Trent Dilfer | DJ Lagway Latest | Coach Prime is the Man

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Trent Dilfer | DJ Lagway Latest | Coach Prime is the Man"

Podcast Information

• Title: See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack
• Host/Author: David Pollack
• Episode: Trent Dilfer | DJ Lagway Latest | Coach Prime is the Man
• Release Date: July 31, 2025
• Description: In this episode, David Pollack engages in insightful discussions with guests Brent Rollins and special guest Trent Dilfer, delving into college football analysis, player development, coaching strategies, and the evolving landscape of the sport.

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I. Introduction and Upcoming Topics [00:00 - 02:21]

David Pollack opens the episode by welcoming listeners and setting the stage for upcoming discussions. He mentions exciting topics such as an upcoming interview with Trent Dilfer, highlighting Dilfer's multifaceted career as a 14-year NFL veteran, Super Bowl champion, analyst, high school football state champion, and college football coach.

Pollack also touches on the Florida Gators' current challenges, particularly focusing on quarterback DJ Lagway's injury setbacks:

• David Pollack [00:00]: "We're starting to talk about teams and injuries are going to start to be a part of people's seasons."
• Brent Rollins [01:15]: "He's missing reps and as a young quarterback, he needs the reps. And that's what's going to hurt them."

II. Florida Gators and DJ Lagway's Injury Impact [02:21 - 05:54]

The conversation shifts to the implications of DJ Lagway's injuries on the Florida Gators' season. Both Pollack and Rollins express concerns about Lagway missing spring football and subsequent camps, emphasizing the importance of consistent practice for quarterback development.

• David Pollack [02:40]: "Coaches plan surgeries around spring football... the reps are that important to them."
• Brent Rollins [02:57]: "You don't want to turn into a candle. One blow and you're out."

The discussion then transitions to Deion Sanders ("Coach Prime") and his resilience in the face of health challenges:

• Brent Rollins [03:15]: "Coach Prime did the thing on Monday, had cancer removed, but he was very energetic."
• David Pollack [03:50]: "Deion Sanders is positive, he's hard on his players, and leads with his faith."

III. Deion Sanders' Influence on College Football [05:13 - 12:37]

Pollack praises Deion Sanders for revitalizing the Colorado Buffaloes, highlighting his unique energy and leadership style compared to traditional coaching approaches. Sanders' ability to attract attention and elevate the program's profile is lauded:

• Brent Rollins [05:00]: "His energy and passion for the game, it's a different element and it's a great thing for college football."
• David Pollack [05:42]: "The amount of shine he's brought to Boulder, Colorado is significant."

Listeners engage through tweets discussing memorable college football moments, with specific mentions of iconic plays and games. Pollack reminisces about personal experiences witnessing historic moments:

• David Pollack [06:32]: "I remember where I was when you made that play against South Carolina... You have those moments where the fans remember their squad's big time moments."
• Brent Rollins [08:10]: "Another one: Former South Carolina quarterback Jason Brown’s engagement with that moment was really cool."

IV. Introduction of Guest Trent Dilfer [12:37 - 15:07]

David Pollack introduces Trent Dilfer, highlighting his extensive résumé and expressing admiration for his varied accomplishments:

• David Pollack [12:37]: "Introducing Trent Dilfer, a 14-year NFL vet, Super Bowl champ, analyst, high school football state champion, and college football coach."

V. Trent Dilfer's Career and Coaching Philosophy [15:07 - 36:45]

A. Career Overview and Transition to Coaching [15:07 - 21:02]

Dilfer reflects on his football journey, emphasizing his passion and continuous growth:

• Trent Dilfer [15:07]: "God has richly blessed me with a very full football life... I have more energy at 53, more passion than ever."

He discusses his decision to transition to coaching at UAB, acknowledging the challenges of inheriting a program with limited resources:

• Trent Dilfer [18:39]: "I didn't ask for the horrific losing record... but I've asked for the challenge of fixing it."

B. Recruiting and Player Retention [21:02 - 29:03]

Dilfer emphasizes the importance of building strong relationships with players, focusing on character and personal connections over mere talent:

• Trent Dilfer [25:17]: "We recruited players that we want to have strong connections with... It's not just losing a player, but losing a relationship."

He shares anecdotes about player development, particularly highlighting the growth of quarterback John Kitna’s son:

• Trent Dilfer [29:03]: "He never flinched, he never changed. He grew as a leader, as a player, as a worker."

C. Coaching Techniques and Team Building [31:33 - 36:45]

Dilfer discusses innovative team-building strategies inspired by his time at Lipscomb, such as "kitchen table conversations" that foster deep personal connections:

• Trent Dilfer [33:04]: "We had these very organic tables of 8 to 10 kids... incredible bonds being formed."

He emphasizes the importance of authentic team culture built through shared hardships and mutual support:

• Trent Dilfer [36:45]: "Culture is organic. It's fluid. What you grow into has everything to do with what you do, not what you say."

VI. Defensive Strategies and Program Improvements [36:45 - 41:19]

Dilfer outlines the strategic overhaul of UAB's defensive unit, focusing on talent acquisition and tactical alignment:

• Trent Dilfer [38:21]: "We remade it. We completely blew up philosophically what we do up front, how we coach it and how we recruit it."

He details the acquisition of defensive line coach Sam Mills III and the emphasis on stopping the run through tactical recruitment and player development:

• Trent Dilfer [41:19]: "We're a lot better, but we don't know until we line up and stop teams like Tulane, Memphis, USF, Navy, and Army."

VII. Insights on Leadership and Talent in Football [41:19 - 47:37]

Dilfer shares his admiration for some of the greatest leaders and most talented players he has encountered during his NFL career:

• Trent Dilfer [41:56]: "The most talented I ever played with by far is Walter Jones."
• Trent Dilfer [42:19]: "Reggie White, Derek Thomas, Troy Polamalu, Ed Reed had instincts that you can't even describe."

He recounts memorable moments and the unparalleled talent of Hall of Famers, emphasizing their impact on the game:

• Trent Dilfer [43:38]: "Reggie White... when he decided to play his hardest, was literally unstoppable."

VIII. Expectations for Quarterbacks Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson [47:37 - 48:32]

Dilfer discusses his expectations for quarterbacks Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson, drawing an analogy between a butcher and a surgeon to describe their playing styles:

• Trent Dilfer [47:45]: "I'd rather have a scalpel... the quarterback position needs to be played like a scalpel needs to be."

He anticipates Caleb Williams' growth from a playmaker to a more refined and consistent performer, similar to Patrick Mahomes' development:

• Trent Dilfer [47:37]: "Caleb is going to learn some hard lessons... his floor is raised and he plays at a very high level even when it's not great."

IX. Conclusion and Closing Remarks [48:32 - 48:57]

David Pollack wraps up the episode by thanking Trent Dilfer for his insights and wishing him success with UAB:

• David Pollack [48:32]: "We thank you for your time and fire breathers only this season. Good luck to UAB and we'll definitely be watching you."

Trent Dilfer reciprocates the gratitude and offers continued support:

• Trent Dilfer [48:47]: "I think the absolute world of you, David... Continue to pray for you and your family."

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Key Takeaways:

• Trent Dilfer's Multifaceted Career: Dilfer brings a wealth of experience from his NFL career to his current role as UAB's head coach, focusing on player development and program turnaround.
• Importance of Relationships in Coaching: Building strong, personal connections with players is pivotal for retention and development.
• Innovative Team Building: Strategies like "kitchen table conversations" foster deep team cohesion and authentic culture.
• Strategic Defensive Overhaul: Emphasizing tactical recruitment and alignment to enhance the team's defensive capabilities.
• Leadership and Talent Appreciation: Dilfer's admiration for NFL legends underscores the impact of exceptional talent and leadership in football.
• Quarterback Development Philosophy: Balancing playmaking abilities with technical precision is crucial for quarterback growth and consistency.

This episode provides a comprehensive look into the challenges and strategies involved in rebuilding a college football program, enriched by Trent Dilfer's extensive experience and insightful perspectives on leadership, player development, and team culture.

Transcript

[David Pollack]

What's up, everybody? David Pollack here of C Ball Get Ball podcast. I hope you like it, man. Be sure to follow the show Wherever you subscribe, YouTube or any of your other platforms. Welcome, everybody, and again, thanks for joining us. Continuing to be here, Brent Rollins, David Pollack inching closer and closer. We're about a little over three weeks. Brent from, from some football. And now I think it's going to be a cool time of the year because. Well, first of all, we're going to talk to Trent Dilfer, who's always fantastic. We've both been a fan of him for years with, with the analogies and, and you'll get him, I promise. He always, he always delivers in the way he does things. Just, he's an awesome dude. Has been for a long time and really good in so many different realms, which we'll talk to him about. But like Brent, this is the time of year, man, where we're starting to talk about, like, teams and injuries are going to start to be a part of people's seasons. And Florida, that's a pretty big one. Florida, the Florida Gators are looking to, to really come on the scene. Last year, a lot of turmoil, wondering about where they would be, where they would end up, end the season really, really hot, everything going in the right direction. But DJ Lagway missed all of spring and now having more issues, you know, at the quarterback spot for Florida and in camp this time now.

[Brent Rollins]

So calf on in a boot, missed some time. Like, it's one of those things where he'd probably play if they had a game. But it's just he's missing reps and as a young quarterback, he needs the reps. And that's what's going to hurt them, I think. Not necessarily. It's not going to hurt them as long as he's there. Game one. It's not. That's, that's what matters in the end.

[David Pollack]

But I do think you're right, though. I do think it hurts you because, because he missed all spring. Like, I think, listen, the coaches, like, coaches plan surgeries around spring football. Literally. They'll let them go through spring healthy and then have surgery and rehab and then get ready for fall camp because the reps are that important to them, like mentally and going through it and just like timing with the quarterback and receivers. There's nothing bigger than that. Like, they have to be on the same page. They have to understand how this kid breaks, you know, on the, how he breaks out of his break so I can throw the football correctly. So I, I do. I just say, Brett, like, the clock is ticking and, and you're going to play games where it's going to really, really matter.

[Brent Rollins]

It's not. It's one of those where you're, you're definitely watching it. I mean, by the way, they were 60 in games that he started and finished. So his presence is a big, big deal for them. But to me, I've. And I've heard many a coach and even said it before, the greatest ability, availability.

[David Pollack]

And you worry about that now with lagway, with being hurt last year with the hamstring, all of camp with a shoulder, now a calf. Like, I mean, that, that, that starts to add up and become, you know, issue after issue. And that's just. It can't. It can nag those players and it can really be sometimes the reason why people aren't successful.

[Brent Rollins]

Yeah. You don't want to turn into a candle. One blow and you're out.

[David Pollack]

Yeah, you don't want that.

[Brent Rollins]

That was, that was. I gives credit to my dad on that one. That was what he played.

[David Pollack]

You don't need to give credit because nobody, nobody thought it was good. You'd have to give credit. You just give. You can tell him dad joke, dad joke.

[Brent Rollins]

Sorry, dad just had to ruin that one for you there. Speaking of dad who's a coach and no longer his son no longer plays for him, but he's going to be coaching, and that's Coach Prime. So he did the thing on Monday, had the press conference with the doctors, by the way, had cancer, bladder was removed, but he was very energetic, very, hey, I'm here. I'm going to be here. And that to me, because I was. When they said the medical team was going to be at the press conference, I was like, oh, that's not good. But it being a good thing. Him being around college football, to me is a very, very good thing.

[David Pollack]

And here's another thing, too. I'm. I continue to be a Dion fan. It's hard not to cheer for him with his outlook on life, man. Like, he's just. If you listen to Dion, he's. He's positive, he's hard on his players. Like we've talked about before, he's faith filled, which I love that he, that he leads with his faith, and he's trying to help these dudes, these young kids grow. Dion's got every reason in the world, by the way, not to coach. He's got gazillions of dollars in the bank. He's got his toes Amputated a year ago and had all kinds of health issues now, like, leading to cancer. And he's continuing to do it. I think it says a lot about Deion Sanders and who he is and who he wants to be. Like, I. I know people get turned off by the shade and the gold chains and stuff like that, but, like, listen to what he says and look at what he's trying to do for young people, man, I'm all in with when you. When you are that kind of person. So, like, I'm proud of what he's doing. I'm proud of the way he represents himself. And just keep doing it, man, because the young kids need these kinds of role models.

[Brent Rollins]

And I. I like him. Being in college football is a great, great thing. Great thing versus like. Like, if I was the head coach of Colorado, I'd be boring and I just. I'd be Belichickian and coach speak and all that sort of stuff. Like, kind of people probably say on the comments of YouTube about me, but him. Him and his energy and his passion for the game, it's. It's a different element and it's a great thing for college football for him to be.

[David Pollack]

Great thing. Bringing people to. To a Boulder Colorado has not been very sexy for a while. Okay. And the amount of prime that he's brought to that, the amount of shine he's brought there, like, I have so many people that are Colorado fans that I know that actually I have two. Not so many, just two. Two fans that they're like, listen, we're being talked about like, we don't care. Like, we don't care if we win a Natty. We are so jacked to be in the conversation on any segment, period.

[Trent Dilfer]

Period.

[David Pollack]

So, you know, he's definitely brought a lot of attention and. And they won last year, man. They won some games and they got a Heisman. Like, they got a Heisman in Colorado. Like, that's pretty dang special.

[Brent Rollins]

Yep. All right, before we get to coach Dill, we're going to hit a couple of tweets and kind of look back and some things that have been discussed and look looked at. So one was from you said, what's a moment in college football history you wish you could see for the first time again? And I thought one of the. The first response that I see because I follow him and mutual friend. That is a great response. And that's Nikki J. Coach Nick Johnson, shout out North Gwinnett Clowney vs. Michigan was the. Was the thing that he put as the moment in college football history that he would see for the first time.

[David Pollack]

Again when he decapitated and fixed the. Fixed the fourth down situation that went awry. I think there, there was over a million people that like, made impressions or views or whatever the crap that stuff's called. I don't really know how all that works on X, but like, but it just shows you, man, the passion that runs for football. And there's so many moments where I can't tell you how many people I meet, all I've met all over the country and in the Southeast. I remember where I was when you made that play against South Carolina. Like, I remember exactly where I was. And I'm like, it was the luckiest crap ever. And younger, if you're younger than, than us, like, trust me, you'd have to YouTube it because it's before HD. It's before Instant replay. Like, you're, you're missing out like on, on the play. But these, those are the moments, man, that the fans remember of their squad that are just so big time. And it takes them back to that and being in the stadium for a lot of people and cheering and losing their minds. And sometimes it's not good. Like, there's some flashbacks that aren't very good. Especially. I can speak as a Georgia fan. Right. Like, we go back to 2016. I remember my son crying from the hospital or the, the Dome coming home.

[Brent Rollins]

Like second 26, 26.

[David Pollack]

Like, I remember vividly him crying. I, I remember Luke Bryan, he was like. He sent me a video of Beau, his son, who was like nine at the time, and he was just sobbing uncontrollably. So we have those moments too. We have those moments where if you're an Ohio State fan a couple years ago, missing the kick wide right. Like, you have those moments too. That. And maybe that's the next one is what's that moment you had your heart ripped out of your chest for your squad? That would be another one.

[Brent Rollins]

So a couple of responses and I'll give you some teams and see where you think they went. So one Tim Warren, shout out. He just said one word. Vic. I thought that was a really good response.

[David Pollack]

Yeah.

[Brent Rollins]

A lot of people just randomly put West Virginia versus Baylor, the 20, 20.

[David Pollack]

7012 game 70 burger.

[Brent Rollins]

Yeah, that sort of back and forth, all of that.

[David Pollack]

Yep.

[Brent Rollins]

If I, if I, if, if Boise fans were in. We're in the mentions.

[David Pollack]

Oh, lateral hook and lateral. Ian Johnson proposing the Oklahoma game.

[Brent Rollins]

Tennessee fans.

[David Pollack]

Well, it's got to be T. Martin, right?

[Brent Rollins]

Recent, More recent beating Alabama Beating Bama and. And rushing the field. That was one for Tennessee.

[Trent Dilfer]

Smoking cigars.

[Brent Rollins]

A lot of Auburn fans said, kick six. Kick six. Gotta be Clemson fans.

[David Pollack]

Hey, I was on the sideline of the kick six. Me and my wife were on the sidelines watching that game. And it was. It was unbelievable that that was number one Russell or. Yeah. Russell Wilson's Hail Mary at NC or at Wisconsin to beat Michigan. I think it was Michigan State that day, which was crazy. I think that was. Or was it Kirk Cousins? No, Kirk Cousins threw it. It was Kirk Cousins versus Russell Wilson. I was there that one, too. But the kick six, obviously. Burn Lundquist. Greatest. One of the greatest calls of all time.

[Brent Rollins]

Clemson fans. Yeah. Deshaun de Renfro.

[Trent Dilfer]

Yep.

[Brent Rollins]

Georgia fans in a positive light. Stetson Bennett, Ringo. They went to the ring. The Ringo intercept. You can go.

[David Pollack]

Stetson Bennett, too, to Mitchell. I mean, twice.

[Brent Rollins]

Yep. So another one interesting. Former South Carolina quarter and Jackson State quarterback Jason Brown, I saw actually sort of engaged with that. And he posted a video of him like it was him. And he's just kind of looking at the stands at South Carolina right before he goes out on the field, I thought was really cool as well. So.

[David Pollack]

A lot of those moments are fun, by the way. Like those. Those moments are fun. Like coming out with all that stuff. I remember I sent a video to Lou Holtz when I started at espn because Lou would always talk so much. Because Lou was the coach of South Carolina when I did that pick six, I sent a video to him. When I was in the end zone and I was walking around, I was like, lou, that's. Like, I can't get to the exact spot. Like, Lou, do you know where I'm at? Like, right, Lou, where did y' all win the game against? Oh, no, no. Here it is, Lou. This is where it happened. And he was. He sent some good things back in response.

[Brent Rollins]

Yes. Some very nice things. I'm sure you Petty. You are petty. That is true.

[David Pollack]

Yeah.

[Brent Rollins]

And then one more, and this is one that actually I kind of thought about, given our conversation about Notre Dame the other day, and it's. Do you think we'll ever see an undefeated national champion in college football again? Because we, you know, two of the last four and five of the last 10 have run the gamut of undefeated. But now you've got, you know, the additions to the conferences. You've got, you know, more games, more playoff games.

[David Pollack]

That's the biggest. That's the biggest thing to me. Like, this is an easy thing because of the Number of games. Like, there's a reason the 72 dolphins are the only one to ever run the table in the NFL because there's so many fricking games that you got to win. Right? Like, and the Patriots came really, really close if it wasn't for Eli Manning and company. But I think it's, it's obviously hard. They're going to expand the playoffs again, so it's going to get even harder. So I'm not going to say never because there's going to be, there's going to be these teams, but I would say they're going to be very few and far between. Like, they're going to be once every 20 years, once every 15 years, once every 10. It ain't going to be like it was, you know, back in the 2000s where you had it almost every other year. At least somebody was going undefeated or two undefeated teams were facing each other in the championship game, you know, so, you know, those, those days, those days are done.

[Brent Rollins]

And the other part with it is this. No more super seniors. The. No more like the COVID super seniors that you had. I think that that kind of changed a lot of that. But yeah, that was one where I was like, yeah, I mean, I think it will, but the degree of difficulty is there. And speaking of degree of difficulty, our guest has some degree of difficulty in getting his program around so turned around. So we'll, we'll let, I'll let you introduce and talk all about the guest that's coming up here.

[David Pollack]

This is one of the most interesting introductions ever because the guy we're introducing to, introducing you to right now, 14 year NFL vet, Super bowl champ, analyst, high school football, state champion, college football coach. Like that resume, it seems like you should be done and retired. Trent and like just off in the distance, I mean, my goodness, you've lived a lot of lives and done a lot. I mean, all that stuff, man. Just think about your career and what you've done and how do you put that into words? A little bit.

[Trent Dilfer]

Well, hi, David. Nice to see you. You know, I get this a lot. And I think the easiest way to say it is God is rich, richly blessed me with a very full football life. And I use the word full. I don't say great, I don't say successful. You know, just full. It's been full of heartache, it's been full of adversity, it's been full of victory, it's been full of journey, it's been full of learning, it's been full of faith. It's been full of a lot of stuff, and it's. It's scanned over different types of football life, and sometimes I'll watch those NFL films. Football lives, you know, and I don't deserve to have one, but I always think through, like, wow, my football life has been really interesting, and. And I just think it's getting started. That's the other thing. I have more energy at 53, more passion probably than I've ever had, and I. And I've used a lot of my football lessons learned to make me better at what I'm doing now. And obviously, I need to get a lot better being a college football head coach, but, you know, it's just made me a better human. My. My wife said it perfectly when we were sitting down deciding whether to go to college football or not. I had a few opportunities, and I really liked the high school thing. We built something really special and. And I wanted to stay. And she goes, you know, Trent, she goes, you need to go because you're a better husband, you're a better father, you're a better friend. When football's hard, you know, when you have a mountain to climb, when the journey is rough, and she goes, it's going to be rough, so you'll be better. And she was. She was right. I'm a. I'm a better. I don't want to say human. I don't like judging humans on a scale of 1 to 10. But I'm a better version of me when I have a tough, hard football journey in front of me.

[David Pollack]

Well, that seems. Just knowing you for. For all these years and the amount of energy and competitiveness, this. To think that this is the. You're reaching the pinnacle, that's kind of scary because you are. You're competitive human being. But talk about just taking over UAB and, And I think obviously, you know, the timing in which you did it, like, obviously this is probably one of the more difficult times to take over a program that's not in the power four that it changes more than any anyone, because people come knocking, right? Like, and they're like, hey, you did a really good job, Trent. Thank you for developing this guy. Like, we're. We're going to use them to his full capacity now.

[Trent Dilfer]

Yeah. So I never use as. That as an excuse. It is a. It's a reason. You know, it's. It's a real thing. But, you know, and I go back to the comment my wife made. You married 32 years. She knows me pretty well, and anytime I start feeling Sorry for myself or these circumstances of developing players or losing them or not having the resources of your competitors or, you know, whatever it is, she goes, stop whining. She goes, you asked for this, you know, you asked for the hard. You asked for what a woman. Yeah, she's the best. And she just reminds me that, like, this is what I signed up for. Because when I took the job, you know, this was a. This was a very successful program in Conference usa. You know, Bill Clark, I think, is one of the great coaches in college football for the last 15, 20 years. Built something from the dust, very special program. But the level of competition was a lot less and the resourcing needed was a lot less. And being able to recruit Alabama, Georgia players when they're young, raw, you know, see something in them, develop them over time, maximize the jcs. When the best JC players were still going to this level instead of the power fours like that, I walked into that transition from that not happening anymore. So you go to the American Conference, which is an awesome conference. I mean, we saw it last year with Tulane and you, USF and Memphis and army and Navy being in the mix at the end and what they did in bowl games, look at the bowl records of the American teams you roll into that conference and all the challenges that are to go into a new conference. I mean, for those who don't know, you don't get the full revenue share of the conference, you don't get a lot of the perks that the existing member institutions have. The portal all of a sudden becomes much more dynamic the first year. So you're trying to figure that out on the fly. You're trying to decide, okay, with this moving goal post, are we high school football recruiting centric, are we portal or what is it? And so we kind of went. We kind of did a. Both and. But really focused on getting really good young high school prospects that we think are diamonds in the rough and developing them. And you do, and you lose more than 10 to the power fours. The kids you recruit, you develop are really good players, really good kids, and you can't pay them a fraction of what they're going to get paid. So you're almost like, hey, can I drive you to this school? Like, this is good for you. So a lot of challenges, but at the same time, it's what I asked for. So now I didn't ask for the horrific losing record and all this, all the things that have gone bad, but I've asked for the challenge of fixing it. And I'm so Excited about that. Having a third year is an opportunity to turn this thing around and, and get it to the standard that it needs to be to compete in the American Conference.

[Brent Rollins]

So coach, given that, what would you say is the hardest component? Recruiting or retention?

[Trent Dilfer]

Yes. And you could ask me like, ask me like nine other questions in that question. The answer is yes. It's all hard. There's, you know, I think any coach that says they figured it out is probably coach speaking. You. I think we all have our iteration of how we're trying to figure it out and trying to figure out what's best for our program because I don't think there's a cookie cutter way of doing it. It's, you know, I, I'm very relational based with my players. I was as a player, I was as a high school coach and I am as a college coach and I won't change. I think, you know, we're all going to be on our deathbeds one day and we're not going to remember our win loss record, but can remember the impact we had on people and the relationships that we had on the journey. And I really care about these relationships. And you know, Cameron Shanks is a great example. He's a kid from Prattville. We recruited, we got him to flip from Liberty, keep him home in Alabama. He becomes an all American kick returner, super productive. I think 58 catches, bunch of touchdowns registered freshman, dynamic player. And then he gets offered a ton of money from an SEC school. And I'm happy for him. I mean, I remember that conversation and it was tears of joy for him, but tears of the relation. Like this kid's kind of become like a son to me. We've had a lot of conversations a lot of time together. There's been a lot on both, both sides and investment here and, and now he's, now he's going away. So it's not just you lose a great player, you hurt your chance of winning more games, but you're losing a relationship. And that part's really, really difficult because we're recruiting players that we want to have strong connections with. In fact, this year we primarily focused on the character of the player and what type of relationship we want to have that player with that player as we help him try to chase his best and reach the fullness of his potential. So that, that part's been very difficult. You can celebrate the good thing for them, but it definitely rips out a little piece of your heart each time you lose one of those.

[David Pollack]

That's why you're looking for fire breathers only. Got it, got it. Gotta find them. Okay, so, so listening to you all those years being around you, breaking down quarterbacks, like, I don't know that there's anybody that's better at doing it. So, like, how are you breaking down quarterback play now across the country? Because it's, the game continues to change and what we're asking quarterbacks to do obviously has become different. So how would you break down quarterback play across the country?

[Trent Dilfer]

Well, I'll say this, I, when I was doing that. So let's go back to 2008, my last year in the NFL, first going into ESPN Elite 11 camps, you know, trying to change the landscape of camps throughout the country. Like, my life was very different and I was fully entrenched in quarterback life. Like, I went to bed thinking about it, I woke up thinking about it. I spent my days watching tape on it, talking to the best in the business. Like that's all I did. And my goal was to learn more. Not be the smartest, not be a guru, not be the best, but to learn more about the position than anybody's ever learned about it, be able to communicate it in such a way that everybody could understand it, you know, so that was really the goal. And I felt like I put as much time as any human that's ever lived into study, and that's all I did. And I tried to run the elite 11 in such a way that really had some lasting impact with both players and coaches. And then talk about it in my role as a broadcaster in a way that like the house moms could understand it, the, the 14 year old kid could better understand it, the grandpa sitting on the couch could better understand it. And I felt like we did a pretty good job of kind of reshaping the language around quarterback play. Like, if you look at it right now, a lot of the terms that were introduced in 2010, 11, 12, 13, 14 are now common nomenclature around explaining the quarterback position. And I, I do, I feel a really sense of satisfaction with that because I think we've simplified it and we made it more correct. You know, like we made explaining what happens and the, the dimensions of quarterback play easily digestible and correct. Because I think forever broadcasters were just flat wrong. Like it drove me nuts how they would explain quarterback play. And they were just, they were 180 degrees wrong. And I felt like we had an impact on changing that. I say that because I don't do that anymore. You know, now I'm looking at defensive tackles. Is this guy A two or is he a three Technique, you know, does this guy have versatility as a big high school defensive end to drop down? You know, what's our will linebacker look like? You know, what's, what's the market for portal free agent field safeties and you know, are we a length generated corners team or, or we more twitch and speed. What does a slot look like in modern day college football? You know, I'm looking at the game again like I did as a quarterback, like as a high school football coach more, you know, 360 degrees. So I've lost my edge a little bit, to be quite honest with you. I've been back with some of my quarterback guru buddies and I'll give Jordan Palmer's great example, Quincy Avery's a great example. They took what we kind of started and they've gone light years past whatever I do now. In fact, I know a lot about the biomechanics and you know, mechanics and footwork and how to play the position. But even my quarterback, who I think is really special, I encourage to go spend time with Jordan out in California to kind of get caught up with some of the modern teachings of the positions and of the position and a way he can get better. So you asked me that question and I no longer would put myself in the quarterback expert category. I put myself in. I'm looking to find the best quarterbacks for UAB football and that's really all I think about. And now I watch college football and I admire a lot of the things I see in other players and I can find flaws in their game because I'm, I'm watching them as an opponent scout. But it's a very different perspective on the quarterback position than I had leading up to this coach.

[Brent Rollins]

I can't tell you how many times I'd sent a text to Davey, hey, you've got to listen to what Coach Dilvers Trent Del said on Rosello. This is the best way to explain it. Great analogy, all that sort of stuff. Send it to him all the time. But you mentioned your quarterback. So I've been watching him a little bit recently and the last name, especially with the number that he wears and how he throws it feels like his last name should be Rivers, not Kitna. Yeah, there's one thing and then also just kind of watching him and this is my takeaway. He looked like a kid who instincts, talent, all these things that you want are there, but he just hadn't played in a while. In the feel and the what's around you, the Mental clock, all that stuff, it just wasn't there yet. So is that true? And then how has that gotten better over the spring?

[Trent Dilfer]

You nailed it. That's exactly who he was last year. You know, we knew we had a special talent today rolled up on campus. And then, you know, talking to the people at the University of Florida, they, they saw it towards the end of his time there, too. You know, he was going to take over for Richards before the unfortunate circumstances came up. And when we got him on campus, and I've known his dad a long time, I've known the family a long time, I knew I was getting a talented kid. I'd forgotten just how talented he was. And it was like, drop your jaw. Holy smokes. Talent. Then he had a setback. He had. He had a pretty severe injury while he was backing up Jacob Zeno. That, that kind of set him back, and it set him back on a lot of those reps that you're talking about, a lot of valuable time where he could be getting live team reps to develop some of those instincts, the feel, you know, just the nuance of the position. And then I sat there and I realized really quickly that, you know, this kid has to play some football. It's year two. We had kind of plateaued as an offense. You know, we were 18 in the country year one with a bunch of, you know, really only having a handful of. Of really talented players. We kind of did it with smoke and mirrors. Teams had started to figure us out a little bit. We had plateaued offensively. And I'm like, you know, the, the way you pour gasoline on this offense is when the quarterback, the fullness of the quarterback comes out, we got to get this kid playing. And we knew we were going to go through some roller coaster experience to a certain degree. And, and to his credit, you know, he did have some really good games. Like you put on that Tulsa film, you think he's a first or second round pick. Some plays he made in some of these games, you see the greatness come out, but then you see holding the ball too long, poor ball security, some bad decisions. Like you said, a lack of instincts. And. But I'm glad we did it for eight weeks because he, he never flinched, he never changed. He grew as a leader, he grew as a player, he grew as a worker. And then he just absolutely attacked. Offseason, he's gotten so much better. We were very, very specific on the things we wanted him to clean up. I really believe that eight games of experience is gonna reveal itself as like 18 to 25 games of experience. You know, we really tried to create here, both for him and the team were three seasons within the offseason. You know, we wanted to create as many high pressure, crazy, chaotic game like situations in the periods of the off season so that they could feel what it's like. You can't recreate a game, but you can recreate the stress and the anxiety and the pressure and the difficulty of a game. So the game becomes easier. And we feel like we've done that. We're in season three right now, which is training camp, and we really think he's going to come out of this training camp playing like a wily vet. And then again, I'll use this word again. I think the fullness of who he is as a talent will really come out this year.

[David Pollack]

Wow. And he's talking about John Kitna's son, who, who played in the NFL for a long time. I was with him at the Bengals. A tremendous family. I know that. I mean, just being around them for a while, like just every. I know he comes from good stock and good parents, that's for dang sure. So teaching him, tutoring him, I saw something too, man, where you've kind of changed the schedule, the practice schedule and what you're trying to get from your guys. Like, these kids, they're different, man. Like, they're way different than when we grew up. And they're way. They've been coached different at a younger level. What, what do you have to do differently now as a coach with, with these kids and, and the way you're gonna approach it?

[Trent Dilfer]

Well, I think every team's different. You know, I've had a lot of great coach mentors and I get a lot of good information from a lot of these guys that are going to be in the College Football hall of Fame as coaches and, and, and I want to common message you hear from them is there's no cookie cutter way of coaching a team. It's that team each year is kind of specific to the needs of that team. And we felt really leaning on my two court. Well, my three coordinators, Jon Jones, special team Steve Russ, defense, and Alex Mortensen, offense. I really want to be a collaboration of ideas. You know, I think one common denominator of great coaching is they know who to listen to and they lean on those people. I really leaned on that group along with my assistant head coach, Lyle Henley, my strength and conditioning coach. And we really went to work at like, okay, what's right for this team. And and we really believe that this is a group that does need a lot of revelation of who we are as a football team with pads on. But that doesn't have to be by breaking them down, you know what I mean? Like we can, we can create an NFL practice environment that's very fast, that's very efficient, that's very productive. That reveals a lot of the things you need to reveal in your football team. And then get them off the football field and teach them how to engage better in the classroom. Teach them how to engage better and walk throughs, you know, have, have systems within our building that help them become better football players without the countless hours of toll on their bodies. So it was a very hard off season. Like I'm sure a lot of coaches will tell you. My, my idea for training camp was to make it exceptionally hard. But hard didn't have to be in the physical all the time. Hard could be in the mental, the emotional, the team building. And that's really how this schedule was crafted.

[David Pollack]

What's the best thing you've done? Team building. Like what's the, what's the best over all the years are done or seen. What's the best thing you've ever seen that like promoted this and glowing. Growing closer together.

[Trent Dilfer]

The best thing I've ever done was at Lipscomb. It's been very hard to recreate here. We've done it in a different format, but we called a kitchen table conversations and I stole it from George Whitfield. He talked about as a family they would sit down at the kitchen table and his grandfather and his dad would really do share some very difficult life experiences growing up. And I started wrapping my brain around like, you know, we as parents always want more kitchen table conversations. You know, I think we're better as community when we sit down and break bread together and really get real and transparent with each other. So Lipscomb, what we did, we had these round tables in our team room that we also ate at and every team meeting and every team meal that we had, you had to fill a table before you started a table. So you might get, you know, Johnny, 14 year old Johnny who you know is just starting to play football at a table. And here comes my five star SEC linebacker rolling in. Well, he's gonna be sitting next to little Johnny and then, you know, you don't know who's going to come in the door first. And all of a sudden you got these very organic tables of 8 to 10 kids. And then we, we do life together and then what they otherwise they sit.

[David Pollack]

With the same people every time and have the same conversations.

[Trent Dilfer]

Yep. And there was no phones. And then, you know, I would, I, I would, you know, we're talking about high school here. And I'd come in the room and hey guys, let's today let's talk about porn. And they'd go. And I'm like, yeah, we're gonna talk about porn. And I was showing your minds and you're gonna talk. And I'd call on Johnny and Johnny Stan. But then five star Tennessee linebacker is a great human guy. I got you. I got you, brother. And he would stand up and talk before him. And we just saw these incredible bonds being formed by kids that never would have known each other if we didn't force them into these very uncomfortable, intimate moments. Really growing as a team. You know, I say this all the time. It hasn't stuck here. I think this group's starting to get football's famous for being full of crap. Nobody's more full of crap than football coaches and players. They say one thing and they do another. This is my life of football coach speak. A coach can say one thing and then go do the opposite. You know what I'm talking about? Locker rooms are full of false bravado. And I'm going to say one thing. Oh, then I'm actually go get challenged to do that. Can't do it. You know, that's what I loved about the NFL. And what you loved about the NFL is you got call it out. Like if I say I'm going to do something and your job's I better go do it. Well, you know, we got everybody's that's a superhero and a tough guy and on this thing. But yet you ask him to do it in a team meeting or out on there. No, no, I can't do it now. And I think that's what this did. This forced your, your, your talk to be your action. Like we are truly going to come together. I think that's why that those teams at Lipscomb were so dominant was because of that. I mean that was true. These kids are going to be friends for a life. I mean you got a group of, you know, 80 kids that last year that they've all gone their separate ways and, and they are all still like this. And that's harder to create in modern day football in college. So you're always looking for situations that can recreate what I was able to do at Lipscomb. I think the best way to do it is I think doing hard things. If you See behind me, like my two core values in life do hard things. And at the edge of uncomfortable is where you'll find greatness. Like, you gotta force them into hard, uncomfortable life situations that they wouldn't choose for themselves. Then they need to be brought along with other people to do it with them. That. That becomes tribal. Like, we're gonna do this hard thing together. And then Michael Gervais taught me this true authentic confidence in the group comes when you're doing hard things together and you're speaking well to yourself. Your self talks right. And your corporate audio is right. So it's like, I got this. I can overcome. I have the courage. I was built for this. That's my self talk now I have my building talk. You got this. I got your back. We can do this together. Oh, they don't know what's coming. We got this. You know, whatever it is, that's authentic tribal confidence. Not this false bravado that everybody has on social media. I think that's what you're searching for. Now, obviously, I've not done it here yet. We have not played with that. But to me, that's culture. You know, culture is organic. It's fluid. You have a culture now, but you're going to grow into another culture. And what you grow into has a lot to do with. Has everything to do with what you do. Not with what you say, not with what you want, not what you dream about, what you actually do. What are your habits?

[David Pollack]

I see better than I hear.

[Trent Dilfer]

Exactly. I have it on the thing. Right. What I. You know, Emerson. Right. Your actions speak so loudly I cannot hear what you're saying. And that's. I mean, that's all around this building. And now, again, we haven't done it. We haven't won. But that's what I'm constantly getting everybody in this building to try to understand as I've lived it now in the NFL and in high school, where you have that perfect blend of enough talent and the perfect soul of a football team. We have not had a uab, but I'm. I'm gonna go down. I'll probably die trying to get to bring it here.

[Brent Rollins]

Yeah. By the way, he's. Davey's completely stealing that from you. The table thing. He's already got that. It's gonna happen probably the next two days.

[Trent Dilfer]

Yeah. I told my girls, Vol. You know, I have three daughters that played volleyball. And I talked to a very successful college volleyball coach. She was calling me about some advice, and she respected my daughters. And I said, just do that do a form of that, you know, it doesn't have to be that exact way, but these intimate hard settings where they got to work it out together and, and it's magic when you can pull it off.

[Brent Rollins]

Unfortunately though, it doesn't help stop the run. And that's one where you now have a almost entirely new defensive staff and the new defensive line. So how are you enjoying that life where it's like, okay, I've got new staff, new, and you're doing, trying to do all those things to help you stop people from running the football on you.

[Trent Dilfer]

So where I will. I know what you're saying. I agree with you where. But I will say this. You got a good soul as a football team. You'll stop the run now. You have to have enough talent, you have to have enough length, you have to have enough size, but you play hard enough, you learn how to destroy blocks. You have 11 people playing with on heartbeat, on defense, you can stop the run. We, we remade it. We completely blew up philosophically what we do up front, how we coach it and how we recruit it. So Steve Russ, my new Vincent coordinator, was lucky to work with Sam Mills iii, the great Sam Mills son in the Carolina Panthers as well as the Washington Commanders. We're able to get Sam to join us. You're talking about an elite level coach that's coached, you know, first round picks to pro Bowls, but he's also recruited under undrafted free agents to pro Bowls. You know, there's a lot of synergy between how the defense is coordinated and how the front plays. I think we've been lacking that in the past. There was a disconnect in vision of how the defense was to be played and how it was actually being taught. Not that last coach, really good guy, really good coach. It just wasn't the right fit. We have a different style of player. You know, it's very specific to who plays the shade and who plays the three and what the field end looks like, what the boundary ends looks like. We have a lot of them. We recruited a lot of defensive linemen. It was priority number one. We did that in the winter knowing that the, we knew that the, the free agent offensive line market is way overpriced in the winter, that that market changes in the spring. We knew that you could get value on the defensive line in the winter. So we just absolutely went all in on the defensive line in the portal. Knowing the market we could, we could handle the market effect knowing that if we tried to compete in the tackle offensive line market we have no chance in the winter. So we felt like we were strategic that way. We. We handled each position group based on market trends over the first two years with free agency. I know you guys call it the portal, but it's not the portal. It's under. It's unrestricted free agency. So we felt like we're pretty tactical there, and we're really pleased with some young guys that were on our roster that were younger guys that we had developed that had been banged up, really hadn't seen the field much, really pleased with their development. So we feel like we're a lot better, but, you know, we don't know it's fool's gold until we. We have to line up and stop, you know, A Tulane stubborn run team, a Memphis stubborn run team, a USF who's got tempo and speed and physicality and great backs. A Navy. An army who just bludgeon you to death and then misdirect. Misdirect you. So we got to prove it, but we feel a lot better about our ability to stop the run this year.

[David Pollack]

In the past, Trent, you spent. Trent Dill, for joining us. You spent 14 years in the NFL. Like, who's the greatest, you know, leader slash greatestly. I'm gonna buy some time for you. Greatest leader slash. Also, maybe like the. Just the most talented person you've ever seen. Like, just whether you played with them or not, you're just like, what the freak is that. Like, God made them to play that position and they were blessed beyond belief. I mean, the leader. I might. Obviously, I have to imagine Ray Lewis is probably on that list pretty high as well. But what about those two questions?

[Trent Dilfer]

So I think I played with 12 hall of Famers on teams. The most talented I ever played with by far is Walter Jones.

[David Pollack]

Freak. A leak.

[Trent Dilfer]

Nothing. You can't. There's no words. There's just no words. He blocked Bruce Smith one game and never broke a sweat. True story. Had no.

[David Pollack]

Never went to training camp either. Did he? Was never there, was he?

[Trent Dilfer]

Yeah. Had no pit stains after 60 minutes and 70 plays of blocking. Blocking. Bruce Smith prime. Reggie White, Derek Thomas, Troy Palomalo, Ed Reed. Those are the guys that stand out as. And my guy in my team, Warren Sapp, Johnny Randall, those are the guys that stand out. I know I'm missing a couple that you're like, there's. They're. They're gods of football. Like, they're just. They're just so different. You can't put words on it. Like, I. I don't have the vocabulary to describe how much better they were than everybody else. Of the best of the best. Reggie White, when he decided to play his hardest, was literally unstoppable. And you can talk to every tackle that's ever played that played against him and said, you know, there's gonna be about 30 to 40 plays a game that he's going to decide to ruin the play. And he was undefeated, ruining it.

[David Pollack]

I don't think people understand when he clubbed 350 pound men, they went flying off their feet like that's not normal.

[Trent Dilfer]

It's crazy the things he was able to do. Derek Thomas played at a speed that I can't again communicate. Prime was, you know, prime was interesting. Prime would give you a couple things. Prime was like a con man. He would give you just enough to reel you in to get, to get the big play. Like prime could have just said, hey, don't throw it over here, you're not going to catch it. But first and 10 on the minus 32 and you're going to run a slant, he's going to give it to you. But like +41, the same play to get in the field goal discovery. No, you have no chance. Like you're not going to complete the football unless you have another hall of Famer that's going to give you a possibility of a chance. Troy, Paula Mallow, Ed Reed had instincts that you can't even describe. They just showed up in places that they weren't supposed to show up. You know, Warren Sapp, who I played with in practice, was unblockable at the three technique. Johnny Randall, he kind of reinvented the three technique before Warren and then Warren kind of took it to another level. But again, just so, so privileged to play against some of the great defensive players in the hall of fame. During my 14 year career, unfortunately a lot of them had a lot of success against me, but I deeply admire their talent and how they played the game.

[Brent Rollins]

Coach David mentioned one of our, A lot of our listeners are actually in the Chicago area and they probably want to hear what Trent Dilfer has to say about the expectations of Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson combo. And what do you think's gonna, or what are you looking for to see in terms of growth from him?

[Trent Dilfer]

I think there might be a little bit of a regression early on. Ben is, I would say Ben and I are very similar in how our expectation for the position is played and, and how much volume of stuff we expect them to master. Caleb's history in football has been keep it pretty Benign and let his athleticism really flourish and be a playmaker like he grew up. And I had Caleb with the lead 11. He was our MVP. I really respect Cale. Why I think he's a neat kid, tough guy, but he was at his best when he had that playmaking mentality. I think Ben sees it more like I do is this person's not a butcher, he's a surgeon. You know, butcher and a surgeon both have sharp tools. One has a. One has a big heavy knife, one has a scalpel, one gets you a pastrami sandwich. One saves your life. And I think a pastrami sandwich done right by a butcher is pretty amazing. But I think I'd rather have a scalpel with open heart to surgery to save my life. And. And I think the quarterback position and Ben does as well needs to be played like a scalpel needs to. Needs to be played at the highest level of detail and everything matters the same. And then plays come off of playing like that. You're not a robot, but you do all the little things perfect and then actually enhances your playmaking. Caleb is going to learn some hard lessons that way. Now give him training camp three, four, five weeks into the season of some hard lessons learned and they may win during those lessons. But he's not going to play to the standard that Ben wants. Once he understands what that standard is. I watch out. I think you're going to see. I don't want to listen. I think Patrick Mahomes might be one of one. But if you remember Patrick's ascension, you know, he went from super talent playmaker to just has a combination of like all the great quarterbacks. I could see the same things happening with Caleb where he goes from just playmaker making something out of nothing. You know, hair on fire, splash plays, but really low four plays too to where his floor is raised. And he plays at a very high level even when it's not great. And then the playmaking is even enhanced on top of that.

[David Pollack]

And that's exactly analogies the analogy. The analogy is exactly what you were talking about. Yeah, scalpel, a knife.

[Trent Dilfer]

I did steal that one. I again a lot of my best stuff I I've borrowed from as Mark Schler taught me this at espn. I don't know David. We are this conversation. Mark always said, hey, the first time you hear something really good, you got to give the guy credit. So like I'd be on TV and I'd watch a sports center and I'd hear SL say ah, Trent said this today. Really good way of saying it. He goes, but the second time, it's yours. You own it. I be watching work like Two Night Slayers. Like, like I always say, it's a butcher. And assert. I'm like, wait a second. Just two nights ago I said that. So I. I will say this. There's a lot of stuff that I borrowed from people and then I kind of tweaked. I gave them credit the first time, but they didn't get credit after that. That became a deal for ISM really quick.

[David Pollack]

Hey, nowadays with AI, man, it's hard to tell what anybody's plagiarizing anything. So you ain't got to worry about Trent, man. We. We thank you for your time and fire breathers only this season, man. Good luck to UAB and we'll definitely be watching you, man.

[Trent Dilfer]

I appreciate you. I think the world of you, David. You know that. Think the absolute world of you. Continue to pray for you and your family. And you let me know if I could ever help you.

[David Pollack]

You the man, dog. Appreciate you. Have a good one.

[Trent Dilfer]

See you guys.

[Brent Rollins]

Thanks, coach.