Sports Untold 149 Greg Lewis

this is Paul Schneiderman today on the 149th edition of the sports unold podcast and my uh special guest for I don't know the fifth time or so is University Washington football legend Greg Lewis Greg's also uh one of the panelists on the Seattle's 93.3 husky honks uh husky show a lot of fun with Mario Bailey and Dave softy mer and drg was a former NFL player I not going to go through your long resume again Greg I've done yet no need I gave you I introduced you at a Seattle Tennis Club speakers panel once I probably I went through your long biography but um my podcast is also on Spotify YouTube Amazon Google iTunes pod beam you go to sports Untold podcast. net I encourage my listeners to click the like button during my show you can just go to my website Sports Untold podcast. net or PLS lawoffices.com you can watch and listen to a bunch of the shows my producer now for over a year is Olivia Coen Olivia just graduate from the University of Washington and uh she's now applying to law school so um maybe we'll start a firm one day coin and schneidman we will have coin go first so um well Greg always fun to have you back I'm glad you have not fired me for your about annual uh visit on my podcast never never it's a tradition now it's a tradition now husky preview kind of show and I like to hit on Big Picture stuff more than the minutia but we'll get into some minua just so much is going on with the washing the Big 10 now and so many changes University of Washington and college sports I with all these new conferences and divisions Greg I almost feel like a new NHL fan in Seattle who's trying to learn the NHL divisions there's definitely a learning curb but is a longtime football fan they're still a learning curve so yeah well you know things you know the as they say the uh thing that's constant has change and college football and College athletics in general has undergone a huge change over the last you know four or five years and you know as we've talked about on the show a couple times you know it's driven by you know the dollar the dollar bill the almighty dollar um these television networks are really trying to own your Saturday they want to sell as many commercials for as much money as possible and they want to be in front of as many many people and as many time zones and you take the Big 10 where the Huskies are in now think about it from the Far East on the East Coast all the way up to the Northwest you are playing football in all of those time zones all day and so you sell a lot of commercials when you do that and uh you know it it it means more money and revenue for the schools and so they're playing along most schools have either huge stadiums and trying to pay off debt for or they're competing now to sign the best high school football basketball players so they need that Revenue in order to stay relevant and to compete on on this uh scale and so University of Washington just like everybody else has had to make some moves has had to um hire new coaches have had to upgrade and update facilities that frankly aren't that old you know we're in the middle of a stadium know right now and it seems like just yesterday we opened the new Husky Stadium so you know that's just part of the game now and you know everybody's going to have to adjust and adapt and there'll continue to be some change for a while um and uh we'll see how everybody adjusted who who remains relevant and remains as a big time College Athletic program lot ahead we're going to dive more into into some of those these issues today Greg uh let me take a little turn ask you something so I've asked you a couple times in my show i' like to get your perspectives on stuff uh who's a who are some living in deceased sports figures in history love to spend time with I Al I think I asked you last year who are some people on the business side of sports you'd loved you would have loved to spent time with who are no longer with us and and someone on the business side of sports you'd enjoy spending time with now who's still with us but I I here's my specific question today who is a deceased sports announcer in history you would have enjoyed interviewing or spending time with and who is a surviving announcer someone who's still with us you would enjoy spending time with and I and I think you have the perspective being a broadcast yourself so um take take a stab at those two questions yeah the deceased one is easy Howard coell um you know just the iconic um individual who was sometimes just as big as the sport that he was covering him being involved in it was big time and you know being able to talk to him about interactions that he had with people like Muhammad Ali it seems like they had a special bond and relationship and you know being able to ask him questions about ali personally you know so if you can't meet Ali be great to have an opportunity to meet someone like Howard coell who spent a lot of time with him who was kind of you know tied to him in so many ways and I think in his own way Howard gave Ali a platform to really um you know Reach people and talk about things that were not just about sports but that were important to us as a nation and important to us as human beings so Howard coel would be the person I think of the deceased for those who are still around right now um let's see a great announcer that's out right now you know I know we lost Keith Jackson recently he would have been another person if he was still around that I would have said yes even though I did speak to him briefly you know and prep for Rose bow you know that little that little get together that the uh networks put for their announcers to talk to some of their prominent players so I did talk to him that was pretty great um jeez that's a tough question we come back to it we can come back yeah yeah let me think about that one I'm with you on Cass I actually have one of his couple his books in my home Library back here but you know thing with Cassell though Greg he would be a hard guy to probably get in a lot of words because apparently he was very he had huge ego he talked about himself I'm sure and and you know with with opportunities like that I don't need to talk much I would really want to be in that position where I'm sitting listening and hearing him so that would work for me you know to have he would have been a FAS guy spend time he liked his drinks too how C he would have been I like that we'll get back to the other one okay um we're gonna go outside of sports for a minute now you said something when I had you on during a 2020 pandemic election season it really made me laugh you know I've always been a fan of the Muppet Show and the two old judges referred to the Biden versus Trump phas as like a battle between the two old judges on the muffet love that line people enjoyed it um is this 24 election a battle between a modern woman of color versus one of the same old judges so yeah you know I'm gonna I'm the type of person who's always um you know participated in the political process because I think a lot of people put a lot on the line to make sure that we all had an opportunity and you know because of that you know I wanted to honor uh their sacrifices man politics has gotten so crazy over the last few you know rounds of presidential elections especially so I've really been you know trying to stay up on all the local election stuff and making sure that um I'm supporting candidates that represent my values and beliefs on a local level the presidential elections man I don't even know what to say sometimes it just becomes you know a tough tough um thing to to really put your whole heart into and really Galvanize your support for any one particular person because it seems like we're so far left or so far right now and I'm a guy who's in the middle and being in the middle is always you know a tough place to be uh because it's hard to find someone that you can really you know um reflect all the things that you stand for so I'm paying attention I'm trying to understand the the policies you know those seem to get lost now it becomes more about you know who can demean the other as much as possible and point out you know things that are bad about their opponent instead of really honing in on their platform and issues and policies so you know I'm almost ready to tap out on this one although it would be hard for me to do that um but I it's just gotten so crazy and messy that I've you know not been as committed to um you know being involved in the process this last couple elections so uh I I'm still kind of waiting and seeing you know what they feel like but I think your question is more about you know is this kind of like you know two you know characteres and in some ways yeah you know uh I'm sure we can find uh an example of who they each remind us of but I have really you know been kind of you know at arms length to everything going on right now so I haven't thought of you know who I would compare them both to at this point in time but definitely it's it's a you know I think there's a HBO show or something like that uh that basically calls the process kind of like a a circus or something I can't remember what the exact title of the show is but that's exactly what it seems like to me it just seems like a big circus so you know maybe one's Barnum and the other one's Bailey I don't know GRE I just had to ask you a sequel to your two yeah yeah no I I appreciate the question it's just uh you know it it has become more of a of a of a show than a political process all right well I want to pick your brain for a minute uh got a listener question I want to get two listener questions in a little earlier today okay jamer Rockwell who you've met uh he was I think a husky ball boy early 90s he's known you a little bit over the years and uh Jamie has a really good question what's your take on the possibility of the spring transfer portal for college football being abolished well I think it's uh a good idea uh for the schools themselves I'm sure the coaches would all appreciate it one less window of movement and kids jumping out and leaving and um you know taking off and then you got to just adapt uh but I think for the kids it'll be somewhat problematic because in the spring is kind of you know after that Spring ball things have kind of shaking out with the depth chart and you kind of know where you're positioned and if you're you know third fourth or you got two young guys ahead of you um it gives you that opportunity to put your name in the portal and find an opportunity somewhere else so uh I think it's good for uh us college football fans who want to keep our teams as as similar as possible you know I'm preparing for the game uh tomorrow and you know I I'm trying to learn who the players are in each position you know once you get past the first string I don't hardly know anybody you know been out to practice a couple times watching so I think the transfer portal um Closing one of the windows uh will be beneficial for the coaches and the fans but it'll make it uh a little tougher for the kids who are looking for the best opportunity to be in the depth chart and get on the field so it's kind of a you know gives one person a a bonus and takes something away from the other side where are you overall on it are you favor abolishing it or keeping it yeah like I said I'm a fan first and foremost and you know I do a job where you know it's easier when I know who all the players are and there's not so much movement so for me you know I I like the fact that um kids got to make a decision at one point in time and then figure it out from there and you know life is like that too sometimes we can't always just transfer change you know um we can't always just change jobs I mean theoretically you can but not always so you know I think it's something to be learned about finding a way to make your situation work for you working harder pushing you know becoming better putting in the effort and all of that so even though it may not give the kids the best opportunity to maximize their time on the field right away it still in essence can teach them something and like I said probably on the show before the things I learned from football or from competitive Sports have paid dividends for me long beyond my years on the football field or in competitive Sports so I think there's something to be said about you know them having to continue to work hard figure it out and make a way so I think overall I would be in favor of closing one of those windows I think right now there's like 45 days or something in the portal so they'll just you know narrow it down to 30 so there is some talk that they could do keep the spring timing but just less than the number of days there's 15 in the spring and 15 uh in the earlier uh transfer time so overall maybe stick to the January portal time yeah absolutely another friend Rob has a question for you he's curious Greg if the apparent improvements with football grass and tur could have protected you more and other athletes who played in your era where more injuries could have been avoided well yeah I mean the astral turf uh although it made um football possible in bad weather times and in cities um that uh you know don't that get a lot of rain and all that um it was good for that but it was certainly a tough surface to play on as it related to knee injuries things like that and I think if you and I haven't done this but I think if you pulled the data that there probably fewer injuries now related to the astral turf uh grass services that there were you know when I play because of the different services that they can put out there but inherently football is a dangerous sport and I know you know in the NFL and college are doing everything they can to make the sport less dangerous and that's great and I'm happy that guys aren't being injured at as high a rate as they were and that they're trying to be a little more careful and they're trying to protect people even from themselves with the rules around head injuries and things like that but inherently football is dangerous and I think that's part of why we love the game you know the big hits are part of it um the guy who's trying to overcome an injur and comes back and plays you know on that with that gimpy arm or leg is part of it so you can't take all of the injuries out of football but I do agree that you should make it as safe as possible and uh give the kids an opportunity to not feel like I do when they're old I got a bad knee a bad hip my back's hurting I mean all kinds of things so um I applaud the effort but inherently it's a dangerous game and people are gonna get hurt Greg this is obviously really really hard to quantify but let me just take a stab at it do you think the improved fields and turfs May reduce injuries by maybe 3% 2% 5% is it it's it's pretty minimal probably right yeah I you know I wouldn't say anything over five or 10% at the most but um like I said I haven't done any research or studies and looked it up but um it's just that astral turf had no give and when you planted your foot in it you know there are times it would grip those turf shoes and you would go one way and your knee or leg would be stuck in that that that uh surface um I certainly know don't get as many grass Burns you remember those old things uh the astr turp used to tear your skin off every time you played on you had at least three or four Turf Burns so um that's certainly not something that happens as as as frequently but I would you know not think more than you know 5 10% again Goa gotcha it's a contact sport you're going full speed you're getting hit you're twisting you're turning you're cutting back at you know while you're running 35 miles an hour so people gonna get hurt Greg you mentioned the Weber State washing game tomorrow I'm so excited to get you on before the first game um people are not very happy with this TV blackout issue do you have any insights to share on what's going on well it seems like for teams uh at least Us in Oregon and some of the you know our our pack 10 to to watch those games here in this area has been a problem for two networks now and two conferences um and the days of blacking stuff out to me seems silly um but I think there are enough ways to to be able to watch the game anyway you know um streaming is you know become basically the way to go if you're still on cable and all of that you probably have some issues I gave up cable maybe seven years ago I've been a person who streamed since that time and you know it's it's going to be the real opportunity if you want to make sure you watch every game but I you know I I haven't looked at the whole issue because again I don't have cable I stream so I'll be able to watch any game that I want wherever it is no matter what time it comes on U but it just seems sad for our fans that we've gone to two different conferences now and two different networks and we're still having problems showing husky games in Seattle just doesn't make any sense hey Greg by by the way um I get your points on streaming we're on a whole different era now with with how people watch all sorts of of uh activities and events um let me ask you something are are you and Mario and Dave the Husky Hawks guys going to be traveling with the team will you guys be going to the big 10 games and so forth we're not going to go to every game but we definitely will hit a few um I know we're going to uh watch the Penn State game uh that one I'm extremely excited about I think um this will be my first time playing down there Happy Valley I guess they call it uh so that'll be extremely exciting there's a couple others that we're definitely going to um this year that I haven't been at so we get we get to the the usually if it's a big game you know we'll definitely go to Oregon um and and go down there and wear purple and get harassed by you know 45,000 people with low IQs um so well I no I think they got 54,000 they're St that how you sound like one of the old judges with that with that yeah that cute little Stadium they got down there will be harassed all day um but there's a few um and I don't have the schedule in front of me but there's a few that we won't go to you know I if we play like a ruers or something in New Jersey we won't be going to that I'm just gonna tell you or Northwest I think Northwestern comes here uh but some of those you know far out away you know games that aren't big games we probably will skip but we'll be at most of them good good good hey I want you to talk to Maro Bailey I had him on for about 20 minutes a couple years ago then his phone went dead so I got to get back so maybe I will definitely get that uh connection made no problem I had sfon several years ago but I gotta get I gotta get more time Mario I love that too of course so um I was just reading Mike verell a Seattle Times uh Sports colist and I was just sort of going through online reading what different pundits feel about the what Washington's record could be this year verel predicts the huskys will go seven and five he mentions the line situation on both sides line the departure of henx and some of the major wide receivers are gone what's your take is 75 sound pretty viable pretty good prediction that sounds right in line with what you know and and there's a lot of unknown with this team I think we have three guys who started games last year that are returning players on this team or in the two deep so if you look at um Giles Jackson who started a couple of games on the offensive side because of injury and then in uh tup patala uh and and buer uh at the linebacker spots other than that we haven't seen these other guys heartly at all cam Fab played a little bit last year had some some moments um you know I I just think that there's a lot of unknown here and so six and six seven and five is a safe pick I think they'll probably be favored in maybe five or six games depending on how things you know shake out as the season goes along so I think if you want to talk about what success looks like seven and five would be you know they they they they won the games probably that they should have maybe got one that they were slight underdogs in um eight and4 to me would be a extremely successful season for this coaching staff they have 44 new players on the football team right that's massive I've only time I've seen something along that lines was last year's Colorado team and although they may have started off hot they ended up only winning four football games now I do think we have a schedule that shapes up well for us um you know we start with Weber State Eastern Michigan and then a Washington State team that you know frankly has lost a lot themselves they lost one of the better quarterbacks in the country uh they had a lot of transfers as well you know they don't have a lot of nil money to go out and buy players like other teams can so I think that game should be manageable although it's a rivalry so you know a lot of the the weird things can happen and it's on a neutral field so it's definitely not going to be a give me um so I think then you come with Northwestern perhaps which is on the lower end of the Big 12 I'm sorry Big 10 so it there's there's four games that I think we should be favored and so maybe one more in there or two and so seven and five is the easy answer um but I'm going to you know have confidence in the coaches and some of these players who although we haven't seen them they haven't started at Washington some of them have started other places that to me eight and four would be a good season be a good you know barometer for the direction this team is headed in and the coach's ability to coach but if they go seven and five I think it we we we could be um satisfied and say okay they're building they're recruiting they're bringing their guys in the future could be bright Greg I hate to be cynical but uh maybe it's the lawyer side me um if Huskies go 3 and N or 4-8 is jet Fisher's job in Jeopardy I don't think so again there's precedent you know you saw what happened when you turn a team over fully like Colorado did last year and they ended up only winning four games I mean if you look at our offensive line the starters right now you got a red shirt freshman uh that uh transferred in you have a sophomore that trans in you have a um senior that has only started one game and then you got a guy who transferred in from uh FCS team so there's still some work to be done and then you look up front on the defensive line This is where football games won on the defensive line guy like bandies who has never been a starter he's been a rotation guy you know Valdez who transferred in from I believe s San Diego State or something like that and then uh Javon Parker uh who again has been hurt and has never started any games it's kind of your guys up front so football in the Big 10 especially is a physical brand of football where you know the guys up front have to really you know bring it every day you got to have that depth too because guys G get beat up and get tired and there's just not a lot of depth and once you get past the first string who again some of these guys are coming up from FCS coming from Junior College coming from other teams um and behind them are really young guys true freshmen uh you know that those kinds so it's tough to project that guys like that are going to do well in a conference like the big 10 so I don't think um if we if we had a tough year this year I think there would be some understanding um but these guys are recruiting like demons um you know I follow recruiting pretty closely uh right now they got a top 15 class you know committed you know got to get those guys assigned but they have a top 15 class for next year on paper and uh what I've seen Jed fish do at Arizona first year they won two games and and by the end of the third year they won 10 so you know this guy does have something and he he enjoys all the getting into the transfer portal and figuring out the nil and you know the NFL brand of of football roster building which colleg has kind of become more like I want to talk about coach fish in a minute but I I I want to ask something else so another uh article I read online was written by Cody clude from BBM Sports and he ranks the top Big 10 quarterbacks by the way why don't we call it the big 18 there's 18 teams in the big it gets confusing because you'd have to keep changing it every year because there's new teams every year and all that branding and logoing and all that I know we should just call the big 18 but let me let me go I'm not going to go through the the list of of the top 18 quarterbacks so I want to go through the top five he has Moss at USU is number five will Howard from Ohio State is number four Will Rogers from UD dub is number three Drew all from Penn State as number one and Dylan Gabriel from Oregon is number one um kind of give me your take and do you like seeing Will Rogers ranked as the third best quarterback in the the big 18 yeah I mean quarterback is such an integral part of the success of a college football team you saw what Michael pennick meant to uh the hussies over the last couple years so um Will Rogers has had a lot of success he's played a lot of football he's experienced he's thrown a lot of passes he's seen defenses for three four years he's seen every coverage you can imagine and he's thrown passes against covered two covered three you know single high safety zone coverage um you know gotten hot reads against the blitz so he's seen it all so you're not going to shake him and he's very rarely fooled I think as long as the Husky coaching staff has um put together an offense that really highlights his abilities and his skill sets he really you know did a great job I think he's a second all-time leading passer in the SEC from a yardage perspective and most of that damage was done when he was running that air raate system that Mike Lee used to run so I don't expect him to go fully air raid but I do believe that they will craft some plays that fit his skill set one he's not dropping back seven steps he's not holding on to the ball extremely long time and what you know where the offensive line is that might not be wise anyway um there's a lot of quicker routes there's a lot of Crossing routes um there's getting a lot of guys into the formation going through different zones of the defense so they're harder to keep track of and rubbing off of each other and I think that is something that the Husky coaches will implore sort of that style and with that it it allows him to be successful so I think him being ranked as the third best quarterback is certainly uh viable with the experience he's had and the success that he's had and in a huge conference like the Southeastern Conference do you think that top five ranking that this Cody clud has seems pretty accurate or pretty On Target or I yeah I think so when you think about the the conf as a whole um you know the the kid at Oregon has been successful there at or Oklahoma and you know been a good quarterback so I think you know he to me the top three could be interchanged in any type quarter so you know it' be split in hairs I think the the quarterback though is only as good as his offensive line and the protection that he'll get so you know I think those teams definitely have more solid experienced offensive linemen that have played in the the Big 10 quality opponents so I think you know from that perspective too it does give them a slite advantage and of course a Corb backs got to have receivers you to run patterns and catch the ball and there's lot lot of lot of factors yeah a lot of variables lot um now I mentioned a few of the other prominent uh Big 10 players with some of those quarterbacks I mentioned um Greg why don't you mention some teams uh that you find very intriguing in the Big 10 this year well I mean you gotta start you got to start at the top Ohio State I mean Ohio state is one of the best teams in the country every single year and uh I know they've struggled to beat Michigan the last two or three uh but this probably is that that year where they'll have their breakout um and and it's hard to you know say breakout because they've been you know a top five quality football team year and year out but you know to to be in a conference with where we're going to play Ohio state every couple years you know that's that's going to be a a big order a tall Tas they just seem to you know be one of those programs that you know historically and currently have just had a lot of success and then of course you know Michigan and we play them at home this year that would be uh a rematch of the national championship game during the regular season how often does that happen so I think that'll be really fun um in Michigan you know again the history the tradition um they got a new coaching staff they may be facing you know some distractions with all the sanctions and stuff going on but they're still Michigan they're still going to be a great football team you know you got the best three programs from the old pack 12 now in the Big 10 so you know Oregon is always a huge rivalry game and it will continue to be and right now Oregon is probably poised better than any team in the country and it hurts me to say this is I you know I hate Oregon more than probably any other human being walking around but with the pay for play and the transfer portal and the nil they're probably better situated than almost any program in the country to take advantage of that and so and I know that Phil Knight wants to get a national championship in Oregon so he's willing to pay whatever it costs so they'll have everything at their disposal and will continue and then USC um obviously being in Los Angeles where you know you can throw a rock and hit a five-star football recruit and you know they have access to the Los Angeles scene and all of that um I think them being in the big uh 10 will only up the the the the the ratio of the number one uh rated prospects that they get so I think those are the teams that you know will pan out to being the best this year and into the future and hopefully Washington will be one of those programs as well so I think we've built you know on uh our history of success and we've H hired some good coaches and I think Jed is one of them uh outside of that you know it'll be interesting to play teams like Iowa you know Iowa was a great defensive team can't score a point last year but I think you know they'll fix some of those things so it'll be interesting to play some of those traditional teams that we played in Rose Bowls and things like that but uh Wisconsin you know a team who runs the ball better than there probably every team in the NFL has a running back from Wisconsin where has had one in the last five years so um those will all be really tough places to play when we go there really great games to watch and be a part of and it'll be interesting to see if Washington Oregon USC UCLA who have played more of a wideopen brand of football you know throwing the ball all over the field lot of skilled guys um if we take on more of a big 10 Persona as we get integrated in the conference or do we stay kind of in that mode of football and make them adjust to us Washington's always been known for having big offensive lines we have a little bit of a big traditional Big 10 side right yeah our offensive line play last two years especially I think we were rated as the number one offensive line in the country uh last year but a lot of that also has to do with you know um how we protect our quarterback when he's throwing the football the Big 10 offensive linemen are usually more MERS running downhill um I think when we played Michigan we saw uh their offensive line was rated quite as high as ours but and they opened up a lot of holes for those running backs and those guys had a real good game so again there are some different styles of football um that are preferred by certain programs but I think um this might you know give us that opportunity to you know sort of build from the offensive and defensive lines out uh because we're going to have to be Stout up front to play in this conference you know it's funny with with my little uh I have two Husky football tickets and I'm getting a lot of interest in people want to go to the Michigan game that's gonna be a hot hot absolutely that's gonna be a big one that's gonna be a an opportunity for Husky fans to to express their displeasure in Michigan especially with all this talk around that they you know cheated quite a bit last year uh in order to win that national championship and no one wants them to give us a national championship because of you know any rules violations but I think the Husky fans will have something to say about you know what they think of Michigan's tactics last year is is Greg is Michigan the Houston Astros of college football there you go that's a good uh comparison and parallel uh and and Houston got a lot of flack I think the year after they won that World Series and all the stuff came out so I'm sure Michigan is going to catch a lot of flak this year especially in Husky Stadium altu and some of those Astros still get boot a lot go go to other other stadiums um I want to pick your brand on some some some things about Jed fish and his hiring is intriguing in in many ways Greg I want to something that I that I've been waned to ask you for a while you were a star high school player star college player playing NFL how would you feel being coached by a guy who never played High School football um you know I'm I'm not sure for me personally it would really matter that much I think coaching is different than playing matter of fact there have been some great athletes and great players of different sports who tried to coach and did not have a lot of success because their expectations of what the players should be doing and how they should be committed and what work ethic they should have sometime doesn't match up and line up with theirs um I think for me a coach um is supposed to get you in the best position to win and put their players you know with the best plays and have the you know the strategy and all of that kind of stuff and then just create an environment I think you don't have to necessarily play football I think you have to have been around it absolutely uh and I'm sure you know coaches even though they may not have played where either managers or trainers or you know around the game because I do think that there's something that um you have to do as a coast to be able to create an environment for folks to you know build that team camaraderie and all of that so I think you have to have played some kind of sports have been around it but I I think I would be okay with someone who hasn't necessarily played the game um but you know there can't be that many who didn't even play high school football but I'm sure you know there's a few as you say well it's it's a it's a fascinating story about fish he he just always liked football I guess he was a tennis player he was a student univers of Florida he kept asking Steve sper for an internship or a job and the word of sper was a little skeptical and he finally relented and gave Jeet fish some kind of position Happ I haven't I haven't read that much up on him yet I guess I'm have to go back and do my research he just brought up something interesting um but I have met him a few times and I can tell you he's not only done a great job in creating culture in his program but um he's done a great job engaging and involving um us former players we we have a monthly Zoom call with him uh where we can ask any kinds of questions and talk and kind of and and he's been great even though he's trying to build this rebuild this program and get prepared for the season um he's really encouraged his staff to be engaged um he gets us out in practice anytime we want to be out there and they've had lots of events for alums and things like that so he's doing a great job creating that environment that really breeds success so uh he's he's obviously been around competitive Sports around the game enough to know that that's important you like the uh high-profile coaching staff that he's put together yeah you know you got guys with last names you know like Carol I mean yeah and bellich Chic so um what they're trying to do is create environment that come here to become a pro that we're going to run our system like the NFL does we're going to run our program you know built on those same things we got coaches who coach at that level um and been successful at that level uh so if you come to Washington you know this is going to give you a great opportunity to learn how to be a professional football player and so you know kids that are coming to college to play football that's their goal that is really what they're striving for that opportunity to play at the next level even though you can make a little money in college now ultimately the goal is to get to the NFL and you know make life-changing money that could really you know change the trajectory your family for for decades and so I think think that that bodess well and that plays well with the kids that are um you know playing High School football right now and again like I said they're having a great recruiting season right now and there's no reason to think that it won't continue especially as they have success on the field names like bich and Carol football royality like the kennedies or bushes of yeah there you go yeah big big names um it are do do a lot of fans are skeptical Jed fish is a longterm longtime guy here um what what's your take on that on that Greg yeah I don't blame him I mean really if you think about it his history doesn't say that he stays very long at any particular place um and the landscape now of college football is if you are a really good coach and you have a lot of success and there's somebody out there that's a bigger fish that's willing to you know add millions and millions of dollars to your salary uh that they're going to come after you and so um we talked about this on our our show uh the Husky honks you know salty said he wouldn't be surprised if Jed fish was here one or two years and and gone um and he said he's okay with that because it meant that we were going to have a lot of success so I do think that we're in an era now where the years of Don James being here for 16 18 years um Nick Sav you know being at a place for a long time our God and I think it won't just be true about the University of Washington but I think that'll be true just kind of around the country um look how many coaches Oregon had you know before Dan Lanning and and you know he's been there a couple years now and I know he's had offers to look at some other teams um and Phils had to you know really uh make sure that it was worth his while to stay so that's just kind of the landscape that we have now you see players moving quite a bit and that was always predicated with the fact that coaches could move and have been moving and I think that will continue if Jed is with us for three or four years and and leaves the program in good shape would you take that yeah obvious because I think that's you know probably the realistic view I couldn't see him being here more than four years per se um and if we're successful um so one way or the other you know either he'll be really successful on someone to hire him away or if he has no success then we might be looking for a new coach uh but I I I don't anticipate that obviously uh but I do think that nowadays guys are either looking for more money or an opportunity to coach in the NFL and that's just the reality let me ask you a question too about our former coach um I always mispronounce his last name kayn deor or is it dor I always doray dbor kayin dbor so softy and Dick had him on a couple weeks ago on Seattle's 93.3 kgr where Greg is a is a commentator and sofy asks kayin a question why he didn't issue any statement thanking the udub fans and the udub community and kayn's answer was well I just have never done that before when I left the job um was that bad for him on his part should he have just issued some kind of statement I enjoyed my ears at Washington or anything that effect well I would have that's but you know every person's different I can't I I don't know what his you know reasoning behind not doing that not only here but at other places um and it might make sense to him I just think that um you know if I had an opportunity a platform to go somewhere and they were paying me you know what they were paying me and people showed up to support me and were there all the time given there all you know the fans and all that then that that to to at least say thank you and I appreciate the opportunity is just you know common courtesy or cordial or the right thing to do in my eyes so um I did listen to the interview because I'm still a little hurt again I understand why he left don't get me wrong I'm not saying he's a terrible person or anything like that but it's still affects me and impacts my team and was a negative so I don't like it so I didn't listen to the interview um but I think in my mind the right thing would to do would have been to issue some kind of a thank you and and and I love my time there and I appreciate all the support that you guys gave and I appreciate the University of Washington for giving me that opportunity which led me to this one to be Fair he the coach de dor did State those type of words in his interview with sof and dick but he didn't earlier issue in any kind of public statement right right so um were you surprised he left after two years um not when I heard the announcement that um Nick sain was retiring when I heard that announcement I said they're coming to get kayin the board there was no doubt in my mind that that would be one of their Prime targets you know I've heard rumors that they talked to Dan Lanning that they went after sarkeesian that those are some of the guys um but I think when I heard of him stepping down I knew that the one person that one you know still hadn't signed their uh extension to the new contract that had taken a team that just before he came won what four games Jimmy Lakes last year then went 10 and two and then you know went to the national champ sh game that he had to be one of the hottest candidates and I felt like they would make that move and I didn't believe that there was any way in the world that he would stay uh if Alabama came knocking so really after I heard the announcement because I keep in touch with a group of guys that I played with Charles meny and Donald Jones as soon as uh Nick sa made the announcement I texted those guys I said they're coming to get kayin the boore and um I think Don was kind of like you think think so and I was like absolutely so I was 100% not surprised once uh Nick sa decided to retire I was always intrigued Greg it's it's not going to happen how coach dbor would have done without Michael penx and some of those star players around him that that was always something that F that fascinates me we'll never know but but uh anyhow I wanted to pick your brain on that for a minute yeah great players you know are football requires Talent and you know but great coaches have an eye for talent I mean think about this had any other coach came in to this program when the boor did would they have gone after Michael pinnick would any other coach have known about this kid believed in him as much as dor who had you know coached him when he was on the staff in Indiana um so I think great coaching is also knowing what players fit your system and who can execute the things that you're trying to do and yeah we had some of those wide receivers already uh who were you know once in a lifetime you got a first second and third round draft pick so I think some of that but the the guy who really pushed the needle was Michael pennick and they were able to identify him and get him to come to Washington you know from he kid grew up in Florida and went to Indiana I'm sure had to be a stretch now coming even further uh uh West and north um to to be at the University of Washington probably only happens because of kayin deor so I think you know those things kind of go hand inand great coaches know who the players are that fit their system that can execute what they want to do um but if you're a great coach and you got great schemes but you don't have any you know you got the X's and O's but you don't have the jimmies and Joe's as they say yeah it it it'll be different so I I certainly believe that it was the combination of pinic and D'Or coming at that time when Washington had wide receivers and offensive linemen and um you know tight ends that had come under the previous staff but were there ready to jump into a system that could really exploit their talents which is what Kaylin dor and Ryan Grub's offense absolutely did it gave them an opportunity to exploit the talents that they had okay Greg I want to I want to help you size up Michael Pen's NFL career that's about to start yeah and I'm going to ask this question in 10 or 12 years from now too okay well penx be at a Gino Smith kind of level do you see him at I don't know Fran tarkon level size him up what what do you what do you see I'm just throwing out you know a couple football quarterbacks uh what how how good you see him being I guess is my question I think that Michael pinnix uh will be maybe not you know alltime great you know when you think of the all-time great but when you think of guys like kurtt Warner you think of guys you know like that who have an impact who you know throw for a lot of yards um who have some success can can win games for a team because of their ability I think Michael pennick will be that quarterback um you know I I I never throw anyone all the way to the you know alltime greats because so many things have to happen for that to be true you got to be on the right team got have the right coach got to have the right you know team around but I think Michael penni's arm I'm telling you is unreal the kid throws darts down the field um you know from that leftand release you know better than a lot of people I've seen now I've seen quarterback greatness I played with John el fun to watch penx yeah yeah he's absolutely fun to watch I played with John Elway who's quarterback royalty so I would I wouldn't put anybody on that level and that pressure uh but I think he has an opportunity staying healthy you know be in the right situation to be a really good quarterback and a guy who throws for lar because his arm is unbelievable you know he's not gonna go out there and run around you know like a lot of the Dual threat quarterbacks do these days uh but I think he's you know in that category of guys who can really sling the football um you know think about the the Rams and the Detroit you know when they made the trade of the two quarterbacks I think both of those guys are kind of you know those guys who can really sling the football so I would put Michael a little bit above that that that category yeah that's a that's a good assessment I mean you're pretty promising assessment great let me give a couple more questions and we'll wrap this up gotta get Li out of here by by 11 to um Jen con left for USC the former Washington athletic director Troy Dannon was here for about six months and left for Nebraska um what's your take on Pat Chun as a new ad well so far you know he's been a stabilizing you know kind of force I think um he's a professional athletic director um he's been in the Pack 12 Conference he's been you know at other positions in other major conferences so he's certainly a um someone who can bring some stability um I I think athletic directors are made or broken by their ability to hire football coaches and or basketball coaches Men's Basketball Coaches depending on what school they're at so he hadn't had to do any of those just yet um so I think that's really where when when when we do lose a jetfish or Dan sprinkle um what is his ability to bring in that and I know I think technically he was here when we hired sprinkle but I think that deal was already in the works before he came on Troy Denon had already got that Mo going so really I think that's when we'll know when um we lose one of our our major coaches his ability to go out and command you know that and have that Network to reach those great coaches to bring into a program but I think again he's a professional he knows what he's doing he'll raise some money you know that's the thing right now you know how do we with a lesser share of big 10 Revenue you know continue to do these Renovations you know they're building a basketball facility right now and they're doing upgrades on the football stadium all we've heard lately is you know the University of Washington still has stadium that that need to pay off so you know how does he accomplish all these things while that's going on will be his job right now but I think uh from what I've seen and I haven't i' I've only kind of met him you know briefly so far haven't had a chance to sit down and talk with him yet but um you know we'll see when it comes time to hire a coach if he's got that kind of Panache seems like a competent guy Pat CH College athletics by the way you like the Danny sprinkle hire you done basketball I know you're a basketball fan too I do I think Dan sprinkle again is a young coach who um has embraced the whole system of transfer portal bringing kids in fitting into a system bringing some excitement in um he's won at places that aren't traditional basketball Powers he's had a lot of success in coming up I think he's one of those you know coaches that's on the rise that you know 10 15 years from now people are going to look at him as one of the you know top coaches in the in the profession whether or not he'll still be here we'll see uh but I do I do like him I like what he's doing I like the energy he's bringing um basketball unlike football is a sport where you can you know hit a home run you know with a higher and in one year you know change the the Outlook so I think that uh we're in for an exciting season and I'm looking forward to you know watching Dan sprinkle build the program here let you and I go to husky basketball game again together sometime yeah absolutely yeah um what do you feel about this how Washington and a few other schools think Oregon as well are going to get $30 million less in Big 10 payouts through about 2030 or so does that concern you with recruiting and all that stuff well yeah I mean anytime you uh don't have the uh same amount of uh you know cookies in the cookie jar to entice the kids to come um and you know again it comes down to building facilities and playing that arms race game you're at a disadvantage so it's kind of like you know if you're going into a gunfight and a guy you're in the gunfight with has Six Bullets and you got four you can still kill him but he's got a better chance to kill you than you him because he's got more more more bullets in the chamber so um I think we will we can continue to um be successful and and and and when the television contract time comes to renegotiate um things will get a little more even but you know it's always been a little different anyway if you think about um the revenue that some teams in the Southeastern Conference have had as opposed to teams in other conferences even before now with the the religious following that football has down south um there's probably been an uneven playing field you know to a large degree uh for for years um and I and I know in our conference you know Oregon has had you know a leg up on everybody else for quite some time as well so you know it's kind of the cars that we're dealt um but you know you can win some poker games sometimes just with a bluff there you go there a little bit of a little bit of a hurdle there we'll have to see what happens with that $30 million uh lesson payments Washington's getting in some other schools this may be my last uh subject matter we got to wrap this up in a minute but you like the new top 12 playoff system in major college football I I do from the standpoint that um all those teams who are right around The Fringe of getting in now no longer have an argument I don't want to hear anybody saying we shouldn't be 13 we should be 12 all right that that's just you know pushing it too far I think last year Florida State's being left out uh and you know let me I I'll admit that I have bias because outside of the Huskies Florida State you know is the other college football team that I root for I was disappointed that they didn't get in as well so those kind of arguments will be moot you know with the 12 teams and I think that's the right amount I don't think you need to go to you know 24 and 6 whatever like they do in basketball because there clearly is a delineation between the top teams and the other teams uh in college football that there's a there's a gap there you know a little bit and I think 12 is enough because you don't want to keep extending the amount of games that you play in football in the playoffs if you're gonna add more teams in in in in another round I would say get rid of a regular season game then because it just puts too much wear and tear uh on your body so I'm I'm in I'm I'm good with the 12 um I think that's certainly enough teams and I think anyone who has a legitimate argument um will get in and those who are complaining that they weren't they weren't number 12 or 11 you know too bad so that I thought Florida State got robbed last year being undefeated not final four well you know Greg we're still gonna have schools that are going to argue they should be should have been the top 12 we're still going to have controversies who cares if you if you weren't if if you're number 13 and you didn't get number 12 who cares right I understand gonna still G to be debates great anything else to add we're going to wrap up in a minute no I juste appreciate the opportunity to come and talk football and talk sports uh you know I I never answered your other question I think I I don't really have a sports announcer that's going right now that is that I would say clearly stands out but you know Bob Bob C Bob cus would be you know a guy uh I I like Mark Jackson just as a a person um so maybe you know someone like that pick his brain about basketball a little bit uh I think he Steph a yeah I'm not a big Stephen a fan you know I think there's there's more characters now than there are true you know commentators and Sports reporters I don't like the whole bigger than life caricature character types I've seen Stephen A come walking into um Arenas and he thinks he's you know just as you know important as the players you know to me I think they should be a part of it and you know even a big personality like Howard coel he was a part of it but he never to me elevated himself above it so I think kind Stephen A and all of them do that to me more so so I read Howard's book I never played the game that came out in the 80s he said he made Monday Night Football you know he had his you know he he kind of did but still well Greg always fun you're always so generous of your time thanks for coming back on Sports Untold for an hour and uh look forward to seeing you again soon we'll say goodbye to Olivia in a minute all right no worries I'll see you around