One of my favorite plays throughout my career happened in 2014… and I wasn’t even the quarterback on the field.
I was the backup at the time, and a lot of my evenings were spent sitting in Coach Leach’s side office watching film and preparing for the upcoming opponent.
That week we were playing Cal, and while watching tape I noticed a look in their coverage that I thought we could attack with a certain concept. I mentioned it to Coach Mele and he then passed it along to Coach Leach.
To my surprise… the play made it into our condensed game plan for the week.
During the game, I noticed Cal giving us the exact coverage we had talked about. I got on the headset and told the coaches upstairs we needed to get to that play.
The next drive, Connor Halliday hit River Cracraft for an 86-yard touchdown.
My play suggestion.
Sure, I didn’t throw the touchdown or get the spotlight.
But I got something better… trust from my coaches.
It was one of my first “play calls” or audibles… one of the first moments that eventually turned into hundreds throughout my career.
And looking back now, I’m reminded that being a good steward of my current role at the time led to more trust, more responsibility, and more opportunities throughout my career.
So if you aren’t currently in the position you desire… that doesn’t mean you can’t still add value.
You can still contribute, prepare, and start earning the trust of those around you while positioning yourself for bigger moments ahead.
#MindStrength
In an exclusive interview with Oregon Public Broadcasting , Kaylub Giamanco, the man who fatally shot the teenage school shooter at Silver Rail Elementary, shares what he wants people to know about his experience.
https://t.co/9buyfSyR15
On this date in 2014, Washington State's Connor Halliday set an FBS record with 734 passing yards in a single game...in a 60-59 LOSS to Jared Goff and Cal. 😲
The record would be matched just over two years later by Texas Tech's Patrick Mahomes, who also did so in a loss!
#USMNT striker Folarin Balogun on his immediate reaction to red card:
“I think it was just important to stay calm. I never want to react out of anger and out of emotion. There’s still lots of people we’re inspiring, little kids, boys and girls who are watching, and we have to show them the correct way to handle things, even when you think it's unjust.”
On shaking ref’s hand postgame:
“As said, you can feel like something, injustice can happen to you. It’s not an excuse to be disrespectful… I'm aware that the World Cup might be the first time a lot of American viewers are tuning in. So it's important just to show people, whether things happen to you, good or bad, just to continue to be yourself.”
One of the most incredible facts in modern US politics:
Many Democrat Senators in WA voted to ban an income tax in WA two years ago then voted for an income tax this week.
What happened?
When an NFC team wins the Super Bowl by double digits, the full year is higher for the S&P 500 more than 90% of the time.
That coupled with the Pats lost and I think we all can be quite happy right now!
Sam Darnold said he wouldn’t change a single thing about his NFL career so far because the struggles and failures were necessary to get him to the Super Bowl. Love this message:
By DVOA, the NFC Championship Game is essentially the best NFL matchup of the last 47 years, and by a lot.
This is only the seventh playoff game between two teams over 30% DVOA. SB LIV (2019 KC-SF) is the one not on this table.
The 2025 Pac-12 is the first conference to go undefeated in bowl season since the 2020 Big 12 (5-0) and 2020 MAC (2-0). The Conference of Champions will be back at full strength next year!
We’re lucky to have our fair share of Mike Leach stories, and even more fortunate to have two members of his coaching tree leading their squads into this year’s Valero Alamo Bowl.
Hats off to a soon-to-be Hall of Fame coach.