PSJ: Houston Cougars football 2024 preview & breaking down UNLV matchup with Jack Freeman IV!

hello welcome to the season debut another year of pod slam Jama we are here on the Monday before week one for the University of Houston Cougars football team just days away from kicking off the wiie fritz era and the 2024 season when your cougars take take on the unlb rebels we have a lot of surprises in store for you guys stay with us because we can't wait for the other side of this intro when we get to a new era in part time Jama as [Music] well got high standards high goals and you know we know what it takes to get there I want to be unguarded if I'm honest coaches coach players play you know and this a great place to be in your life we can care less what other people say [Music] so joining me as always day on Dunlap and we have a new face joining us here on this episode of pod Slama Jama Jack Freeman former captain of the University of Houston Cougars football team joining us for this episode and we have we are excited hopefully this is a start of a partnership that continues to grow but Jack how are you doing Dan how are y'all doing doing well man glad to have Jack joining us man I'm excited excited especially excited to get his expertise his knowledge of The Game and his perspective being a football player offensive lineman Jack how about you man how you feeling today man all I'm gonna say is go cou I'm excited for the season coach Willie Fritz in the building now super excited uh for him to take over the team whole new it's going to be a whole new uh Team coming up this year but I think we got some big things coming for us so I'm I'm really excited thanks for having me yes sir a whole new Dynamic uh just want to take the the minute on air to thank you personally Jack for taking the time out of your day to to join us and like I mentioned we have plans for this to be a weekly appearance here on pod Slama Jama we want to bring back the Pod Slama Jama podcast to kind of uh we kind of you it fell a little bit last season just in terms of uh our personaliz but we're trying to bring it back full strength and obviously we'll still be doing our let ra cougs postgame shows after each and every single football and men's basketball game so be sure to catch us Saturday after Houston UNLV for everything we'll be reacting to everything that happens between the Cougars and the rebels and we have a a little extra surprise for that as well so hopefully uh we'll launch that come Saturday but let's get into today's episode of P Slama it's all about obviously previewing not only the 2024 Houston Cougar season but specifically also looking ahead at their week one matchup against un LV and we got Jack on the show so of course we got to start not only with the offense but we got to look at that offensive line obviously a lot of new faces yep when it comes to that very very important group uh let's start there obviously they were mad they were mad they were head by coach Iman Nagy last season can you talk a little bit about what it was playing for coach nagan and what are you looking for when it comes to this offensive line because like we touched on it's a lot of new faces yeah so I mean coach nagavi awesome dude love him uh you know he came in there last spring andh after he got there we he ended up dropping like flies and a lot of us you know stuck together the ogs uh about Patrick Paul myself and Ruben un tank Jenkins who's still there Demetrius a bunch of us stuck you know stuck it out a lot of stuff was going on but uh being able to learn for coach nagavi was you know it was really awesome and you know he's just he's got a family uh close to Houston and you know he was having to travel down from T Lane to come see them so obviously he wanted to be close to home and it worked out perfect uh you know he's a houstonian so uh you know coach nagab he's he's such a great dude off the field but you know the things that he was able to teach me on the field was just incredible you know he just is such a technically sound coach and I would be in the the film room I would go up to his office watch film with him and Coach Beach coach Shane creamer at the time uh you know they they taught us a lot and they just it sucks that I wasn't able to get to stay with them for too long I was only with them for about I think eight or so months but you know he he taught me a lot I got to I get to see him occasionally every now and then whenever I go back down to Houston and you know he he loves his guys he loves coaching o line he knows ball he knows a lot about defensive fronts He he'll prepare you uh you know he he loves his job and that's what you want from a coach he loves his job he loves his family he loves his kids he loves us he treats us like kids his own kids and I mean even last year he had us uh go to one of his buddy cookouts at their house got to hang out at the pool got to go fishing whatever we got wanted to do and I mean's he's just a great dude I love coach agabi and one of the thing that I I'm hearing a lot and it kind of like you just mentioned was the family aspect and outside of football you just mentioned that I think coach Fritz really relays that message especially neavei coming from his former staff probably like now doing that even more but you mention tank Jenkins he's one of familiar faces that's still on this team still in the trenches have you heard from him what's uh if you heard from him what is he saying about the new regime and what's your expectations just from afar or um just from your conversations from with him or other coaches on the offensive line this year and what they're looking to form in jail yeah I mean as we all know it's going to be a whole different offensive line tank is the only starter that came from last year Demetrius Hunter uh started a game last year and you know tank he's a vet man he he's a seventh year guy and I mean I got to play with him for the past three years tank is a ball player you know he is a ball player he's a dog he is got the strength he's got the the tools the in his in his toolbox he's got the fundamentals all you can ask for in an offensive lineman and I mean he's one of the guys that you want to follow and I mean it is going to be a different you know it's gonna be it's going to be a big difference this year uh who knows what's going to happen but I know that those guys all wanted to R up around tank you know you got like pton dun uh Jake Wy uh Jonah you know you got a bunch of new guys but I know that I've been down there those guys love each other they work together well they love Co being coached under coach nagavi and you know I know tank this is one of the things that I love about tank first of all I don't know if y'all know but he always says can't lie and he told us in our group chat uh he was like can't lie guys you know I had a bad day it was on his birthday and not trying to call him out but it's just part of the game and I told him I was like hey bro you got to charge it to the game charge it to the game look forward look past this because he said he was like man I had a bad practice today and you know what as an old lineman you're going to have bad practices you're going to you're going to have bad practices whatever position you are and all it is is just going back in the film room with your guys and looking at what y'all did wrong because if four out of the Five Guys do do do right and one of the guys does wrong you're you know the whole play can be messed up you need five out of five and you know I'm super excited for tank I love that guy one of my lifelong friends for sure to piggy back on that before you hop in Andy how big is chemistry for the o line you hear that that word a lot primarily not only with skill positions but with the offensive linemen as well how how from your perspective how big is chemistry in building chemistry man something my coach used to always tell us you know you got five fingers on your hand you need all five in order for you know it to function for whatever you want to do right and in order for chemistry to happen on the field you got to do stuff off the field I mean day in and day out we're doing we're lifting weights we're in the training room we're in the weight or we're in the locker room we're on the field you know you got to you got to be able to do stuff off the field though whether that's hanging out outside of uh the facility going to the pool together uh just I don't know going to grab a bite to eat together building that chemistry is really important it's something that an offensive line has to have because you know like you got receivers receiver you can catch the ball by yourself but just like I said a second ago if four of the four out of the five o linemen do their job and that one is the one lacking that's whenever you know that you got that chemistry in order to get on to your brother and be like hey bro pick it up we need you we need you so that way you know you got that five out of the five on the front and I mean it's so it's super important as an offensive group it really is Jack one of the other players you just touched on a while ago is Demetrius Hunter obviously everyone when it comes to uh knows him as pancake but he's one of those players that again from the outside looking in heading into the season he's one of the faces that potentially is going to have a lot more responsibility on his plate can you talk a little bit about what you saw from him last year just in terms of how he approached practice and I mean what do you expect to see him from him this upcoming 2024 season yeah I mean Demetrius ever since he got there he's been a dog he's been known as a dog that's why he got the name pancake coming in I mean he's just known to go dog somebody that's that's just how he is who he is he got that grit just that resiliency I mean I I love Demetrius I love seeing him you know be able to have this opportunity for him and I told him I was like dude you're going to be one heck of a player whenever you know your shot whenever your time comes and you you got that shot go take advantage of it and you know what I did I saw him take every every time he had that opportunity he took advantage of it Kansas State you know obviously last year not a great look for us but looking past that we're looking on to Demetrius Demetrius got playing time that day what does he do first play he goes and absolutely dogs this guy I'm talking about putting him on his back I was like mouth wide open and then Oklahoma State comes you know dude I I had a concussion couldn't play and I'm just looking at I'm like dude Demetrius you're you're going to freaking be a ball player and that was always known it always was him coming in and uh dude's absolutely insanely strong and you know I go back down there every once in a while Demetrius is filled out tremendously he really has he's taken the ship of being the center and playing that Center role and leading that offensive line because as a center that's what you need you need a guy that you can look up to can look beside and know that he's going to do his thing and that's I mean any anybody that I've been talking to that's all I've been hearing is like how's the O line how's Demetrius doing I asked him every time Demetrius is doing actually phenomenal that's what I've been hearing all the feedback great and I'm not I'm not surprised whatsoever I'm excited for Demetrius I really am another familiar face is the quarterback Donovan Smith is coming back his second year with a program what was it like teaming up with him building a relationship with him blocking for him and what's your expectations in his second season at uh look Donnie is one of my best friends and it's kind of funny because at first when he got there I didn't like him and he knows that and I didn't talk to him for about a month and a half if I'm being honest and you know one day we just hung out and I was like you know what I did kind of judge a book by its cover I love Donovan he knows that it's just going to be an ongoing thing for the rest of our lives he's one of my best friends will probably be in my wedding one day um Donovan is a one heck of a quarterback though he takes on that leadership role like nobody else uh guys just naturally surround themselves around Donovan he's got that just I mean just like what I was saying with Demetrius Donovan is very resilient he was playing with a torn labram last year and was still making plays still making throws I mean he didn't care he was just playing ball because that's what he that's what he was born to do he bleeds he bleeds football and I just I wish I would have gten to play longer with Donovan I think you know even though he's younger than me I look out to Donovan a lot literally and figuratively um you know he's he's G to be one of those guys I think that's uh for sure going to have a a shot at at you know going to play at the the next level I definitely see him you know in the NFL kind of building off of that obviously one of the key positions are uh when you think about o line it kind of they go hand in hand when it comes to the success of the Run game and obviously when it comes to this group for the University of Houston Cougars there's a lot of faces on the running backs group and I mean they did suffer a few injuries during training camp but obviously the big name that stands out right off the top of the list is Parker Jenkins can you talk a little bit about Parker and just his impact on the field and just how important in in general focus on on Parker first and then I have a followup after that what have you seen from Parker as a freshman last year and where he can improve on this year heading into year two I think Parker is a great running back I really do I think that he's GNA take on that role even though he's a young kid um I mean he played like he was a senior last year and you know it sucks we we lost my guy Tony mattisse uh he he hurt his knee um and that that running back room I mean I was looking at the spring game and just spring practices and I was like dude our running back room is insane like it's the best it's been and forever and I think Parker has a huge role from that you know like last year uh Parker I can't remember which game he finally got to play in but I know that he uh was it Sam H yeah Sam Houston Sam HST he broke yeah he broke record yeah was that the was a record right and after that I mean like you knew from you knew from that alone that he was going to be something special I think that Parker knows this uh because you know me and him would get into it last year but that's just because he's younger I'm older I think this way he thinks that way and that's fine you know like Parker's Parker and I'm glad that he hasn't changed for anybody I just know that he is going to be something very special for the University of Houston to be able to watch for the next few years and I think that it's awesome that you got to have that experience as a freshman against you know really good team and Parker you know I'm excited to watch him this year I think he's going to put up a lot of great you know film and I think he's going to put up a lot of yards and a lot of touchdowns yeah that game real quickly down on that game against Sam Houston really his first breakthrough performance at when it came to an actual on the field game he rushed for 105 yards three touchdowns and I think there were there were some burst from every now and then in the first three games heading into it especially against TCU but like you said that game right there is kind of where he kind of took that breast ring and and for to not go with a run pun but he literally ran once he got that ring um and I mean we're excited to see what he does as a sophomore one of the other names in that running backs group and like you mentioned Jack that there really are a lot of names top to bottom in this position group which I mean that I think that's one of the I don't even know if you could call it underrated but if you were going to pick one position group on offense that's a little bit underrated I would say it's the running back's group cuz we've heard a lot of noise out of a training camp and even going back to the spring from ran Sanford as well who's also been uh making a lot of play over training camp that's that's the name that I've had multiple people say like hey he's someone that that's going to make a lot of plays this season uh you know my boy Ray Ray I love that dude he is some I Parker is something special but him and Parker are just two different backs and I I mean last year during fall Camp I was like I was so excited to see these two I knew that they were going to both play as a freshman it's unfortunate that you know he RayRay actually got hurt last year right before the season was going to start and it's just one of those things that's part of football but Ray Ray I've heard left and right that he is gonna go crazy you know he's he's Shifty he's he's fast he's explosive and he's actually very surprisingly strong and I love that kid man he he is just he just he he will put a smile on your face if you're having a bad day I know this has nothing to do with football but just the kind of guy he is just his character his Charisma that he has his personality you know he doesn't talk a lot too much but you know if you're just around him he's just somebody just that you just he's just a joy light and I'm I'm so excited that he could he gets you know this chance to finally go prove that he is something special as well and be a long Parker to do it both do it you know maybe have a little Duo who knows when the over classman is in that group is Stacy sne I mean explosive um Shifty he he's a different back than those two what does he bring um to The Back Field and to the offense let me just tell you Stacy is one of a kind and I love Stacy he was my locker buddy you know always super positive uh you know just always brought it to the table every practice he didn't care you know what was going on Stacy was always Mo like motivational anytime you see him make a play because he was always making plays whether that's making somebody fall or putting somebody on their back Stacy was always making plays and he showed that last year he's explosive and he West Virginia he's one of the reasons why we even had a chance uh bringing that that uh kickoff return back to Midfield and I mean that just shows you but Stacy I think is going to have a few returns this year I can see that if he is the starting returner I'm not sure but I know that regarding the the running back field or running back aspect of it I know that Stacy is gonna have a lot of touchdowns too and I mean it just like I said it sucks that my boy Tony that happened to him I was really excited for you know his senior season um but I know he is in good spirits he's going to be supporting his guys uh you know Stacy Parker Ray Ray and I know that they're they're going to be a special group this year just like you said I think they're going to be a very underrated group and I think that they're all going to push each other to be better be better real quickly for what it's worth uh U ofh football U I guess they released their unofficial death chart U heading into week one and when it comes to those return uh specialist they actually have Brian Macy listed as number one in the kick return specialist and Muse as the punt return specialist and when you look at that running backs group no surprise based on just hearing you talk uh Parker Jenkins listed number one on the unofficial death chart RHA Sanford right below him at number two so and exciting they could potentially be a dynamic duel like you mentioned and and hopefully that's that's good a lot of good success for Houston when it comes to the running game and obviously it helps out the entire offense it certainly uh gives a lot more versatility um kind of to wrap things up when it comes to the offense but uh Jack what are you going to be looking for when it comes to uh the offense this Saturday when they take on you and LV man I just I want you know my positions offensive line I'm going to be paying attention to those guys I'm just really excited to watch them you know it's a whole new group and I'm I'm excited to see how they're going to perform David and duay first start at left tackle um I'm not sure who the right tackle is do you know by chance who the starting right tackle currently on the on the dep chart they have Jake Wy listed as number one okay Jake T I'm excited to watch you know um I real quickly let me just go down the list like you mentioned David left tackle Payton Dunn at left guard Demetrius Hunter pancake at Center tank Jenkins Right Guard and Jake Wy at right tackle that was the The Unofficial depth chart they released on Monday so yeah I mean I know Jake has experience he got to play at Colorado UCLA he has a lot of game experience it's his last year so I mean why not go put everything you have out there for you know a university that's willing to put it all out there for it Houston is awesome to play for you know just I I mean I always said there's a reason Reon why there's the word Us in Houston because it all it's about us it's about the whole city of Houston if you see you know this the football team at Houston the whole the whole City's just going to naturally gravitate towards it and that's what you want I mean having a chip on your shoulder uh coming in an I45 it says be someone that's what you want to do you want to be someone special in Houston and you know that's why guys naturally want to go to University of Houston to go play football there I'm excited for tank that's my dog been playing with him for the last three years and I'm you know it sucks that I don't get to do it this year but you know it's part of the game Demetrius I'm super excited for him he's he's GNA be the younger guy but you know he's gonna have to act like the older guy and I know that's what he does that's what he is just naturally in him uh pton Dunn one of my best friends uh you know this is going to be one of his first starts I think in two one one and a half year something like that he transferred from ULM came over and you know got to learn under you know coach nagavi there and you know I'm I'm super excited for pton he's a really big dude takes up a lot of space strong smart and can move really well for his size then David and duway at left tackle it's going to be a big role to to fill I mean that's that's huge shoes to F from Patrick Paul man All-American one of my best friends gonna be in my my wedding one day uh I mean David I know that he has everything to be a great left tackle everything it's just going to be all up here and you know I think that's going to be have to be his biggest Focus point and he knows that because I've had personal one-on-one talks with him and David can be a really good left tackle for the University of Houston for the upcoming years so I think that you know Donovan GNA take care of everything you know he always has he always will he's going to be the the You Know Field General I guess but he's also a dual threat because the Dude can run Joseph manjack uh going to have to take care of that leadership role for the wide receiver group whole new group there and then tight ends we got Matt Burns coming back a couple transfers from a few schools um but it's going to be a whole different Dynamic just like we talked about but I think the offense is going to be a very explosive offense coach Fritz knows everything about football he knows what he's doing got a great staff and you know the offensive coordinator I know that he's something special too so I'm excited for uh I really am down what are you going to be looking for uh when it comes to the offense specifically come Saturday um I I think they're switching play sty from more of a multiple Pro style type of um offense so really going to be looking to establish what they want to do I know as game one and as the season goes on they'll be able to establish with this team what their strengths are but I I want to see what I think they're going to run the often and it's going to be probably under Center or pistol whatever the formation would be but I want to see like Jack I'm be looking up front everything starts up front if you can't win the line of scrimmage you can't run the ball you can't protect the pass you can't throw the ball so what is they looking like up front especially against the ulv team that I I feel like they could and should um be able to handle their own and then The Playmakers I think Boogie Johnson is going to step up big I think he's Electric in the open field manjack is going to be manjack steady sure hands reliable and I I think um overall I just want to see the scheme and how they play the game and and how technical because everything I'm hearing from coach frz is technique um discipline and playing the right way and yeah to kind of piggy piggy back off of both of you guys I'm excited to see specifically the tight ends group uh we had Ryan on a couple Ryan of goo.com whenever we did our our video after U ofh HED Eddie newas for ad and and he talked about how tight end have really been they've been more involved in the offense as what he said throughout training camp and obviously U getting to talk to to jayen Jayden York in particular um when it came to the the media day kind of that the U ofh had uh right before they started their training camp and obviously we've heard a lot out of Malik car as well heading into well heading into spring practice and throughout the summer it'll be interesting to see how they use them more specifically when it comes to the passing game that's something that Ryan was really high on whenever he spoke with us a couple of weeks ago so again if it adds that extra versatile layer to the offense something that um is just going to make Houston going back to your point Jack is going to I think that they not to sound like homers but I think that they have the potential to be an explosive offense which we know is key here when it comes to the Big 12 uh because last year there were a lot of teams that put up lot of points and you got to be able to match them yeah with that being said we're going to take a pause here on segment one and we're going to look ahead at the defense on the other side of things but real quickly like to remind everybody to check out let's rage cougs the postgame show on both the Houston rball review and here on the polama JAMA YouTube channel minutes after the conclusion of each Houston Cougars football and men's basketball game we aim to do it 10 minutes after uh the clock hits triple zeros uh we certainly aim to do it within 10 that 15minute window and of course while you're here be sure to hit the Subscribe button to the Pod Slama jamama YouTube channel it's your One-Stop shop for all things Houston Cougar's football men's basketball and women's basketball as well and while you're at it be sure to follow us on Tik Tok at letre Cs and on Twitter I guess it's called x.com now pod Slama Jama which is also different platforms where our shows are available um to to digest and with that being said we'll toss it back to the panel and we're going to CH transition from the offense to the defense there are numerous names to watch along the defense as well I I think it's in you know what before we even get into names in specific I still have a question for Jack and training camp is Long training camp is in Houston and I you know they try to mitigate it as much by practicing in the morning when it came to this year but what are those battles like in training camp when it comes to the offensive line and defensive line and like well let's just start there what are those battles like throughout training camp I mean you're going against the same guy every day so you want it's just like Spring ball except you know there's that's all you're doing is football and and it just it gets so monotonous it really it gets so repetitive you're going against the same dude lining up right in front of you for it feels like forever and you know just Houston heat it just makes it even worse so it's like you know the 12th man essentially and I mean but that's what it is I mean that's what makes that that's what makes that chemistry happen that's what makes you want to see whenever the season comes oh that's what makes you want to go see that guy like last year chido and then now this year we got AJ NAD Dame I think to Carr is that his name um a few new guys but I'll just use AJ for instance going up going up against him day in and day out and next thing you know he goes and plays hypothetical let's just go say he goes and plays UNLV I don't know why I mean I don't know if they're going to play him or anything but then you know you see him go get that sack after I've been going at at it against each other like left and right for for the four hours that you're out there and it just it's something that you just hold pride in it's just like I was able to block that guy and get him better he he was able to get past me he got me better he made me know what I need to do versus what you know not do and me showing him different things was able to help him get to the quarterback so it's just one of those things that uh you know having those battles yeah it gets annoying gets monotonous you there's fights all the time and you know for the most part people don't really know that but I would assume that they would know that um but it just makes each other better that's all it is it's just making each other better and loving seeing your guys making plays against other teams yeah and it's only logical having to be outside in the Houston heat I think it just just just being in that heat by itself gets you cranking and on top of it that you guys are literally fighting for hours on that heat it just adds Feud to fire so no surprises there but when when we talk about the defense in particular I think one of the positions that heading into where it was last season you have a lot of uh faces but we got to start in the secondary and when it comes to uh this defense and uh looking at The Unofficial dep chart again as of Monday I guess I'll just go top to to bottom where it's listed but and actually I'll share this um on the screen so we can all see it together but I think there's interesting um what's listed again we going to start all the way from the top at at end and go all the way down to cornerback but when it comes to uh the the defensive ends Keith Cooper listed number one then it goes down to car Carl Carlos Allen Anthony Holmes Brandon Mack um kendre Gant Michael baton baton Jawan Gaston a Johnny Carter Kendra Webb AJ Hy and Latrell Hutchinson as well and like I mentioned if there's one group in particular I don't know if hype's the right word but when it comes to the defensive backs I think there's a lot of expectations early um when it comes to that specific group on the defense but I think there's a lot of names up front in the on the trench at the defensive line that they might make a lot of plays and and not to sound like a broken record but I think that might be another underrated skills group just because there is kind of similar to the offensive line there's there's some new faces that weren't necessarily as prominent in last season let's start with um with AJ Hy I mean watching him play he's everywhere all over the field I know his one game he Le had over 15 tackles Houston kid what does he bring to the team as a human as a leader then as a football player I mean AJ he's just like you said he's all over the field he's one of those guys that is the you know he's the guy and strong athletic fast I mean he has every single aspect that you want at that position specifically leadership and I'm pretty sure he was he's even a younger guy I mean he just I even I didn't realize this because he acts so mature he's such a mature guy for his age and you know we brought him over from uh I don't I can't remember where he came from um I know that he was like an All-American for as a freshman set some records there uh and I was newx New Mexico yeah that's what that's what I thought um yeah so it came from a smaller school has that gritty just you know chip on his shoulder that he's going to come to a bigger school and he's going to prove to everybody else who he is and he is who he says he is he is a ball player he's a ball Hawk and I mean he's Mr gim me that that's his nick name because he goes out and he's gonna make that play you I trust him I trust him whenever I'm on the sideline and defense is on the field I had all the trust in the world for AJ I just I know that he's going to be an insane player for for this defense uh even Latrell I'm I'm super excited to watch him at corner Dan who are you most excited to to see when it comes to the defense U I'm excited to see AJ but I'm also excited to see Latrell McCutchen uh transfer from USC coach fckz really raved when he talked about him and said he has a potential to play on Sundays long Corner as for um his length 61 so I'm excited to see him but also I want to see Brandon Mack transferred from Old Miss got hurt last year um I love to hear from you jack on what you saw from him in a limited time and when you guys were able to practice but just kind of just from afar looking at him seeing he came from the SEC I think he had the potential to kind of keep that Legacy of of defensive linan of Houston I'm going yeah bmac he's legit man he's I know he's GNA pair up with you know him and the Dame Tucker they were both on the edge last year it was very unfortunate that he got hurt so early in the season and I mean I know that he was going to be a huge Ro he was going to play a huge role last year for us and it was UN just like I said it was unfortunate that that he had gotten hurt so you know early in the season but you know he's he's one of those veteran guys and he's going to be one of those guys that you want to follow he's he he's a playmaker he's strong he's athletic he's got many moves in his toolbox uh from The Edge and I know that bmac he's he's one of those you know guys that you really don't want to face on the outside as a tackle I heard that he had a really good camp both spring and fall camp and you know just making plays left and right and I think that he's going to be a you know problem this year I think you're gonna have to plan your game around him type of guy and you know I'm so I'm excited that he gets uh he gets to play his last year at the University of Houston question for you Jack and then then just um honestly out of curiosity and kind of connects with the defense but you playing offensive line what were the things that opposing D linemen did that really either gave you problems or maybe just annoyed the hell out of you that that really you know was was just disruptive what the defensive lineman do that gave you in particular just the offensive line in general fits uh I would say it was it wasn't I would say more so just the three down fronts were probably biggest flaw like whenever I I was uh exposed the most I just you know I was a little bit undersized from weight and I just if I had a really strong D tackle in front of me and I know that this will haunt me for the rest of my life but like Dante corleon D tackle from uh Cincinnati he's just got that brute strength and Chad dozi did a great job M mimicking him every week I mean he was yeah he was a great nose and I'm you know I'm I I'm I'm always uh kind of regretful that I took advantage of that in a way um and then whenever it was game time they were we were playing that three down front and I just I ended up not performing my best um but I would say you know our our o line we were always pretty solid when it came to communication uh four down fronts were never really an issue for us I think it was more so the odd fronts that gave us trouble odd and bare fronts so five down uh and then like just picking up twists and Blitz that's you know been Kansas State for instance for instance they're a big heavy Blitz team we had to slide a lot of protections uh because they did three down fronts with just blitzing the back or or away from the back and it was just messing with us a lot and there was just they always had one more guy that we couldn't block so I would say from that point of view I mean probably more so the three down fronts and the heavy Blitz teams were probably our biggest you know they they would expose us the most kind of scking up front another oh go ahead no I just I was just going to have a quick followup cuz it it honestly it just pequ my interest but just in terms of what you mentioned would you say that it's more of of like defensive Personnel or defensive scheme or is it I know you know you guys obviously last season transitioning from you know playing in the American to to the Big 12 did it have anything to do just in terms of how the the opposing Defenders were in terms of size or was it just the schemes that they were running no it it didn't have anything to do with the opposing team like size-wise it's just we we just didn't perform the best we didn't we didn't plan the best in my opinion and we could have done we could always done a better job of planning ahead better uh to you know prepare for those blitzes and even whenever it was happening I mean we just couldn't find an answer for it and that was a problem obviously I mean we couldn't put up any points and learning from our mistakes I don't want that to happen this year and I don't think that will happen this year yeah I was just gonna stay up front with really two players that that I want to get you AJ Anthony Holmes Jr I think um based on the uh the dep chart that they put out it's listed as a starter um he's got more experience last year what's your expectation on him and what have you seen from going up against him at practice I mean AJ he's he's one of a kind he really is I hear in one-on ones and I saw it for myself because I would go against him uh not so much during one-on ones because he wasn't he wasn't a nose type guy he was more of the three Tech and speed rusher finesse type guy he is very strong I will say he's still very strong but he's his moves are just he's so he's very quick and as an old lineman if you get caught off guard if you get you know off balance real just one second for a split second he's going inside he's reading off of you and he's very good at it um but I think that AJ he's he's been one of the probably better D linemen since he's gotten there as a freshman and every year he's just developed and gotten even better and I think this year is going to be his breakout year and then um you know I just I just see a bright future for him honestly he would always come up to me and be like hey Jack what do you think I need to do better for this week what do you think I did wrong am did I did I did I feel strong did I feel weak could you tell that I was going this way that way always asking those questions man that's that's super important and you know I think that AJ learned a lot I was able to help him out but he Al he also works a lot on the or off the field by himself him n Dame Tucker BAC you know I knew that I know that those guys specifically I'm probably leaving out of about some Justin Benton even um they would always work out together offside or outside of the facility just in the small little area that the dline no line have in the uh indoor man they were always in there just working against the dummy working small moves working technique and I think that that's helped them become just that D line that everybody has to plan accordingly to that's where this whole sack a came and you know that's whole excitement around the whole dline and AJ is going to be a huge part of that this year I know that he's probably going to have a few sacks and I'm willing to bet that he's probably going to be the sack leader and um it's not going to be surprising one another players I wanted to talk to you about was Jamal Morris I mean it seems as if no matter what player who laced him up with him and got in the trenches they they Rave about the man that he is first and then football his um IQ his attention to detail kind of give us a glimpse of who Jamal Morris is and how is it playing with him Jamal man he me and him we got into it a little bit actually whenever he first transferred there but you know that was my fault and just the whole situation it honestly made us actually really close so I'm thankful that it did even it even did happen and I looked up to Jamal I think that he is one hell of a player I think he he goes left and right sideline to sideline he's going to make that play and he's gonna give everything he got every single play he's just one of those guys and he's you know he's strong he's smart he he's has a lot of experience um Jamal's you know stepped up as a big leader a lot of guys look up to him especially young guys and you know he's just a great person off the field he's a great football player he's G to be a great Captain for them this year and you know he's one of those guys that'll make you want to run through a brick wall for and he's a he's going to be a guy that's going to make a lot of plays last question before we wrap this segment up but Jack I'm curious to get your thoughts for as an offensive lineman how do you watch the defense for how did y'all watch the defense on the sidelines and whenever you're just watching football games in general how do how do you watch the defensive side of the ball um are you talking about in regards to like studying film against the dline or uh yeah you know we could we just in general like what do you look for when you are preparing for um opposing D lineman like when you are studying film what are the keys maybe uh tails what are different things that you're looking for uh every D they have Tendencies and just like last year specifically this the game I remember the most um I don't know if yall can you cut out there for a bit yeah we can you just cut off for a bit you're good okay um so for for the game that comes to mind the most last year is Texas and I only say that because this is just a prime example so every week we'll go I think it's Mondays we have to do uh what's called a um pass Rush sheet and we get in there as a o lineman or as a o line and we all watch film against let's say Texas the previous week had just played OU for instance and then the previous week had played Texas Tech well we watch both of those games and we look at all four of the D linemen that are up front we have a list from probably about I'd say 10 players on there and whether that's Edge Edge rushers or inside rushers uh we mark down what are their Tendencies so what are their Tendencies on Run game what are their Tendencies on pass game so last year for instance Byron Murphy I noticed that whenever he had put one of his hands down it meant that he was going the other way the opposite way t- sweat he would always kind of stand up and then do like this double Cho hand hand SWAT and so like for that you got to prepare you got to like know in your head if it's third and long you're passing the ball he knows that you're passing the ball so you get up you're setting if you're right here you got to know that he's going right here so you gotta quick quickly you know kind of replace your hands and that way you can get like latch on and get right there so that was just one of the things and then um just knowing that maybe they jump off sides so this this week we're going to go on two we're going to do hard count we're going to get them to jump a lot until they stop um knowing that they may take if they got a right right hand down they got their right foot back they take a right foot step first every time or vice versa so it's just one of those things that you look on film and you're able to like kind of know before the game that that's what they do and if you see that in game you're like oh hey tank watch out for this so does that make sense yep Mak sense I think it's very interesting to see how well you hear it all the time it kind of becomes cliche the attention to detail but y'all literally have to study all those different Tendencies and just one one one little thing can can be a big ta for what what's coming it's kind of crazy to think about from outside perspective I I got one question before we move on to the next segment I asked about the chemistry for as far as o linman what about the chemist between o linman and the quarterback how much time do you guys spend with the quarterback off the field after practice and things like that to bend that chemistry with the quarterback uh I would say Donovan you know like so I'll bring it I'll bring it all the way back when Clayton was there um Clayton you know we were going fishing we were going to um the M's barbecue and you know stuff like that and then Donovan comes in he has to earn his earn his spot you know earn his role earn the respect from everybody else so just like I said earlier I didn't talk to him really for like the first month and a half well what did that lead to it led to us hanging out outside the facility because we barely talked in the inside of the facility so we had to do something outside the facility well we had actually you know like a little I guess I guess you could say nil thing with deir and I love demir's for helping us out we got to go there every Thursday before uh before the games and just go hang out there as a as a o line with the running backs and the quarterbacks and that's that's the little stuff that people don't see that doing stuff outside like that and hanging out with with your boys and just kind of just talking about life and not really worried about football so much letting football take care of itself whenever it's time to you know lock in and do that um spending that little time together just outside of facility is really important because like I don't want to I don't want to get Donovan hurt if I got a personal relationship with him it's just like the way I picture it is that's my mom back there I don't want anybody to touch her right type and that's my boy so like Donovan's one of my best friends why would I want to see somebody hurt him because that's their intentions you know and it just makes you want to play that much harder for your guy and you know like looking to your left and your right I had Tyler Johnson and tank to my right and my left I mean we were all so tight man we were hanging out every weekend possible anytime we got to go hang out we're hanging out whether we're going to concerts we're just going to hang out at you know a uh food truck it didn't matter we we always would go to Burger Joint actually and uh go hang out and get some Burgers and Shakes and so I would say that's you know huge but I know that they're all super close with him and I know it's a new group so it's kind of a short period of time to get close with them but I I I go down there every time and man they're all laughing and there's just they're just great people to be around and super excited for for this season and to watch them we'll put a a break on that segment coming up on the third and final segment of this episode of pod Slama jamama we'll give our predictions and look ahead at the matchup between Houston and UNLV we'll also play a couple uh a few minutes of head coach Willie Fritz's press conference on Monday but before we get to that I'd like to remind everybody that's watching the channel That if this is your first time ever on the part time Jama YouTube channel hit be sure to hit the Subscribe button below um that's the easiest way to help to help us out and it takes takes one second go ahead and click it right now of course a reminder for everybody um that might be new or just a friendly reminder to check out our let's rage cougs post game show both here on the Pod slam Jama YouTube channel we figured out it will also be streaming on X formerly known as Twitter and obviously here on the Pod Slama jamama YouTube channel as well we stream minutes after the conclusion of each Houston Cougars football and men's basketball game and of course when it comes to pod Slama Jama in general if you're in interested in being a sponsor on not only Pama going forward or even let rage cougs email us the emails right there let rage cougs gmail.com U the phrase that our obviously one of our co-hosting Chris Gardner as the light rage cougs always says cougs helping cougs if you are interested we'll promote your business just reach out at letr cougs gmail.com with that being said let's get into this final segment and let's look ahead at the match up against UNLV before before we get into specifics let's hear what head coach Willie Fritz had to say on Monday in his press conference expect this you know too deep to be more fluid than maybe some other years or does that not matter how do you we're going to play a lot of guys Saturday you know we've got a lot of competition at multiple positions it's going to be hot I think you're foolish not to play a lot of guys early in the year because of that you know you can do all the you know my strength coach is outstanding Kurt H but he can do all the running he wants to in the summer and we can do all the pracs and it's a little different once you begin playing real games you know and uh sometimes you find out then and and we've increased reps with our guys we used to do we're doing three and out at the beginning of preseason camp and we went to four now five six seven eight got up to eight plays and uh you know we just want to build that stamina up and and uh you know yeah we'll we'll play quite a few guys so it's it's uh it'll be very fluid right now and I'd say by week three we'll we'll pretty much understand our rotation who's the guys who were starting who's the guys who are going to play a lot who the guys going to play a little bit uh who's going to be a kicking game guy play a little bit maybe on offense and defense and uh but uh you know it's something that uh you know we evaluate every day with our guys but playing a real game is a different kind of evaluation Willie coming out of the spring and and camp and monitoring Donovan where's the Comfort level in terms of how you feel going into the season uh in terms of the the shoulder and just kind of the knowledge of he's he's 100% he's great he uh you know we we tried to put him on a little bit of a pitch count and you know he's a competitor he didn't want us to do that so we we you know just treat him like any anybody else the surgery was very successful and uh he's he's doing everything that we're asking of him and and more coach just how excited are you to get this thing going oh I'm very excited I really you know the the you know I I tell our guys most of the players and uh most of the coaches probably work you know 350 days a year you I'm and uh you know for these 12 opportunities and one of them is going to be Saturday 6:05 kickoff so you know you want to take advantage of every single minute of preparation and it's easy for me to say at my age you know doing it but uh we want to make sure that we we understand how important the preparation is leading up to the Ball Game and and uh you know this is why these guys work you know and do things for 350 days a year you know for these 12 opportunities and one of them's going one of them is going to be over about nine 95 on Saturday night so might as well put everything into it you possibly can with being the new coach um and it finally being gameweek can you now wrap up what that whole off season was like for you and oh it just you know it's been really busy I I've one of the things I've tried to do is is go go to any speaking event that anybody at un connected with the University of Houston asked me to go to and I've done quite a few of them over these uh I guess nine months that I've been here I've gotten a meet a lot of people I wish I was a little bit better with faces and names and than I am sometimes seems like I meet about five new people a day I just met a couple at at lunch here a second ago uh but yeah it's been it's been a a whirlwind but you know it's it's how it is when you take over a job this is you know my sixth job that I've I've taken over as a head coach and they're all different and unique uh but you know that first year you know you're just working working working around the clock to you know have as much success as you possibly can so it's it's been a lot of work but it been it's been a labor of love this is what I love to do so didn't really feel like work aren you planning on doing something really different from other team that you play for day one maybe the way you run the field well I got to find all that out Andrew is just talking to me about after the game and coming in here you know I after the locker room we come in here and all that stuff so it'll be new uh we're we're going to come over on Friday as a team and you know really go through how we warm up for a game you know where we go at when we get to the locker room you know where we break into offense defense kicking game when we come in at halftime you know I'm going to talk to my coaches about where they want to position everybody because it is new I got a lot of guys that have been with me in in the past but you know we we're all in a new place now here at the University of Houston so uh you know I try to leave no stone unturn but I'm sure there's G to be something that happens on Saturday that I wouldn't quite ready for hopefully not Willie want to ask you specifically about the secondary and just maybe what you saw from them in Camp uh in terms of the production there yeah I'm excited about our secondary we've got a lot of depth back there in the back end we really got I think five or six guys that can play corner for us you know to what what extent and how much we'll find out Latrell McCutchen he's been chopping at the bit for a year uh he's going to be at a corner uh AJ Carter uh will be another guy that'll be playing corner for us uh Jeremiah Wilson uh Chris Davis uh you know then then the safety positions for us we we have what we call a anchor position and Hershey McLaren and Joan Gaston both guys whove played a bunch of football you know Hershey was a starter last last year West Virginia and then contrell web who who started for us at two lane last year and made the trip over here Houston Tegan wil who started at uh uh East Carolina last year and they had a really good defense AJ Hy who's uh played a ton of snaps for the Cougars and and Noah Guzman as well so we we'll uh you know I feel like we got good depth and we'll play a lot of guys and not only those guys play on defense but a bunch of those guys are going to play you know for us in the kicking game covering punts and kicks and kickoff return Frontline guys and and uh PBR uh you know pump blck return unit uh so those guys will play a bunch for us probably probably eight of them will play quite a bit in the in the secondary Force so once again that was University of Houston head coach Willie Fritz uh the biggest thing that stood out to me about his comments he said at the beginning and then towards the tailing there about won the amount of debt he was talking specifically about the secondary but his plan I guess the coaching staff's plan for the first three weeks get in as many players as possible and try to figure out the rotations from there uh I think that that's what what perked my ears what about y'all what's stood out to you about uh Willie Fritz's comments right there yeah that's one of the comments and I think I like that approach for me it seems as if you allow the players in their play to determine they're playing time and their role on the season on the team on each game but also I think how he talked about how which it seems different from the last regime as far as making himself available building connections the contacts talking to people being personable I think that's one of the huge differences that I'm seeing from afar actually talking to a high school coach in the Houston area he kind of reiterated that the difference between this regime and last regime and how coach is very inviting and making himself available and actually wanting to keep Houston kids or Texas kids for that matter in Texas Jack what say you what's stood out to you um you know just the depth I think is a something that stood out a lot I think that a couple things actually um at the beginning he was talking about how they're going to play a lot of guys uh in the in the first few games the find out their for sure starters by game three I mean the first thought to me was the offensive line I know that they've had a bunch of battles throughout fall camp with that's why I asked who was who was the the starters right now because I mean I don't think anybody knows I mean I know at tackle position they got um definitely some competition there Shamar hob Lee definitely has had uh some reps starting with the ones and then um can't remember who oh Jonah can't remember his last name but um I know that he's had some competition starting at the once so I think that they'll definitely know who the starting five will be by game three also what he said is just actually you know everybody just kind of expects all of us pregame wise to just you know go through the cougar walk and then uh we have warm-ups and stuff every that everybody thinks we just go warm up out there as a team that's not how it works you know like we got segments we go out so kick returner or returners will go out within the first 15 or so minutes that we would normally get there and it's probably different with his staff and then it would be centers and quarterbacks after that and then after that we would stay out there and the whole team would come out and then go back inside and then we would all come back out again and so it's just it's different with every staff so I'm kind of I'm kind of curious how he runs his pregame warm-ups how important is that to kind of build a routine for for yourself as a player to build a routine and kind of get settled in a routine as you begin to prepare yourself mentally physically to play a game man it actually is really important you got to get your mind right it's it's a time that you're able to focus on your snaps and focus on on your time with uh you know with your quarterbacks getting your exchange right and you know just getting getting to a point where you're able to do that same routine over and over and over and if one if one day you're sloppy in your routine and you're just like you know LAX of day days of cool and and honestly like half assing it I don't I'm sorry I don't want to cuss on it but it's just you're good good um like if you're just if you're being laxidasical with it it's it's not going to it's not going to work out in your favor you know it's just you got to take every single snap whether if it's you going against somebody else or if you if it's you going against the air you got to take every single snap like you're about to give it 100% you got to take mental game reps and that was really important for me um but yeah I'm curious to see how he's going to run his pregame warm-ups that's something that honestly it kind of gets overlooked you don't really think about um you know something that that from from a fan perspective it seems small but for you guys like it's a big deal there routines and for the lack of a better phrase it's kind of like dress rehearsal y'all got to practice the the the pregame so that you guys are mentally and physically prepared for that so I think that's definitely an underrated aspect of you something that kind of gets overshadowed and overlooked but let's get into UNLV specifically um they're coming off a successful season they finished 9 and3 in 2023 they got to host the Mountain West championship game last year and they face some question marks I think the biggest question mark is is going to be who ends up being the quarterback who ends up being the starter for them when they uh enter tdcu stadium and take on the Cougars um looking at doing trying to do some research heading into the show even as of Monday night that we're recording this who that starter is still going to be it's a little bit of a tossup uh similar to Houston like we referenced that earlier in the show they released their unofficial dep chart for the game and they had Hajj Malik Williams as the quarterback one but during his press conference according to the reviewjournal.com the Las Vegas Review Journal um head coach did didn't necessarily commit specifically to one guy or another Barry Odum kind of kept it a little bit up in the air and similar to Willie frit said that that they want to play a lot of guys um but they didn't necessarily want to commit to to one guy at quarterback which is interesting to see maybe Houston potentially sees uh both um on on Saturday the other being Matthew Soka who who they've been kind of battling uh over the course of training camp but heading into the season obviously they had success but that's they're aiming to rely a lot more on the running game when it comes to their offense and they had uh they had a lot of success uh a season ago and one of the key running backs for them that's going to be returning is Jayden Thomas had over 500 uh rushing yards last year over 12 rushing touchdowns so he's going to be a key player to to watch for Houston is going to be someone that they're going to have to keep an eye on and try to to limit damage if they're going to be successful against UNLV what about what do you guys think what are the keys to success uh to stopping the rebels and and coming out one and 0 week one against UNLV Dan I'll go to you first I I think it's going to start up front kind of like we talked about the start the show I think football it starts up front offensively defensively you must run the line of scrimmage and I think under this regime Houston will look to establish the Run um to open up the offense with a play Action Game Pass Run pass option game and so I'm going to be looking at the offensive offensive line if they can win the line of scrimmage if they can get Parker and Ray Ray and Stacy sne going to be able to get that play action game going and even use Donovan as his as a run threat as well and so I want to see how their approach to the game and if they can win a line of scrimmage on the offensive and defensive in and um how how they use Donovan I I I think they he has a lot of take back there so I think they can really really tailor their system to his strengths and allow him to do the things that he do well um a lot Jack what say you yeah I mean I think the same honestly winning up front I was looking at their roster actually and it seems like they have a lot of senior guys up front as at the dline position and I mean with them having veteran guys they got a lot of experience I mean our guys don't have a lot of experience just regarding them playing together and I'm not sure for I'm not 100% sure how long those guys at UNLV have been playing together but I do know that there was a lot of seniors on that roster making them have a lot of game experience um but yeah you know I think that opening up the Run game will be really important in get getting them going I think Donovan being able to utilize his legs and you know he can Al throw the ball and then just using those the new receivers that we have the whole new receiving core I forgot to mention earlier you know we got like I think our tight end group is going to be really really solid this year the best it's probably been in a few years uh you know Jaden York was one that I actually forgot to mention I think that he uh just watching film from him I think that he is going to be a stand out standout player I think he's going to be a guy that they're going to utilize a lot uh obviously you know manjack uh he's going to do manjack things just make crazy plays he's going to you know just go be a ball player that's all he is and I think you know I think just making sure that we can win up front I think giving Donovan time is just gonna be really important Yeah question go ahead quick question Jack from a or from a fan base perspective and from you being a former player what's the outlook on the fans showing up and supporting is it as simple that we win we know they'll show up how you guys feel about that aspect am I supposed to be honest here please go it hey we're very critical of the fans we be honest about a lot how Houston fans primarily show up to see the other team so we we we keep it real they're very fickle yeah in um I think just like I had mentioned men earlier you know like with Houston if you win they'll come type of thing but even going back to that 2021 season when we were winning we still didn't have the fans last year was the was the most uh sales or t season tickets that we had uh sold I think in the history of uh and obviously I mean we're going to the big 12 man it's exciting uh this should be an exciting year for us we got a whole new uh coaching staff we got a whole new head coach who you know coach Fritz is he's the real deal and truth be told I mean it would it'll honestly be kind of heartbreaking like honestly upsetting to see uh you know for the most part if we don't do good fans aren't going to come regardless and if we do good it's give or take it's just kind of up in the air fans are going to come I mean it's just kind of how it always has been since I got there and I know that even whenever Herman was there though I know Herman had that place packed out without a doubt rightfully so they were Chick-fil-A Peach Bowlers and right I think coach Fritz can you know get us there I think that he can get us to a new year six uh football playoff I think he can and I think that having that fan base is really important I mean you look at no no disrespect to some teams but like they can be really bad but their fan base they're just outrageously good you know like they're just the stadiums no like it's a no-brainer like we're going to the game and I think that having a fan or having a fan base is really important in college football I mean I I remember this weekend actually my pastor was talking about how he went to A&M and um you know like he he played a part he said I felt like I played a part I played a role like even though I'm not I'm not on the field I feel like all of us in the in the stadium in the stands we played a part in making that team on the other side have to take a time out it's just little things like that that can go a long way and if we have a lot of fans we can make a lot of noise that affects the other team and UT for instance man like UT was the whole that was the best most energetic electric game that I felt like I was ever at at uh and that's because our fans came man it was exciting to be there it was an exciting game it was exciting to play and if that's the case man like it makes you as a player want to play that much harder that much better like I mean that it just show got that first down by the way uh honestly we couldn't have said better like I I think you you hit the nail right on the head and it's something that we've mentioned in previous shows Chris G has mentioned on his shows um different Outlets have all mentioned it but Jack I think you're you might be the first player that on a platform like this you you said it which I think it's very important uh for fans in particular because you know you're right that that game against Texas against UT it was electric when when y'all tied the game y'all came back the energy um like Deon mentioned that should have been a first down that questionable call and the the fans were letting those officials know about it and even even though obviously uh the AL wasn't uh what UA trans would have hoped like they they had y''s back they were saying like what kind of obviously not to put our Homer cap on but that stuff that's college football is about right r or die with your University your on mer moer every single week and to your point I think Tom Herman going back into the 2014 2015 16 era showed that it can be done and hopefully you know Houston fans rally around that because one it is an exciting time it's still the Big 12 schedule it's a brand new expanded Big 12 and who knows uh what moves they continue to make but two it's it's will for it's first year head coach come out support he's laying the groundwork for hopefully what a foundation is able to get back to to those golden days that was uh eight nine years ago but I think it's very important that you said that because it it's true and and now we know that the players absolutely it matters it matters and it it had to be said so kudos to you and that's that's definitely Mor if you're a fan if you have tickets to Saturday's game and maybe if you're contemplating getting tickets to Saturday's game get them go out support the cougs and you just heard it from a former player former Captain Jack Freeman y y'all make a difference in that game and and again that's what college football is all about um I kind of hate doing this but you know what first game of the season might as well you have any score predictions for Saturday UNLV uh I first I think slow starting first half first game both sides I think second half offense gets it going Houston begins to kind of pick up the pace and I think they're going to go 34 21 34-21 Houston I think Donovan is gonna have a really really big game and I think Parker is also going to have a big game I could definitely see that um that was kind of around the same range that I was uh didn't have an exact score but I saw you know UNLV maybe scoring 14 21 points I I don't like doing this kind of stuff honestly just because I it's just it's kind of hard but I did Envision exactly around that same type around like I was going to say around like 31 21 type of vibe but I definitely see an new AG pulling out a a twoo um or sorry two digit two digit score yep uh same I I I kind of hate I put you on the spot but week one uh this you know to me it kind of uh reminds me a little bit of not last season but the year before that the 22 opener between Houston and and UTSA obviously they have to go up uh in the Alamo Dome a little bit different just because obviously UNLV has as a big question mark at quarterback but Jack like you mentioned they do have a lot of seniors top to bottom around the roster but I think I think that that inexperience or at least that that unfamiliar unfamiliarity that that um unov will have at the quarterback uh group is going to play a big factor and I think Houston I agree both of you guys will have a double digit uh victory over the rebels and hopefully um they're celebrating a one and0 start to the wiie fritz era and I think it'll be interesting it being at home I think even though obviously Las Vegas is hot too that humidity is going to play a factor on Saturday dry heat is very different from humidity heat and uh that might play a factor once we get into the third fourth quarters of the game but that's pretty much going to do it for today's episode of pod slima Jama again we can't say thank you enough to Jack Freeman for joining us on this episode and what will be a weekly thing going forward throughout the football season so we'll be recapping whatever whatever happened um on Saturday between Houston and UNLV and we'll be looking ahead at their week two opponent Jack I'll toss it over to you work in uh well if you want to promote where people can find you and anything else that um you'd like to share this time's yours uh you know I just want to say thank you uh y'all can find me at you know my sers are all Jack Freeman IV uh just want to say you know just like I said Thank you for having me on here uh just time at Houston was amazing uh I just loved every single second of it got you know an awesome degree from an amazing University and got to play football at a place I love being at I'm forever going to be considered a houstonian even even though I'm from South Dallas I actually love Houston more than I love Dallas now so uh I'll forever consider myself a part of Houston it's a you know big place in my heart and uh just yeah man come out to the games I'm excited for this season I know all y'all should too coach Fritz is going to be an amazing factor for this season um you know he just makes everybody on the staff feel a part of it a part of it and just going back to a little story my sister used to work for him at tand actually she was the she was the cheer coach and she went coach coach Fritz actually went out of his way to go ask how she was doing didn't have to do that asked how my family was doing so I mean it's just one of those little priming examples that shows what kind of person he is and it's pretty evident that he is like that so uh you know I wish I would have gotten to you know potentially play under him but I'm super excited for this upcoming year excited for the for the o line and excited for all the vets and to just go show out so y'all go support and go cougs well first and foremost thank you Jack for um joining us and looking forward to continuing the partnership you're a natural man I think you you got this media thing down you're a natural and um very appreciated me and and our entire team but I'm excited for the new regime coach Fritz and actually I was actually when I interned in undergrad and I was at uh and I interned at KPRC his daughter was the Sports Anchor at the station I intering that we was able to form um somewhat of relationship professional relationship working under her and teaching me so um I'm excited I'm a fan and like you jack I'm from Dallas as you can tell in the backdrop but I love Houston man Houston is is my second home I'm a c and I'm excited to for this season and you heard it from them from Jack it's important to the players for the fans to show up and to support and so fans support I mean if you're alumni or if you're from Houston have that pride and support the the Cs man but you can't end any episode without go CS baby go CS