerous outfit and like I said I mean it's not just the launch but we're going to let it rip every fourth down you better look out we're going to let it rip I think it's cool when you see a player like Katon make the move to come to Nevada with you and it says a lot to the players that decided to stay and the new ones that are coming in this guy who had a great career at Texas is following you um and I think they talked to us yesterday just about you know the player coach relationship the player's first coach that you are you see that when players follow coaches and I think that's really cool but also you had a smile on your face and I love when I see coaches get genuinely so excited about players and I definitely saw that on your face with Ken no doubt well you'll let it rip as soon as anyone in in college football you got a A Week zero match up against a an a ACC team did I get that right they're going to be preseason I'm I'm guessing somewhere around 15 to 17 so yeah yeah uh you know rett's done a great job of building that thing down there and I mean it's as we talked about earlier the Mountain West I mean no nobody in this conference shies away from playing an aggressive schedule yeah and I think that there's sometimes been retractors about well you look at a Liberty who didn't really play anybody and they were able to get into that that uh you know that that new year six bowl game slot and at the end of the day man you got to play somebody sometime and so you know that's that that's that's going to be an exciting game I think it's awesome for our fan base uh we get three you know really really competitive games in that stadium and starting off with SMU and um you know our non-conference schedule we got five games because we're playing the 13th game we're going to Hawaii and playing that zero week game so we'll get an extra buy uh we need to play football you know there been a while since since Nevada's played in the postseason and so hey these more games means more opportunities for us to improve and you know I start looking down there and I go one two three four we got four games in November they're all compe and they're all going to be meaningful well we we love it and we look forward to to seeing you guys get out there and let it rip and and showcase some of that talent that we don't know about yet but I know we'll know here real soon because Nevada football is in the the right hands with Jeff Cho I appreciate your time appreciate your energy and best of luck to you in week zero against the Mustangs appreciate it go pack awesome well like we've been saying all day we've got lots more to go here at 2024 Mountain West football media days coming up next we will hear from the new interim head coach for the Utah State agies Nate drying he will be talking with us we got to get a little taste of what the agies are going to be like last this year with Spencer and Ike who we spoke to yesterday but don't go anywhere we've got lots more coming up for you live right here on the Mountain West Network [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music]