S3. Ep.4: JMU Volleyball, George Pettaway, Terrence Spence and Charlotte preview #GoDukes

[Music] and good evening everyone and welcome to another episode of JMU soundof it is officially a game week for JMU football as many of us will be making the trip down to Charlotte North Carolina the watch the Dukes take on the 49ers of Charlotte so a big week we're going to get to all the previews and preparation talk for that big game on Saturday but before that we're g to have a really great conversation looking at the 2024 JMU volleyball season so really big show on tap we've also got two players from JMU football in George pedway and Terence Spence so lots to discuss tonight as always we want to give a shout out to our sponsors the mtpar collective you're going to see a bottle over my shoulder of Champions Drive bourbon we saw that that was being delivered to many fans throughout the JM Universe this week uh lots of people posting pictures of their bottles we love to see it uh as a board member of the collective and somebody who played a big part in helping uh to roll that out we want those pictures to keep coming in because remember every purchase of Champions Drive tailgate bourbon goes directly to support our student athletes from all of our Sports on campus at James Madison University so for more information about that product uh as well as how you can engage in supporting student athletes on campus through the collective mpar collective.com also a shout out to Skyline Financial Partners Skyline was out at meet the Dukes day yesterday um big interactions with some of the players and fans they've got some other exciting things they're going to be talking about over the coming days and weeks so stay tuned for that um where's Woody we've been promoting some new merchandise that is coming down the pipe um from Mike Norwood and the team at where's Woody uh about to release those details soon uh they're finally tweaking some of the final designs uh and working with JMU to get those designs approved so you're going to want to see what's coming from the where's Woody team again over the weeks to come I know Mike will be down at both Charlotte as well as UNC over the coming weeks to give fans an opportunity to get their hands on some of this we's Woody JMU gear so stay tuned as always um our friends from Talent Court want to say thank you um your purple Nation again the northern Virginia and Richmond stores are now open so for fans who are looking to get last minute tailgate gear um to get decked out in JM gear heading into the new season check out the store in Richmond and in Northern Virginia and as always at yourp pur.com and then finally our friends from shoker Enterprises and with that I'm going to bring on briefly to introduce themselves our other members of the SoundOff team Taylor Atkins Fresh Off Downing an entire jar of Dukes mayo or at least that's what we're saying you were doing definitely wasn't Greek yogurt uh after the Dukes Mayo sponsorship Michael Evangelista uh and Steve Brown gentlemen uh looking forward to a robust discussion at the end uh previewing our game uh at Charlotte but also some of our uh more broad General thoughts about the upcoming season but with that our segment I'll talk to you guys in a few minutes our our segment that we're going to get to right off the bat because we're a little bit of a time crunches of our athletes tonight is our M peer Collective athlete [Music] spot and with that we are really excited to welcome in an incredible group of JMU volleyball players as well as head coach Lauren Stein Breer uh if you follow the Miller Collective social accounts this week you saw there was a big and important focus on the preseason preparations for JMU volleyball uh a program that has been incredibly successful the past couple years their second year in an absolutely gorgeous facility a renovated Convocation Center uh and a team that deserves your attention and your support so we wanted to start off tonight's show by introducing you to this team as we hope to build more momentum and more excitement uh going into this new season so with that coach um thanks for taking time out of your Sunday uh wanted to start off just by giving you an opportunity this is your 15 for you um leading the Helm of jam volleyball so to first of all uh give fans may not be as familiar with this program a little bit of your J story and then let's go left to right I know you're you're it looks like you're together on screen but there's actually two separate groups of J volleyball players today um so coach take it away uh your J story then introduces to some of the ladies on screen thanks Jonathan it's crazy to to believe I've been here 15 years it's absolutely flown by um I still feel like I'm kind of similar in age to these guys and then I quickly realize I'm not um but it's been real fun it keeps getting better every year I think this is probably one of my favorite teams so I'm excited to be on the podcast with these guys and and share them with you um but what I I uh want to pass the Baton here so we're actually in the convocation center which is stunning and gorgeous and we absolutely love it um but we are in two different facilities so we'll start here and Jay you want to get some intros hello I'm Jaden clemmer I'm a senior lber I'm from Lexington Virginia I grew up really close around here and came to all the games when I was little so I definitely bleed purple for sure um I'm Savannah cockr a fifth year middle here at JMU and I mean I chose to stay here for my fifth year so I feel like that says everything you need to know I'm Emma Clan I'm a senior right side from Westchester Pennsylvania um I'll go I'm M I'm a fifth year um outside I grew up in the Daleville Virginia area just outside Ron o so yeah I've also known J you and just loved it since I was young awesome I'm Annie Smith I'm from Jupiter Florida I'm a middle here and I mean Virginia's really far but I love it so much here so so hi I'm mateline OU I'm a senior labero from Louisville Kentucky awesome and with that coach um preseason preparation for volleyball I got a chance to see uh what your practices looked like when I was on campus a couple of weeks ago for fans who are maybe more familiar with happens with a football training camp or a basketball training camp talk about what your preseason preparations have been like over the past couple of weeks and months uh and then to the athletes out there you know you gave us a little bit of behind the scenes look but one thing I was really struck about was just how long a day in the life of a student athlete is there's not only just the practices there's the um obviously the time for classes which is kind of important we we reminded why we're all there on campus but um first to you coach and then to the players just tell what the preparations have been like for you and and how excited you are for this first game that will be this Friday yeah so we actually reported August 7th um and it's been wonderful we've had we got to go on a team trip to uh where did we gos like palas palaski palaski and it was wonderful uh got to stay on the river there for a couple days and then got back in we've uh been in the gym for a couple hours a day we do usually an hour kind of training mental game culture things like that we'll get extra reps uh a lot of recovery a lot of fueling uh but they're getting after they're working very very hard we've had a great preseason we have a lot of fantastic returners and some um newcomers and everyone's jelling really well uh definitely a different look than last year and I'm really excited to see what all we can do H once we hit season but you guys can kind of talk about actual real life I mean yeah there's like a lot that goes in behind the scenes and I think it's really cool that you guys gave us the opportunity to show that so thanks for that but I mean also like I think there's so much that people don't know that we do um that I feel like we get used too like you're saying like all the stuff we do all day and I'm like well like that's every day for us so it's kind of interesting that you're like you do so much and I'm like well that's just like Tuesday for me you know s coming off a couple hours at Dicks this afternoon so working our other job I was gonna ask you too so how how important we hear from a lot of the sports that it's the the time you guys spend off the court is really critical to building that kind of camaraderie and that that chemistry that is so critical for not only the good times but the times where you're maybe facing some adversity as a program um it's clear that you guys obviously enjoy each other's company and that there's a lot of fun in this program as well that was this the thing that really popped when watching your practice is just how much laughter just everybody was really smiling um for those who have been here in this program for a while just maybe speak to that culture and how what you've been doing over the last couple of weeks uh is critical to bringing those new players in as well uh and ingraining them into that culture as they they grow to be leaders in this program I can touch on that um I think that's just a big culture thing that kind of when we when I got here as a freshman that the seniors passed down that their seniors passed down so that's something the investment off the court is something that we preach now to our freshmen and we truly believe that that's like really what connects us and we love playing volleyball together but we also love learning about each other outside of volleyball and I think that's so fun and that helps our connection on the court and yeah so that's really just a big culture thing that I think we've all taken away from Jamie boo awesome and then Community Service uh is a big part of of the work that the collective is doing um through student athletes on campus and it's something that your program has embraced um coach Bob chese for football spoke that that he thought it was one of the more important things that he did when he came in with this program is making sure he was building kind of bridges and connective tissue to the community I I I heard coach bradin say something similar this is something your program has been doing for a while why is it so important to you and then from the players perspective um what do you guys get out of that that engagement in the community in terms of again showing the Harris community that you're so grateful for the support that they give you but also helping to kind of build it back up and make it stronger yeah there and both those coaches are wonderful I very much enjoyed getting to know them um first of all it's just to jmua I mean when I got here in 2010 you know it was all about giving back whether not only Athletics but the university as a whole which was a big part of the appeal to come here um but certainly it it's just as fulfilling for everyone in this room when we give back as it is making a difference and there's so many cool ways to do it you know they'll go to classrooms with animals they do a lot of like with homeless you know there's just so many different ways that they they give back and I think they get more out of it sometimes even than the people that they serve but the community has been fantastic to us it's the best home court in the conference uh and just giving back in little ways is is well worth our time awesome any player who wants to take it what what is one thing you've kind of gotten out of the community service experience and and what do you hope fans who are watching this who again who maybe being introduced to your program for the first time um kind of take from the fact that you are so committed to to giving back I just think it's important um just throughout our four years here that we don't want to just pass by and just be students or just be athletes here just really trying to leave our Mark in some way and I think a big part of that is through the community service and just that connection to the community and I know I had some opportunities this Summer that I just left every time just feeling like so fulfilled and it just felt so awesome to just make a little difference in someone's day or in the community so I think we're all so grateful and just love this place and jam mu and Harrisonburg so finding little ways to just give back is always so fulfilling and yeah awesome and Coach uh kind of one last question before we we get to some of the games that are coming up uh again we really want to focus on this new era of college uh volleyball and college sports in general um to fans who who have seen this and say look this program is incredibly successful um why is uh my investment so important because you've been successful what what what has changed in your eyes and what can um a little bit of investment from not only General fans but maybe some of your alumni and supporters of this program really do uh to help sustain the momentum that this program has uh and make sure that we're not only continuing to compete for the top of the conference uh but to be a national player uh in this sport absolutely you know we have been blessed with a lot of success and um the the landscape in which we have operated the last 15 years has is completely changing it there's no other way to describe it um just to give you an example the top Setter for volleyball in the 2026 recruiting class she signed or she committed with a $100,000 nil in a $25,000 signing bonus wow um so it's the times are changing and people are investing in volleyball it's you know becoming a premier female Sport and the student athletes are well worth it and they put a good product and they work really hard um and so I think it's fantastic that we have opportunities now to support them and provide Financial money outside of just an incredible education at JMU and the other things that we can give um and so you know we appreciate everything that everyone does whether they're coming to our matches or giving to the Duke club or or giving to our nil efforts but it certainly all makes a difference well I I hope from my perspective because my daughter uh is is 10 and had a chance to watch some of the Olympic volleyball uh and loved it so I'm curious just maybe the last question before we prev the games do you anticipate seeing maybe some extra interest from from new fans in the sport who may have been exposed to to the first time from what we saw in Paris yeah I just exploding the last two or three years it's it might be the it was at one point recently the the fastest growing female sport in the country uh it's just so fun it's it's a great way to be super athletic competitive but also graceful and and dynamic and compete and you know the game it's it's teamwork you know but it's also like oh we're gonna kill him so I don't know what else you want in the game it's great exactly all right last to to to you coach and then to the all the girls on screen uh we're going to do a big go Dukes to the fan base and hope they come out but what are the games this weekend you've got Friday Saturday and Sunday um how can fans uh come out and support your program this weekend uh and then to again to the ladies on why is it so important that we pack the convocation center uh not only this weekend but as we go into the conference schedule as well well just come to the convocation center I'm telling you we're gonna put on a show we are fun to watch we really are we're athletic we're fun uh and great the new facility Godwin God bless Godwin but it was not comfortable and we have beautiful comfortable seats it's free parking Galore it's it's a really cool great environment and I'll let you guys add to the benefit of the F support yeah I mean energy is everything for us like I know we have great energy on the court but when there's fans out there like just giving that much more to us it can honestly change the game so it's it's really cool having people like behind us in the stands cheering us on yeah definitely makes a big big impact especially on a close game and we we truly love the sport so you'll definitely can feel that from us as well so and conference room volleyball players anything to add youna go it's just a lot of fun when like people are there like cheering us on like like they all said like the energy is just so contagious and like we all like feed off that energy and like it's definitely super fun to watch and we're we're really cool so you guys should come awesome well I will say this the energy on social media was contagious you're are such an easy program to want to root for uh and again we're going to really be putting our weight behind this program throughout the season we're going to be doing a raffle actually where fans who attend a certain number of volleyball games are going to be entered for a chance to win some Champions drive from the Miller Collective um so stay tuned on our social accounts as well as a Millar Collective accounts throughout the season uh we're going to be pushing how you can invest in this program I think the message we want to continue to drive home and there's never been a time uh in the history of being a fan that you can have more of a direct impact on the success on the court and on the field and that's what we're going to be talking about all semester long so coach excited to see you in the convocation center again I'm going to bring my kids as well as my family and we hope many many other families both in Harrisonburg and across the country make the trip because again if you're at Bridge for stadium for a football game this year check the schedule because there are going to be some times where there are volleyball games happening at the same uh that kind of lead into a football game or happen the following day so uh lots of opportunities for you to be get behind this team and make sure that they have another great year inside the second season inside the convocation C so guys thank you again for sharing a little of your time with us tonight uh throughout the week and we look forward to talking with you again thanks jonath go and with that we are going to quickly get to our two football guests tonight because they also have a busy schedule there's a little little thing on their calendar this week that they have to look forward to uh and it's teren spit and George pedway guys um thanks for taking some of your Sunday I know uh preparations are well underway uh for the start of the new season so uh easiest question right off the bat Terrence I'm going to start with you um just introduce yourself in a little bit of your background before you came to JMU and then George will'll have you do the same yeah uh my name is teren Spence uh I'm a graduate transfer from Holy Cross so I've been with coach chz for four years now uh this will be my fifth year um and yeah I'm excited to be here yeah I'm George pedway uh I'm a reg at sophomore uh I'm a transfer from the University of North Carolina so I spent two years there and I just touched down at uh jamu in January so I've been here for like seven eight months it's been good so far awesome Steve yeah I'm so glad to have you guys on tonight I was excited on the volleyball piece I I won't bore you with volleyball but I can tell you if you can get over there and watch some of those uh those games those women can jump um they've got one of them's got like a 33 inch vertical leap it's it's unbelievable to watch them go but we'll talk about that another time let me ask you and I'm ask you both the same question um tell us you know I'll start with George how's game prep going I'm assuming you did some install for for Charlotte last week but I'm not asking you for any um any Trade Secrets but just you know how's game prep going how's everybody looking how's it going yeah every I feel like everybody's in a good spot obviously you know we got the uh we finished off fall Camp last Tuesday and we kind of went into practice uh kind of installing going over what Charlotte does getting a feel what that looks like and I feel like this week we're really just gonna nail it down and uh really be prepared for you know what we got going into the game love it and you're um I'll get to Terence in a second but I'm assuming you're looking forward to that that game on the 21st heading down to Chapel Hill yeah I'm taking a game by uh game though first one Charlotte I registered last year so I didn't get to play so really just excited to be back on the field yeah no I we're not looking ahead I know it's one game at a time but it's you know I like going back to I like going back to Carolina it's fun spent a little time there um teren same thing with you how's game prep going how you guys looking on the back end you know how things happening for you yeah it's been going well um they thrown a lot at us early on uh last week uh just to kind of you know get our feet wet get familiar with what they have um and just you know what they like to run um I think the defense is is starting to come together for sure um you know we're we're all we're all locked in on the film um you could tell every single day we're getting better and better at you know what coach hemp is throwing at us every day um so I think you know it can only get better from here and uh we're going to be prepared on Saturday so what's I asked this of the players probably every week we've had some some guys on so I'll ask you guys the same thing and I'll start with Terrence we'll go backwards um what have you seen I guess in terms I know Geor is going to be been there a little longer but what's the most Improvement you've seen out of a position group in Fall Camp um you know I wouldn't say anything specific I think every position group has been um improving you know on both sides of the ball both offensively and defensively you know for me personally I go against the receivers every day so I mean I've seen improvements from them definitely um you know as a Corner Room you know all these young guys that didn't have too much experience and got a decent amount of reps in the spring I think they're definitely starting to you know click and and get it all together for themselves um so I think the future is bright for our cor room I you know I could speak on our room specifically um but you know the rest of the defense I think everybody all these young guys they're starting to understand the scheme they're starting to fly around be able to think less uh myself too included you know I came in I have to learn a whole new playbook um so you know it's definitely a challenge but I think you know as a team as a whole I think every position group's improving every single day and that's all you can ask for that's you know what we need and that's how we're going to get a decent run in this in the season George same question to you what what terms of what you've seen yeah I feel I feel it's is the same like everybody as the team from each position I feel like is you know really honing in on the details of you know what's specific to to their position and everybody just really coming together whether it's us running backs and six of us we're kind of doing our thing staying in the film room I feel like everybody's really uh taking a stride to really be great and I feel like that's what's going to push us you know to be great so same with Steve you really thank you both for spending some time with us I know you guys are uh knee deep in right a game one prep for Charlotte on Saturday I've got some individual questions for each of you and Terrence I'll start with you man like really excited to see you com in from Holy Cross um 62 195 according to the Jamie roster I noticed Holy Cross had some big Corners last year and think you had like second team um all Patriot which is awesome tell us a little bit about like the uninitiated the new fans Jam Nation like what can we expect from you in terms of like what is your playing style on the back end um I would say definitely uh just a competitor um every single week I'm going to bring it I'm going to you know put my best foot forward for my team um you know I'm I'm really excited about playing in front of this crowd this year uh it's definitely a big change up from Holy Cross you know we had a lot of support there but it's obviously a smaller school I think it's around like 3,000 now you're you're dealing with almost 30,000 so uh it's definitely going to be a change up but for me personally just bringing my energy every single day um trying to push the guys across the across the ball from to be better um you know hope that they do the same which they have been so far um so yeah I mean I think one thing that I bring to the table is just being a competitor every single day um and bringing energy you know that's awesome I noticed you are also a special teams demon I think you blocked like four or five punts or field goals I don't know if you know but Jamie's got a history of like special teamers that have done really well some of them have played in the NFL like tell us what's your secret on special team what makes you so great on that end the ball The Seekers coach uh coach Drew Kanan uh I think George is is seen that too you know he he brings the energy every single day you know it's 7:30 in the morning and he's he's saying good morning fellas and gets the gets the room going um and he he puts his he puts everything into into that uh even at Holy Cross you know I would go into the offices late at night if I had to like go pick something up or whatever it may be and coach kanan's in his office already scouting for next week for the Special Teams uh what they're going to throw at us you know he'll text me come in um look at you know how they're how they're G Runners uh run down the field you know how their punt team you know what they're going to show us how they're going to block us so I think it's really just a preparation that goes into it for the coaches as coach chne as well you know they really care about special teams they understand that it's the third aspect of the game and if you win that aspect you have a really good chance of winning so I think you know there's no secret for me you know it's really just taking the coaching and you know going out there on Saturday and putting it on the field love it love it you gota win on all three phases of the game thank you yes sir uh George turn over to you I'd be remiss if I didn't ask it was week zero for college football did Coach Sim say anything about Georgia Tech taking down Florida state from this past weekend uh yeah I mean he did but he honestly said he wasn't really into it I don't really know why he doesn't like George or whatever the case may be but you know he just he was just decided for football to be back good good well for our listeners uh coach Sims played at Georgia Tech he was a running back there when they ran the triple options so obviously the nice little upset win and week zero call football um George excited to have you here was really thrilled to see you come over um obviously you were at UNC the last couple years um former fourar athlete um from from I think suffi Virginia correct tell us a little bit about your game what can we expect from you I know you were returning kicks for a little bit there at UNCC and um obviously it was um allar around back coming out of high school what can uh J Nation expect from you this coming fall yeah I feel like they can expect the guy uh to really be a playmaker a three level guy that you know can run his inside the tackle run outside the box uh pass Pro and also catch the ball at the Back Field really just be a playmaker guided uh the the offense the offense coordinator you know the coaching staff can really you know trust and get the ball in their hands and you know really really can make something happen that's awesome you know I mentioned you know coach Sam's played running back in college probably brings a wealth experience like what's like what's the one thing you've learned from him over the last seven eight months you've been here yeah definitely I mean obviously I had a different running back coach at uh the previous stop I was at so you know coach Sams has been good uh since day one you know he's he's kind of make it he's kind of made it a um a premium to you know be yourself he always always talks about how they're different type of running backs different type of styles everybody in the room is different and that's one thing he really leans on obviously you know attention to detail is really high for him whether we're watching film or footwork or you know what whatever the case we're being specific to but you know when we're out there and after those details really coming to play she really um talks to us about being oursel and just you know playing playing your style of football and that's what I like the most about no I love that I think we you know for all the jamu fans we've had a history of different types of running backs doing different types of plays whether it's like going outside inside I feel like this year just with the depth right I'm just really excited to see what we can do how we can attack defenses um Terrence back to you so um I would be lying if I didn't say I threw on some Holy Cross you know videos on YouTube I saw your game against Syracuse Boston College I think Buffalo was on there as well um your moving up a level right you're an FBS now you're a grad student what's like what's something you want to prove to yourself because you obviously did Super well at the FCS level and Jamie fans know the Patriot league is not a league to be messing with so tell us like you know some what are your goals and motivations this year moving up um you know nothing really changes for me personally I think every single week I go out there and I just try to put my best foot forward and perform as well as I can and you know help the team win um like you said it's going to be a little bit of a change up you know going against some I I wouldn't even say better competition you know I I would say that FC has is load to a competition that you have players all around that you know end up in the NFL and things like that so you know I I wouldn't just sit here and say that the FCS isn't you know good competition and that I'm about to be facing you know way better um but definitely you know one thing I noticed the lineman went a little bit W uh bigger um so you know when you get in the Box you know you're going to feel that a little bit more um but yeah I think I think just challenging myself every week to just um perform as as well as I can against the competition that I that I face you know I'm not going to overlook any opponent um and just prepare the same every single week awesome um yeah was like I mean it was really impressive to see how Holy Cross matched up against those teams so um excited to see what you could do at bridgeforth George real quick for you man like you know your speed is something that just like pops off on tape every time we pull your highlights up what's like what was the one thing in the off season that you said you know I'm gonna get really good at I'm GNA improve and I'm G to Showcase it this coming fall uh really really getting in the film room uh and then attacking my weaknesses uh whether that's you know getting my pad level down pass protection uh really just just uh slowing the game down in my head so when I'm out there you know I see those holes y'all can really see that speed on display um really just attention to detail is what I've been focusing on really all all spring all winter well teren and George I like it with everyone else said thank you guys for joining us it's the Sunday night of a game week so I know you're busy and uh I'll make this quick I I have two questions for youall and I'm kind to kind of ask the same to both of you Terrence I'll start with you um why JMU you know what made your decision to come here and obviously I mean I know coach chesy probably had one of the biggest impacts in that decision but um talk a little bit about the decision to come to JMU and just what your uh perspective and impression has been since you've been here yeah like you said obviously having coach chz and some of the coaches here you know that was definitely a big influence um but you know when I came on my visit I I loved it here I could tell immediately as soon as I got here once you get into Harrisonburg uh it's it's college town for sure and that's that's something that you know I've always wanted you know I definitely had a little bit of a feel of college town uh Worcester but this is this is a little bit different I I can feel the energy already uh I think I came uh in the summer and then for the spring game and you can just tell especially for the spring game how excited the fans were um just the energy around you know having a new coaching here having a lot of new faces on the team um so there's a lot to play for now um definitely and like I said I'm I'm really excited to play in front of this crowd and just represent JMU the best I can so George you know same question to you you come from one of the best high school regions in Virginia uh you've you've been around an ACC program what was it about JMU that made you decide to come here out of the portal yeah obviously you know when I hit the portal a lot of schools reaching out uh visited a lot of schools you know far away close um but really when I jamu was my last stop and it was honestly a genuine vibe that I got from all the coaches and that was really what I was looking for it wasn't really the name it was the people and so when I got here Terence touched on it it was it was really genuine uh playing in this spring game all the fans I can't wait to play in front of the fans and stuff like that but you know just the honesty and and the trust I have with these coaches is really you know the reason I came well George that segue is perfectly in my next question so I'll go to you first and then I'll come to Terrence um I know we were talking pre-show you guys look one game at a time you're not looking ahead I'm not so much asking you to look ahead to the uh the the opponent but in two weeks you're going to take your first on bridgeforth Stadium on a game day um you know the fan the stadium will be packed the streamers will be flying talk about what you're looking forward to the most on game day and what message can you convey to fans out there that they can make their biggest impact as the as the 12th man out there uh it's it's gonna be exciting for sure uh obviously I want the fans to be loud uh really when I walk through you know the little Gates that we have I'm I'm GNA be excited and uh I don't know I'm going just be a playmaker out there I'm going just make plays and you know I'm hoping they' be loud but obviously that 12 man is key whether it's on defense whether you know we need a little bit more energy but obviously can't wait and Terrence what's your what's your message to the fans what are you looking forward to most on that first home game in bridgeforth yeah uh I've always been a player that feeds off energy especially energy the uh Stadium the fans so you know for me personally um I'm just I'm looking forward to that being able to feed off that energy um you know hear the stadium get loud especially on defense third down stuff like that um we're going to need them you know that's that's a big part of the game especially in college football you you have these teams com into your your stadium and you know you try to make it as hostile as possible help us win so you know I'm excited and I can't wait to play for J Nation I'm muted I'm sorry about that John's gonna not like that because I know he's doing a lot of work behind the scenes to manage this tonight um you guys been putting in a lot of work this off season and uh I I think the jam nation's going to show up to that first game and really for all the home games and really give you the home crowd that you guys deserve I think you'll see a good contingent of folks down in Charlotte next weekend and uh you know we're gonna we're gonna pay North Carolina purple in a few ways uh this year so John I'm I'm gonna kick it back to you but I really appreciate you guys coming on tonight and thank you for taking your Sunday evening with us well guys we said we get you out at 8:30 it's 8:31 so we we took a minute of your time so we'll we'll run some extra Laps on the stairs to make up for it but uh as Taylor said thank you for what you guys have done off the field I know training camp uh there's a lot of fun a lot of good things to go into it but it's also a grind uh and you're doing that to give us all something to to cheer for and something to talk about each and every week and it's never uh something we take for granted as fans and as as hosts of this show so uh seriously wishing you all not only success on the field but lots of help this season and just great outcomes all around uh we're just excited regardless of the outcomes each and every week uh you're going to have a place here that's going to be rooting you guys on and and hoping all the best for you and your teammates so uh safe travels down to Charlotte we'll all be there in the stands rooting you guys on and we'll talk to you guys soon thank you appreciate it George and with that I'm G to try successfully to bring the other guys back on the show and gentlemen I'm pretty pumped a pretty great conversation not only with the football players but man a pretty easy group of volleyball players to root for uh in JMU volleyball and just again want to stress this all season long as we we get into our next level discussion um one thing that has come as clear as day from not only all the players but all the coaches your support does matter uh your support on line matters your supportting the stands matter um and and these players are listening uh to what you're saying they see your comments they see your posts um and it's the type of thing that can either put a lot of wind in their sales um or it could be something that uh as all of us as we go throughout the trials and tribulations of a new season um let's just be cognizant of just how much our support matters and what we hope to uh Advance this Athletics program into the future and with that guys we want to kind of get back to our roots for the last segment of tonight's podcast is uh this is taking us back to our kind of Twitter space days so uh for those who are following along in the chat if you've got questions you've got comments you got want things we want us to touch on uh as we go through the last final half hour of this program um let us know but guys I I want to start off kind of your thoughts on on week zero there were some outcomes uh that maybe a lot of people in college football didn't expect to see uh we saw underdogs uh getting the victories we saw everybody covering we saw a wild outcome uh over in Ireland um maybe Michael I'll go to you first kind of four um week zero thoughts and I know Taylor you kind of kind of teed up on the the lines this week being something that that's something to look for and and it's probably not surprising considering the number of new players um that are on every one of these rosters across the country so Michael I'll go to you first yeah I think you hit it on the head I referred to it on the last week's podcast like you know we've got 64 new players a lot of them from the portal you know Charlotte's going to have 70 plus new players 45 plus from the portal um that's college football right and I think you know I'm sure Taylor will reiterate these lines but like you know FSU were was 10 and a half Point favorites they end up losing by seven SMU was favored by 28 points they end up winning by five Hawaii was favored by 40 only winning by 21 a lot of these programs are trying to find a ways to gel and build chemistry I think that's going to be key specifically in the G5 like which head coach is gonna be able to mold all this Talent all these players from different backgrounds George George pedway was has only been in Harrisonburg for the last six seven months you know he's probably trying to figure out where his where his apartment is still right and like now we step on the field in four or five days so um I think that's that that was the biggest takeaway is that there's going to be a bit of a learning curve right it's it's when the bullets are live when it's third and 11 um when the microphones are not working in the headsets whether you're a linebacker or quarterback how do you react as a team how do you react as individuals do you start playing for the name of the front of the Jersey or the back and are you going to start blaming people when things go bad I think that's going to be like really I'm curious what's going to happen on Saturday there's going to be trials and tribulations it's not going to be gung-ho there might be some Mis blocks or misassignments up and down the field how do we react that's gonna be the most important part for the season in my opinion and Taylor you know I know you were talking about some of the lines this weekend and and for those who follow kind of the sports betting side um what was kind of your takea away from from watching the games that happened yesterday and and do you think it's a sign of things to come as we go through maybe what could be a a rocky first couple of weeks we not just Jam you were other program but all programs in the country is they figure out um the number of new faces both on the coaching Suite as well as on the field that these coaches have to now navigate through trying to get him to jail I'm gonna get to that in one second I I saw Dave Ahern make a comment during our interview with the players uh batat has nothing on the 757 as someone who grew up in Virginia Beach there it is I I respect the heck out of 757 football it's some of the best in the in the in the I mean not just in Virginia in in the country uh but I I I'd love to see Dave you know a thing or two about 757 football I know a thing thing or two but I'd love to see Davey Pat up and comeing take on some of those lb boys down the street um I think you know one of our volleyball players can give a little shout out there too but um but yeah as far as the uh the lines I mean Michael just kind of hit the nail in the head you know it was such a small sample size you know we only had the four games that involved FBS opponents but I mean the lines were just way off and I think that it's going to become harder and harder uh in this new era of college football at least until we kind of figure out what the future does kind of look like of how you're going to be able to predict these preseason rankings I don't give a lot of weight to them I mean obviously there's something there especially if you're returning your coaching staff you can kind of have an idea of how that coaching staff's going to manage a program but Michael's naming off you know these teams how many players are coming on I mean there's just nothing that is that represents what the team was last year and so you see it with some of these lines and how far off they were um like Michael said the the the nine nine and a half points was the was the smallest spread between actual scoring the line in the M Montana state New Mexico game but you mean you know they were off by 22 and a half in the SMU game they were off by 18 and a half in the Hawaii game they were off by 13 and a half in the FSU game so no one really knows what teams are going to take the field and it's going to take the first month month of September to really find out who who are the dogs you know who who are the folks competing for championships both in their conferences and for a spot in the college football playoffs um and that's why I think there is kind of that no one is too overly confident as a fan base because you just don't know what team is going to step out on the field um now having said that I think it was specifically last week's episode um with Dave rigert you know we all know what a good football team looks like we all know what good coaching looks like someone like him has been around it long enough um he wasn't out there pronouncing undefeated season he wasn't even out there you know on record saying a winning season per se but you just got the the the the feeling from what he's witness and being out there that this team has all the players in the right positions they have a coaching staff that has gotten this team to really Buy in I think they talked about every player can say the why I think that was really important so um I am very confident in this team this year from the perspective of I know who's going to be on the field and I know who's coaching them um but that confidence doesn't really come from the opponents because I to be honest I just don't hold a lot of weight to say who is good and who is bad and it's just going to be interesting to kind of see especially this first month of September and Steve one thing you've talked about a lot as as somebody who's been close to this program and it's been at practices um you kind of echoed Ricker's comments and that you've been just how incredibly impressed with how fast this team is jailed how close they have seen um anybody who's seen the the videos from not just our accounts but the collective accounts or or what jamu football puts out on their social accounts is uh that sense of camaraderie that sense of Team you know kind of the team aspect of the game uh in terms of what you see in the locker room really has shined through in ways that um you know we haven't seen maybe in previous years this quickly um where where is your head at as you you head towards Saturday's game in terms of um again we don't know what the bounces are going to be we don't know when there's going to be rainstorms that will interact games um but at least the foundation has been set uh for a team that that clearly uh believes in each other and a team that's that's going to Rally around themselves uh through the good times and and the tough times to go throughout the year yeah I mean you you heard it from coach chzn when we first hired him um I knew when he came in I've been following him for years at Holy Cross he said all the right things but he's not only said the right things you've had coaches over the years and not did uh did Steve freeer oh sorry I'm here um we've seen coach chzn implement it it's not just what he says it's what actually happens and you heard George pedway say it he he had a lot of places to go um so did a lot of the most of these guys and you know coach chzn to get to the 60 some odd players we we got probably went through 300 people and so when you're going through that many people and looking at that many people you're looking at High character High work ethic guys and it's not just a phrase and so you know what I see us doing and I heard one of the rigored interviews today and I can't remember who it was it could have been Trent Hendricks or it could have been I don't remember but somebody said we don't really care what the other team does we're really focusing on ourselves if we do what we've been trained to do it'll be fine and you know I've heard people say that I honestly believe that with this team now I have no idea I'm more guarded um mainly because there's so many new folks but I'm not as guarded you know as I thought I would be because of the way that I've seen chzn and the other coaches really implement this they've had seven eight months to get it um in and these guys have all accepted it I I'm so pleased to hear and I love what they did the locker room don't get I mean I think when you know the prior staff was here I'm not sure you could step on the logo in the locker room um you know that it was and they put PlayStations in there they put all kinds of stuff in there it's a much tighter group not nothing wrong with the prior Administration so I'm not I'm not honestly not saying anything bad about it it worked um I think you're going to see something here now we'll see as Mike Tyson said everybody's got a great plan do they get punched in the mouth um let's see how it goes Saturday night this Charlotte team is a good test um I know we'll get get into that in a minute but at the end of the day um I like that we're on the road and I like that we're getting tested on the road um and I think we're going to be very pleased with what we see next Saturday and Michael before we get toh some of the Twitter questions that are coming in I did want to ask you just as somebody who gets into the nuts and bolts of rosters what are you seeing from the team that we're going to line up across the field on Saturday any Trends any players that stand out for you in terms of what they've brought in obviously you said over 70 new faces on the Charlotte roster and that's going to be a big test for them it's it's which one of these teams at Saturday at 8:00 pm has jailed uh to a point where they're ready to to compete it before the other team is I'm just curious what you've seen any Trends or anything stand out for you that that fans should look for that are heading down to Charlotte or watching it on TV yeah Charlotte's an interesting program for year it's year two of Biff pogy's system um he came into the American Conference very hot and confident last year you might remember he yelled at all the interviewer um in their media day conference because no one asked Charlotte any questions because they were picked to be last he was telling how nil was going to change the game and they were gonna finish number one and they were going to dominate and it didn't go that way they had a terrible offense let's call it what it was they had three or four quarterbacks rotated in out they had a really good defense um but if you look at Biff this this offseason if you ever listen to his interviews he's really taken a more humbled approach so before I go into players he he he said a couple things around slowing down and recruiting the the person versus the player he said a lot of comments on that he mention around he was not uh he he he he warned coaches of taking too many players from the same school right and what what type of dynamics that creates in the locker room um but in terms of like he seems very confident everyone's got all eyes on Max Brown he's the transfer from the SEC from Florida he's definitely going to be qb1 um they've got a defensive end from Old Miss that played last year named demon Clowney that I think is going to be a demon on the edge it's going to be really curious like how we're going to block him um they've got a linebacker with a pretty cool name named Stone handy who uh played at Indiana and I think in the SEC before that that's gonna be a game breaker um really playmaker for them um but there's a lot of unknowns right and I think the fundamental difference between the JMU roster and the Charlotte roster when you really look down to it they took a lot of kids from the P4 P5 level right but when you look down to it what did they do at their last schools did they contribute were they on special teams were they starters did they play meaningful minutes um who knows right and when I look at J's roster it's full of experienced players that are looking for their fifth and sixth year opportunities um to be fruitful ones I'm not saying that's not the case in Charlotte but I think it's a fundamental difference on sort of the players they recruit who do they go after and why um but I think what's interesting though is how Biff is surrounded the program um with NFL coaches and influence um so it's very well documented Steve wils he's an appstate grad for any appstate listeners um coming from the NFL and being like an analyst on the staff Dre blly who was at UNCC for many years former Detroit Lions quarterback is also on the staff he was uncc's 757 recruiter essentially um Biff pogi has tried to like mature and sort of slow down and move fast the program um you know tickets are BOGO right for Saturday so I think expectations are what they are uh but it's interesting the type of like iterations he's made since his you know his interim season last year yeah but I will say for fans who think this is going to be a cupcake this is a well-funded program a program who has brought in some bigname players a quarterback from Florida um a a very healthy nil budget uh that they are leveraging uh to build their roster and it's something that uh we're going to have to look for because there again there are a lot of unknowns but there is no shortage of Talent on that roster and that's been the thing uh in my conversations and and interviews that I've listened to that definitely shines through now will let gel I like your point about the fact that a lot of these guys haven't played a lot of meaningful football um but you never know until you get there on Saturday and again we we'll see what comes down on the field I I did want to uh to ask both Taylor and and Steve who have been down there for fans who are are going to make the trip to Charlotte for the first time and and I'll start with you Taylor You've Gone there with UTSA what can fans expect to see inside uh the stadium when they head down to Charlotte and maybe talk to it a little bit around the area around the stadium as well um you know a lot of folks have been making fun of Charlotte Stadium because how small it is and it's you know it's all fun in games the Rivalry like that not even a rivalry but just an opponent you're playing but it it is a cool little Stadium um and I don't mean little to be putting them down I mean I I think when UTSA played there what we commented was it was only about 13,000 people in the stands but it's a 15,000 seat stadium and there are a lot of times where UTSA would go and play in front of 15 20,000 people in a 30 or 40,000 seat stadium and so the game day atmosphere it's kind of made better because their stadium fits their crowd um The Concourse is walkable all the way around their horseshoe so that you can kind of see the game as it's going on um for those of you that know me uh you know when I was in Texas for eight years I was deprived of Bojangles and it killed me and uh was a it was a very nice pleasant surprise when we uh went and played at Charlotte for the first time their concessions I I hope they still are I believe they still are but their concessions were were done by Bojangles and then even the uh the meal that we got on the buses after the game was uh was box Bojangles so that was something to look forward to but um in terms of also if you do get there early enough um you know the area right around there they kind of have some of their other athletic facilities in the immediate vicinity of the stadium um and when we were there it was fairly easy to kind of walk around and get a good view of them too so I mean it's a really nice campus the stadium is really well done you you'll see a lot of architecture and it's just really clean and kept up nice I mean I I I would be thrilled to be able to play Charlotte uh regularly in our out of conference because it's an easy drive it's a there's a good JMU base of alumni down there it's a good Stadium they're in a good conference um they're competitive but it's it's a team that you know like like you said um there is reason to kind of not Overlook them I know that we are uh the favorite but as I talked about the spreads earlier I the favorite really just doesn't mean a whole lot because we just don't know what we know less about their team than we do our our own and uh I think I was looking at the two deep I mean I think they have 17 guys in the two deep that were on P4 teams last year uh Michael made a good point pre-show that a lot of those guys are coming from programs where they didn't see a lot of playing time which makes even the question mark bigger of what is this team going to do on Saturday so um I I would encourage anyone that is on the fence of going you know maybe you're within that two-hour radius and you thought about it get out to this game especially a night game um you can catch all the week one college football games during the day get out there for this game I I highly recommend it yeah I mean I Echo that it was I like the stadium a lot it'll remind you of a nicer Elon Stadium it's sunk down a little bit it'll remind you then of going to Georgia state with the prominade that you can walk um so you're not stuck in your seats so if you want to walk and kind of go back and forth and and Pace it's fun uh the people are good people are very nice um I don't know how long they'll hang in um but the people that we ran into down there were extremely nice very welcoming um just good fans just nice people to to deal with so love the area the restaurants are good um we're staying at the Marriott uh right by the stadium uh we're doing a show there on the 31st um Taylor can't be with us but you'll have the three of us and chance so we'll be doing a show I think at noon on the 31st and diving pretty deeply into the JMU um stuff that day so you know then we'll be hitting the tailgate Lots so the tailgate lots are nice um I think everybody will enjoy the experience I agree with Taylor it's it's something that should be in our rotation um shouldn't be every 10 years that we play them and I looked at their schedule last year and if you look at it you know people are going to say Well they're not any good you know they they won one game at home and they went two and six on the road you got to dive a little deeper into what they did and how they were in those games I mean they took Memphis to overtime um SMU didn't didn't kill them um you know most they were in most games I mean I think Georgia Georgia State played them you know beat them pretty handily um they went down to Florida and only lost 22 to7 you know SMU beat him 3614 that was probably their worst loss but other than that they beat e they went to e East Carolina and beat East Carolina um Tulsa they won in overtime they went overtime at Memphis and you know lost that 44 to 38 so you know they they ran out of steam near the end of the year but at the end of the day that was not a bad showing from a from a team that was just in that League um for the first time and you know it's it's a great test for us um this is better than an FCS game I think I heard Michael say something earlier and I it wasn't earlier on this but it might have been somewhere else that it feels like Middle Tennessee State could have been on another thread that we're on kind of feels like the Middle Tennessee State when we when we rolled them out at home um I agree with that you know I I've got you know I I feel like we're going to be okay down there but I also feel like we're going to get tested um a little bit and then I think we pull away all right well now we're going to get to some of the questions that have come in through Twitter because I think it's and Facebook as a good interaction of what the fans are going to be I'm curious um the first question for Rob Jones what football game is the SoundOff crew most looking forward to this season I guess I'll go to you Taylor first uh top right some obvious candidates but there's some also Darkhorse games this season that that I think are going to be the ones that we're going to look back when it's all said and done and go man that was something special ULM talk about ULM come on I know you want some people to make the trip I I I can't do it um you know I I would say the two for me and and maybe I'm kind of getting some lwh hanging fruit here obviously I think the Thursday night game against Coastal is something I'm looking forward to um it's Coastal Carolina uh it's it's Thursday night so I'm really interested to see what the JMU fan base does with the Thursday night game um you know this is one of the those games unlike a lot of other games where you know you have to wait two weeks to find out when kickoff is you know when kickoff is you know what time it is you know the date um for most of our fan base richond Northern Virginia the mostly forgotten ronoke fan base you know it's an easy drive and I got some friends down in Hampton Roads that are planning to make a long weekend of it so uh Coastal Carolina and and then probably one of the most obvious ones is appstate and um I I hope there's no appstate fans listening to this right now because I'm going to say some nice things about him um I mean that that's a team when it comes to winning the game I mean it's good oldfashioned hate I I want to beat app State more than anyone else just because of the way the last four games have gone in that series dating back to the' 0708 games in the last two years but you know when we went there the hospitality we got the uh the tradition they have there the atmosphere I mean really the atmosphere just around the campus is a beautiful place to go so I'm I'm really looking to go to App State and just uh continue what has been the last four games um has been devastating for um well the way it's ended the the losing team it's been one of the most devastating losses that they've had not only that season but for you know over a decade so I think that just has all the makings of what makes a great rivalry Steve yeah I um I'm gonna go with one that's probably a little out there I um I think it's Marshall and the reason I think it's Marshall is I think rolling out of the App State game the Marshall game and their Georgia Southern game is going to be for the sun Bel title um because whoever wins that game or loses that game at App State still in it until the 30th and so Marshall to me is the one I have circled my backup game is Georgia Southern that one scares me more than any other game um I think we win that game I want them to beat Boise in their first one and I think that's a decent team I think Georgia Southern's going to be good and I think that's going to be a a slobber knocker for us when we go down there on October 19th so that worries me um Marshall I think's for the title so that's why I've got Marshall circled on my paper Michael yeah I was gonna say I'll take a different approach just uh just to mix it up I'm really excited to go down to Northfolk for the ODU game um as someone that you know I was in school when they beat us the first two times when they were moving up there FBS and we had some dark times and I I was not there for 2022 unfortunately and last year's game was it was yeah it it was it was great to listen to I was actually on my way down to Florida I L I love listening to it and just like you know just 10 years decade of everything right all all coming together and last year it was it was too close for comfort right we wi by three points in front of a record crowd um I think you know they're expecting you know Grant Wilson's coming back and I'm excited to be at their Stadium for the first time I'm sure we'll do something we'll do a show or two down there it's a quick drive for everyone local local as well so I'm really excited to go down to the 757 I'm gonna I'm gonna go also Taylor took mine but my second game is actually Charlotte and and the reason for it is there's so much uncertainty around this team this season um so much of a of a desire for this team to do what we all think that they can do in terms of matching the personality and the positivity and the energy around uh the change in this staff and I'm excited to see it finally be put on the field because I have such high hopes for the staff and more importantly as I've said in previous episodes I have just such an investment in some of the personalities on this team uh the Christopher fitzgeralds the Jacob dos um the Iowa dies I mean just there's so many good people on this team this year that we've had the privilege because of the access that's been afforded To Us by um the team at JMU in this in this program now um that it's come more personal for me this year and and and I'd love to see them um start off against an American Conference team which again these crossover conference games um matter uh when you're stacking up the Sun Belt rankings versus the you know the the Mac in these in the Conference USA games so that to me is why this one plus it's an easy trip a lot of us are getting down there Friday night so there's going to be you know tons of festivities Friday an entire day of Saturday of tailgating just a plug for the uh hydration packets that that you should be shoving in your bag Gatorades whatever it takes maybe hold off the Champions Drive bourbon until the latter stages of the tailgate um that's that's that's why I'm telling myself um because we want to make sure that we're in the stadium and then finally the the one benefit as Taylor said of a of a smaller Stadium I think they're gonna have a good deal of support there but when you pack in a bunch of of JMU fans there as well that has the makings of a of a rockus crowd that will go back and forth and what we've seen in the past when you have those stadiums I think back to the days of playing North Dakota State when you had um you know kind of a 5050 crowd or when you had Liberty who brought all their fans to Harrisonburg some that feeds on to the field and the players feel off it as well um so I feel like that could create an atmosphere that that's pretty special and and something that we can all look forward to this question I hold on let me I just want to add one thing to that that I thought about as we were all talking about this and going back to the FCS days we just asked what our favorite games were and we just named off over half the schedule and I think that I want to give such a a shout out to Jeff Bourne and the folks that really got us to this position the Sun Belt where every single week is a must-watch game Richmond right it's not just let's play Richmond who do we have to blow through so we can finally get to the playoffs I mean I just think it's really awesome that not only is Jam FBS but we're in an FBS conference where every game is literally someone else's favorite game they're looking forward to the most 100% could not agree with that it's a really great point I'm goingon to put this on screen I don't know if there's any way we can ask answer it but the over under of bottles of Champions Drive consumed by the SoundOff crew see what's behind me those will be gone yeah I I've got a number in the cabinet two behind me so the better question is how many jars of duk's mayo will we gos Properties by the way that is the charge for that for many many years and uh congratulations to everybody made that possible hey maybe it leads to us being in the Duke's Mayo kickoff I'm just saying there's been talk about us may first down I don't know we we don't have a b bow tie into that you mean to the Dukes Mayo bowl is they do the kickoff they around everything do a season kickoff game though don't they I don't think it's duk's Mayo that does that's Chick Chick-fil-A andit one I don't know but either way I'll take I'm looking it up because Chandler told me yesterday there's a kickoff game they sponsored but regardless good things will come from that partnership and everyone involved the JMU deserves a tremendous amount of success I have a feeling or credit because I have a feeling that was a a long time coming there's a lot of work to make these Partnerships happen uh and a lot of good people who put time and energy in the one thing I also like about Duke's Mayo is they're very engaging and interactive on social media and they seem to be uh really embracing this partnership and I think that's that's something uh that's going to lead to to positive things for both Brands I'll say though this is another illustration though of why being a very active and engaged fan base online and when you tune in to watch these games on ESPN plus while you tune in to watch them on the main Flagship programs that are at there are people watching them and as somebody who's in the marketing and Communications business people watch these numbers so the more you engage these Brands um the more likely other brands are going to want to associate with JMU and the more likely um we're going to see support continue to grow for this program so keep it up um Daniel marman friend from JM sports news wants to know uh the linebacker cor is the opportunity be better than last year's group do you think that'll be the case um Michael kind of your thoughts on the linebacker group maybe uh to fans who were maybe tuning into to jam football for the first time in a few months what can we expect and some were some of the names for starters that are in the linebacker group other than just Jacob dobs yeah I was gonna say there's a lot of talk around dobs going from Holy Cross and more importantly about him getting you know 150 tackles I personally don't think that he's going to have to do that at JMU right I think he's surrounded by so many talented players where he doesn't have to be if he was in programs where if he didn't make the tackle right the tackle wasn't going to be made um but I think the Dark Horse right like is number one with Taurus Jones coming back from injury right you've got a motivated very productive player um 2022 he played lights out right and he came in in 2023 as a starter before getting hurt at UVA and then and obviously you know um Aiden fiser came in and all that but people forget Trent Hedrick started versus Louisville in 2022 as a true fresh and now he's coming in I think he's yeah he's a he's a true Junior now he's got three years on his belt three years in like a college program lifting lifting weights getting faster I think he's gonna surprise a lot of people um physically he just looks the par right I think you know in 2022 when he took the field against Louisville he did I mean he played very well but at the end of the day you're playing Louisville right and then he's he's a true freshman and um I think David rigard also spoke a lot around Weathersby as well from Georgia um 510 206 he he's I think a red shirt freshman or maybe a sophomore played a lot of special teams last year he's a guy that coming out of high school I really liked and I'm gonna I'm gonna bring in a name for all of the OG fans Vidal Nelson or Vidal Nelson like you're looking at like that strong safety outside linebacker heat seeking missile coming down the alley hitting you type of player in my opinion I don't know if we're going to use him in that way but that's what Ganon reminds me of and so he he's younger but I think he's a show lot of flashes I think we've got a like just like our running back room we've got a depth of different types of talent that can play different types of games for us at the linebacker position got another question from Dave Aaron and I'll throw this out to the group um a starting quarterback has not been named um as of now uh by Bob Chesney and Co um we're gonna be none of us have any inside information on on what the quarterback situation is going to be so just going to be what that pecking order is going to be um I don't know if anybody has a strong opinion about this I I'll say from my perspective the one thing um I I take coaches at their word that they put out is there are multiple quarterbacks on this roster that do some really good things and there are some quarterbacks on this roster that do some Elite things that's what coach chest's U message was going to be but what we've seen in every season uh since I've been following not just JMU but every football program that I support you're going to need every quarterback on this roster at least at some point in the season uh at least the top three who are who are in the pecking order are going to perform at some level um because the injuries happen you have moments where a helmet pops off you have a stretch where you maybe need a different skill set um so I think you know as he said Co taught these coaching staffs a lot about you never know what's going to happen and you never know what could uh lead to a player coming in the game uh the one thing is clear as day is this staff has made sure that every quarterback on the roster is prepared and ready um any you guys have any thoughts on the quarterback position going into to game one I just know I fielded some text messages from from some people I think no put out a tweet kind of updating what schools have named starting quarterbacks and what schools haven't and you know got a couple text messages like Hey Taylor you know are you worried that you haven't I said you know you assume that there's not been one named because one hasn't stood out you can go to the other end of the spectrum and say one hasn't been named because there there's there's again multiple Elite quarterbacks on the roster and you know even before Dylan Morris was announced as a transfer I said you we have one of the deeper quarterback rooms you know in the country we we have uh two guys on there who have started for JMU we have uh what is it at least two two guys that have come from P4 school I mean it's just a deep room and so I would say that the again my opinion is that the the not naming of a quarterback is a great thing when I look at that room I it doesn't say that it's because no one has stood out and Taylor just add to that you don't really there's no reason to right like why would you name a quarterback especially when you have 65 to 70 new players like everyone has some sort of Advantage right just playing chess um I just want want to remind folks right you're talking about 18 to 22y old old players too right like look at what happened in Boise State they brought in the five star kid from un USC and he lost his battle right I think they announced the other gu is gonna be qb1 you look across all of college football and I and I say this because there's a lot of eyes on like the portal and nil at the end of the day you got to strap up and play right you got to make the throw when the bullets are flying you got to make the play When the play is there so um you know just like last year coming into the Bucknell game I think we were all like wow Lonzo Barnett came out over you know Jordan mlau that's been in a number of different places um I am fully confident in what chzn can do um and just give a little bit of proof so at Holy Cross they ran the ball with sluka every other play they played like a Rodney Landers type of offense sluka gets hurt and they go into a four wide five wide set they were slinging the ball all over the place so they've shown a history of being able to mold and like play to their QB strengths like I I'm I have all utmost confidence in their ability to do that my one thing I want to say on the quarterbacks real quick though is if you haven't had a chance to to listen to Dave Rickards interview with Alonzo Barnett uh and to hear how vulnerable he was how willing uh he was to uh acknowledge that he needed to grow uh acknowledge that he's in a much different place um not only does that speak to the character of him as an individual but I also think it speaks to the coaching staff I think it speaks to the to the healthy Dynamic that's in that quarterback room um because it it genuinely does and this is as my time in the locker room and seeing these players there is a genuine camaraderie in this group uh and and a desire for these players to really build off of each other and and one thing I stood out in Dylan Morris's conversations is um is this is a quarterback who started for a program who then had a take a a much publicized backseat to a quarterback like a Michael Pennock uh and he grew from that experience and I think um his experience there can help Alona it can help Billy it can help JC Evans um as these quarterbacks like Now understand that the day to-day life of a quarterback in college football is is such a a different experience than it was five years ago because of the portal and because of the way the game has changed uh and again I think that's why it lends itself to these quarterbacks having to be ready and be prepared but also it tends to lend itself now in this type of environment to these quarterbacks being more understanding and empathetic to each other's situations um Steve any any comments you want to make yeah I mean I love that he's been running dual huddles on each side of the 50 so they've been running that the entire camp and at the end of the day what I love about this is nobody knows what we're gonna do and I am worshiping at the feet of the Church of chesne and so whatever Church of chzn wants to do I'm into it so I think that's going to completely blow people away Charlotte has no idea what they're about to see neither will anybody else and I'm glad we don't know and if I'm him I don't say a word and you'll see who starts when that guy trots out there in the first series and that's the only time you're going to see it now maybe there's some rule that you have to like name a starter like an hour before I don't know um I'm not that tied into it but God if I could keep it quiet I'd keep it quiet until you have to do it so I love it guys I have one last question before and if anybody else has any final thoughts we can get to those as well but I'm curious is there a player on this roster um that maybe hasn't gotten talked about um maybe has been well publicized that at least for you you're looking forward to to Really dialing in and seeing what they do or is there a player that you've seen on this depth chart that you're like man I can't wait for fans to get a glimpse of uh of who this player is because remember we're we're now getting a lot more viewers who maybe aren't as dialed in as the four of us or some of the die hards who who may not be as familiar with this roster maybe hasn't listen to every interview that that Dave riger and so many others have put out uh that may be introduced to this rer for the first time this week when they say all right now I'm turning on my football season mindset uh turning off my summer vacation mindset U maybe good to you Michael is there a player or two that you're thinking about man I can't wait to see them on Saturday and and see uh how they perform based off you know there's a lot of hype and a lot of excitement but what you're actually looking forward to seeing on Saturday yeah I mean the the one player that comes to mind is Kyrie mans from Colorado um you know he was he came in as a linebacker I think they finally switched him over to defensive line um you know when you look at his like resume he started his career at Maine I think he played for Coach Harris simc um played under a former DC's position and then got converted to like an outside linebacker at Colorado last year but when you look at his stats what he did in the CAA he was a quarterback teror right he was up and down the field I think he he had 20 plus tackles for loss he was a first team CAA player um I I'm excited to see how we utiliz his skill set I think last year he was asked to do a lot of coverage play a lot of special teams um play in space and we seen I think we did a little bit of that with Jaylen green at the start of his career when he was kind of going back and forth between linebacker and dline I'm curious like what we do with a with a talent like that surrounded by Eric O'Neal Summerall you mentioned Fitzgerald um you got some younger guys too I think were going to step up on the defensive line um I think it's like Plug and Play of that position just tell him to go get the quarterback Taylor um for me and this goes back to the spring game and you know he's a true freshman so I don't know where what his role in this year's team will be but KJ Flo and um you know he uh I'll speak first of all on the personal side you know he was kind of standing off to the side when people are were uh were running up and signing autographs and everything and you know my son was just looking for someone to sign his poster and KJ took the time to like you know ask him some questions and kind of be engaged with them and for for a guy that is a was a true freshman you know he wasn't third or fourth year player that's kind of matured into the role of what it means to interact with fans so I really appreciated that engagement with my son and I know um I'm gonna be pointing him out to my son on game days and just letting him know that's the guy that was his first ever autograph of any kind so that'll always be a special one but also you know keeping his commitment to JMU I think he had 23 uh offers coming out of high school I mean and there were plenty P5 schools that were after him and just so he's just been a guy he he's one of those guys that I've noticed some of the little things whether it be uh you know people that have mentioned him in passing through practice or some of his interactions online you know he he just seems to be that kind of guy that represents the jam brand well and I'm excited to to see what his role uh not just with this year's team is but the program in general Steve yeah um I want to make sure we mentioned one more linebacker we left out Raymond Scott um I don't want him to get mad that we didn't mention him and if there's anybody else we missed we apologize but want to make sure we also highlighted Raymond um because he's one of those he's the fifth guy that's in that linebacker crew and there might be one more so forgive me if I if I missed it um who I'm looking forward to watching the most is Emanuel Bush um I think bush is taking a huge step and if you watched him last year and he shouldn't get mad at me for saying it but and if he does I'll just run I can probably run faster for about 50 yards and then he'll catch me so I don't know how fast I can run um I think he would say he was I think he was underutilized last year um I think it was tougher to break into that group and at the end of the day I think he has had an unbelievable spring he's had a great winter in terms of lifting a great spring and a great summer and a great fall and just watching him mature and watching him lead the way he's been leading um I think he you know and and chunky butt as you if you listen to riger you'll you'll figure out who that is um I think those guys are going to Anchor um in that defensive tackle nose guard position and that's going to let those defensive just Feast same thing with the linebackers the the runner up for that is is torus Jones um we already mentioned him um TJ's back and to have TJ and Trent and the rest of those guys anchoring but you know watching TJ go um he's an unbelievable talent and the fact that he got hurt last year and not let Trent and let you know Aiden step up that was that was great but this is this year and I put those two guys together um I think we're looking at some Elite stuff out of this defense absolutely Elite my two are going to be Max moss on offense I I'm just really intrigued to see how he's used and then Christopher feraldingo State um and just the role a good competition too like what do you get it's impressive and and his personality and just it there's a lot to like there and and I'm just really excited about the play of this defensive line it was a group going into the offseason when we saw the transfers you didn't know what we were going to have uh but if there's been a group that's been rebuilt in a in a big way that could really be the the key to the success of this program it's that defensive line group and then maybe outside that the secondary I I there's a lot of really good pieces in the secondary group that uh I'm excited to see how this defensive staff puts together because there there's a lot to like there again in a position group where there were a lot of question marks um going into Spring ball and and I think I'm excited to see how that plays out um guys before wrap up just kind of any final thoughts we'll go around the horn as we always do um before we get ready to to make the Trek down the Charlotte um I'll start with you uh Taylor your final thoughts for tonight I got three shoutouts to make first I'm really excited volleyball came on early um and miet veldman she said she was from Daleville Virginia just want to remind everyone dville Virginia is in batat B and um she is uh I think as as a preseason All Conference player for a team that's projected to win uh the Eastern Division I I think she has the title of of Duchess of batat until someone else comes along and so I I deem her with that um also on the on the line of batat is uh met two mrd alumni in batat this weekend one at the farmers market and one at a buddy's house last night we went to watch football um Arie Atkins 89 grad uh drum major uh he was walking around in the Farmers Market with a very bright purple JMU alumni shirt and a very bright JMU hat and I just walked up I said I got to meet this guy so met him and and then Marcus Phelps uh who was uh believe a 2010 grad he knew our our buddies trip Hughes and uh Zack Hy so we knew he was in good company or as good as that company you know that reputation can be I'm just kidding I love those guys um but the last thing I'll leave with for anyone that picked up you know I was I have my uh while I was eating my dukes last night you know I was looking at some of the uh the preseason magazines I I caught this quote um from an opposing Anonymous opposing Sun Belt assistant coach and there's an entire paragraph I might post it online later but I'll just read the first sentence it says expect a pretty significant step back from these guys while they retool under Bob chzn so put that on a bulletin board I don't know who that opposing coach was I'm going to guess it may have been someone down at Coastal with their teal field and their hurt feelings after two 40o losses backtack years but uh it could be anybody but I would love for coaches around the Sun Belt to continue to have that mindset for the Dukes this year Michael I was going to go back to what Taylor's Point around like the FBS schedule like every week just means a little bit more and and not because FBS but the type of programs are playing right we we can look forward to Marshall we can look forward to avenging our loss in 2022 against Georgia Southern we can look forward to going down the road to to Old Dominion um and now we're in the the year three now it's becoming a norm it's it's a really cool feeling and like I think it's energized the fan base to not just have that mindset of like waiting until North Dakota state to really rock out like we're engaged like week in and week out and you could really feel it I feel like the CH all the chats that we have and all the different conversations like um we're here boys like it's been a long off season I remember and John shout out to you I remember just getting random calls from you and we were hiring coach chesy of like what's gonna happen and then TW like phones were just blowing up like oh my goodness are we going to are we going to make it out of this like is the sky falling what's going to happen and now we're there's there's going to be a game in five days six days so um really cool ride guys and like I'm really excited to have us I think three out of four of us will be down in Charlotte I think so I'm really excited to have that show um Saturday morning yeah Steve every team listen to me you got to walk that aisle for every every game we play and that stomach churning you have 49ers that's not going to stop you might be able to get it to go away about four o'clock in the afternoon when you have your pregame meal it's going to hit you at about seven o'clock that you're playing us the rest of you on the schedule you'll hear from me I'm not going to get too much into the wrestling thing thing for the 49ers but I can tell you that pit in your stomach that'll go away about 11:30 when you're licking your wounds and this team rolls you and we're going to absolutely roll your ass on Saturday night the 31st get ready for purple and gold if you don't like the streamers I don't give a because we're gonna keep throwing them so just get ready we're coming Steve's back each and every week Steve Steve Steve the fans loving it uh my last final thought is uh it's a marathon it's not a Sprint um and and I say that whether we win a 100 to nothing on Saturday or or it doesn't go our way is if you think back to last season how many moments in that season uh if the storm doesn't hit UVA what happens if uh you know a moment in a game you know a bounce here or a bounce there you could have a very different outcome uh my messages to fans is be measured uh in your reactions either way because again uh this schedule is a gauntlet and the reason we like this schedule is because we're not playing cupcakes every week we're playing programs with tradition with a lot of good players on the field with a lot of investment in their programs uh and the best way we can help us get to where where we all want to get to which is another bowl game maybe a playoff appearance who knows uh is to support this program support it with your investment support it with your attendance uh support it with your your fellow alumni and Friends by making these games an event I it's we talk a lot about the the 60 Minutes of what happens on a football field but there's so much more to it fire up your group chats um make sure you're you're wearing purple you're flying your flags outside your house get a new flag from your pur.com put it on your outside your house um that's what makes college football special is everything that happens around it uh and it's better even if you can't make a trip down the a game as we try to say a lot in this program find at least one other Duke to watch it with uh in your hometown meet a new friend if you're somebody who's moved a little bit further away from Harrisonburg or Virginia chances are there's another JMU grad in your town uh that if you post on Facebook or post on Twitter you'll probably be able to find them uh and you can start your own viewing part in your own alumni chapter um so lots of great things so again some accounts to follow follow the the alumni Association accounts follow the DU Club follow jmusports.com if you're following this program you obviously know uh about those but there are many many people out there putting out great content that goes for the other podcasts in the JMU Nation um really want to set the tone this year of positivity towards the other podcast in the universe JMU sports news JMU sports blog Dave rigert uh as well as Jacob dobs putting out a new program I have a feeling there's going to be uh new ones that are going to pop up throughout the year lots of places to get your JMU content uh and it what that is a sign of a healthy program it's a sign of an Engaged uh and fan base and an Engaged kind of group of supporters who really want this program to continue to go uh to new levels but don't just limit yourself to supporting football support basketball support the volleyballs get out to uh some fall ball games for softball and baseball if you can get out uh to support some of the other programs on campus you're going to be better for it and you're going to see just how much of an impact you can make uh and how much these athletes really appreciate it uh so to our listeners as always thank you for joining us on this journey um come up and say hello to us uh throughout the season if we're doing one of the live shows at a tailgate um stop by we'll put you on we'll give you a headset we'll give you a microphone uh and we'll let you be part of the conversation because as always that's why we do this uh and we're really excited uh for this journey to be on it with all of you uh again as always bomir Collective let's sell out the remaining bottles of Champions Drive champions.com um support our friends from Skyline Financial Partners they're going to be coming on each and every week with us to announce the player of the week you're not gonna want to miss that segment because they've got something really cool a surprise uh that's going to be heading to our first broadcast after a post game uh next week uh and then as always uh where's Woody stay tuned for the new merchandise from them Talon corpse your purple Nation get geared up this week uh and show our Enterprises and as always to the gentleman on this program uh excited to watch this uh season with you all it's been fun uh through two seasons and I know we're going to have another season of great um content coming from this progr program as always and with that to the fans we'll see you down in Charlotte uh for our broadcast Saturday at noon we're going to do a little pregame primer uh from down in Charlotte North Carolina we'll be there and excited and as always God Dukes looking forward to another big season of JMU Athletics God Dukes we will see you guys soon [Music]