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Pitstop Episode 3: Coach Jamrog · PITSTOP With The Diers Ford/Lincoln Auto Amigos

• Diers: Good morning. Dear Sford, pit stop with the Auto Amigos, joined K coach Jeff Jamrog this morning. take two. We have to do redo this because we had some technical glitches the last time, so we sure appreciate you coming back, coach. Know you have a busy schedule. Yeah, it's great to be back. ⁓ have graduation here at 10 in the morning today. Have about 30 ⁓ football student athletes graduating. So it's always favorite day of the year in my opinion is see those young men graduate and be on the other side of the stage and take a quick selfie with them and ⁓ and I know it's a it's a big day for them and their families and our program. Well, I know when you spend that much time together the last four or five years with these kids, they they really mean a lot to you and and get a place in your heart. I think it's great that you're gonna be there today because that's one of the faces they're gonna love to see. Yeah, it's it's the I tell people it's the favorite day of the year, to see those young men across stage and go out and do big things in the world and be a great husband someday. Some of ⁓ are gonna go one's getting married ⁓ here this summer. Tyson Dinkert, all time leading rusher and worked ⁓ here at ⁓ Deers Fort. ⁓ one of the best young men that I've ever had the privilege of coaching and As good a player ⁓ as he was on the football field, he's that much better ⁓ person off the football field. so a lot of a lot of excitement going on on campus today. I know we told Tyson yesterday, I told Tyson I saw Willie Garrett that posted he'll be listening to your podcast. And I said, you know, Tyson, that was a great at ⁓ Midland University. That guy was a great running back a long time ago. And I I was thinking about that when you are the career rushing. record holder at Midland. I said, there were a lot of great running backs in this program. I go, do you know what an honor that is for you? And he said, I do. And I said, Well, when you run the wishbone offense like we did for so long, you're gonna have some great running backs. No doubt. And Coach Watshorn, you know, coach for twenty one years and had some great offenses and ⁓ think that how many times they ran the ball and Like you mentioned, some great running backs during that time and all conference running backs, but see him do that the last ⁓ four years, it surprise me. I mean, he unbelievable how many broken tackles he had. ⁓ I think one game, I think it was like twenty seven missed tackles. just an amazing young man. And to think that he played high school ball at old ⁓ Kennesaw, Nebraska with ⁓ one of my former teammates at Nebraska, Craig Schnitzler was his coach. And ⁓ One game he had fifty-five carries. Yeah, he just Yeah, unbelievable. And amazing that at every play he would go to the sideline and get the call from ⁓ Coach Schnitzer, then run back out to the field. And I'm like, don't they have a system where they can just signal this? It's the same play every time almost. I was telling him yesterday, I said, you know, we had a day where a piece of paper blew out of a truck and Tyson was chasing it to pick it up. And I go, Where's that swivel in the hips? I've seen it on film. Right. No doubt. Well let's start out. Just tell us a little bit about yourself and and your background and and Well, it's gonna be a long answer, but we'll get to it, okay? When you're sixty one years old, right? ⁓ but I grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. had a pretty tough upbringing. I had three older sisters. I was the baby. my dad was a senior vice president at Commercial Federal, ⁓ took early retirement, ⁓ basically right when I about started college. ⁓ went to Mount Michael High School. wanna actually go to Prepper West Side where my buddies went, but my parents said go out there for one year. If you don't like it, you can transfer and ⁓ ended up loving it. play for a Hall of Fame coach named Jim Kane. He's in the Nebraska Hall of Fame, ⁓ tremendous coach and mentor of of mine and unfortunately passed away years ago, but he was a outstanding coach, coach football, basketball track. One state ⁓ my senior year ⁓ football, basketball, and had some scholarship opportunities, South Dakota UNO, very good scholarships, Iowa State offered. And at end of the day, it came down to one school the whole time and that was University of Nebraska. Unfortunately, sat in Coach Osbourne's office, Hall of Fame coach. I played for two Hall of Fame coaches. And ⁓ he said, Jeff, this is a really good class this year in the state of Nebraska. I played actually seventh eighth grade football with a number of them like Jeff Taylor at Scott Hill, that went down to Nebraska from West Side, number of ⁓ guys that went on and played Iowa State and Wyoming. And he goes Coach Osborne goes, Jeff, he goes, ⁓ we think you're a really good football player. He goes, Right now he goes, We're out of scholarships. If I had one more left, he'd be the guy. I'll never forget that. And still upset with Coach Osborne to this day. We we joke about it later when I worked for Coach Osbourne at Nebraska. But ⁓ it motivated me. I went there, I wanted to ⁓ accomplish three things. I wanted to be an academic All-American, get a scholarship and start. I was fortunate to do that. ⁓ at Nebraska, ⁓ senior year, I got a postgraduate scholarship from the NCAA. I was a business degree major. My wife thought I was gonna get my MBA and then go to Wall Street. ⁓ instead I got my MBA, went to University of South Dakota on a eleven month contract, making about twenty two thousand dollars a year. Big bucks, huh? Big big bucks and ⁓ eleven month contract. Now you don't get paid one month. My wife's like, Well, I don't understand that one. I go, Well, we'll figure it out somehow and and we did. Started a family university of South Dakota. ⁓ Very fortunate to have an outstanding family. Got four grandkids, ⁓ three kids. ⁓ oldest is Elizabeth, ⁓ has three kids, ⁓ William, Adelaide, and John. they're ⁓ blast to ⁓ babysit and be around and I yeah, I mean we call you babysit, right? It's just be around, you spoil them and then you leave, right? ⁓ I have a middle ⁓ middle child, ⁓ Brett. He's a priest down in ⁓ South Omaha. ⁓ four parishes. Yep, God bless him. He does a great job down in Down South Omaha really enjoys it down there at the parishes. And then my youngest son, ⁓ Jared, ⁓ married Dolora, have a two-year-old ⁓ son named Jack. I love when he gives his football signals. He may be a ref someday because he knows that holding, he'll hold his hand like this. ⁓ best one I'll say Jack targeting, and it'll go like this, hits his head on the side. It's hilarious. so it's awesome to have the grandkids in the area. wife Connie has been supportive. ⁓ all the different moves over the years. We started dating ninth grade summer at ⁓ Westridge swimming pool. I tell people she saw me go off the high diving board and the rest is history. But ⁓ but she's been awesome all these different moves and you know taking care of the kids all the crazy hours and travel they have as a as a coach. So shout out to her. so then ⁓ after ⁓ the GA job ⁓ I GA for Osborne. For two years and then my first job was University of South Dakota, was there four years, ninety ninety-three. Actually recruited Brandon Johnson ⁓ from Gearsford, general manager here. And who now, you know, you're getting old when ⁓ you know, his son Brody playing for us right now and just had Eric Crouch's son Carson had an outstanding career play for us. you know, so it's it's weird. It goes full circle, right? So after South Dakota, that was ninety ninety three, ninety four to ninety six, I was a decorative Nebraska, Omaha. ninety seven and ninety nine I was the D coordinator New Mexico State University with Tony Samuel, outstanding ⁓ head coach and mentor of mine. ⁓ he was my college coach at Nebraska, Barney Cotton down there as offense coordinator, Jerry Gadowski was the quarterback coach, Bill Bush was secondary, Steve Standard, ⁓ D line and Rich Glover. I mean it was a really, really fun staff down there. Few big names there. Yeah, there were a lot of really good names, really good coaches, really good people. And And then after New Mexico State is when I got a call ⁓ Coach Solitz ⁓ to come to the University of Nebraska, coach the D Line special teams. I was there from two thousand, two thousand three, or one knows how that ended up. ⁓ two thousand four. was at Western Illinois in the springtime for about three months. ⁓ God works mysterious ways. I got a call from Minnesota State University and interviewed and and took the job on June sixteenth, I think what it was, in the summertime. ⁓ So ⁓ ⁓ lot of time to get ready for the football season and had an O eleven football team. offensive coordinator is Dan McLaughlin. Defensive coordinator is Carl Planey my first year. We ended up going six and five. I think it was the second biggest turnaround in Division II history at the time. And a lot of a lot of fun times that that that year. And I was a head coach there ⁓ for three more seasons and they cut scholarships, didn't like how it was going. They went from the Northern, I'm sorry, North Central Conference to Northern Sun, had to be from go from thirty-six to twenty-four scholarships and real challenging. And at that time, ⁓ Boplane got the head job at University of Nebraska. So that was I think December 2007. Coach Osborne is the AD, had a chance to come back then to University of Nebraska as the assistant AD for football, director of football operations. I was there seven football seasons, you know how that ended. won games every year, but wasn't good enough. ⁓ And So Bo gets fired and had a chance in two and and sixteen to ⁓ in December. ⁓ Dave Gillespie was the athletic director at Midland University, Jody Horner was the president and I knew Midland existed. never been campus, never really, you know, knew a whole lot about how, you know, Midland ran things and came on my interview and ⁓ was really impressed, know, at the time. The year before they won one game, the year before that, two, the year before that four. So seven wins in three seasons had fallen on some really tough times. ⁓ I don't e every school out of Nebraska have been ones that have been tough to win at ⁓ ⁓ coach that's been fired that the record wasn't what it's supposed to be, right? And the culture, et cetera, and I can't a decade it's been. Yeah. And for folks that don't know this, Coach Jamrog ⁓ Midlam University, the only Nebraska college that has ten consecutive winning seasons. I think second is seven. Correct. I think Wayne State has seven, Couple Earl's had five. You know, and I I don't know how people realize, you know, it it's it's it's never easy. But to go ten in a row where you have winning seasons, that's a big thing. And especially when you came in and like you said, things were down a little, which was hard for us former Warriors that had seen ⁓ great things when coach Wanchorn was there. And so really proud of you what you've come in and done at Midland and and appreciative of all those things. I appreciate it, Tony. It's been a lot of hard work. ⁓ coach and staff had some outstanding coaches ⁓ over the time and outstanding student athletes. You know, we've had some great student athletes from the state of Nebraska. That's where we, you know, work really, really hard at as well as other states as well. But ⁓ we've had some great young men ⁓ come from Nebraska and Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Texas. We've had some great California young men come out here, get and what's cool is some of them have have come out from let's say California and have stayed out here. some have married in a Nebraska or Midwest gal. we've had players when you have thirty three sports at Midland, right? ⁓ some have married, you know, a player or a soccer and you go to those weddings, it's it's pretty cool to go to weddings of your former players. You know that, Tony. ⁓ You've been to many over the years and and to know that and you look up there and you see the groomsman and you're like, Wow, they didn't even know each other four years ago and now they're best friends, they're friends for life. You see ⁓ ushers that were, you know, part of the football team and ⁓ it's just a really cool experience to see ⁓ those guys and then just to follow their their careers and how they're doing. And it's not a surprise, ⁓ how well they're doing, ⁓ whether it be their family, how they're doing and their job, the community and ⁓ I don't know. I like telling the story about Roger Heatham, former player or you know, our football fields named ⁓ Heatham Field, right? For Roger, just a tremendous supporter. And I'll never forget ten years ago when ⁓ I got the job at Midland and ⁓ went out to lunch with him and he gave a very large donation for for the football f ⁓ turf. ⁓ I asked him, I said, Roger, let me ask you question. I go, What you know, why'd you give this this kind of gift? And he goes, Chef, let me tell you something. He goes, The experience I had at Midland He goes, obviously I had a great experience in the classroom, but he goes, really, it was that football program and ⁓ all the principles that I learned, the hard work, the perseverance, the dedication, the accountability, all those things. I applied those to the business world and had a very successful career. And it the least I can do is get back to a program in school that's meant so much to me. And th those those are the kind stories that you love hearing. And I know many of the players that that have gone through our program. I know we're gonna do great things in the world and inspire people, motivate people, and bring value to whatever they're involved in. Now, coach, I know that you have very strong values. And we would like to know is how do you lead your team with those values and how do you start teaching the new people that's coming in, you know, that standard of values that you hold. Right. Well, it's part of the recruiting process when we recruit people and bring them on campus and we love when parents come on campus and we'll do a PowerPoint, you know, v video of of what our program is and we'll talk about it. And ⁓ want young men that are about the right things, that are gonna get up every day and ⁓ attack the day and go one and ⁓ every week. ⁓ we want guys that have great character. It starts with character. I don't care how I don't care what their film looks, I don't care what their transcript looks like. ⁓ I want to know about the young man, how he's doing in school, ⁓ how he is in the cafeteria, what other people in the building think about ⁓ this young man. And once we see that, then we're gonna go look at his transcript, right? A lot of people go to grades right away. I like knowing tardies and absences, how how they are. And then we'll move into you ⁓ how how are they ⁓ academically and do they have the major that we want? And then we get into football part. I love leaders. I love guys that are captains. I love taking young men that come from great football programs that know how to win. I like taking quarterbacks, ⁓ like a Brody Johnson that's a winner that has won in high school. ⁓ ⁓ they're and that's kind of young men ⁓ that we want. ⁓ we have certain standards. I hit ⁓ pretty hard in making sure that this is the culture that you want and one of them being, ⁓ you know, you're gonna be about drugs. This is the the wrong place ⁓ and the last place ⁓ that you'd want to come. We do random drug tests at Midland, that's awesome. lot of programs, their head coach probably wouldn't want to be ⁓ have players drug tested because they probably know the results and what's going on in society. And so ⁓ think we do a really good job, our coaches and players when they come on campus of finding out is this what I call an OKG, our kind of guy. Is he a guy that is gonna fit our culture and we we you know you make some mistakes sometimes on some young men. ⁓ they'll weed themselves out, no pun intended. ⁓ but we just wanna make sure that we get guys with great character that are fun. I tell people I have you know 147, 15 I mean we have a big roster, right? ⁓ we've had as big a roster as ⁓ a hundred and sixty five. Now some of ⁓ have decided they don't wanna play football. They lose passion. But I'll see these young men than I see my own two sons. So we want to make sure that we get guys that, you know, are fun to be around, that that are high character guys that want to bring greatness. ⁓ they they want to be a great teammate. And ⁓ those are the kind of young men that we're looking for at Midland. Now you were telling us that you lead these guys down a certain path that you already said, right? By giving them some acronyms. What were they? Yeah, well, so our our motto's the summit That's the the the the peak, right? Of the of the mountain. So we want to bring out the best in them, reach their potential. ⁓ I think that's when is the most rewarding, you know, when you sit down with young men, you go over what your goals are ⁓ as a player and then as a team and and you reach those goals. And so we'll sit that ⁓ down with our guys and and do that. Along that, you know, like last year we we we call it CLIME twenty si ⁓ five. This year it's climb twenty six. What does CLIME mean? Well, we have an acronym for that, okay? The C is commitment. We want young men that are committed, not when it's easy, when it's tough, year round dedication, ⁓ on off the football field. The L stands for little things. You can't do great things unless you do the little things right. And so we're constantly making sure that every detail matters, everything counts in life, and ⁓ to make sure we take care of business every day. The I is intensity, you gotta be focused, laser focused. ⁓ if not You know, mistakes are are are gonna happen and happen too often. ⁓ yeah, obviously you're gonna make some mistakes in life, but we really wanna be intense on how we go after things day in and day out. ⁓ the ⁓ is mental toughness. ⁓ that means a lot of things. But one thing we we do check ⁓ in on our player to make sure that mentally we are right. We have a system, ⁓ app that every day is a daily check in. One of them is up their up their soreness on a scale of one to five, also how they're feeling. So if a kid puts down five, five's the best, life is pretty good. Young man puts down a one. Now we're tracking to find out what is going on with that young man. So the mental toughness, again, we want to be great no matter what the circumstances are. And too many people in life, in my opinion, you know, when it's seventy two and it's sunny and things are really good, your body's feeling really good, you know, they'll play really good or they'll perform really good. what happens you know what, you may be a little bit sick. ⁓ your body's not feeling really good. Something maybe happened back home. Are you still bringing your best every day? Are you still a great teammate every day? So that's the mental toughness that we're looking for. And then B's the brotherhood. I mean, that's the the one where you hear it all the time. There's some teams that are closer ⁓ than others. I ⁓ are better what I call player led teams. I think the better brother brotherhood you have, the better player led team you're gonna have. That's probably what excites me about this football team right now, but maybe any of the we'll see how it plays out record-wise, but just on the surface and the feeling we get, this is the best player led ⁓ team that we have going into the summer, going into the season next year. So we're really excited about ⁓ what this ⁓ two thousand twenty six campaign can look like. I know ⁓ back in two thousand seventeen and I was fortunate to be on ⁓ nineteen eighty seven team. And we were back at Midland for an induction in the Hall of Fame, our team was. I you were there at the banquet, ⁓ and you had asked me to come and speak. And we I had never been in the football office, and I met there and we were going through things. And the thing I loved was on that wall the core values of Midland football. And I was reading those while I was waiting for you to come in. And that's when I was in, Coach, because I want you to know I really believe in those things. And I think, you know, if you have good values and you expect good things from young men, I really believe that leads to winning. Right. And, you know, Coach Gadowski, Coach Watchhorn, guys I played for, I think those they were those kind of guys, you know, and we knew where the line was. ⁓ you you you did your best to to meet those expectations. So I love that about your program. So thank you so much for instilling that in your players because you know what? They need to know those things. No doubt. And y you always come back to ⁓ right? You always come back to what you believe in and ⁓ know it when they come to the program, they know exactly what they signed up for. And, ⁓ know, ⁓ I won't go through all of them, but I mean, number one, ⁓ I'll not lie, cheat, steal, nor tolerate those who do. So ⁓ only it's about us, but it's about other people around and and holding people accountable. ⁓ ⁓ Or guys you know, knock on wood, but it it's been a fun group ⁓ to watch. ⁓ a lot of times I don't have to bring that sheet out, but we go over it in fall camp. But they go by it every day in our office. And but and we go back to that many times throughout the season of making sure that we're smart. You know, you have a big win. But what do a lot of campuses ⁓ when you win? Just look at the N C double A basketball, right? And look at those campuses and What happens at nighttime at some of those places, but just making sure that we make really good decisions because decisions have consequences and so we hit it really hard. the drugs, the alcohol, everything, just making sure we're making really good decisions every day. the the great thing is that's gonna go with them for the rest of their life. Those things apply in your career, your family, all those kind of things that lead to success. And and so it's a big lesson to learn. ⁓ ⁓ at a stage in life where this may be the most important thing to so many of them and to have to live to those standards not knowing that someday I'm gonna apply those things in my life. And that's what I love about it. No doubt. No doubt. Now we already talked about how you have the app and helps guys tell you guys how you how they're feeling, right? Helps the coaches out how to deal with You know, certain players at that moment and everything. Now, how do you overall how do you guys help ⁓ the athletes overcome setbacks throughout the the season? Yeah, ⁓ constant dialogue, elite communication. you know, guys want to be coached ⁓ ⁓ you know, ⁓ job is to ⁓ be great teachers ⁓ they need to take that information, process it. Find out maybe better ways, what can we do better? ⁓ a lot of times you gotta look what we what we do bet can do better as coaches rather than what can the players do. And so sit down at one-on-one. maybe it's how someone's learning. Okay, we give guys a a test. Okay, it's called a VAC test. Okay, people will learn one of three ways, ⁓ visual, ⁓ auditory and kinesthetics. And so some people can be like coaches, tell me what to do, okay. That's auditory. Some say, Coach, I gotta see it. Right, video of it, and then you got the young men sometimes they want to walk through, they gotta demo it, they gotta actually do it. And so, you know, just constantly tell your guys that, you know, mistakes are gonna happen, but we want full st full speed mistakes. We want, you know, if there's gonna be an error, ⁓ you ⁓ it's be not based on effort ⁓ and gonna play extremely hard and ⁓ you know, again, understand that mistakes are gonna be made and how we get past it. ⁓ you gotta have thick skin. I you gotta get ready for the real world too. You gotta take coaching. You gotta embrace coaching. I'll never forget ⁓ a comment ⁓ Coach Cain said back in the day, you go's the day that I'm not on you, he goes the day that I don't care about you. And so ⁓ I thought that always hit home to me that, you know what, I'm gonna be on you 'cause I care about you and I'm trying to bring out the best in you. So take coaching, embrace it, ⁓ let's get better together. What's a typical week look like for you and your staff? During the season, yeah, it's it's a seven day, you know. I know God ⁓ gave a Sabbath. My son will always say, Dad, you know, make sure you're going to church. And we do that. but usually come in early afternoon on ⁓ on a Sunday, our staff and and grade the film. Then we'll get together ⁓ in the afternoon around three o'clock. and go over all the ⁓ you know how the how the game went and watch some clips of the game and then we'll meet with the players late afternoon ⁓ ⁓ on Sunday for a couple hours. We'll usually meet as team first and ⁓ go over the and the goals, watch some video clips, some the good ones and then some ones we gotta get better. And we'll watch special teams together and then the X point field goal, field goal block, then people that were on the special teams will watch the rest of the units, and then offense, defense will meet. So probably about two, two and a half hours per meeting on ⁓ Sunday, then the coaches will go back to the office and start breaking down film. Monday for the players is a day off. they enjoy that day. You gotta have a mandatory one day off in college football. I don't know if they had that back in the day when you played Tony. and then we didn't have that by the way at Nebraska, although we did ⁓ take Sunday off. ⁓ for players, coaches we're working though. so Monday coaches are in the office early and ⁓ till whatever time at night it takes to get to get their game plan ready for Tuesday's practice. Okay. Tuesday, you know, coaches are in the office early in the morning and then ⁓ ⁓ at three twenty five is when we have our meetings. We ⁓ probably about close to an hour between special teams and offense defense and then we're on the football field from about four forty five to six forty five. Give or take. Tuesday, Wednesday are your big pad days, game plan, everything. Thursday, ⁓ usually go helmets, a little shorter practice, a little more special teams, although special teams is every day, but really heavy emphasis on Thursday practice. ⁓ meeting times and all that are the same. And then Friday we move up because class is not as late in the day. On Friday, we have a team meeting at two. we'll have about an hour and a half meetings, and then we'll have about a 45 minute walkthrough on Friday and then up Saturday, eight o'clock. We have chapel mass, just like Coach Osmore did back in the day at Nebraska. 8:30 to 9 is ⁓ meetings on both sides of the ball. And then nine o'clock is a pregame meal. And then around 10 30 or so, they start getting taped. Recruits come at about 10 50. We'll usually ⁓ recruits ⁓ at every home game. And then we get over the stadium about, ⁓ two hours before game, making sure we're ready to go and get to play a game at one o'clock. ⁓ Almost our games are at one, except we are moving up this year. ⁓ our first game's gonna be ⁓ a Thursday night game. Dickinson State's coming is gonna be a a Thursday night game, six o'clock. And then we're trying to play more night games in September. And we do have ⁓ another game ⁓ in September, home game at ⁓ night, then we are playing at Northwestern in September this year ⁓ at night. So our guys are excited. All but one kid, Colin Woods, poor Collin. He's the only guy that said he wants a one o'clock game. So I have a whole football team, only one is not very happy with me right now, but he he he he's over it. So it's all good. Do they still take the cattle truck out to the out to the field? No, we take a bus now. I if I heard about that, I'd love to see that cattle truck that they took back in the day. But yeah, love to see old pictures of that. You gotta send me that I'll find a picture of that It's gotta be someone's gotta have one. You know, that was ⁓ that was a very unique thing and when I first went there and I'm like, really? We're getting in a cattle trip to go out of the field? Yeah, we have a bus that ⁓ we transport ⁓ over there before the game. Yeah. ⁓ what is speaking about the younger generation, you said that you have recruits ⁓ everyone game. ⁓ what advice could you give to ⁓ kids that are coming out of high school sports and wanting to, keep going in in their college career and their sports? Yeah, I guess the first advice I would say is explore all options. make sure that if it's a major or if there's certain certain items that you want in in your college experience to make sure that that that school has it. And then ⁓ Once you get to a university and make that decision, you know, hopefully it's the only one. It's kinda like marriage, I tell guys. Hopefully you're gonna have one. ⁓ but you just look around college football, right? Guys have been two, three, four schools. So somehow some something's not jiving, right? Something when they get to that school, but it's playing time or coach told ⁓ the ⁓ trust factor. W what you know, why are these guys leaving? ⁓ there's gonna be failure. So that's the part That you got to really hit hard is there's gonna be tough times. And there's gonna be tough times in life. And I think the game of football prepares you for those moments. ⁓ I've had a lot of guys over the years come in and say, Coach, I I I think I'm gonna give it up. And what I try to do is what are those reasons? And some I'll try to talk them out of it. I'll try to say, best advice I ever got from my parents, and I've used it with my son, and it's worked. Try it one year. And after that you have these same kind of feelings and then so that then maybe make that decision to to give it up if it's just that miserable. Is it really that miserable? I like scale one to ten, like on a scale of one to ten, ten being extremely miserable. What is that scale? And if they say ten like they're getting up and their mental health and it okay, that's one thing. But when it's another one where it's just it's not going exactly like they want, they're not getting their playing time, they're you know some of these other reasons that they give you, then it's like, you know what? What what's gonna happen at your job when, you know, you're not the vice president and you're getting, ⁓ know, the the title that you think you deserve or the salary you deserve. Are you just gonna bail on your family and now take another job? 'Cause one thing I do know, once you make that decision and it's a big one early in life, right? The word quit. ⁓ I I all I know is this. I've seen a lot of players over the years I've recruited or read at a school that I was at. And the ones that that have quit come up to me and say, Coach, you remember me? I was at this school. And they'll say, Yeah, I quit after my freshman year, sophomore, man. I sure wish I'd have stuck it out. I've never met and now next year will be year thirty eight. I've never met a young man that says, Man, I'm so upset that I stuck it out at whatever school. So w the word finish is a powerful word. And we talk all the time about finishing whatever we're set out to do. If we make a commitment, we're doing it. And if we say that, hey, we're on this team for this year, we're on the team. We're not, you know, in October gonna say, you know what, I'm out. So I think it's a big deal right now, ⁓ commitment, loyalty, your words your word, and ⁓ try to live it out every day. Coach, I got some some easy, quick ones for you, just some rapid findings. What was your f favorite pre game meal when you were Probably the night before, 'cause I'll tell you what, the day of George Sulvan, our trainer, I'll tell you what, back in the day it wasn't much. I think they gave a little piece ⁓ of Canadian bacon, a little toast. I I I think back then I don't think they had the data on nutrition, maybe like they do now, like how important it is. but night before now I remember some really good meals, you know, some prime rib and some things that were ⁓ were pretty good. But day of the game, Tony, I gotta tell ya, I we they did not feed us much. You talked ⁓ Former guys I played with, Cleet Blakeman, Tom Benderis, they probably say the same thing that there is nothing to brag home ⁓ about it hours for the game. I love the steak and eggs. We always had steak and eggs. I always looked forward to that because we didn't get steak very much when I was in midland. ⁓ next one, most intense coach on your staff. Most intense coach. Well, it'd almost be disrespectful if you if you don't go with the strength coach, right? Seth Bontrager. ⁓ ⁓ he can be intense. that's a good question. ⁓ don't you think those guys are a little bit crazy? Strength coaches. ⁓ they're they're wired a little bit different. Yeah, love getting up at four in the morning and getting day started. They love their coffee ⁓ and ⁓ energy drinks they like as well. but ⁓ but Sathy are Coach Honald or D coordinator is a pretty intense guy. ⁓ off the field, really nice people, right? Just like you want your players, right? But has intensity to ⁓ that that you like. all are di wired differently, but at the end they're all intense. Some show it more than others. Not your players, because I know every coach is gonna say it's not about me, it's about the players. So I let them pick. If you could pick the best locker room music, what would you pick? That's an easy one. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, unfortunately, rarely, once in a while, it'll we have a great s system in ⁓ our locker room. Okay, audio visual ⁓ put in, I mean it it could wake up a church, I believe. And it unfortunately or fortunately how you look at it's right next to my office. So on game day, I mean I could try to get out of my office and go over to Heatham Field or go over, know, ⁓ campus early to get out of that locker room because they it's player led ⁓ you know, music and the loudness of it. And so but once in a while there'll be a time during the week randomly where a player may I mean, I hear like Tom Petty and I'll go out of my office and like, who's playing that? Then I see ⁓ like I like I like that. I like that. We used to do when I was teaching weightlifting, if ⁓ A C D C song came on and I was not taught ⁓ this, they just did it. Right. But everybody put their weights down and then they'd stand here and and I said salute the the kings of rock and roll. That's right. So yeah, I I enjoyed that type of music. Yeah, A C D C's good on there and Yeah, some of the players like that. It it's it's interesting how music that many years ago and players this generation will, and obviously we know there's some music that ⁓ I don't even know what they're saying. So players like it. But so because I always thought if they would have had thunderstruck out when I was playing, I would have torn the fence down. Exactly. Love that song. Exactly. All right, but we gotta start wrapping things up so What is what is the next step for the your football program that you're thinking of in the next five years? Well, the next step, if you want to talk wins and losses, okay, to me it's about the process, right? And we talk about going one and ⁓ every week, ⁓ and what we want to get done years, ten years, what we want to do in life, but let's face it, we wanna go to the playoffs. That that's our next step. and then do some damage in the playoffs. We've been close. A couple of years ago we were eight and three. Lost our last two games. Really close, ⁓ that last game against ⁓ Dor that knocked us out of the playoffs. And ⁓ I think we have have everything in place to do it ⁓ ⁓ we gotta go out and do it. ⁓ one thing that I did last year for the first time in my ten years, Ohio State used to do this, I'm sure some t some teams do it, so it's not revolutionary, is did captains at the end of the year. For my first nine football seasons, we've had players ⁓ that I meet with at the end of the season. I ask it I ask them a series of questions and one of them was, what'd you think of the captains? And a lot of them, a lot of players in our team would say, Coach, three of them were good, but these two, you know, shouldn't have been elected captains. They didn't act like captains, they brought the team down, etc. I thought last year, the decision ⁓ being made of we are gonna have two special teams captains every week, coaches we're gonna appoint them, two defense, two offense. Okay. And and you could be the same guy every week or new guys or whoever's being we think great leaders on and off the football field. At the end of the year, if you were picked as a captain one of those games, you're gonna be on a ballot to be a permanent captain. But we are going to vote on them at the end of the year. So we did it this year. And so those guys that were voted were ones that were locked in. one could say, hey, these guys weren't weren't captains. They were and one of them was Brody Johnson. He's back next year. First time I've had a first or second team all conference quarterback ⁓ since I've been here. ⁓ threw seven touchdown passes in the second half of the Concordia game, which I didn't know this until ⁓ the other day. ⁓ it was the ⁓ fourth largest comeback in the history of college football, any division, which ⁓ pretty impressive. I think it says a lot about our culture, they didn't come back from that kind of deficit. I mean it was 31-7 halftime. Okay. I'm about ready to call up Costco to see if ⁓ they got any openings, all right. then they scored second half to go up 38 to seven. And ⁓ we 38 answer unanswered points, took a 45-38 lead. They score ⁓ before the end of the game it's forty five going into overtime and then we score in both overtimes and went for two and got it. They didn't score in the second overtime, so it's sixty to fifty two. We score fifty three ⁓ second half points. So so that's crazy. not an easy thing to do. No, no. but but going back to the guys back, so I mean you have Brody back, you have ⁓ Paxton Van Houten back as a captain, and you have ⁓ Jay Boward who who I think Could be one the best linebackers ⁓ in our league. And Paxton's a really good linebacker too. So those three are are back that were captains from last year. and I believe this team is has the capabilities and has shown it throughout spring to be the best player-led team that I've been a part of. The best teams that I've been around are the ones that, you know what, they handle business before the head coach has to get involved, or or if they don't see a guy running through the line in summer workouts. are gonna call it before any of the coaches would ever call it out. And that's what I we have brewing right now Midland that it really excites me and our and our coaches and ⁓ we got a new field coming here ⁓ this summer that yeah I'll tell you what when ⁓ Dr. ⁓ Ali Williams said it the other day ⁓ in front of all the ⁓ the coaches, the first thing I did was start clapping 'cause I tell you what, it's been it's been ten years waiting. Tony, back when you guys played, it's it's it's been a long, long time before you you know, you have Watchhorn Complex and you look right across the street and you see this grass. Okay, that has some holes in it and you can't do anything on it. Back in the day they did a little bit, but a lot of years was never used except for maybe a walkthrough. is now gonna have is now yeah, is now gonna have ⁓ permanent turf, era crouch, crouch recreation, outstanding human being. And his son Carson playing for us, is spearheading that project and ⁓ we'll be ready to go for ⁓ for the season next year. So it's gonna save so much time that gonna be able to use for meetings, a little bit of extra practice that we've been able to have, because again, we've had all jump in a car after meetings, okay. Not the cattle truck that you had, okay. But everyone's gotta jump in their their car ⁓ and head through, you know, or whatever it is. But you're going through parking lots and going through ⁓ the neighborhoods of Fremont that some of ⁓ don't have ⁓ stop signs. And ⁓ it's our guys are really excited about this opportunity. It's good typing. Yes. Yes. So coach, let's apply some things to the cars now that we're talking about that. If your team was an engine, what kind of kind of engine would it be? No, you gotta go with diesel, right? A little gas, a little oil, mix it up, you know, offense, defense, you know, smash mouth, a little bit of finesse getting on the perimeter, and ⁓ yeah, let's go with diesel. And then also ⁓ mid season pit stop when things get a little monotonous. What do you do to get? We better have fun. So I to t to me you brainstorm and in and it's great when you can be proactive and reactive, right? And so we try to as a staff try to do some different things throughout the year that make it fun. It's still a game. And when they get up every day you want ⁓ excited about being there. ⁓ ⁓ you try to ⁓ a culture where ⁓ it's fun, be yourself and then I like to think outside the box. I what I tell our staff let's think out the outside the box. what can we maybe do at the middle of practice, end of practice? we it's something we gotta do as a team. Maybe it's you know, tomorrow it's gonna be beautiful weather with no wind, let's go in the back of our complex and and and grill out for our guys. We do a lot of grilling out. I like breaking bread. Our coaches like breaking bread ⁓ with our players. ⁓ when we go eat at the cat. cafeteria, I tar coaches, don't eat with co coaches eating with coaches. I go, we're gonna go eat with other players on the on the team and get to know, you know, maybe it's the old line coach eating with the corner. Okay. try to break up clicks best you can ⁓ within your team and ⁓ with just getting to know kids and you never know what kid what players are gonna connect with certain coaches. It's been cool when I meet with players ⁓ and Something comes up and it's like, man, that talk he had with that coach in the cafeteria, ⁓ had a girl out and you spent that time, it's powerful. I mean, you go back to when you coach and when and then when you played and those coaches that came up to you and asked you and and had dialogue, had a conversation, asked about your parents, asked about your family, ⁓ that goes a long, long way. It's about relationships. It's about relationships. Some of some of my greatest memories. weren't about football right with that young man. It was a time in his life when he just needed somebody. No doubt. And ⁓ tend to remember those. I mean, not that there isn't great plays and and great seasons that you remember, but it's those moments with those young men where you knew I maybe made a difference with them. No doubt. Now the last two things before we let you go, coach. how can fans support help support the team this season? ⁓ and what's little message to the community of Fremont and surrounding areas that you want to give out? Well the first one they can finish off writing that check for ⁓ that that football field, and soccer and baseball and all the you know, ⁓ all the other are gonna be on that field, ⁓ but all joking aside, you know, ⁓ big one is out and ⁓ come out on on a Saturday night or Saturday afternoon and see some really good football. ⁓ young men that you know a good majority are from the state of Nebraska. We got some local kids ⁓ playing in that Midland and ⁓ just just come out and support. We're gonna support, you know, your business. We love going to different restaurants. We've gone to some different ⁓ ones with our football team and or cater some food from them and go to juice stop and Buffalo Wild Wings and Raising Canes and all these different ⁓ could rattle them all off, but ⁓ really good restaurants here in town but ⁓ Come out to Midland, come out and ⁓ come to a game and and then hopefully it's just like anything, you really enjoy that experience, right? When I come back. It's unbelievable. Yeah. But that that would be and ⁓ other one ⁓ you're they're doing it already, but it's been awesome just to see the internships that our guys have in town. And some of them stayed in town and ⁓ of them are police officers. I mean I mean, we have you know Wyatt Tremain, ⁓ Dodge County. sheriff and ⁓ you can go on and on some different people that ⁓ have stayed in the area and supporting this area. So so that that'd be awesome if we can ⁓ get more fans to Midland. We we do get get we think very good support, but just like anything, right? We're trying to raise the bar. Number one, I want to thank you for being here today for the second time. And also want you to know just how proud the people of Fremont are that you represent. the community Midland University. But as a former player, I want to thank you for for all that you do. But I know we're all proud to say this is our team. This is this is who we are. And again, coach, even though you you you've done a great job winning, ⁓ that's not the number one. The number one is how you represent Midland University in Warrior football. So thank you for all those things you've instilled in your young men. Well I appreciate Tony and and thank you and And all former players that have have worn, you know, back in the day, right? It was orange and black. Now we're little bit different colors. But ⁓ whether it was ⁓ Midland Luther and Midland University, we're family, you represent Midland football the right way as well. And ⁓ appreciate that. And ⁓ and there's many great Midland Warrior former players that had great success while they were here ⁓ and Great success in the business world and family, man. And just it's been great to see so many former and meet so many former players over my ten years and hope ⁓ continue to meet more mid and water football players. Well, and and I also wanna we didn't have our our sponsor, our drink sponsor, Cart and Co. We didn't have that coffee today because we drank it the other day when we were filming it the first time. But wanna thank Erica and the Cart and Co. Main Street and Fremont, excellent coffee. And she's very passionate about it. So thanks, Erica, for what you do for us. anything else, Fernanda, you'd like to add? Thank so much for being here, Coach. And thank you for tuning in to this podcast and this episode of Pit Stop with the Dear Sword Auto Amigos. We'll see you next time. Yep. Take care.