Jordan McCloud's Road to Texas State QB Stardom (4K)

Intro everybody probably wants a quick route but you know God has a plan for everybody and once you put all your own plans and thoughts aside and just follow his path I think that's when I kind of started just getting back to my happiness of this game since we've been playing since we were little kids and I think that's the most important part of it just not rushing anything taking everything one day at a time and letting things come to you I think everything happens for a reason you don't see it in the moment because you're in the storm but when you make it out of it you kind of look back at it you realize that it was the best thing for you so it wouldn't change it for the world all right welcome back to the Zen game QB show where we go inside the minds of college quarterbacks I'm here at Bobcat Stadium and Sam Marcos Texas in the president suite joined by Jordan McLoud and Lindsey Scott pumped to have you guys on today it's going to be a special season for you thank you for having us appre appreciate yeah just gonna even just kick off the show and uh Lindsay Finding the Right Fit you had a stored career with Coach Kenny here at Texas State back at Incarnate Word One FCS offensive player of the year and would love to just hear Through Your Eyes talk about Jordan how you see him as a fit for this offense because no one knows that better than you do I couldn't ever summarize it better than you could through your eyes we are very happy when we got Jordan you know I think this offense runs extremely smooth with a kind of certain type of prototype quarterback and he's everything that we wanted you know he could push the ball down the field make intermediate throws and then he's got legs to kind of open up that third dimension of our offense so you know our quarterback last year decided to to move on and uh there was kind of a question mark you know around that position and uh when you decideed to come here um I think a lot of weight was lifted off our shoulders and um you know I think he's put up a lot of points this year a lot of touchdowns yes sir uh we talked about that a couple times so um but I think the biggest quality is that he's a leader you know um that's a lot of things that kind of go unnoticed at the quarterback position sometimes U especially nowadays with you know a lot of different variables in college football so uh he's an anchor in the locker room and uh I'm excited to watch him ball out this year appreciate you I think everyone at San Marcos if they don't know yet I spent a lot of time studying your tape before this interview and they've got an awful lot to be excited about but it wasn't a short journey to get to that point last year where you won Sunbelt Player of the Year lot of the Season James Madison was undefeated your coach had such a successful season with you there that he's now coaching at the University of Indiana uh it's big it's a big deal definitely and uh kind of talk to me about the start of your journey what brought you to South Florida back in in 2018 and and let's talk a little bit about this road that got you to this point now where you're in a position at Texas State where you can do some very special things this year ah definitely you know the journey is a blessing um obviously there was rough parts of it but um back in 2018 I had originally went to USF um with Coach Charlie Strong um you know I love that man to this day we talk all the time I went there going out of high school just because it was like only my second to third year playing quarterback um I was close to the home obviously my family I'm from there so I started there um in 2020 um we had we got a new coach coming in that didn't really work out too well um so you know I transferred to uh Arizona in 21 with Coach Jed fish um he was another you know great mind to football that taught me the game a lot I was spent uh two years there I broke my ankle then um 2022 I transferred to um JMU to play in the 23 season which obviously you know was uh one of the best years of my life as far as football it was a great year last year um you know transferring here I just wanted to be with the offense you know and and guys that you know love the game of football very explosive offense uh great coaches um even better people um you know it's just a fun team to be around what was it at JMU that you felt finally put you in that position to play um I don't even believe you started the season last year as a starting quarterback there which is crazy to even think about but what happened that finally got you in this spot last year where you were able to show what you were capable of um I believe I always had it I had spurts at USF where I really played really well um same thing with Arizona but I think once I got to JMU um coach Tino um who's now Indiana my quarterback coach is you know he was very um he was hard on me every single day didn't let a single detail Slide by you know obviously he you know gave me my brownies when whenever I did good and things like that but each and every day practice games he always kept me levelheaded um level shouldered never thinking about the next day next play um it was always just living the moment and I think he did a really good job of of you know just pushing me day in and day out how did the opportunity come about last season uh where was the moment where you got to come into the game and and show what you were capable of um it was the third quarter of the first game um it was kind of some things going on in Camp um you know coach cetti decided to go with uh the quarterback that's still there now um and um I came in I got the opportunity to and I just never looked back so so entered was it was it kind of like the deshun I remember deshun Watson his first season with the Texans they didn't start him the first game they went into halftime of the first game kind of sat down in the locker room and said you know I think that we should play this to Shawn Watson guy and see what happens and he he never looked back I believe became rookie the year that year was it similar in your case in that sense where it was a going back to halftime kind of everyone grouped in the locker room and said hey maybe we should try bringing Jordan out in the second half and uh yeah it was kind of something like that but you know I kind of knew that I was going to get a chance to play um I just like I said coach Tino did a good job keeping me levelheaded um keeping me focused on you know the task at hand and then once I came in I was ready to go was that actually one of the things that you think helped you have your breakout last year the whole way that unfolded where to a degree there's almost less pressure just kind of coming into the game in the third quarter not worrying about it as bunch and then once you saw yourself do it it's kind of easier to maintain it than to get it going um yeah to a certain extent um obviously you know I thought that I should have you know been the started coming out but you know like I said coach made their decision um I would say it kind of put a chip on my shoulder um and once I got in there I didn't obviously never wanted to come back out and you didn't have to come back out not only have to come back out you won conference player of the year so I'd say it was pretty easy to say that it was a good good decision to have you in the game and Lindsay you can Betting on Yourself understand Jordan's Road probably better than almost anybody in the country how many stops did you have during your college career uh I started off at LSU then went to last chance you Missouri niichel State UIW so five total schools four four fbss yeah bounced around and finally your breakout was with Coach Kenny at UIW and you won FCS offensive player of the year get to finish on a massive explanation massive explanation point the best that you could have had um what was it that ultimately LED you to UIW in that last season yeah I um so I finished at niichel State and had you know a pretty good year but nothing crazy a lot of rushing yards run the ball a lot and uh a lot of NFL teams had me as you know a running back grade uh so I started training and kind of get ready for pro day didn't sign anything officially and then Coach Kenny and Coach leers reached out to me and uh I went on a visit there um you know at that point you're you know seventh year senior you don't need all the glitz and Glam so we just sat down and watched film got dinner and uh it was the first time that I had a head coach who played quarterback and OC who played quarterback at a high level so that was something that really dragged me there because um just the way they explained you know the how they're going to run the offense in the game that they understood the same perspective that I did I was like you know it feel like a good opportunity to kind of put some points on the board you know and uh and make a splash so I have year eligibility I thought why not and uh you know it worked out pretty well for for us at UIW it's pretty be betting yourself though right if you felt that there were some NFL teams that could give you a chance at running back in a camp that's kind of a sure thing oh yeah I mean you always got to bet on yourself and it's not the first time in my career where I've gotten that from whether it be a a college coach or you know um a scout or something like that um I think sometimes as a quarterback there's only one quarterback on the field and um when it comes that day comes you know I hope it doesn't for other quarterbacks the day comes they say you know you're not going to be the guy and you know especially for guys like Jordan I they good athletes there's going to be somebody that's going to reach out and try to get you change position and I think that kind of goes against the Integrity of being a quarterback you know especially if you train um and play this position your entire life now in some circumstances you know it may be the best for you but I just feel like every stop that I went to is like I am a quarterback you know when those Scouts were telling me we guys just running back grade I was like I got to find an opportunity to to prove them wrong because I know I'm a quarterback so uh that's kind of was my thought process I was sitting in my hotel room before I deci decid I was going to commit and that was kind of my thought process was like this is my last chance to prove you know to Scouts that I can do this and I got two coaches that believe in me so let's go let's go R it it'd be a it' be a bummer for you to switch positions because you can even just see that What Would You Do If You Weren't A QB talking to you and now you're coaching in addition to playing that your mind is a massive part of what you bring to the table as a football player and at the running back position there are a lot of opportunities to use that tool but there's no position in sports maybe where your mind is more valuable than as a quarterback so it'd really I think be a disappointment to not be able to be in a position to utilize that yeah I think if I were to change a different position for the rest of my career it kind of be like that that itch I can't scratch you know at the running back I can't flip a protection because the quarterback didn't see rotation or you know I can't throw hot I can't make that guy do uh you know the things that I would do at that position so um I just sometimes I'll sit down and kind of think about life if I play something differently and you know I don't think I'm as happy so I was thinking that if you were a running back that you'd probably be the most annoying running back for the quarterback definitely would that'd be funny this if you back there let's give me the Green Dot I I'll handle everything for you I could just I could just like you appeal to me as a person that probably would walk over if someone did miss a coverage and say like hey no you you really should have seen that yeah you should have flipped that protection this way cuz you know I uh I mean you never know me and the quarterback might be best friends back there you know don't worry but us read the defense I on the protection so it could be a good little Duo but how How Has Lindsey Helped Jordan helpful has Lindsay been for you Jordan even through this fall Camp process of getting you prepared for these games having those kind of eyes being so fresh playing but not being competition just being someone there to help you out yeah I mean extremely helpful um me and him are kind of we're close on and off the field but he um he obviously was a star in this offense um put up crazy numbers and that's you know same thing I want to do so he's been through it so he sees things and understands the offense um to point I've actually from experience so he helps me out day in and day out what was probably the most useful thing instantly either you guys can answer but that that you Lindsay were able to impart on Jordan in these first few months together I would say he can tell you the same thing he's a vertical Choice King so he's been helping me out with that a lot and that's like the first thing that I've kind of gotten like better from with him I think from you know my perspective I think uh like my season I had a you know a great year but you go back and watch the film there's still areas for me to improve there's still mistakes that I made so I kind of carry those into this position so I can teach him the mistakes I made so he doesn't make those same mistakes uh because ultimately my goal is to make sure that he plays better than I did when I was playing so um I think uh when you have a a tool as myself you know uh my job is to make sure that he goes out there and breaks every record that I got and he had 60 touchdowns passing you have 71 71 total 60 pass 11 rushing um so yeah I want him you know to go for 75 80 with 71 be an FBS record if he did that 63 would be the record for passing record I don't know the total I don't know the total I I I knew you had those record setting years I actually hadn't done I'm a stats person I'm kind of bummed at myself I didn't do a stats check in that but that would be that would be a record if you're able to pull it off Jordan yes sir and maybe maybe we put that out in the air hey like like I said this manifest power in the tongue power in the tongue power in the tongue I be cool to cool to look back at the end of the year and say that we we talked about we talked about that it's kind of a therapeutic process for you to aggree Lindsay to be able to say like there are obviously you didn't get to win the FCS National Championship we're talking about before we started recording that you're an Incarnate Word but you could have the opportunity at least kind of I want to say write some of those wrongs but scratch some of those itches that you couldn't complete she only got to have one year I'm sure you think to yourself all the time like man if I had gotten to play three years with Coach Kenny what could my college career have been like all right um we talk about it you know all the time if I had one more year eligibility coming to Texas State afterwards and this that and the other but I'm I'm very content and blessed in the way my journey kind of went out um I'm very blessed that I'm they gave me the opportunity to be here and help the quarterbacks um I think at the end of the day it's about using your platform to make an impact whether it's coaching playing in the community so the fact fact that I'm here and being able to share my past experiences and kind of help coach um Jordan and all our quarterbacks through theirs um I mean I I love waking up in the morning coming here and doing that so everything happened for a reason I'm glad it did with East Mississippi where did that Coach Brown's Off-Camera Personality time line line up in comparison to the show uh so I got there I got there in uh August of 17 I think like right after fall camp at LSU and they had just moved the show to Independence so they missed out on that whole national championship year we we won the J National Championship in 2017 um but they did come back they came to the national championship and kind of did like a recap like how's EMCC doing so um I'm kind of glad they left though buddy was very chill I think the camera was kind of stressed him out um but you know they missed out on some good content what's he like off camera because you got the experience it as an actual coach I think that people probably forget because that next two seasons was so outrageous he was an amazing coach before that show even showed up me did built an outstanding program before those cameras went on so what was he like as a coach yeah when the cameras weren't rolling he was he was great um as a person he was great you know you sit down like sit in his office just talk to him chop it up you know he's just like any other human being I think um from a production standpoint you know your job is to uh make the show appealing to viewers and you no matter what dynamic it is so um he had like just like any other coach you do something that makes him upset he's going to get angry at you so um he had a couple of those instances during the season but it was completely Justified I think kind of Netflix took some of those and just kind of showed it a little too much they didn't show the good side of him because there was I think there's more good than you know bad so he was an amazing coach uh we won national championship like I said and you know any that gives Merit to to him that you know he was doing his job from coach perspective from a um you know getting the right guys around you recruiting perspective so um I didn't give him a phone call I haven't talked to him in in a couple of years so I didn't give him a ring but he's a good guy it's cool what was your uh what was your best memory from Jo um In Scuba Mississippi there there's not much to do um the the closest like actual town is Meridian like an hour and a half um so on campus the best thing the best memories I have would was um we win a game and you know usually you go celebrate in some form of fashion it just be all the guys in one room playing video games having like a little tournament that's what we did after home games and then off the campus um after every thur because we play on Thursdays and we had Friday Saturday Sunday off um Me Kirk Meritt and Mike Williams my two wide receivers will hop in the car go to Meridian go to the you know to the mall movies um so those probably you know two the things that kind of stick out to me and then the national championship of course uh that was a special day just kind of watching all of our hard work kind of come to fruition so is there any chance that you and Kirk Merritt could reunite in the UFL I hope so he was he played for the Houston rough necks we actually uh we talked about it because we did a team kind of scrimmage one Saturday against them and we're we're talking about it kind of you know teaming up again so oh man guy that guy can be he's a he's a freak he can so good yeah he's one of the most athletic guys I've ever seen ever like he's just not an ounce of body fat he just RI can run a 4-3 can jump 40 something inches um I think for him it's just about getting into the right fit I think that's a kind of the story for a lot of players um I think the right fit can kind of transform your career um there's a lot of places where it's like a Lego piece you just don't fit there you know yeah yeah yeah you exper both you guys both have experienced oh yeah that that it's one of the beautiful things about the transfer portal and why it's helping a lot of kids achieve the best Futures they can is sometimes you have great conversations everything looks like it's going to be great and for whatever reason something just doesn't fit the way that everybody expects all right but Importance of Change in Football when you get a chance to make a change like both of you guys did sometimes it fits perfectly and you never even you never even could have imagined it Jordan did you know at JMU that when you kind of made that transfer decision like hey maybe this one's going to be the right one yeah um just going through the process uh cuz I transferred I want to say like 22 in like September so I had a little bit of time and then um I I think I committed in November late November um but JMU I knew was already a special place it was their first year D1 and um they had a good uh you know reputation with quarterback Cino did a great job with all of them um so I knew um he would be and he's been like at Alabama Florida State so he obviously knows what he's doing with quarterback so going there I just wanted to go to a place where I knew that was um you know quarterback friendly um you know the game was kind of molded around the quarterback of the team and um they did a good job of doing that yeah we had Curtis r on the show he's going to play for that staff this year up at Indiana and and have you talked to Curtis I haven't i't wonderful I get to get to ask you a cool question then if you were to give Curtis a piece of advice coming to play with that staff as he heads into this year what would it be yeah ah it's a few things um mainly just uh be you I would say don't try to you know some coaches I think try to uh make you into something you know that you're not um and I think with them they do a good job of just letting you be you but obviously you know playing within the system and things like that and um I would say trust what coach Tino is telling you um he obviously does a great job you know he a super uh offensive mind so I would say just trust uh what Christino is telling him if you were to go back JMU what was the number one thing you think you learned there that elevated your game we used to just say this thing that I kind of carried the whole time I was there like having a sniper mentality um so no matter what's going on around you um you know you just always got to stay focused laser U laser focused on you know your target which is basically your job for a quarterback and um I would say that's something that I carried each and every day last as long as we're on the subject we had one other guest that um you also played with in no FF at Arizona both in the same buys are both in the same QB room um what was the experience playing with him you were there when he was a freshman Y what did you see from him when he was a freshman when the cameras weren't on when no one was watching him play that that you maybe saw sign that wow when this guy does get his number called he's going to be something yeah um naturally I know is a great person like just coming in he's a he's quiet guy but um you know obviously he's coming in as a freshman um with his teammates that were coming in as well he came in uh he wasn't quiet guy but he opens up obviously um but on the field like nothing phases him um especially to be obviously not the you know tallest in quarterbacks and stuff like that so but on the field is like day one he came in through like a 60- yard bomb everybody like has a crazy arm for his size and his Poise for the game and understanding of the game was amazing from off the Jump were you guys texting back and forth last year when you kind we kind both having your moments and we still do that's what you know I love Noah we talk all the time I talked to him I want to say like last week um we were texting throughout the season cuz he I want to say came in like week four or five or something like that then obviously had a great season after that so we kept up about every week must have just been a lot of fun last season definitely you guys are both sitting on the bench watching Jaden excellent player and then you get to go with your separate pass and both have your moments and such a major way pretty incredible that's kind of goes back to what Lindsay was saying like obviously only one quarterback was playing but that QB room I mean we were all close and um you know unique in our own ways and obviously all of us were really good players but like linday said only one quarterback could play so once everybody kind of got their chance to Showcase that it was it was pretty cool football world's a small world right because I'm pretty sure Jaden Jaden was playing the UFL against you this year at least was on a roster I believe he signed with someone late in the season didn't he I can't remember off the top of my head I thought I saw that I'm pretty sure he ended up he was gonna a even smaller world he was going to transfer here that was uh for a few days oh he was um the bromas San Antonio bromas he end up signing there like mid-season um so I yeah I saw him after that game it is a small world I mean there's so many Connections in football especially with the transer portal now yeah it's insane there's a good chance that the two of you guys will be playing against each other next year in Spring football and Jaden's going to get an opportunity to show what he could do Noah said that the number one thing he learned from Jaden was his fun for the game and how much he enjoyed being out there was that something that you carried over also last year into JMU playing with him uh yeah J obious he has a fun personality on and off the field um he's always got high energy so you know that's something that I could see yeah it's a just incredible group of people sometimes you see these QB rooms and you just can't believe that a team had three guys or four guys in the room at the same time that were all so talented that Arizona room you were a Navigating the Transfer Portal part of that last year with you Noah and Jaden pretty outrageously loaded just a deep deep deep group pretty incredible things when it came to Texas State talked about a little bit earlier in the process what was your portal process like that had to be a totally different experience like the first last your last few experien in the portal you were a highly touted player get to go to some exciting places but you hadn't had the onfield C yet you had at JMU be impossible to conference play of the year what was the process like this year and how did you go about choosing your next home well um So I entered it I want to say the first after um we played coar last game our originally plan was to stay at JMU but then the coaches came in and told us the next day that they were going to Indiana so I went um into the portal I was there for about obviously a month um but they had they had a rule to where I think if you were like a it was like some transport I don't know that got him L and then um so I kind of missed out on maybe a few places like that and then um going through the you know ups and downs of only having one year left a lot of schools wanted like you know maybe younger guys which you know it's part of the process I understand that but coming here it just kind of felt like the um you know perfect opportunity to you know just um be better than I was last year um obviously you know I've been in this conference before we have a I believe an extreme shot to go to the college football playoffs and that's something that I wanted to do so um picking this place was kind of easy for me and I had been talking to coach Kenny and coach lewit since uh like the year before so did you guys play Texas State last year no we didn't I didn't think so they played him the year before I got there in 22 even so because you were in the conference were there players that you recognized right off the bat they're like wow I'm happy these guys are on my team now Joey and ish um I obviously knew about is cuz he was All-American then Joey um I saw on in stagram a few times he had like these crazy catches so I knew about Joey too yeah what makes Joey such an incredible player now that you're playing with him because this guy came out of nowhere yeah last season um I would say just he's very smart um outside of his athletic ability he's extremely smart understands how to uh read defenses when he's running his routes um he's um such a team guy um if he doesn't have the ball he's the hardest Blocker on the field and he doesn't drop anything no nothing he doesn't drop anything so yeah he's a he's a guy I think that he'll probably find his way on an NFL roster 100% 100% I think what I like about Joey the most is that there's no latency between his mind and his body it's almost simultaneous like he'll he'll recognize the coverage or recognize that he needs to fit here on a run and it just happens there's it's so fluid you know um a lot of good players out there you know they have to think and then act and it just kind of happens at one time for him so uh it allows him to play a lot a lot faster than others he has seen be like one of these players same thing that happened here where absolute steel um it says a lot about them they still here definitely some team's going to draft him and everyone's going to be wondering why it was that late it doesn't matter what round it's going to be if it's if it's if it's round one it'll be that it was too many picks late in round one if it's round three people are going to wonder how that guy was still around in round three it seems like one of these people that watching him in my limited time seeing him play it's that no matter what happens he's going to be underestimated one way or another 100% he just needs a shot that's that's his thing and I mean he's so humble he he won't obviously you know he cares but um I don't think it'll make him a difference if he goes first round or seventh round I think he just wants to get on the field and play to Showcase what you can do 100% And what are the parts that makes Texas state Unique Aspects of Texas State Football that makes this program that make coach Kenny's program different not just schematically but culture-wise I just make this different than any of the other places that you guys have played at I'll go first uh oh I've seen in two places UIW in here as a player and a coach um so I feel like I've really kind of seen every dimension of how he operates um how the culture operates and I think uh the biggest thing uh it's a top down effect right so obviously he's the head man but then he goes out and he he recruits coaches that um are like family that he knows before whether it be a good connection from a coach that he trust or or coach with and then from there they kind of trickle down into the players they make sure U when we're recruiting that we recruit you know good guys um guys that that will buy in into you know what we're trying to practice and preach so uh I think uh it we have the saying um habits reflect the mission and that's something that that we live by as a you know as a group as a as a team no matter if it's you know how you wake up and brush your teeth or how you go to class they they preach things like that make sure you're on time for class make sure you're in the front row you know on when classes start so uh I think that's why you see so muchh success obviously he's a great coach and Surround himself with great coaches and great people but it's the it's the the the way of life that he's preaching you know and um it's it's had an impact and it will continue to do so yeah kind of like what he said um outside obviously they're amazing coaches but just as people they're um I would say like not every place is um you know the the coaches are for the players I would say you know a lot of places in the country like you know coaches are doing their job to maybe want to you know move on or or it's some self-centered um our coaches actually you know they love their players and they show it you know they take care of us um on and off the field take care of our bodies um you know their open door policy if you need to come talk to them whenever things like that and I think that's pretty that's big on success cuz it's somebody that you want to play for um it's like I would say it's kind of hard to like you know play play for somebody that's just like you know very quiet and stuff like like these coaches are going to talk with you they're going to mess with you joke around with you and things like that that's what makes you want to come back and be here every day when we got to be here you know in the morning and stuff like that so I would say that's the biggest thing it's the energy that the energy for sure you feel like coach Kenny feel like he's still playing out there yeah actually last year last year uh like the last couple weeks he was down there running the scout team he's back there playing scout team quarterback so uh it definitely feels like he's very very involved um in the with the team um no matter what the the angle is like he makes sure that he brings the energy every day and kind of you know make sure that we go out there and do the same so he's definitely strongly involved my whole mom side of my my family is from Tulsa okay he's a legend out there oh yeah yeah he is a legend out there that dude was he'll let you hear it yeah that stud you know it goes it's one of those places where if he ever wants to feel important not that he doesn't hear he can go back in a plane to Tulsa Oklahoma he'll be treated like royalty definitely that's a city where everyone knows who he is they love their hurricanes yeah he was a uh our D coordinator was there too as well with him uh D mcco he was uh pretty good safety that year um hold I think he still hold some records over it 18 interceptions yeah 18 interceptions in here so you know maybe uh maybe they got to go back for a game one day and get their you know stand inovations but yeah I mean well hopefully go back for a game play there and then uh maybe make some people upset but they could still appreciate that he was a good player there one day definitely good players good coaches yeah and you have a great a great little Legacy of offensive Minds from the University of Tulsa because Brenan Mary and the offensive coordinator UNLV was also a very storied wide receiver at the University of Tulsa and I think that his it's taken way way way too long for him to get his offensive opportunity CM plays in the FBS level and uh it was going very well at unlb last year so it was nice to see nice to see that all come to fruition where was the moment at UIW when where you kind of knew wow like we're really good this is something a little bit different than anybody else has going on I I kid you not it was the very first game we were I can't remember I think we might have been ranked 14 and in FCS and we were playing Southern Illinois who had a great year the previous year and they were ranked six in the nation and uh there were a lot of nerves a lot of talks um and we came out there and just kind of we put it on them we we blew them out and then from that point on I was like I knew we were good but I didn't know we were that good um and then we went the the following week and beat Nevada and that was the kind of the the stamp right there where I said we pretty good the only people the only person that can kind of get in our way is ourselves yeah so there a turning point moment with Coach Kenny and the staff where he just said something had to talk you had to practice that you feel like really just stuck with the team and lasted All Season uh at UW yeah um I think during fall camp um I remember this particular speech there in Fall camp and he was just kind of harping on we didn't have good practice this day and he was kind of harpen on how how good we are how good we can be and the you know the PE the people that he recruited and he kind of finished it off with what I just said like the only people that can get in our way is ourselves um you know they they put a good game plan on in front of us you know surround us with the right players and you just play look around you know this guy came from Kansas this guy came from here um and look how how well you guys have met together and the only person that can stop you is yourself so I remember that that day when he said that and that was kind of the first time I thought about it in that aspect and started to kind of preaching the locker room and you kind of stuck with it and kept running kept winning games what was what's been the landmark moment in your Landmark Moments of the Season guys's eyes of this season so far um this this upcoming season yeah I'll let you go first of all I think meaning like um like the uh like the moment that you feel like when you look back on this fall like the number one moment that you're going to remember that you're going to moment I hope it's holding the conference championship trophy I'm saying like I'm saying in the fall I mean that'll be that'll be the moment of the year I'm saying as you when you guys look back on the weeks leading up to now okay when you think about that's kind of in comparison you look back at the weeks ago to now what do you think that moment's gonna be like man that was a turning point that's where we got that's where we we really the the gas started to run a little bit faster that day I think that like second to last practice on the grab as field when we uh I mean defense was kind of putting it on us that day and then we came out the next day and offense had a good day and then from that point it was a little bit of back and forth the whole fall camp and usually you know that's that's a good sign that you're going to have a good good team I don't some places you know maybe starting Camp off defense might get a jump you know offense got to learn to offense is a little bit defensing are a little bit different I mean like you know offense you got to get the timing with the guys you know protection calls and things like that but I think like he just said we had a day where we went back and forth and then after that it kind of just kept going back and forth so that's a good sign you know obviously we have a really good defense but we have a really good offense so you know it's going to be a battle each and every day and I think ever since that kind of practice uh like he said about our last practice on the grass I would say since say yeah it's probably about like two weeks ago yeahso yeah that's where championships are won oh yeah a lot of people underestimate that like during fall Camp you learn a lot about yourself and a lot about your team um and I think just the the the fact you come out here and good on good you know because I mean not only do we recruit on the offens side we recruit on defense side too we're going get good players um you know um iron sharpens iron and if you came out to practice you'll see it every single day who are guys even both sides of the ball for Texas State fans watching that people maybe don't know right now but they will know in a few weeks okay don't know well obviously you know the guys you know like the big time Ben and all them I was saying offense guys to look out for that you know the fans might not know that was like Chris Don B Sparks yeah b b about to make a big splash this year so a wide receiver transfer from Utah Tech it was freshman All American last year yeah he's pretty good Chris D was here last year but I think this year he'll really explode yeah we got so many guys like Lincoln Perry is gonna make an impact running back Deion H he was here 22 he had really he had a good season Dion is gonna make imp uh shoot on defense Stephen Parker uh Max Harris he play with us at UIW with ULM ni he's here so Steve Parker yeah oh yeah Steve was at UIW as well there's some people who take some windy roads in college football Steve went from Kansas to UIW to here um DJ oh yeah DB I mean we're we're we're stacked everywhere um I think you'll kind of you know these first couple games you'll kind of see that uh but there's a lot of guys who James Neil Manny yeah man damn excuse me uh there's a lot of guys that yeah who are getting there you know there second opportunity here with the coach staff is G let him go out and just play play free so um I'm excited excited yeah just um it's going to be a special season it's be fun to see all this on the field we talk about kind of the Fall being the play place where a lot of this stuff is won I think there's like an intentionality to it and also and I it seems to me that one of the things that makes this coaching staff great even just listening to you guys is the intentionality and the presence that all of your coaches have in what's happening with your team and you said it well Jordan in terms of kind of them feeling like they're on the team as much as it is even coaching yeah you guys because I think that's one of the things that can really help with them knowing who to play on a Saturday and who not to play on a Saturday as much as anything else which I think that's one of the areas and we see it all the time that's it's very hard to get right even when you're doing all these practices and you're you're evaluating everyone you got 8090 100 talented people it's easy for a player that should be on the field to to slip through the cracks and when you're as present as they are they probably get a lot of those decisions closer to correct than maybe other people would yeah I me there's so many variables that play into something like that um in my perspective has kind of changed since this is my second year of coaching um but I think the biggest variable is just trust um as a player I've I've been around coaches that I didn't trust and you know as a coach I've been on the side of like gaining trust like me joining for the first time gaining his trust and stuff like that so I think um when when it's a two-way street it kind of allows you to coach better allows you to play better knowing that you know I'm putting a player out on the field and I trust that he's going to execute the game plan and in return he trust that I'm going to put him in the best position to do so so um I think that's something that didn't get talked about a lot yeah um two totally unrelated questions actually but one I'll ask first is how has being a coach made you a better player you're still playing right now yeah UFL um it it's allowed me to I get to watch more film I mean that's the biggest thing I mean I sit at my desk and watch a lot of film but I think I I've learned a lot of things from coach Leftwich and and Coach Kenny that took that I took with me to the UFL um I got to sit in meetings and watch how they game plan I got to sit in meetings and see how they break down Run game pass game how they um you know Scout maybe a particular defensive back or something like that and I've always been a big um study guy you know that I feel like I owe a lot of My Success at UIW because that kind of changed how I prepared for for games I would draw every single play on the on the call she the night before game like I was that meticulous so I've it's it's coaching with them has allowed me kind of bump up that preparation level um and then being around like you know Luise we talked about Luis Perez and how smart he is so I I almost feel like when I'm out on the field like I'm just I'm I'm a player with a coach's you know brain um allows me to play faster kind of seeing things with foresight yeah I feel like in the UFL so cool about that League getting to exist hey it allows a player like you to continue to develop we're seeing all sorts of players you see Aubrey out for the Cowboys might be the best kicker in the NFL and he wouldn't even be in the league if it wasn't for the usfl given him m an opportunity but you really see in a lot of ways like the guy who would be the 33rd best quarterback right in the NFL I mean a lot of these guys are so capable and for whatever reason just don't get the chance like you know a guy like Luis Perez if they put him into an NFL game would do so much better than so many backups that are on rosters right but for whatever reason it just doesn't happen it's kind of mind-blowing yeah some it's sometimes it's a it's a glass ceiling type of deal um especially at the quarterback position uh you have some guys who are just uh they're they spend their whole career as a backup and um like I talked about trust uh I think someone in the front office of NFL would trust someone that's been a backup here here and here and sign him um because before you never had the opportunity like to extend film other as like CFL something like that but extend film right in the in the backyards of NFL teams so I think um now it allows you to kind of go out get some more film and show hey maybe I am better than this guy that's been a backup for five six years um know in any position quarterback wide receiver um a lot of my teammates got signed um and it'd be like the first day of practice I'm like why are you here why are you in Arlington that was the nastiest ride I've ever seen like nobody on the Cowboys roster is doing that right now um so I think it's a it's a great thing I hope it's something that continues to grow I hope it's something that be because you look at like the NBA the NBA has the g- league and you know that's where guys go develop and they're maybe not ready for and MLB too you know minors and the majors so uh I hope it's something that we can continue to do uh I hope it becomes like a supplement League to the NFL where you know young guys that deserve to keep playing get a chance to do so yeah it's just a very USFL Insights needed thing in the whole football ecosystem I'm not going to name names on the show but there are guys who get these like five six seven eight million doll contracts to be backup quarterbacks and just wonder like what result is it that this front office is expecting if like their quarterback does get hurt and that guy is to come in like there's a guy out there that would play for the minimum that just in the spring showed he just started a quarterback had success in a league why wouldn't you want to give like an Adrien Martinez an opportunity to go play he's sign more right Jets yeah he's he might get a chance this year uh he's got two quarterbacks in front of him that the wind blows over and they might be injured so it uh Tyrod Taylor is a is a baller but man like if Tyrod Taylor could stay healthy for a whole season that guy would be starting in the NFL right now def he's excellent but the problem is that gets out there in last two games most time so maybe that means Adrien Martinez will eventually get the point Year I hope Adrian he earned it yeah I think yeah he's a good quarterback what what I enjoyed about the UFL is that U they decided to kind of have all the teams stationed in one in one city and uh I had a couple Adrian uh teammates on my team and we also shared a facility of stallions and I in in Arlington so I got to pick his brain a little bit because obviously he was successful what he did and um he was with the I think the Lions before he can't drop down to the UFL so um I'm rude for for him I'm I'm for anybody that played in the spring League cuz you I think everybody deserves a shot so tell the best entertainment of UFL Jake Bates by a m shout out shout out Jake Bas Texas State long so uh man he he kicked the crazy field goal to beat us last minute in Arlon that one hurt he nailed a 64 yard field goal his first professional try he's a dog like it's the only version of football it's not taken away from anything happening in the field where the kicking was the most exciting thing to watch they had the whole Michigan Panthers crowd just chant for himing in Jake bring in Jake because it was like mindblowing for the first like the guy made like a 64 yard a 61 yard he couldn't miss and you're just like the the the like the the pure curiosity and he was like is this guy ever going to miss a field goal yeah he doesn't matter where they Lin him up it was in the dome and help now he picking for the Lions but it's a and competition got HED for the year so he's gonna have by default he's going to be kicking the NFL year I think uh I think it's funny we were we're playing them we're playing in Michigan at in Michigan and the for field and I always do this thing like somebody's kicking like a game with field goal I don't like to watch so I turn around and it it's it shows it's a testimony how good you are as a kicker when the quarterback turns around on the sideline and I'm makeing sure I'm not looking and I got fans you might as well turn around this is automatic like they had so much confidence in this man I'm like surely he's like he's just nailed like 3 60 yarders in a row I'm sure he's GNA miss one right down the middle so uh you know I'm praying that he has a long Pro prosperous career in the NFL because he deserves it me too and plus I don't want to see him anymore in the UFL special he's a a special player but the UFL without a doubt devel more incredible kickers um and players of all positions uh one kind of closing Personal Journey in Football question uh I feel like we got to talk a lot about both your Journeys but you had such amazing like it's one of the reasons I was just so excited for this conversation because your roads I I I think that the the longer roads are often the more gratifying ones they're the ones at the end of the day life would be boring if it was easy yeah definitely I agree um oh no I was just saying like that's 100% true um obviously you know everybody probably wants a quick route but you know God has a plan for everybody and um once you you know just put all your own plans and thoughts aside and just follow you know his path I think that's when I kind of started just getting back to you know my happiness of this game since we've been playing since we were little kids and um I think that's the most important part of it just uh you know not rushing anything taking everything one day at a time and letting things come to you not forcing anything yeah I I'd agree with that I think you know Jordan and I both had you know very long paths but I think everything happens for a reason um I believe in it um I'm also a godfear man I feel like along the way at each school I learned something that uh ultimately led to me having a good uh a good season at UW which kind of you know allowed me to prolong my my playing career and it's also G me the opportunity to coach so I think everything happens for a reason you don't see it in in the moment um because you're in the storm but when you make it out of it you kind of look back at it you realize that it was the best thing for you so wouldn't wouldn't change it for the world yeah yeah I was going to ask you lines up perfectly if you could both tell me what your hardest challenge was you think in this whole football career so far what would it have been um I would say mine was this end of covid season when I had to uh leave USF got to Arizona um broke my ankle third game fourth game of the season and then um you know obviously coming back into the next season then um I kind of still was bother not bothering but the summer was like then going into that season then obviously uh I transferred That season to jam so that little time period was probably my hardest because I wasn't playing football for a while like technically took like a almost a year and 75% off of the first season off so that was my hardest part and then like you said going back to earlier and then coming into JMU that kind of like uplifted me again back to you know being keep you healthier like was that one of the things that really did help you at JMU because you got all that you had the ankle injury you really gave yourself a lot of time to restore yourself so did it help you kind of get your body back on track so when you did get that chance again body and I would say mentally too cuz obviously you know sometimes you can go into you know your own little mental space or something like that but um like he said you know when you you know I prey God fair man so I knew that you know everything would be all right but there's going to be times where you fight those battles um you know and your thoughts can be a little bit overwhelming for you so once I got there I think uh mentally and physically I just got stronger and things like that and um I think that's what led to the season I had yeah uh kind of similar situation I guess my my hardest uh time was probably leaving or would led up to me leaving Missouri you know I was at LSU and I was young kind of understood why things happen the way they did then I had a really good year in Jo and with the Missi and felt like I was ready um Drew lster starting corack at the time and when he left it was kind of going to be up in the air um and just things didn't work out the way I thought they would I end up you know hurting my knee had to set out for a little bit and that kind of set me back and uh that was the first time in my career where like real self-doubt started to creep in um and it kind of led to some me struggling mentally uh football when when you grow up in football you know since you're able to walk um it kind of becomes all you know yeah becomes all you know and the fact that I made it past that point in my life it it one gave me Clarity that um I'm much more than a football player much more an athlete outside of that I kind of solidified myself outside of football during that time but it also helped me get past as heal out and ever since then I haven't doubted myself since never looked back um so if you can make it through you know an injury um you know maybe not getting an opportunity to deserve I think um it's a you can make it through anything in life so that was kind of the turning point in my career in my life so what's the saling for Texas State football this year there isn't one this Texas State Football Performance This Year guy has a limit we're make that playoffs there's no ceiling whoever's in front of us let's get right there's no ceiling yeah I loved I love to see it my former colleague emry hunt I was watching him on CBS Sports HQ love a few days ago yeah Emory and I work together at Sportsline and uh yeah he's Emory hunt shout out to him one of the best analysts in football period I don't know also one of the best human beings I've met in the whole broadcast industry but no one know there's very few people that know football better than he does and speaking of Brennan Mary he's the guy who put me on to to Brennan he was on to that go go offense I think might a book on anyway amazing guy he's on CBS Sports HQ you're like him a lot more if you didn't see him on there he said uh he said the other day that uh they were asking what group of five team was the most likely to make the playoff and he said that Texas State's got the best quarterback in the group of five and that he's picking the Bobcats to to make the playoffs so yeah that's our you know that's our long go but obviously when I think about that right take it one one day at a time one game at a time one and0 every week and in closing it's been amazing having you on just give any message you'd like to Texas State bobcast fans in the college football World put on your seat belt it's going to be it's going to be it's going to be a fun ride look forward to seeing y'all August 31st um and every home game we got seven home games this year so seven home games that's a blessing six kind of you kind of NRG we got a lot of home games so we got a lot of home games but NRG is gonna Bey I think uh right there the biggest thing is that you look at any great team throughout history um they always had a great fan base so uh we want y to be live be proud get ready looking forward to it show appreciate thank you for having us