Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Each month, Texas State University President Dr. Kelly Damphousse sits down with faculty members, staff, students, alumni, and community members for a conversation about all things TXST — the past, the present, and the bright future of the university.
Part of the TXST Podcast Network: https://www.txst.edu/podcast-network.html
- But we're going to the Pac-12. Talk about your thoughts about joining the Pac-12 this year.
- Yeah, I mean, it's so cool. You know, I think just to look at where we've come, where Texas State has come, and it's a lot of credit to you and Don Coryell. I mean, y'all are just, man, y'all make the ship run. And so it's just like to see that, you know, Texas State, where we were three years ago and where we are now, I mean, just what an opportunity that is. And to see the competition that we're playing against, to see the places that we're going and I mean, man, it's, I'm so, so excited.
- What road game are you looking forward to the most?
- All the road games, to be honest, but that's the politically correct answer.
- You know, it is, it is, yeah. Don't create any bulletin board material. Today I'm super excited about having my friend Brad Jackson join us. Brad is our quarterback obviously for our football team, but he's also a superstar student as well. He's doing really well in class. In fact, he's gonna graduate in December already. It's hard to believe.
- [Brad] Oh yeah.
- You just got here, it feels like.
- That's what it feels like.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- But you know, it surprises me too, but you know, what a blessing it is.
- It sneaks up on you. So this is actually your third year here.
- Oh yeah.
- And graduating already. Did you bring a bunch of hours with you?
- Oh yeah.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- I graduated with my associate degree.
- [Kelly] Is that right?
- Out of high school, yeah so.
- Yeah, so you're from, you went to Reagan, right?
- Yes, sir.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- So my senior season was at Reagan High School.
- [Kelly] In San Antonio.
- I spent 17 years in Houston.
- [Kelly] Okay.
- And then went to Cypress Creek High School the first three years. And then transferred to San Antonio Reagan. And then six months later after that, here I was.
- [Kelly] Here you are.
- In January of '24.
- Well, I'm glad to have you here. And what I love about the podcast is it gets kind of like a behind the scenes look at who people are. Movers and shakers on the university. And so let's start talking about your background, how you got here, and then we'll talk about current stuff that's happening here as well. So grew up in Houston, and so tell me about your parents.
- Yeah, so grew up, Leah and Chad Jackson are my two parents and my four older siblings, Zach, Carly, Kate and David.
- You're the baby?
- I'm the baby of five.
- I could tell, I knew. I could tell a baby a mile away, yep.
- Yeah, so we grew up together and, you know, being the youngest is always a little bit different, you know, because your older siblings are.
- You get everything.
- You get everything.
- I was the oldest. I was like, I was like, I didn't get anything.
- Yeah.
- But my baby sister, she got everything.
- See, it wasn't the way in my family. People usually think the oldest or the youngest is the most spoiled of the bunch. But, you know, for me it was, I was humbled very quickly by my older siblings and they made sure to know about that.
- They punch you around a lot, push you around.
- Push me around, pick fun at me, bully me. But hey, it made me who I am today.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- And so I was very fortunate to be in a very, very good family growing up. My siblings were all best friends with each other. We still stay in touch now. And I mean, those were my number one supporters. And so just super cool to have a family like that.
- What'd your parents do?
- So my mom did a bunch of things growing up down from, you know, personal coaching to basically right now she works a job at Hotwire, which she's in charge of essentially making sure that homeowners that are moving in neighborhoods, their Wi-Fi is all good. So she runs around and deals with people all day. And then my dad used to be a VP of marketing at Labrada back in Houston.
- What is that?
- It's a basically a protein company.
- Oh, okay.
- They're big out of, based out of Houston. So he's been doing that.
- So what led you to athletics? Was like everybody in your family was doing athletics or were you like the only athlete in the family or?
- Yeah, so I come from a very athletic family.
- That's pretty typical, right?
- Yeah, so my mom was a Rangerette at Kilgore College. My dad.
- She must love the Stutters then, right?
- Oh, she loves watching them.
- [Kelly] Yeah, yeah.
- She likes being out there for halftime watching the Strutters, watching the cheerleaders and stuff like that. My dad played soccer throughout his entire life and then played kicker his senior year of college at Furman University.
- [Kelly] Okay.
- And then all my siblings, athletes, my two brothers are both soccer players. One played at Tulsa and Furman and then played a little bit down in RGV, went pro for about one or two years. And then my other brother, David, who's at the Naval Academy, he was an All American midfielder. So he was pretty good in his tenure there. And then my two older sisters were big in ballet growing up. And so for me, I was kind of like, okay, well, I got to figure out my journey now. And so I tried a bunch of different things. And then I just remember watching a football game one day. I think it was like the, I was like, man, it was like 2017 divisional game with Aaron Rogers.
- [Kelly] Okay.
- I was like, man, that's what I want to do.
- Did you get your footwork from your sisters for their dance routines and stuff?
- Not quite, not quite. Not exactly the same, but fun fact, I actually did do ballet for a year.
- Did you really?
- Yeah, back in like second grade, I think. So I did that, but then quickly I looked around. I was like, yeah, I don't know if this is my gig, yeah.
- Now I'm imagining a whole new future for you.
- [Brad] Yeah.
- It could have been like ballet and dance or tap.
- Probably not, probably not.
- That's funny. So so how old were you when you started playing football?
- So I started playing football when I was in second grade. So I was eight years old.
- Oh, that young.
- Eight years old, yeah. So started playing flag football. I remember coming up to my mom one day. I was like, hey, like, I want to play football. Like this seems like it's fun. And so she didn't want me to, you know, go right into tackle football.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- She wanted me to, you know, as a parent, you're very concerned about your child's health. So she put me into flag football at the YMCA to start off. And I remember I showed up to my first practice and I was throwing the ball around with my coach and I was like the first one there. And he was like, hey, you ever though about playing quarterback? I was like, no. He's like, well, you're gonna be our quarterback. I was like, all right. And then I look up 12 years later and here we are.
- Still, right?
- [Brad] Still.
- So very early the quarterback. Was there a moment like in high school when you said, oh wow, this is actually kind of working? And maybe I do have a future here beyond high school?
- You know, for me it was very gradual. You know, my dad was very involved in the recruiting process for me. I wanted to get my name out there on, you know, social media and stuff like that. But very, you know, it was kind of throughout middle school and then high school as well. I kind of felt like, okay, like I can do something with this. And obviously I was very under recruited.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- Throughout high school. And then eventually just, you know, slowly but surely throughout my junior year, ended up getting a couple offers and just kind of started picking up momentum from that point forward. And then, you know, I ended up getting my 10th offer here to Texas State and then very quickly it kind of hopped on that train, so.
- Walk us through, I don't think people understand what it's like to be recruited as a high school student. So walk us through kind of like the process. And I'm sure it's changed a little bit in the last couple years, but you know, you're so new at this is probably your, you came here three, this is your third year here. So it was just a few years ago. Walk us through that process. Like you're an 11th grader and a 12th grader and all of a sudden you're getting phone calls.
- [Brad] Oh yeah.
- Text messages, letters.
- Yeah, all the above, all the above.
- It used to be just letters and now it's like everything.
- It's everything now.
- Yeah.
- I think right now, especially it's social media.
- Yeah.
- Has such a big presence in recruiting. And you know, for me, it's like you look at me, you know, walk through, walk into a room or, you know, go on the football field at like a camp or something. There's not many, I'm not turning many heads by my physical stature. Like that people, like quarterback.
- The prototypical six foot five.
- Yeah, 230 pounds, can throw it over the mountains.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- It's like, I, you know, I'm just not that, you know, prototypical, you know, stereotype quarterback. And so for me, it was very tough early on. You know, I had to very much, it was like, all right, I'm already at a disadvantage here. So how can I take the edge on my competition and the guys that I'm competing with in my class and whatnot? And a big, big thing about that was, all right, I got to work harder than everybody else. Working harder than everybody else being just a very standup guy off the field, making the right decisions because that stuff matters to college coaches. They ask everybody about you.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- It was funny. We were doing, you know, Bobcats and Bubbles last night. Coach Kinne was sharing stories about how he recruits kids. And I mean, they talk to everybody. They talk to every coach you've ever been with. Your family, the people you've played against, like it's everybody. And so when you have a good rapport off the field, it goes a long way.
- Well, I think, especially in the quarterback position, it tends to be the marquee position and like the face of the football team. And they're investing a lot of not just money, but also time, energy, and also themselves. Like if you're gonna put someone out there and if that person, you know, crashes and burns, it reflects poorly on the coach. So that's why they probably spend so much attention, especially on the quarterback to make sure they're getting the right person.
- Exactly, yeah. 'Cause there's only one quarterback at a time.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- You know, like receiver, you can have, you know, four receivers on the field at one time.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- Quarterback, there's one guy that's running the show.
- Yeah.
- You know? And you know, there was a quote by, I think Brett Favre. He was like, if you have more than one quarterback.
- You have no more.
- [Brad] You don't have any.
- That's right.
- You don't have any, so for a college coach, it's a lot of, you know, that pressure.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- Like you got to be able to find your guy.
- You're going through the process and people are reaching out to you and saying, hey, we'd like you to come visit. So tell us about the recruiting visit. Like there's unofficial visits and official visits and tell us about some of your experiences doing that.
- Yeah, so, I took very very little visits. I think I took maybe like four unofficial visits, or maybe like four or five unofficial visits in my time. I think it was like Rice was one of them, OK State. Obviously here, Texas State, Louisiana Lafayette. And all those schools, it's like, you know, they kind of, you know, try to market you kind of like, oh man, you know, we think you'd be a great fit here. And they show you all the highlights and all the accomplishments that the schools have done. And you can kind of feel it a little bit. Like okay, either I'm wanted here or I'm not. And that's kind of where you're like able to really decide, okay, this is something I want to go forward with or something I don't. But when you spend time with the coaching staff and get to really like get to know them personally and actually like sit down and have conversations, you can tell a lot about their intentions.
- You know, it's an interesting process and I think about this for people who are applying for jobs. You're applying because you want the job. But they're also wanting you to want the job.
- Yeah.
- So they're trying, so when I'm interviewing people, I spend most of my time trying to sell Texas State. And the same thing's happening with a coach and a player. Like he's trying to sell what we have here but you're also trying to sell yourself. Right? And so it's like a little bit of a dance there. You're both trying to sell to each other.
- Exactly, yeah. And I think that was always the awkward part in recruiting.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- When like there was like a high, like a, you know, college coach super high on you and you're just like, oh, I don't have the same energy there.
- Not feeling it.
- Yeah. And so they're just trying to reel you in and you're just not biting, not taking it.
- Or vice versa. Like you really want to go there and they're going, yeah, we got like six other guys here.
- Plenty of that as well. Oh yeah.
- Exactly. So what happens at some point, Coach Kinne or who's recruiting you? Was it Coach Kinne or someone else?
- So Coach Leftwich, Mack Leftwich.
- [Kelly] Okay, yeah, Coach Mack.
- Which was the first guy that I met with the new staff.
- So they call and they say, hey, we want you to come to Texas State. How does that feel?
- It felt really good.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- You know, I think you know, my first encounter with the new staff was, Coach Leftwich showed up to one of my spring practices when I was still at Cypress Creek my junior year.
- It's a big deal when they show up in your school.
- Oh yeah.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- And so they watched me throw and, you know, I remember him telling me like, hey, like, you know, if it was up to me, I would've offered you, but we got to let you throw in front of the head coach. And so like when you hear that as a recruiter, it's like, man, like I don't want to drive to San Marcos. It's two-and-a-half hours away. Like I don't know if I want to do that. And at the time I knew nothing about the new staff.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- I knew nothing about what they did previously, you know, at UIW. And so I was just kind of looking at Texas State like, I don't know if that's where I want to be.
- Was this a new staff then? So I'm trying to get the timing. So we had just hired them.
- So yeah, this is March of 2023.
- Yeah.
- So they've been office for like three months.
- So they hadn't been.
- Exactly.
- Had a season under their belt.
- Exactly.
- So you're like, oh, who are these guys?
- Yeah, exactly, so I'm just like.
- By the way, I'm thinking the same thing.
- Yeah.
- Who are these guys? I hope it works.
- Yeah, and so it was kind of weird for me. I was like, I know nothing about, they don't have, but I mean, sure enough, I ended up going on a, I ended up transferring to Reagan.
- Plus you're so much closer now.
- Exactly, and I had my OC at Reagan High School was super close with Coach Bryant, our tight ends coach, knew Coach Leftwich personally, and Coach Kinne. And so I was like, hey, like, I know those guys, you should go up to a camp. And I was like, all right, I'll go to a camp. And I mean, I probably had, you know, trying to stay humble, but I probably had the best throwing day of my entire life.
- Yeah.
- It was super weird. I was like, I have never thrown the ball that accurately that far before, but I'll take it. I was like, that's not me throwing the ball at this point.
- No, but it's great though. I mean, you, it just like, everything kind of came together for you.
- Exactly.
- At that moment because it's supposed to happen.
- Yeah, I mean, it's destiny. That God's kind of his hand working and all of it. And then ended up going on a unofficial visit, you know, a week later and just got to sit down with the staff and then actually see like, okay, like this is what they've done, but then also to see their vision for what they want Texas State to be, where they want to take this place. And I was just, I mean, I was instantly bought in.
- So that's before your senior year of high school. So then you got your senior year and you're kind of, are you already in? Like you're committed to Texas State at that time?
- Yes, I committed June of '23.
- Okay.
- Yeah. So going into my senior year was already committed, yeah.
- And so then it's kind of, do you have kind of like senioritis as a football player in high school? Like you're already thinking about college or you still locked in on the season?
- Yeah, you're definitely locked. I think for me, I was definitely locked in because I was at a new school at the time.
- [Kelly] Oh yeah.
- And so I had to prove myself to those guys and I had a lot of adjustments and new relationships to be made. And you know, I had a great time at Reagan, you know? And I think people always talk about, oh, are you scared about, you know, missing prom? I'm like, no, man, I get to play football at Texas State. Like that's going to be awesome. And so I ended up early gradding.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- January of '24, missing that spring semester of high school. But it was, I mean, the best decision I've ever made.
- That's why it seems like you've been here for so long because you came early. And then so that your first year, you red shirt your first year and you're kind of like, this is probably the first time in a long time where you've been sitting on the sidelines the whole time.
- [Brad] Yeah.
- How does that feel?
- It was different.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- It was different because I was very fortunate to play very early on in high school. I showed up and had a success almost immediately, was thrown on varsity as a true freshman and was able to start I believe it was like eight, eight or nine games my true freshman year. And so I was kind of always just bred with, okay, success early. And then so for the first time in my life, I kind of was told like, no, like football, I mean, you got Jordan McCloud who's the Sun Belt player of the year.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- You got RJ Martinez who transferred from Baylor. Like those are really good quarterbacks. And so for the first time, I had a new perspective. I was like, all right, I get to just sit back and watch these older guys and to learn from them and to take this wisdom in from them. And it was a really cool experience. Different experience for me, but I mean, it is who I am today.
- It's gonna happen, right? So you just have to like take it and say, hey, I'm gonna make the most of it. And maybe you would wish you were starting, but you're not. And so let's make the most of what the opportunity I have here. Like I can learn from these guys and then get ready for next year because next year you will be the guy. And if things work out well for you. And they did work out well for you.
- Yeah.
- So your second year is your freshman year. And that's why I kind of get lost. I kept thinking, he's just a freshman. Seems like he's been here forever. But so your freshman year, it turns out pretty good, huh?
- I would say so, yeah, probably.
- Yeah, so you get recognized a lot. Have a lot of success throwing a lot of touchdown passes, but also running for touchdowns as well. Team kind of goes through a tough time. We lose like five games in a row. What was that like at that moment? Like I'm there, but I'm not in the locker room. I don't know what's happening behind the scenes, but what was that like going through that, like that downtime? Because I know it worked out great in the end, but that, sometimes I think about you learn so much in the hard moments.
- Oh yeah.
- The easy parts just kind of go, but the hard parts are where your character's not necessarily made, but at least revealed. So talk about that.
- Yeah, no, exactly. I think, you know, for us, we were three and six at one point and that's like, you know, especially all the preparation you put in like each and every week to go out there and prepare for a game. Like you're just like at three and six, you lost five straight. You're just like, man, like, I do not want to go to work today. Like this is tough.
- And you have no margin for error. You have to win everything.
- Exactly, you have to win out. And so like we're at that point, we were gonna play South or Southern Miss.
- Yeah.
- At their place.
- At their place.
- But at the time they were the best team in the conference and they were like seven and two.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- And so you're just like, and it's like all odds are against us.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- We were like 20 point underdogs, something like that. And then you go out there and then just absolutely just like play the best football we've played.
- Everything works, yeah.
- Of the entire season. And so it was just like, and then from that point on, obviously go on to win, you know, another three straight, win the bowl game. But it was just like in that moment before we played Southern Miss, I remember like talking to my brothers. They would call me, you know, wondering like, Brad, like what's going on right now? Like how are the vibes in the locker room? I'm like, the vibes are great. Like we're awesome. Like the team's like, I mean, the most connected it's been throughout the year, it's just we just, you know, couldn't find a way to win, which was the unfortunate part. But then we were able to put together a pretty, you know, good second half of the year.
- Ended strong and then win in the bowl game and not just winning the bowl game, but MVP of the bowl game. So how did that feel?
- It was good.
- Yeah.
- It felt, it feels good, you know, whenever you're able to be up on that stage with Lincoln and Coach Kinne and to have that memory and share that moment with them. It was definitely an honor, it was awesome.
- It was an iconic moment. And I think it was the you know, it was kind of the breakout story of you. I think you're, because, you know, we're in the Sun Belt Conference and people aren't thinking a lot about Texas State perhaps, and we had a little bit of a downtime. I don't think people were like attending to what you were doing until the end of the season and people say, man, he had a great season for a freshman.
- Right.
- Fast forward to the spring and the summer, and the tide has turned a little bit. Now people are really paying attention to you. I mean most recently named to the Maxwell watch list. I think there's another watch list that you're on and probably more than just one other one. But people are now seeing you as probably one of the best quarterbacks in the country. That must come with a little bit of a weight on you, right? Because before, like, people aren't really paying attention to you and now they are. Is it, does the pressure, is the pressure heavier or do you think about this a lot?
- Not really.
- Good.
- No, not at all.
- Yeah.
- Yeah. I think I mean, it's an incredible honor.
- Yeah.
- You know, to be those things, to be mentioned on those watch lists. But, you know, for me, you know, my why is so much greater than, okay, doing it for an award, doing it for an MVP. Like I get up in the morning because this is what I love to do, and I'm doing it for a lot bigger than just myself. I'm doing it for a lot of people in my life, and I'm doing it for, you know, my Lord and Savior, giving him glory and the pleasure that he deserves. And that's why I get up every morning, You know?
- Yeah.
- And then I'm very fortunate. I'm very, very blessed with these opportunities, with this recognition, and I'm very, very grateful for it. But man, and pressure's just one heck of an opportunity.
- With the experience you had, it kind of builds your capacity to deal with the pressure. And the outside pressure that's going around you, swirling around you now, but when you're on the field, when the times are tough and everyone's sweating and you're like, you're facing a stressful moment on the field, you can draw on that as well, right? You know how to deal with the stress.
- Yeah, no, exactly.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- And so, I mean, the more, I always say like the more storms you're put through.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- You know, you know how to prepare for them, you know?
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- And so like you said before, it's, you know, the more, you learn more in the storms and you.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- It's like, we had our receivers coach two years ago, Chad Morris always said like, everybody's an All American when it's 72 and sunny, you know? And when the conditions are perfect and everything's going well, like, you know, everybody, you know, can do it. But it's those moments where, you know, things are getting a little bit, you know, windy around you. Can you continue to stay focused? And you grow a lot in those seasons.
- Yeah, so the bowl game happens during the Christmas break. You come back to school and you're like, now you're not playing football in the spring, but you're getting ready for spring practice and so on. Talk about the spring prep and then summer prep. Like what does summer look like for a football player?
- You know, for us it was a little bit different this year because we had no spring portal.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- So it's like whoever we have in January, that's our team.
- Yeah, so that was the year before, half the people, you know, were thinking about going somewhere else if they didn't go somewhere else. So now you know what you got is what you got.
- Exactly
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- And so that's very helpful for especially a football team who's trying to come together because as a team, you can't be, you know, separate units. You have to be, you know, all collectively together and in on this thing. So be able to have that from January and then now to, you know, here we are in August. It's been, I mean, just awesome to kind of see how we've come together. And you know, a lot of the off season is just a lot of running and a lot of lifting, just getting strong, getting conditioned. And then obviously you have spring ball where you're able to kind of see, okay, who you have and okay, who can, you know, fill these roles? Who can play? Who's going to step up this year?
- You know, it's funny is that college football is this way, is that you really only have guys for like four years, five years now with the new rules change. But the maximum's five years now. In the NFL, people, there's a lot of consistency year to year. Very, very little turnover. But you're, in college football, you're turning over a lot. And we got lucky this year. You sticking around, Chris sticking around, all these guys that kind of, that could have gone somewhere, decided to stay here. So I feel like we had a really good run here with people wanting to come back. But then you got to plug in the people who did leave with the new people and trying to figure out who's, you know, and they've got different strengths and so on. So it's a challenge for the quarterback to kind of be thinking about, you know, how do I deal with these new people? How do I lead these new people?
- Exactly, and it's just a, it's a cool opportunity because you get to meet so many different people, all different people with different backgrounds, you know? And so just being able to be, you know, that vocal leader and just to introduce like, hey, like when you have as much retention as we did have.
- Yeah.
- You have your leadership. Like that's established. You know, like, you know, you have me, you have Beau, you have Chris, you have Sully Burns on the offensive line. You have Ryan Nolan on the defensive side. So when you have that leadership in place, it's so much easier to establish a culture.
- Yeah.
- So when these new guys do show up, its great.
- When the new guys come in and say, this is our culture.
- Exactly.
- We're not recreating it all the time, yeah.
- Exactly.
- Coach and I talk about this a lot. You're not building a team now, you're building a program. And the program is, a large part of the program is the culture. So let's fast forward now. So this year we're gonna start off with Texas. Then we have seven home games, which is pretty exciting for us. But we're going to the Pac-12. Talk about your thoughts about joining the Pac-12 this year.
- Yeah, I mean, it's so cool. You know, I think just to look at where we've come, where Texas State has come, and it's a lot of credit to you and Don Coryell. I mean, y'all are just, man, y'all make the ship run. And so it's just like to see that, you know, Texas State, where we were three years ago and where we are now, I mean, just what an opportunity that is. And to see the competition that we're playing against, to see the places that we're going. And I mean, man, I'm so, so excited.
- What road game are you looking forward to the most?
- All the road games, to be honest, but that's the politically correct answer.
- You know, it is, it is, yeah. Don't create any bulletin board material. I would tell you that the Pac-12 sent us the schedule for the coming year and I said, man, this is a great schedule. These road games are going to be great. And then like a week later they said, no, here's the real schedule. And it was, they completely flipped it. I said, man, these road games are going to be great.
- [Brad] Yeah.
- And so it's funny. Now I make no bones about this. So I was at Oklahoma for 20 years, and probably the worst experience I had as a fan was Boise State beating OU in the Fiesta Bowl. It's like a memory burnt in my. So I can't wait to go and beat them there. So there was, that's probably. They could put that in the bulletin board, that's fine.
- Yeah.
- But it's a friendly rivalry. Jeramiah Dickey and I are really good friends. And so it is a friendly rivalry, but I think about the places we'll be going to. They're all kind of really interesting places. And I think our fans are excited about going.
- 100%, yeah.
- These new places as well. And then welcoming them to come here. What's interesting is how many of them are saying, I can't wait to get to San Marcos to see this place.
- Yeah.
- [Kelly] So.
- Oh yeah.
- What's your favorite San Marcos place to go to?
- That's a great, great question. I think me and the quarterbacks have a, we have a good tradition. We go out quite a bit as far as like going out and getting dinner, getting lunch with each other every week. Just because, I mean, that group of guys has been awesome.
- Yeah.
- But I think we go to Valentino's a lot.
- Okay, yeah.
- Valentino's sees us a lot.
- Good.
- So that Valentino's buy us any pizza.
- Owned by a great alumnus.
- Oh yeah.
- And so that's great, yeah.
- So yeah, that place sees us a lot for sure.
- Yeah, that's great. There's a, I think there's a all you can eat sushi place too that I've not been to.
- Oh yeah, Kobe?
- The Kobe, yeah. And so I hear a lot about that. I've never tried that. My wife's not a big sushi fan, so.
- I've never been either personally, but that place has seen the quarter.
- Yeah.
- The Texas State quarterbacks roll through there once or twice.
- That's great. Well, what is your favorite memory as a Bobcat so far?
- Mm, that's a really good question. And I think for me that obviously the Armed Forces Bowl.
- Yeah.
- Being able to win that game in Fort Worth with such a great crowd, like that's something that I'll never forget. But I think what comes to my memory whenever people ask that question is I mean, at UTSA.
- Yeah.
- In the Alamo Dome. And you know, me and Beau connecting late in that fourth.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- Or early in that fourth quarter was just like, man.
- [Kelly] That's a moment.
- You can't beat it.
- You know, I loved it too because I have a friendly bet with the president there. And the first time we played them, they won, and I had to wear an orange tie the next Monday. And then we beat them here. But then we go back there and that's a tough place to win.
- Oh yeah.
- Their record is really good there at home. And that was probably the most satisfying Bobcat win of my career.
- Yeah.
- To beat them there. The bowl games were great, but that one was extra special. We have so many alumni living in San Antonio and it's probably great for you going home as well.
- Oh yeah.
- All right, Brad, you get to be the podcast host now. So viewers and listeners send in questions. I have no idea what's in there.
- All righty.
- Use your best podcast voice.
- Yeah, so this is a fun one. I'm gonna have to think about this personally, but I mean, I am curious to hear your answer as well.
- [Kelly] Okay.
- What is your go-to karaoke song?
- You know, okay, I'm gonna tell you my favorite story. So my wife and I have these two other couple friends that we're best friends. We've been friends for almost 40 years now. And we happened to be in New Orleans doing something, and there was like a karaoke bar. So we go in there and Beth and Liz are like professional singers. Like they're really good singers. Beth was a voice major and Liz sings in the choir and they're fantastic. Well, they decide we're gonna sing a song. So they go in the alley and they're going, and they're singing Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company C. And they're like harmonizing, you do the C and C sharp. And they're doing all this technical stuff. And they get in there and everyone's like, yeah, very nice. So Mickey and I decided to get up there and we do Hey Jude.
- Yeah.
- And at some point he just lost the plot and he just was holding the microphone up, but the whole bar is just going crazy with singing Hey Jude. And that's probably, it was probably one of my funnest karaoke moments because that bar was rocking. And the two least capable singers in the world were killing it.
- Yeah, that's awesome.
- And the two professionals kind of bombed a little bit.
- Yeah.
- I'm gonna get killed for telling that story. But anyways, what about you got a go-to song?
- That's awesome. Luckily for me, I've never been put in that situation before to do karaoke. I'm sure that moment's probably coming at some point in my life.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- But when I think of that question, like I usually think, all right, what song can get the people going?
- Yeah.
- And I just go to, I think Billie Jean by Michael Jackson.
- Everyone knows it, right?
- Everyone knows it.
- It's got a great beat.
- Exactly, it's a good beat.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- It's easy to sing. It's easy to remember the words. And so I think that would be a good one.
- That's old school for you.
- Yeah, I know.
- Oh yeah.
- Oh yeah.
- That's great. Thank you for everything you do, for representing Texas State, both on the field, but off the field as well. Thank you for spending some time with us here in the podcast and sharing your story. And I look forward to watching you compete, not just compete, but also win in the Pac-12. So thank you so much for being here.
- Absolutely, thank you so much for having me.
- Absolutely. And thank you for joining us here at "The Current" as well. It's a great opportunity for us to learn more about what's happening at Texas State. The movers and the shakers that are here. Faculty, staff, students, and alumni who come and share their story about what it's like to be a Bobcat. Thanks so much for joining us. Until next time, States Up everyone.