Does Washington Have the Best Quarterback in College Football?

Summary

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The Triple Option – Episode Summary

Episode Title: Does Washington Have the Best Quarterback in College Football?
Hosts: Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram II, Rob Stone
Guest: Jed Fish (Washington Head Coach)
Date: July 10, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on the ever-evolving landscape of college football, focusing on the rising quarterback class of 2026, the impact of NIL and the Transfer Portal, conference realignment, and a candid conversation with Washington Huskies head coach Jed Fish. Special emphasis is put on quarterback development, leadership, and culture, both at the college and NFL levels—with a deep dive into Washington QB Demon Williams’s near-transfer, how it unfolded, and what it says about the new era in college football. The show also touches on the US Men’s World Cup run and its resonance with American sports fans.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Quarterback Development and The Manning Passing Academy

[06:13-09:46]

• The hosts discuss the growing importance of the Manning Passing Academy for aspiring elite QBs.
• CJ Carr (Notre Dame) named MVP; Todd McShay called it “not even close” against a field including Arch Manning and Julian Sayin.
• Urban Meyer emphasizes that “throwing the football is just a part of playing quarterback,” highlighting Jeff Tedford’s approach to evaluating QBs: leadership and poise rank higher than arm talent.
  • Quote (Urban Meyer, 09:05): "Throwing is important, but it's about fourth or fifth on the list of things that I look for... The man in quarterback camp, unless [things have] changed, they don't… get hit when they throw. They're not trying to get first downs…”

2. Lack of a Running Back Summit & Mark Ingram’s Vision

[09:46-11:41]

• Mark Ingram notes there’s no equivalent “summit” for running backs, suggesting a need for a “RB Summit” or “Running Back Academy.” He envisions focus on off-field education, NIL, branding, and on-field skills, modeled after Tight End U and Manning Camp.
  • Quote (Mark Ingram, 10:10): “It has a lot of potential… there is a space that’s untapped for running backs and I think it’s something we need to get involved in."

3. Quarterback Class of 2026—High Expectations & Environmental Factors

[11:52-16:32]

• Urban Meyer calls this perhaps the best QB class in modern history, citing Carr, Manning, Sayin, Moore, and Sellers.
• Success depends not just on talent, but on supporting cast—especially receivers and the O-line.
  • Quote (Urban Meyer, 13:23): “The common denominator of every great quarterback is a great group of players around him.”
• Schedule difficulty and weather are additional factors. Meyer points out Notre Dame’s schedule favors CJ Carr for a potential Heisman run due to weaker early opponents and tough November games.

4. QB Stories to Watch — Diverse Paths & Transfer Impact

[15:28-23:38]

• Each host gives their 5 quarterbacks to watch. Besides the big names, they discuss:
  • Marcel Reed (Texas A&M), Keelan Russell (Alabama), Darian Mensah (Miami), John Mateer (Oklahoma), Josh Hoover (Indiana Transfer from TCU), Bryce Underwood (Michigan).
  • Concerns surface for Underwood’s fit at Michigan and for Hoover as part of the “one-and-done” transfer carousel at Indiana.
• The panel is split on whether plug-and-play transfer QBs can sustain championship-level performance, given the importance of system familiarity.
  • Quote (Urban Meyer, 20:14): “The one-and-done transfer quarterback phenomenon—it goes against everything I’ve ever been taught and believe... but they’re doing it and it’s leading to national titles.”

5. Washington QB Demon Williams’ Near-Transfer – NIL, Tampering & Program Culture

Interview: Jed Fish, University of Washington Head Coach [27:38-48:33]

Spring Game Philosophy

• Fish ran a full-contact, traditional spring game: “The only way to get good at football is to play football.”
  • Quote (Jed Fish, 28:25): “The whole carnival experience… doesn’t really work for me.”

Blending Influences: NFL and College, Offense and Culture

• Offensive schemes are pulled from time under McVay & Shanahan; culture is a mix of Belichick/Harbaugh seriousness with “Nash energy, Curry joy, and lynch mentality.”
• NFL mindset deeply infused: focus on preparing players for the league, not just college stardom.

Big Ten Move—Financial and Geographic Challenges

• Fish details the challenge of building Big Ten-caliber support in a formerly Pac-12 school with cross-country travel and NIL disparity.

Demon Williams – The NIL Quandary and Tampering

• Williams briefly left after an opposing program offered him $2M via NIL; after 24-36 hours and a candid conversation, he returned without Washington upping its offer.
  • Addresses the “Wild West” status of NIL/tampering, with no NCAA enforcement.
  • Quote (Jed Fish, 37:57): “What happened was a program told [Williams] they’ll pay him an extra $2 million if he goes in the portal… We didn’t change anything, we didn’t give him any more money… We talked to him about what a great opportunity it is to be a three-year player in the same program.”
  • Urban Meyer strongly supports Fish's player-first approach and rails against lack of enforceable rules.

Washington Huskies Culture

• “Nash energy, Curry joy, lynch mentality” — a blend of Steve Nash’s positivity, Steph Curry’s joy, Marshawn Lynch’s physicality.

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Notable Quotes & Moments (w/ Timestamps)

• Urban Meyer on QB evaluation (09:05):
  “Throwing is important, but it’s about fourth or fifth on the list of things that I look for… The man in quarterback camp, unless changed, they’re not getting hit when they throw…”

• Mark Ingram on RB Summit (10:10):
  “There is a space that’s untapped for running backs and I think it’s something we need to get involved in.”

• Urban Meyer on QB supporting cast (13:23):
  “The common denominator of every great quarterback is a great group of players around him.”

• Urban Meyer on transfer QBs (20:14):
  “The one-and-done transfer quarterback phenomenon—it goes against everything I’ve ever been taught and believe... but they’re doing it and it’s leading to national titles.”

• Jed Fish on Demon Williams’s transfer saga (37:57):
  “A program told [Williams] they’ll pay him an extra $2 million if he goes in the portal… We didn’t change anything... We talked to him about what a great opportunity it is to be a three-year player in the same program.”

• Urban Meyer on the player’s dilemma (42:11):
  “Imagine that kid, someone telling him ... two million dollars ... you want to jump that kid’s ass? No, no… it’s a 19-year-old kid.”

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Quick Takeaways on Broader Trends

- College Football Parity & Player Mobility

Schools embrace the “portal-and-play” world, but traditionalists like Meyer worry about long-term team development and continuity.

- NIL and Enforcement Void

Coaches and programs face open tampering without NCAA teeth; the panel calls for real regulations to protect both athletes and programs.

- The New Washington Brand

Jed Fish is candid about building a blue-collar culture ("Nash energy, Curry joy, Lynch mentality") and merging NFL preparation with college passion, despite being at a resource deficit.

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Lighter Segments & Side Conversations

• World Cup Reaction (51:05-61:59)
  • All three weigh in on the USMNT run, with Urban Meyer (a new soccer fan) bemoaning “flopping” and confusing stoppage time.
  • Mark Ingram shares stories of attending the World Cup with his kids, connecting the atmosphere to SEC football.

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Important Timestamps

• 06:13 — Intro to Manning Passing Academy, QB class of 2026
• 09:46 — Discussion on lack of running back summits & NIL perspective
• 11:52 — Sophomore quarterback jump: what coaches/fans should expect
• 15:28 — Top 5 QBs to watch—panel picks & narrative storylines
• 19:45 — John Mateer, Darian Mensah, Josh Hoover’s (Indiana) stories
• 20:14 — Transfer QB discussion, impact on college football culture
• 23:38 — Michigan’s Bryce Underwood: arm talent vs. touch & coaching
• 27:38 — Jed Fish joins to break down Washington’s trajectory, transfer/NIL saga, spring game, program philosophy, Big Ten move
• 37:57 — Demon Williams transfer story, NIL tampering, and return
• 43:07 — Defining the University of Washington’s program culture
• 51:05 — World Cup segment: USMNT’s impact, Meyer’s take as a convert

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Episode Vibe & Noteworthy Dynamics

• Candid, unfiltered “inside football” talk—equal parts old-school perspective (Meyer) and player empowerment (Ingram).
• Guest Jed Fish offers honest, pragmatic views about college football’s current chaos, contrasting structural challenges with a focus on culture and NFL-level preparation.
• High energy, lots of mutual respect, and real talk about the business, cultural, and emotional complexities of today’s college football.

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Final Word

The episode captures college football in flux: star players are more empowered than ever, but stability is scarce—yet, successful programs remain those that blend leadership, savvy adaptation, and authentic culture. Washington’s handling of the Demon Williams situation provides a template for player-first but program-focused coaching in the NIL era.

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Transcript

[Mark Ingram]

You were roommates with Eagles. GM hired Roseman. What were those conversations like about your individual futures?

[Jed Fish]

In Gainesville, both of us had these aspirations of becoming the head football coach of one of them and the general manager of another. Howie would come down on draft weekend with like a clipboard of picks. I'm like, what are you doing, man? And then, next thing you know, he's one of the best general managers in all football.

[Rob Stone]

The triple option is presented by Wendy's. Wendy's invented the spicy chicken sandwich, and now we're reinventing it, making it crispier than ever before. Wendy's Spicy Chicken. We're so back. Welcome to another summer edition of the triple Option. Urban Meyer. Mark Ingram, the second is with us. I'm Rob Stone. Today we are joined by Washington head coach Jed Fish. He's going to talk us what went through his star quarterback, Demon Williams in the off season and all the issues around that. But he is back in Seattle. We'll tell you why. Notre Dame QB CJ Carr has taken the early lead in that stacked quarterback class. We put a bow on the US Men's World cup run and we talk plenty of other things. As always, remember to rate, subscribe, send us those questions. We'd love to respond to them. And we are found on social media at 3x option show new episodes, drop on YouTube wherever you get your podcast. First things first. I always, like, look at the images of where my people are. My people. I'm finally home. I don't know where.

[Urban Meyer]

I want to see Mark Hager's wardrobe. I want to see his wardrobe. Imagine what that. Do you hang those shirts up or they just fold it up and you pull out a sleeveless man.

[Mark Ingram]

How do you do that? Pull out the sleeveless man? You know, like, you know, I had on, you know, my son's, you know, baseball team. I'm in here at Daytona Beach. They're. They're playing the regionals. And so I had that shirt on, but I said, you know what? I gotta. I gotta have the sleeves. I gotta have the gun. So when I. When I come on the triple option,

[Urban Meyer]

you know, I'm gonna say this for people. And I tell people, Mark, all the time, you're an awesome father, dude.

[Mark Ingram]

I appreciate it.

[Urban Meyer]

You are on the move all the time with your kiddos. Much respect for that.

[Mark Ingram]

Listen, I learned from two great fathers. You know, Stone is a tremendous father. You're a tremendous father. When I talk to your kids, they love and admire you guys, and they're grown adults. So hopefully when mine are Grown adults, they will love and admire me as your children do.

[Rob Stone]

Mark is such a good dad. He took two of his kids to go see Messi in the swamp. That was Miami that day. We could talk about that.

[Mark Ingram]

Oh, my goodness.

[Rob Stone]

That was awesome. That was a hot day, but amazing

[Mark Ingram]

game of the World cup, right, stoner?

[Rob Stone]

Oh, man, it was good.

[Urban Meyer]

We.

[Rob Stone]

We'll talk World Cup a little bit later. Coach, you are. I don't know, you're at some type of golfing thing is what I'm guessing.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah, I'm at a senior event here at Firestone, and I'm biased because I'm from Northeast Ohio. Firestone. This is so sad. It's going to be like, 75 straight years there's been a PGA event. Tiger, I believe, won eight events here. Jack won seven. So it's. Historically, it's one of the best, but this is it. There's going to be no more PGA or Senior PGA events here. They're just kind of moving out. You know, it's just. It's. The area is kind of been beaten up a little bit just years ago with steel mills leaving, but what a place, man. And, hey, Mark, I was paired up with John Daly yesterday, and a Pro Am, John Daly, that's been my dude for a long time. He's been trying to get me to be the coach at Arkansas since, I don't know, 15 years ago. He had a few cocktails one night. He called me up and said. He started screaming at me in the phone to become the next coach at Arkansas. Obviously, that's not going to happen.

[Mark Ingram]

How was that round, Coach? How'd y' all play? You know, how about this John Daly, man?

[Urban Meyer]

Oh, he's the best. He and I shared this with Rob earlier. I was with a bunch of the senior players, and we're talking about John Daly. You know, he won the PGA as he came in as an alternate. 1991. He won the British Open at the Old Course St. Andrews in 95. And they said, I didn't know this. He is arguably more talented than Tiger Woods. You know, because you think of John Daly, you think of that big wind and shoot the ball down the fairway a long ways, but they said his hands around the green were better than anyone. He just wasn't. You know, Tiger was training and working like a nut, and John was. John Daly's being John Daly. But I'm going to tell you this, though. Everybody loves John Daly. Every. All the pros love him, all the fans. I love him. Because, you know, John Daly is John Daly, and he doesn't care. He is who he is. That's why I love the guy.

[Rob Stone]

What's five. Five and a half hours of golf with John Daly look and feel like?

[Urban Meyer]

A lot of cocktails, a couple of cigarettes, a lot of great shots, a lot of laughs. We played with colleague, the race team that host the Firestone event, so they gave us a third place belt. We won. I just can't take in.

[Jed Fish]

I'm not.

[Urban Meyer]

I'm not a third place guy.

[Rob Stone]

You're not a bronze guy?

[Mark Ingram]

No, no.

[Urban Meyer]

So. But it was. I'm getting to do some really cool things in life, and hanging with John Daly, and this team was awesome.

[Rob Stone]

That's great. Good to hear. Good bowling community. Coach, where you are right there? I've been. I've been to. Yeah, a lot of bowling events there. One of the. One of the most famous bowling centers in the world is right there in that Akron area.

[Urban Meyer]

So a lot of Ingram fans here, though, Mark.

[Rob Stone]

There's Ingram fans everywhere, man. Ingram fans everywhere.

[Urban Meyer]

When they fire out and I. Hey, I. Urban Meyer went up and they'll say, hey, you're with Ingram all the time. And, you know, I wish they could say Stone, but they said, come on,

[Rob Stone]

man, I'm right here.

[Mark Ingram]

I'm right here. Coach. People always. I love you guys, man. I love that we're doing this together because obviously we do the big noon together. But I've had so many people that tell me that they follow triple option, and they're on the podcast and they like, oh, I love Coach Meyer. And they're like, how does Stone have time to do the podcast? I see him on the World cup every single day. I'm like, I was just with Stone in Miami. The next morning, he's at 11am on a live show in Philly. I'm like, these two dudes are the best in the world. Rob is the best host. He's the host with the most. He the greatest. And, you know, I'm just blessed to have two of the best ever doing what they do in my presence, man. Your guys inspire me.

[Rob Stone]

All right, are we done complimenting each other? Can we talk college football?

[Urban Meyer]

Are we gonna do. Are we gonna do World cup for a minute?

[Rob Stone]

We'll. At the. At the tail end. At the tail end. At the tail end.

[Mark Ingram]

All right, let's talk World Cup.

[Rob Stone]

Let's talk college football, man. That's what the podcast is about, the triple option. All right, here we go. There are 50 days left until we have games on any given Saturday. So let's talk about some things going on off the field. The Manning Passing Academy, like, what an entity that has become. By the way, it's that yearly tuneup. It's the who's who of college quarterbacks. And this year, one name guys stood above the rest. It's somebody we had on not too long ago, Notre Dame, C.J. carr. Our respected colleague Todd McShay said, quote, C.J. carr was the MVP and it wasn't even close. And this is not like a bunch of, you know, juco dudes coming in or rising freshmen in college. This is guys that include, like, Arch Manning and Julian say, and Marcel Reed, Trinidad Chambliss. Coach, you didn't attend the Manning Passing Academy, but you've had a ton of dudes go through it. What has been their typical big takeaway from working the Manning Academy?

[Urban Meyer]

Well, first of all, the Mannings are awesome for the game. They're great ambassadors. You know, this goes back to the patriarch, you know, Arch Manning. And I've been friends with the Manning family and known them for so many years. So we, we were honored to send our guys to the event. It's a great event.

[Mark Ingram]

It's.

[Urban Meyer]

I never went to a person. I was invited a couple times, just couldn't do it. But our players loved it. Our players would go there and work it even after they were done with college. So it's a great event. I will say this, though, that this could be arguably and Todd McShay, who we all. I think he's the best out there. This could be one of the best quarterback classes in modern history as far as guys coming out. But I'll say this about quarterback play at the Manning camp. I think it's really important to CJ Carr. I've heard and saw nothing but really great things from him. But throwing a football is just a part of playing quarterback. And I'm going to show you a quick story. Jeff Tedford, who back in my era as a young coach, he was a legendary quarterback coach. And when I got hired at Bowling Green, I called him and said, can I come with you and watch you evaluate quarterbacks? I never really did that. So I flew out to San Diego, we did a Nike football camp, and I said, can I follow you around? I spent about four or five hours with him taking notes the whole time. What are you looking at? What are you looking at? What are you looking at? And I think number five was throwing the football. He looked at leadership. Number one, he looked at just the way he handles himself. He said, I'm going to teach a guy how to throw anyway. I'm not that worried about that because I want to see that quarterback position is so unique that yes, throwing is very important, but it's about fourth or fifth on the list of things that I look for. I'll never forget that. And that changed my outlook and that's how I. How are recruited quarterbacks? Because I'll tell you right now on Tebow, I'm not going to, you know, you don't recruit Tim Tebow. I'm just throwing. You're going to recruit him for other reasons. And I don't think we've ever had. I've had great quarterbacks at every stop. It was because we had a set, disciplined approach to how we recruited quarterbacks. And throwing is important, but the man in quarterback camp, unless changed, they don't. They're not getting hit when they throw. You know, they're not trying to get first downs. They're not, you know, there's. There's Chase Youngs and Nick Bosa trying to kill you at practice every day. So I think it's important. But again, you know, I think there's so many important things. Playing quarterback and throwing is one of them, but it's not the most important.

[Rob Stone]

So we have the Manning Passing Academy. There's also tight end. You, I know like long snappers get together and have their own little camps. I'm sure kickers get together as well. But I'm not aware Mark of a running back equivalent. Is it time to fire up the Mark Ingram Running Back Academy sponsored by Triple Option and Wendy's?

[Mark Ingram]

Hey, it is time.

[Rob Stone]

That sounds like a summer activity.

[Mark Ingram]

It is time. It sounds like it has a lot of, you know, a lot of feet here, man. It seems like it has a lot of potential here, but it's actually surprising, man that there is no running back Summit, Running Back Academy, Running back University, whatever you'd want to call it. There's some legendary backs in this game and we see what tight end you has done with Kittle and Greg Olson and Travis Kelsey. I mean they're the gold standard right now. Obviously Manning Passing Academy has been around for a long time, but this is something I have discussed with running backs over the, over the last years, man. I'm close with a lot of the legends. Marshall Falk, Marcus Allen, Jerome Bettis. You talk about Frank Gore, you talk about Derek Henry, Darren Sprouls. Just think of the Marshawn Lynch. Just think of the, just think of the power there is behind the running back position and Some of the all time greats that have ran the ball and, and caught the ball and pick up pass protection, doing off field drills, doing financial education, doing nil branding, doing all these different type of things. I think we should all put something together and it's something that we have talked about and I think something is brewing in the future. It has, hasn't had feet yet, it hasn't had legs yet, but I think this is something huge that could, I think it's a space that's untapped for running backs and I think it's something that we need to get involved in.

[Rob Stone]

I agree. I think it's a great idea. Let's get, get that trademarked today, Mark. Let's make something happen.

[Mark Ingram]

RB Summit.

[Rob Stone]

Yes. Oh, RB Summit.

[Mark Ingram]

The RB Summit. Oh, you know, hey man, hey, I, I need, before we send this to any there, I want to sign the NDA man, because, you know, I don't want nobody taking my ideas and stuff.

[Rob Stone]

You know, I'll sign as long as I get my cut. Let's go back to the quarterbacks. We talked about this great class coach. A lot of the guys in this class though are going to be multiple year starters, right? Carr saying Manning, Dante Moore at Oregon as well. What kind of jump do you think the fans and the coaching staff should expect from these guys as they enter year two as a starter?

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah, I, I'm staring at this list and it's. This is the best quarterback class that they all play to perform. I mean you got guys like Trinidad Shambliss, Lenora Sellers, these guys are. Marcel Reed, these guys are monsters. Yeah, a couple of them kind of slipped last year, but they, that doesn't change that. They're still a talented group. But I think the common denominator of every great quarterback is a great group of players around him. And I remember talking to Sark about this, the year we watched last year. You know, everybody's all over Arch Manning. I get it. You're a quarterback and you had that last name. Get used to a pal. That's going to be the rest of your life. However, when players aren't open, that's not the quarterback's fault. And the receivers against Ohio State really struggle. And I asked him that question. It was very untexed. Like the offensive skill. I read about them. We were ready because we did that game. They're very talented. They didn't play great in that game. And so the con, again, the common denominator of every great quarterback that every quarterback that has a great year, he is surrounded by dudes. Julian saying there's one guarantee in Columbus, Ohio, he's going to be surrounded by high draft picks. Receiver will, Texas will, Oregon. I think they will. But do you keep that in mind? If you're listening to this, the receiver, the quarterback with the best receivers in this group, he'll have the best year.

[Mark Ingram]

Yep. And the one with the best protection, right? One with the best line as well. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Cause I don't care who you have back there throwing the ball, running the ball, Coach, if you don't got nobody blocking for him, it's gonna be a long day.

[Urban Meyer]

Now, I go back to this also the schedule you play, I'm looking at the Notre Dame schedule. And I love Marcus Freeman. I love Notre Dame. Those cats are going to be favored by double digits until they get to November when they play Miami. And guess where they're playing? Miami. In the.

[Mark Ingram]

In Miami?

[Urban Meyer]

Oh, no, no, no, no, no.

[Mark Ingram]

They're playing them in at Notre Dame in November, pal.

[Urban Meyer]

In November.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah.

[Urban Meyer]

And old cold wind blowing off that Lake Michigan might be cooling things down.

[Mark Ingram]

That November weather is different for them down south. Boys. They gonna be up there.

[Urban Meyer]

So C.J. carr is set up for a potential trip to New York.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah, for sure. At least for the first couple months. Right. And then take care of business on. On the back end. And again, coach, one of the themes we've seen over the last three years, just look at the national champions, they have won it with mature squads, with mature quarterbacks as well. So I think if you're in South Bend or you know, Eugene or Austin, you're like, hey, man, I'm loving the fact that my guy has been around already thrown the ball, has taken his lumps, has learned and is. Has to come back stronger this year.

[Urban Meyer]

And Dante Moore is, remember what he did? He sat behind a guy, ucla, sat behind Dylan Gabriel at Oregon, and then he's now taken over and he's been on our show. We love this cat. He's a grown ass man. He's a grown ass man.

[Mark Ingram]

And he chose not to go to the draft when he probably would have been a surefire first round draft pick. So that tells you about the maturity of the kid. Root for the kid. Great mind. A Michigan boy. He's from Michigan, from Detroit. So I root for my fellow Michigander.

[Rob Stone]

Let's continue that conversation. Coach, I go to you give me, let's say five dudes right now that, that you're really looking forward to seeing. That doesn't mean these are the top five in the NFL draft expectations right now. But just five guys that have you curious, you're excited about or you have questions about?

[Urban Meyer]

Well, I think you take the first four. In my mind. Dante Moore, C.J. carr, Archman and Julian Sayan are the best quarterbacks. The notables, yeah, they're, they're, they're surrounded by high level talent. Obviously Julian Saying's got the best player in the country, he's going to throw two. But they also got. This is going to be the first schedule they've had in a while that's legit. Legit. They got a legit schedule. I'm going to throw this name in Sellers at South Carolina. I fell in love with that player two years ago. I thought, I can't now. He didn't play great last year, but again, I don't know the whole background, protection, skill set around him. But I think you group them up and may the best man win. But I'm going to really keep an eye on Sellers of South Carolina.

[Rob Stone]

All right, Mark, you barked out a couple dudes. You want to add a few more to it?

[Mark Ingram]

I mean, you go with the notables. I mean you go with C.J. carr, you go with Julian Saying, you go with Dante Moore, you go with Trinidad Chombliss, but you go with Archman. But when I'm thinking about players who I'm looking forward to see, I'm looking forward to see Marcel Reed at Texas A and M the year he had, he was an exciting player, throwing the football, running the football, had A and M, what, Undefeated. You know what I mean? They, they went to toe to toe in Miami in the playoffs. Like I'm looking forward to Marcel Reed. I'm looking forward to Keelan Russell at Alabama. They haven't announced a QB one yet, but I think he kind of has the upper hand right now. Looking forward to Keelan Russell seeing an excited freshman. I know we have Austin Mack as well, tall, physical guy at Alabama. So I'm looking forward to seeing that, that, that how that competition plays out of Alabama. But yeah, man, I'm looking forward to those guys, man. My Mensa, right, he's at Miami, right. So I'm trying to see what they do. They were just a couple plays away from, you know, winning the national title. So I'm looking forward to seeing all those guys and seeing how they affect their programs this year in a positive way.

[Rob Stone]

It's always, it's always a fascinating position right in college football because we're still, we're dealing with kids and you don't know what's coming, but the hype around this class already, here we are in July and everybody's jacked up. And I'm telling you guys, like, just give me five dudes. I think we could give you like 20 that have really interesting stories. And what's going to happen? I'm going to bark out five real quick. You guys have grazed on some of these, but remember Mark, the first month of last season, Norman, Oklahoma, John Mateer. Dude was Heisman candidate, right? And then he, he broke that hand versus Auburn. Surgery, missed time. Never, never got back to where he was. Even though he did lead the Sooners to the College Football Playoff. I think there was some hesitation, like, do we re up with this guy? Do we bring him back? But he is going back to the Crimson and Cream. Can he, can he relocate that Baker Mayfield type swagger that we saw from him in the beginning of the season? You just talked about Darian Mensah. Remember, this is a guy who was just kind of recruited out of San Luis Obispo, California, goes to Tulane, and there he made great waves with the Green wave, led him to a trip to Duke. And then he left Duke in a lurch, right? They thought they had him and instead he's like, no, no, no, I'm going back in the Portal. I'm going to Coral Gables. So this is going to be his third stop. And it's a Miami team and we've talked about it. This they've got national title written on them, right? This is kind of a national title or bust vibe. I think that's going on in Miami, Indiana. Three straight years with three different Portal quarterbacks. And each of them, on paper at least, is better than the last, right? We had Curtis Rourke and then your Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza, and now it's the TCU transfer Josh Hoover. You know, Ken Sig. Can his OC Mike Shanahan, can they keep pulling off Sigma, but can they keep doing this one and done QB carousel? Like, for me, it's dangerous. At some point it's going to bite you. You want some stability, but who are we to argue with what's going on in Bloomington?

[Mark Ingram]

Hoover again, Hate on the Sig, man.

[Rob Stone]

No, no, no. Not hating on the Sig. I'm just, I'm amazed that they're able to do it year in and year out. And Hoover, like I said on paper, is probably the best of the three of those dudes. I saw him a lot at tcu. He is a bit of a gambler back there. He Is prone to interception. But, you know, I think he was put in a lot of situations where he was forced to make, you know, long third down pickups or dangerous things just to keep his team or keep a drive going. Can they continue that trend in blue?

[Urban Meyer]

The one and done. The one and done. Transfer quarterback phenomena. It goes against everything I've ever been taught and I believe everything about quarterback play. Quarterback play. The most important thing is learn the system and then get playing time and then, then you get the keys. Every quarterback we've had has done that to come and just keep rolling quarterbacks through. But I mean, they're doing it and he's not the. I mean, Oregon's doing it. Oregon did it with Dylan Gabriel. They've done it with other quarterbacks.

[Mark Ingram]

And the thing, the thing is they're getting playing time, they're getting playing time, they're getting reps. It's not all in the same system. Now you get to a place where they learn the system and the coach who believes in them with the right people around them, that's how they're able to thrive in Indiana right now. So it's, it's, it's, it's just an unprecedented time that we're in, coach.

[Urban Meyer]

And everything I learned to watch, everything I ever learned about quarterback play and having a quarterback ready to go, gone.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah.

[Urban Meyer]

But not my business anymore.

[Rob Stone]

No. And it's. And by the way, teeing it up, coach, by the way, that concept, handicap. That concept is leading to national titles.

[Jed Fish]

Right.

[Rob Stone]

College football playoff invites. It's insane.

[Mark Ingram]

We just had two of them. Two of them. We had bet go from Georgia and we had Mendoza go to Indiana. Those are two transfer. They had a lot of snaps, but yep, yep.

[Urban Meyer]

Ohio State quarterback. Yeah.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah. So speaking of Ohio State, remember saying when we were walking onto the field for the Big Ten championship game, Ohio State versus Indiana, it was like saying Mendoza, Mendoza saying, like, who's going to get our Heisman vote? And then saying, struggled, lost the game. And I think he lost his Heisman shot. I remember walking off the field with you, Mark, and I was like, well, Mendoza's getting my vote now. Like it's. Yeah, it's over. But he comes back. We had him on the show earlier in the off season. There's an argument to be made that they might even have a better or at least a deeper wide receiver core right now in Columbus. Like, it's insane how they just reload right there. The schedule is tough, but he's got a great shot to be the first. Heisman winner in Columbus since Troy Smith in 06, 20 years ago. It's been two decades since the Buckeyes won a Heisman. And then the last one, if we're talking Ohio State, you know who we got to talk about. Gotta talk about Michigan, right? The, the news, those assessments out of Ann Arbor around Bryce Underwood, man, some concerning takes about him. Remember outbid LSU to get his services last year. 2,400 yards, a lot of money. A lot of money. 60% completion rate, 11 touchdowns to nine picks. Did rush it for six touchdowns. Questions about his skill set. I remember going to those Michigan games and there'd be like those five yard, seven yard little plays that just need a touch and he's rifling things at his players and the man has a cannon. He does, but you got to be

[Mark Ingram]

able to taper that thing off on the different levels of football.

[Rob Stone]

There you go. Kyle Whittingham, Urban, your guy. You know, I think when he finally saw him, I get the vibes that he looked at him, he looked at the coaching personnel that had, past tense, had been set up around him and said, this is not enough. You know, like we, we need to supplement this young man with better coaching. More, more intensive one on one work if, if Michigan is going to be successful.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah, I've had a lot of conversations with coach about them. I'm not going to share some of them because that's between two good friends that work together. There are some concerns, but there's also, if God said I'm going to go make me a quarterback, it's going to look a lot like Bryce Underwood as far as size, athleticism, he's a great kid, he works at it. Are there some things missing? Sure. He got thrust into a really, you know, someday they're going to look back at that situation, go, what in the hell was happening there? You know, it just made no sense. You're going to invest millions of dollars into quarterback and then not have a full time guy. You know, quarterback coaches with young quarterbacks, I mean they're actually joined together. You've seen that mark. Yeah, Dan, Dan Mullen when he got, you know, whether it be Cam Newton, whether it been Tim Tebow, whoever, you know, Dak Prescott, I'm sure too, you turn and you're bumping into each other because that's how close a quarterback coach has to be with the young quarterback. What are you looking at? What are you saying? I mean it's non stop training that position non stop. And you trust a young kid into that environment. So I always take the side of the player. I'm going to say they'll develop them. And like I said, if God said, I'm going to make me quarterback, that's what they're supposed to look like.

[Mark Ingram]

Hey, coach, I appreciate you, dog, taking the side of the player. I love you for that, man. You a real one for that. You're a real one for that coach.

[Rob Stone]

He's always been a player's coach.

[Mark Ingram]

He is. And that's why he had them dogs on his squad, too.

[Rob Stone]

I love it. That was never cutting corners. Presented by Wendy's. Wendy's new spicy chicken sandwich is crispier, crunchier, more flavor packed than ever. Wendy's, we're so back. And when we come back, we head to Seattle. We're joined by Washington head coach Jed Fish on the triple option. Presented by Wendy's. Back in 1995, Wendy's invented the iconic spicy chicken sandwich. Built it from scratch. They perfected the balance of heat and flavor in every bite. So, yeah, Wendy set the standard, but standards don't stand still.

[Urban Meyer]

So in 2026, they're going back. Back to the flavor, back to the quality, and back to the kitchen that made the sandwich that started it all better. Meet the new spicy chicken. Same iconic sandwich from Wendy's. Now even more iconic.

[Mark Ingram]

We're talking a bold blend of nine peppers and spices. And the breading even crispier than before. Golden and glistening with that signature spice blend. Crispier, crunchier, and more flavorful than ever. All cooled down with some pickles, tomato, and mayo. Because you deserve more from your chicken sandwich. Being the first was one thing, but being the best, that's Wendy's thing.

[Rob Stone]

So don't just take their word for it. Consider this your official invitation. Come see, come compare, come taste. Trust them. You're gonna have to eat it to believe it. 2026. Quality is our recipe. LLC.

[Urban Meyer]

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[Jed Fish]

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[Urban Meyer]

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[Rob Stone]

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[Jed Fish]

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[Urban Meyer]

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[Jed Fish]

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[Urban Meyer]

Chevrolet together.

[Jed Fish]

Let's drive.

[Urban Meyer]

I'm U.S. transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. We all get distracted when we drive, whether it's from our phones or kids in the backseat bickering. But how we handle these distractions can

[Jed Fish]

be a matter of life or death.

[Rob Stone]

Before you get on the road.

[Urban Meyer]

For your next road trip, please put

[Jed Fish]

your phones on silent and take a

[Urban Meyer]

mental note to focus on driving. Paid for by nhtsa.

[Rob Stone]

Welcome back to the triple option. Rob Stone. Mark Ingram. The second, Urban Meyer. We take you now to Seattle. Bring in the head coach at the University of Washington, Jed Fish. You guys just completed spring ball, and coach has some questions about how that spring game went. Right, Coach?

[Urban Meyer]

You mean, like, in 2026, you actually had a spring game?

[Jed Fish]

We did.

[Urban Meyer]

In front of, like, you tackled and.

[Jed Fish]

Yeah.

[Urban Meyer]

So you actually played a minute. You had a spring game where you actually played football?

[Jed Fish]

We did. We had, like, four quarters, and we had, like, people there. I think we had, like, 20,000 people. 18, 000 people. And tackled.

[Urban Meyer]

And you tack. Tackled to the ground.

[Jed Fish]

To the ground, yeah.

[Rob Stone]

Wow.

[Mark Ingram]

Tackle to the ground.

[Rob Stone]

Why that decision?

[Urban Meyer]

Old school, Jed?

[Jed Fish]

Because it's football. Once. The only way to get good at football is to play football, you know, so the whole carnival experience that people are doing with their spring games doesn't really work for me. So we actually split the team in half and, you know, straight up starting left tackle with backup left guard with starting center with backup right guard all the way across. And we played a ball game.

[Urban Meyer]

Played a ball. So that leads me to this next question, because I kind of, you know, we've known each other a long time. I followed your career. You coach for arguably the best that's ever been around the game of football. It's like a who's who with Shanahan, Belichick, Spurrier, Brian. Brian Billick. That's. That goes back a little bit. Is there. Is there bits and pieces or is there one or two that you really. If I. If we dig deep into the Husky program, that you see it all over

[Jed Fish]

the place, I think you'd say offensively, we are probably most similar to what we did with Big Vay and Shanahan. You know, I still call it. So we're very much in that world

[Urban Meyer]

of

[Jed Fish]

systematically, we're kind of like what I did with Sean and Mike. And then I would say, probably culturally, we have a little bit more Harbaugh Belichick to it, that we were a little bit more serious about football in terms of how we kind of attack with our players. We're pretty much, you know, we're still tackling to the ground, we're still practicing long hours, but we're kind of mixing all of it together. You know, I probably. Sean's my number one influence. I thought that we had such good years together, and I've known him for so long that I really believe that the way he runs his program is elite. So we kind of are similar to that coach.

[Mark Ingram]

Man, you guys have had a lot of ball players over there. Seven Washington players got drafted to the NFL this year. What is your approach to balance college success and NFL futures? Have you thought about that?

[Jed Fish]

Yeah, you know, I've spent, I'm 28 years coaching 14 NFL, 14 college. So when we talk in our program, everything is about being a pro. That's our, been our slogan for six years. But it's, it's every day we talk about what the NFL does. We show them their NFL. I, I'm watching more NFL tape than college tape with our players. We talk probably more about preparing for the combine, the draft, picking an agent, how to handle yourselves outside the building. We really make a huge emphasis on that and feel as if we have a great opportunity. I've been so fortunate to work for seven different NFL teams, so I feel like I know a lot of people in the league by now. So we're able to call upon a lot of different people for help and advice to try to really market our program and our players into becoming NFL guys.

[Urban Meyer]

You know, what's amazing to me is as a Big Ten guy, and I know you're from the, I believe you're from the south, all of a sudden you wake up one day and the Washington Huskies are in the Big Ten Conference.

[Jed Fish]

Yeah.

[Urban Meyer]

And I was, you know, I'm so old school. I was, I was really opposed of it. But this made the Big Ten U. Oregon, UFC and ucla. And the rise of the Big Ten Conference now is number one in the league, I mean, in the country. Has it been good for Washington, probably financially, but has it been good for to have to get on that plane and go four or five hours across that country?

[Jed Fish]

Yeah, Coach. So I, you know, I grew up in Jersey but went to Florida, as you know. So I was a Gator, you know, Gator, multiple degrees undergrad and my master's GA for Coach Spurrier. And that's.

[Mark Ingram]

Right.

[Jed Fish]

Would have thought of Washington as a Big Ten school. You know, I think it was always the, you know, the Pac 12 was the Pac 12 or Pac 10, whatever it might have been back then. But I think it's great for us now. It's a challenge. We're a half share. We haven't had necessarily the same financial support with our roster as other programs have had. We're still trying to kind of educate the Pacific Northwest outside of, you know, Oregon's Nike deal. But for us, it's really about trying to get you know, the donor base and the alumni base to understand the financial commitment to be in the Big Ten. And then it's a, it is challenging. It's a national conference, it's not a regional conference. So unlike, you know, the SEC, where the flights are 40 minutes, you know, we're taking four and a half hour flights across the country. We're, you know, playing one week in LA and the next week in Madison in a snowstorm. So I do believe it better gets you. It gets you better prepared for the NFL because, you know, when I was at the Patriots, we could be, you know, one week playing at the jets and then flying across the country and playing the Chargers on a short week on a Thursday night. So I do feel we have that benefit. But it is a different world for, for the Huskies.

[Urban Meyer]

Want to go. Another quick question about that because I dealt with a little bit. Did you? So I would always go east to west and we would go a day early to get them acclimated. Is it the same going west to east or how do you do that?

[Jed Fish]

Yeah, the, the biggest challenge for us is that noon kickoff, because that Noon kickoff is 9am Our, our body clock. So we go an extra day early there. I don't really think it helps too much, unfortunately, that 9:00am becomes a 5:00am pregame meal. We're an afternoon practice team to begin with, so that's been a tough acclimation. We played at Michigan this year and it was 77 at halftime. And then I think we got. We just didn't play really well in that second half. And we did at Indiana two years ago for a 9am kickoff and at Iowa for a 9am Kickoff. And those three were probably our worst performances that we played all in our two years together. So it's certainly different going across the country, but we're still working out ways to acclimate of going a day two days early.

[Mark Ingram]

Coach, we talked about all the connections you have. 14 years in NFL, 14 years in college, but you were roommates with Eagles. GM hired Roseman. What were those conversations like about your individual futures back in Gainesville when you was Gators?

[Jed Fish]

Yeah. Well, neither one of us at the time were affiliated with the football program, but both of us had these aspirations of becoming like, the head football coach of one of them and the general manager of another. So we had multiple arguments about whose dream was actually crazy and who was actually reality. And it ended up, both of us wound up getting reality. But those Saturday nights and Sunday mornings were some great arguments about, like, man, you're crazy. Will you just go to law school and stop talking about this? Like, what are you even. You know how he would come down on draft weekend with, like, a clipboard of picks? I'm like, what are you doing, man? And then next, you know, he's one of the best general managers in all football facts.

[Rob Stone]

Coach, how did you get into football? Right? You didn't play it in high school. Instead, you were an all state tennis player. So how did you somehow transition just into a love or appreciation for the sport and now to being head coach of a Big Ten program?

[Jed Fish]

Yeah, well, my stepdad was the head coach at Bergen Catholic High School in New Jersey, and Coach Meyer certainly attest that that was one of the better programs in the state, if not the best program in the state and a national brand. And so I kind of got brought up ball boying and watching film on my wall in our living room. You know, back then, it was 1986, so, you know, I was waking up at whatever time driving, you know, driving in for Saturday football games and then watching it being played on the wall in our family room off of, you know, 16 millimeter film or 8 millimeter film and helping him splice the tape. So that's kind of where the love came from. And then my dad said to me, what do you want to do for a living? And I said, I want to coach college ball. And he said, well, who do you think's the best at it? And I said, steve spurrier. It was 1994. And so he said, well, you might as well go apply to University of Florida then, and see if you can get in. That's kind of how it all happened.

[Urban Meyer]

Wow. Well, I want to hit you with something that when this whole nil transfer portal, this world arrived in college football, in my own mind, I would say, what if this happens and it happened at Washington, your quarterback people, I don't know the whole story, but I kind of read from outside in. It's like, wait a minute. He got offered to leave, he left. You guys came back. Can you. Can you walk us through it? And I love him as a quarterback, you know, and how you handled it and the ability for you to adapt, and that's basically what you did. Can you talk us through that a little bit?

[Jed Fish]

Sure. You know, we had the. The end of the year happened. We won our bowl game. We're kind of all, you know, spread out. You know, it's kind of like one of those tough deals. We had an early bowl game, and we won 38 to 10 against Boise. And then everybody went on vacation for Christmas break. All the players got off and Damond signed his contract to be a part of our program for another year. And everything was great. And then we all came back for our first team meeting. And then when the team meeting ended, he called me and he said, coach, I think I need to go. I need to go on the portal. And I was like, what are you talking about, man? And what happened was a program told them they'll pay him an extra $2 million if he goes in the portal. And the kid's 19 years old. And you know, we were paying him a lot, but you add another 2 million onto anything and he was like forced to put something out there. And then we spent about 24 to 36 hours going back and forth and talking about this is the right place for you and you know, you have a contract and contracts mean something. And in the end, you know, he came back two days later. We didn't change anything. We didn't give him any more money or anything like that. But what we did do is we talked to him about what a great opportunity it is to be a three year player in the same program and we got a chance to do something super special. And what I told our team and is, hey, this is like the NFL. Every now and then a kid's, a guy says, hey, I want to trade. And then you say, I'm not going to trade you. And then they come back and they love you and you know, or sometimes you have to franchise a guy or sometimes you have to put a certain tender on a guy and then you just keep it moving. And Damond's come back and he's led our team and he got the most amount of votes in leadership council last week. And I think he feels really good about his decision to return and got caught up a little bit. And some adults were trying to give him some advice differently than what he should be following.

[Urban Meyer]

So. So I was asked to be on that commission with Saban, Coach Saban and Mack Brown. And I didn't really understand this whole antitrust exemption because without it there are no rules. And so you're telling us that a lot. Like when Coach Sweeney Clemson said that, that some other coach went after his player when he wasn't in the portal. That happened.

[Mark Ingram]

Oh yeah, he was off.

[Urban Meyer]

And did the NCAA get involved or did you just unfortunately go see with that? There is no ncaa, there's no rules. Coach.

[Rob Stone]

Well, that's. That was last year.

[Mark Ingram]

Right.

[Rob Stone]

And that sounds like full on Tampering Coach?

[Jed Fish]

Oh, it was full on tampering. But it is what it is now. And you know, I always say, like when it comes to. Until they figure out the rules, until we know what rules to abide by, I think we're all working under this. You know, these ideas of like, we recommend you not doing something, but who it feels like it's just a recommendation at this point. And you know what, what they don't realize is how that it affects the livelihoods of more people than they could ever imagine. You know, we got a full staff of, you know, 40 people, probably work in our building and you know, 105 players and all of a sudden you let a program start calling your players and not being able to control it and then that changes outcomes of games and of, you know, your donors, Your donors start getting, you know, pretty disappointed. And now, fortunately for us, Gamand is a, is a star and he's a, he's a great person. He's handled himself exceptionally well. I think he's grown from this and he's going to get himself a great NFL career one day. I hope we get to coach him for two more years. But, you know, I just think that hopefully the whole college football experience starts getting a little bit better with regulations so we, we at least have some rules.

[Urban Meyer]

Well, I'm going to turn it off to Mark and Robin, but I'm going to tell you this. I admire the way you handled it because, you know, I've always been real defensive of players. Imagine that kid, someone telling him, you're 19 years old, Mark. Two. Two million dollars.

[Mark Ingram]

Yes.

[Urban Meyer]

And a fan base or someone wants to jump that kid's ass. No, no, I, I appeal to. At some point they have to get tax exempt or antitrust exempt status so you can have a rule and enforce. And rule, yeah, there are rules, but any rules that aren't enforceable, just look across society is chaos. I mean, that's so. I admire you for sticking with your player. I remember people coming out saying, how do you do that? How. Shut the hell up, man. It's a 19 year old kid.

[Jed Fish]

Exactly.

[Mark Ingram]

Ask them would they leave their people for $2 million?

[Urban Meyer]

That's nuts.

[Mark Ingram]

That's what they. No, but yeah, I appreciate how you handled that too, coach, but. Hey, coach, man, I know this is your third year entering the season. When we look at the Huskies, man, what is the brand, what is the culture, what is the identity of the Huskies program that you want everyone to see?

[Jed Fish]

Oh, yeah, well, yeah, we're going into year three the first year was interesting. You know, we had one returning. We had one returning starter from the year before when we got there, and I got hired mid January when the portal was closed. So it was a little wild. We had 44 players for spring ball, and then we're able to build it up through a spring portal of. As we all know, that's not how you want to build your team, but we say we're going to do it with Nash energy, Curry joy, and a Lynch mentality. So, you know, for last. And then last year, we got to nine wins and had a good year, and I feel like we'll be better this year. But nine wins was still a lot in the Big Ten in year two.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah, but we all.

[Jed Fish]

We want to be Steve Nash energy. We want to have that. We want to high five. We want to pat each other on the back. We want to celebrate every victory on the field. Every time we have a punch out. I want to see incredible joy. You know, ball finds energy is what we say. And then Steph Curry, Joy, absolutely love the way Steph Curry plays the game. I'm a coach junkie, so Steve Curry is like the one guy that one of the guys that I try to read and listen to constantly about the way he does it. And then Marshawn lynch mentality, you know, you got to be. If you're not physical in the Big ten, you're done. And if you can't run the ball on third and one when they know you're going to run the ball or you can't score in the goal line when it's, you know, fourth and one on the one. That's why Jonah Coleman was such a great asset for us last year that, you know, in 15 touchdown rushes. But that's kind of the way we talk. So it's, you know, Nash energy, Curry joy, and a Lynch mentality that our team picks that up.

[Rob Stone]

That's a lot of basketball coach, though.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah.

[Rob Stone]

Why has basketball leaked into your football program?

[Jed Fish]

I think that, you know, it's a team sport. Right. And it's more than being a basketball or a football or a baseball, whatever it might be. There's a. There's a culture involved in every. In every program, and every head coach wants their team to look a certain way. I just love the way growing up, the way Steve Nash constantly. Constantly trying to make other people around him. Ben, you know, he was a model of that. Right. And he was always passing positive energy, you know, back and forth. He was a conduit of positivity. So, I mean, I think there was a study. One game. He had 236 high fives in one game. And you know, I talked to our guys about like, how do we play like that? We got to do something different, right? Because we don't outpay players. We don't have the same roster. You know, we had a. I was listening to what some teams were spending last year and you know, we were probably a quarter of that. So we have to do it with a certain love for one another. You know, you can't, you can't have a program like Florida did from 2005 to 2010 without a Marshawn lynch mentality. But you also have to be able to love one another. And you watch the way those guys would work. You know, I obviously followed the Gators, considering I was a Gator. And you could just see that passion and that love and that joy that they had. And you know, we want to have that as well.

[Rob Stone]

It sounds like Will Ferrell and semi pro Love. Love each other.

[Urban Meyer]

What.

[Rob Stone]

What was his little catchphrase about love one another Again, Going back to the basketball. Hey, let's talk about your program as we wrap this up right now. You mentioned you feel you guys are going to be better than 9 and 4 last year. Really unique. You guys open up with a rivalry game, the Apple cup and taking on Washington State. You conclude with a rivalry game, Oregon, and the week before that is Indiana. So you look at your schedule and how it lays out. What, how are you managing it? How are you going to tackle it?

[Jed Fish]

Yeah, we kind of talk about each week in the off season was a game, you know, so we had 12 weeks of an off season program. Each week was a different mentality, a different game. You know, then we started spring ball. We had two, you know, non padded practices and then 12 padded practices. And each one of those padded practice we considered a game. So, you know, we would say like the third. The first padded practice was wazoo week. The last padded practice was Oregon game. So we try to always get that mentality of like, we're not just practicing the practice, we're practicing to win this game. At the end of this practice, did we or didn't we? We understand we got a lot of work ahead of us in this conference. You know, we host Iowa, we host Penn State, we go to Michigan State. This year we don't have Ohio State or Michigan. Last year we had them both. But you know, we got a heck of a schedule. But we understand that and we're a health. We're a young team. We had six true freshman starters last year. We'll have another probably four to five true freshman starters this year, but all six true freshman starters came back. So you know we have a very high retention rate. So you know we're going to be young in a lot of spots, but I think we're going to be good if we can stay healthy.

[Rob Stone]

Continuity. What a crazy concept in college football. Oh my goodness. Well, I'm glad you got it. Coach Fish Jed Fish, Head Coach, University of Washington thanks so much for spending some of your summer with us here on the Triple option presented by Wendy's. Thanks, Coach. When you speed while driving, you have less time to react to whatever comes across your path. A sharp turn could take you by surprise, causing you to veer off the road. Another car could turn out in front of you, leading to a fender bender. A truck. It could break, suddenly injuring you and the other driver. A pedestrian could just be walking their dog and your foot on the gas might lead to a tragedy.

[Mark Ingram]

You may not think any of these could happen to you, but you won't see them coming until they happen. When you're speeding, you don't have the time to course correct, and it only takes an instant for disaster to strike. The speed limit isn't just there to protect you, but everyone around you too.

[Urban Meyer]

So slow down, obey the law and keep everyone on the road safe. Speeding catches up with you paid for

[Jed Fish]

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[Urban Meyer]

all batteries the same?

[Rob Stone]

That's like asking if all soccer players are the same. Take Messi, the most decorated player ever. Is there any other player who has achieved that? No, just him. Now take Duracell. Is there any other battery with power boost ingredients inside?

[Mark Ingram]

No, just Duracell.

[Rob Stone]

Remember, goats only trust goats because they're built different and Messi only trusts Duracell. Welcome back to the Triple Option presented by Wendy's. Now it's time for the this moment presented by nhtsa. Speeding Catches up with you. Paid for by Nitza. There has been no bigger sporting moment this summer than the World Cup. The US men's national team crashed out in the round of 16 to Belgium. Mark and I have been soccer fans for a while. I can't. I don't know how long you've been a fan. Mark, how long have you. Have you been a fan?

[Mark Ingram]

It's been about 20 years now.

[Rob Stone]

20 years.

[Jed Fish]

Whoa.

[Mark Ingram]

That's a long.

[Rob Stone]

That's a long one.

[Mark Ingram]

I started playing FIFA in high school and in college, fell in love with the game. And then when I got a little bit of money, I traveled to World cup in Brazil in 2014, followed the American team around, and then, you know, been kind of invested in the MLS since 2020. I've been to Premier League matchups. I've been to championship matchups in Wales. So for about 20 years now, I've been a football fan, and I love the sport.

[Rob Stone]

We've had you for 20 years, coach. We've had you for about 20 days. And you, like a lot of college football fans, got kind of pulled in, sucked in to this world of soccer. What. What was it that pulled you in? What. And what kept you around through the course of this tournament?

[Urban Meyer]

Well, first, what got me was you. You and Carli, Lloyd and Lexi. You know, I just. It's. I love you guys. I got to know you guys, and I loved watching it. And then usa, if the USSA is playing any of them, I'm going to watch it. But I also. I'm going to say this, Mark. I know great teams and I know great athletes. That's been my entire life. It's phenomenal what those athletes can do. It's phenomenal when you see a team work together. And, you know, if USA did not play, you know, here I am explaining to you about soccer. The last game, I just didn't feel it the other games. Wow. But I'm going to say this, and I think I speak on behalf of a lot of college football fans because I sat with hundreds of them. I mean, hundreds of them. I was in a couple environments where. And Shelly watched it with me, and she's obviously a huge college football fan. She became addicted like I did with the big crowds of the usa. But then also the damn game. I mean, my God, what those athletes can do, it's phenomenal. But you're going to lose me as a fan if they don't stop that. And what I'm talking about is a stop flopping around on the field. And I know people joke around, say it's part of the game. Okay, fine. Then you're always going to be way behind the other sports. And I think that's unfair to the athletes that play the game, because the athletes you play the game are great. I could. You could solve that problem. If you go down, get out of the game, you're out of the game for a couple. You know, that happens in football. If you're going to lay down on the ground, you have to leave the game for a while. So I know people. Can I say that to people? And I can see you guys rolling your eyes at me, which is fine.

[Mark Ingram]

No,

[Urban Meyer]

soccer is going to be fine with or without me as a fan, I get that.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah. But you can't leave the field, though, and then get back in. Well, unless the team's going to play with 10, they could. You could play with 10 until your guy gets back on the field. But typically, if you leave the field, they're going to sub you out. You can't get back in.

[Urban Meyer]

Okay. I don't. Once again, I got plenty of things to do in my life, but if I really enjoyed watching soccer, I became a fan. I never was, but I'm a fan of great teams and great athletes. And I think it's unfair that everybody makes. Just look on the Internet. All people do is make fun of that crowd.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah.

[Urban Meyer]

So stop doing that shit. Get yourself and play the game, man.

[Mark Ingram]

They do it in NBA all the time.

[Rob Stone]

It's leaked more and more into NBA. You're right.

[Mark Ingram]

You're right. You're not an NBA coach.

[Urban Meyer]

No, not like that, man.

[Rob Stone]

Not like that.

[Urban Meyer]

There's a couple games, Rob, that was every, like, every 20 seconds. Like, what are you doing?

[Rob Stone]

Yeah. Hey, I'm not defending it, coach. To me, that's been an absolute blight on this sport for decades. And it is. It is. For me, it's that one barrier that is preventing more and more Americans from accepting the sport and watching it. Because if you're new to it, I heard it. Yeah. And you're. You're seeing this diving in, the rolling and this faking and. And the theater and the drama behind it. It's BS It. It pisses you off, as I think, as an American viewer, it's. Yeah, but. But. And I think this is more of Mark's point. Like, it is so ingrained in the DNA of some of these other nations that that's part of it and the viewers kind of expect it. And I think that's almost like their telenovela. Like, this is. This is what they want. This is what they expect. I hate it. I absolutely hate it as well. And you don't see it from Americans. Like, if you're an American and you go down, you're down for a reason. And if you're not, then I'm with you. Get out.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah.

[Rob Stone]

Off the field. I don't know how that changes, but I think. I think there could be some Big Brother type officiating, some real stern rules of like, hey, you're down and I stop play for you, you're off the field for two, three minutes, right? Like a power play almost.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah.

[Rob Stone]

If you think. If you're that hurt.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah.

[Rob Stone]

You know, but then. Then again, it's like, well, what if the guy is hurt? Why are we punishing him and the player? Because we can't, you know, like, we don't have X ray eyes, we don't have MRI eyes to look in and be like, oh, whoa, bro. Really, to tear his hamstring.

[Jed Fish]

Right?

[Rob Stone]

We don't know these things.

[Mark Ingram]

But the thing is, they. They're trying to sell the foul, right? To get a car, to get a free kick, to get a penalty, whatever the case may be. But, like, if you go down there and you're rolling like you're in excruciating pain, like you have a compound fracture, you can't get up and take the penalty. Like, you can't get up and take

[Rob Stone]

the free kick or spread back on defense 30 seconds after you didn't get the call, Right? Yeah, I get it.

[Mark Ingram]

So.

[Urban Meyer]

And the last. The last thing I want to add to it is too. And this is the other bitch, you know that. And once again, this is not fair. The athletes and teams, because it was awesome. What's with the clock, man? Put the clock so it goes down and that. Such bullshit. You know, you're sitting there watching how much time's left. Well, it says 1:30, right? Or you have 90 minutes or something.

[Mark Ingram]

90 minutes and then.

[Urban Meyer]

And then it keeps going because of when's the game is over. So stop is time.

[Jed Fish]

So.

[Urban Meyer]

So there's my. My respect to the game, respect to the phenomenal athletes, respect to the. What usa, our. Our country did for. For the World Cup. I can't imagine it any better than what Fox did and what. What everybody did. But there's a. You got a new fan sucked in. I hope I can watch it again.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah. So let me throw this to a new fan coach. You know, World Cups are every four years. Are. Are you a. Do we not see you for another four years or are you going to be able to stick around for soccer for a little bit?

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah. Are you going to watch Some Premier League matchups in the fall? No.

[Rob Stone]

How about watching some MLS? How about going to D.C. united game, right? Mark Ingram.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah.

[Mark Ingram]

Come support your boy. In my business and in my investment,

[Urban Meyer]

bro, I might do that. I really loved watching. I really do.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah.

[Rob Stone]

I'm glad you liked it. I'm glad the nation has enjoyed it. It's not over yet. You know, we're in the quarterfinal round right now, semis.

[Mark Ingram]

We got a match today.

[Rob Stone]

Yes, we do.

[Urban Meyer]

So what happens, Rob? What happens to the viewership now? The USA is out. Is it serious hit or people still growing?

[Rob Stone]

It's still setting.

[Urban Meyer]

That's great.

[Rob Stone]

It's insane. What the US did was. Was phenomenal off the field, you know, the fan base and engaging the nation and bringing millions and millions of more fans into the tent who. Who accept it and love it and get it now, right. Like, I feel like I've been saying to you for a while, Coach, like, just come to a game, you'll understand it and elite. And the beauty is you picked it up just via television again. I still want to get you to a World cup game. Mark was.

[Urban Meyer]

I'd love to do it, Mark.

[Rob Stone]

You and the wife and two of the kids went to see Messi Arg Cape Verde, one of the games of the tournament, man.

[Mark Ingram]

I mean, amazing. You talk about environments, Coach, you talk about electricity, you talk about people. We're in our seats. People are standing the whole game. My daughter's like, I can't watch. Yeah, they're standing the whole game. They won't sit down. Like, babe, you got to stand on your seat. This is part of it. This part of the experience. You got to stand on your seat and watch. But, man, just going to those games, man, being ingrained in the cultures. You see Kate Verde fans, they're sprinkled in this little small pocket behind the goal. But then you see the whole entire stadium, it's Argentinian fans, and they. They played their hearts out, man. I was devastated that they lost like that at the end, but it was an amazing match, man. Argentina came back again just, what, two days ago, down 20 in the 78th minute. They scored three goals in 15 minutes. But I'm just so excited because I fell in love with the game, as in high school playing FIFA, you know, I didn't have an exposure like this. I fell in love playing FIFA, which drew me to going to matches and learning about players and going to World cup games. But I'm just so excited that our nation got to experience and we have millions and millions of New fans that love the sport, that kind of feel the energy for the sport. I just hope that it keeps, you know, I hope the momentum keeps building, you know, after the World Cup.

[Rob Stone]

Mark, let me ask you that. That energy inside Miami Stadium for that Argentina game, and I've been saying this for years, like college football and soccer, international soccer, like they're kissing cousins, they're very similar. Did it feel like an SEC type game, SEC type atmosphere in there?

[Mark Ingram]

It did, 100%. I mean, just what's going on outside? The chance the fans, you've got Argentinians, you got Cape Verdeans, what's going on outside? Then you bring it inside. The chants. It's just. It's so exciting, bro. It's so exciting. My kids are loving it. I'm loving it. My wife's loving it. My mom took my daughter to the Brazil game. That was in Miami. So, man, my whole family loves soccer. And just to be a part of it and watch it and be and grind in the culture and the love of the game, man, it's a beautiful sport. I'm glad that the country got the experience.

[Rob Stone]

Glad you were there, coach. I have one last World cup question for you because I'm curious, your take on this again, as a new fan, right, As a new fan to international soccer, new fan to the World Cup. This was the first time that we had these hydration breaks which effectively divided the game into quarters, right? So if it's now turned into college football, right, there's four quarters, if you will. Did that bother you? Did that. Did that impact your viewing? Did you even care or even notice it?

[Urban Meyer]

No, I. I actually enjoyed it. I. I never knew that was why they were doing it, but the people I was with who knew soccer better than I did, explained that to me. So it didn't. I really didn't study it before Rob, so I. I will. Last thing I'm going to add, because you brought this up, is that if I coach soccer, there was. So when. When you see a team start to, you know, go down and they run plays where you can see actual development of a play, there's not enough of that. You know, there's too much of that. You're out there and they're just kicking it back and forth for, you know, 45 seconds, and then they kind of slow down the field, but I understand you'll wear their ass out. To the athletes, it's the. My favorite part of the game is the highlights around the goal, obviously. But when you can physically see, it only happens a Couple times a game, the team.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah.

[Urban Meyer]

Push down the field and create a play. And that. That's. That. I mean, I stood up when I was watching that, but it just doesn't happen. It doesn't happen enough.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah, well, those are like counters and stuff, like, you know, counters, like. But yeah, it's. I'm glad that you like to coach.

[Rob Stone]

I am, too.

[Mark Ingram]

Enjoyed it.

[Rob Stone]

I. That. That's a great.

[Urban Meyer]

I love the athletes, though, man. I love the athletes.

[Mark Ingram]

My God, what they're able to do with their feet, bro. And heading the ball and crossing the ball.

[Urban Meyer]

Why did our spy. Did our goalie go out way out there?

[Mark Ingram]

He was tripping dog. And then he stubbed his toe. Hey, bro. It was terrible.

[Urban Meyer]

So that's a major F up, right?

[Mark Ingram]

Yes, it was.

[Urban Meyer]

To leave. To leave the goal like it was.

[Rob Stone]

And. And that's.

[Mark Ingram]

And yeah. And our captain gets lost in the sport that you can't even use your hands like.

[Rob Stone]

I know. I know. It was. It was like.

[Mark Ingram]

I'm just happy with the team. Did. I don't want to talk about that loss. I'm happy what they did. Bringing the country together.

[Rob Stone]

Right?

[Mark Ingram]

Bringing fans, bringing new fans. Let's keep the momentum going.

[Rob Stone]

Good on you, Mark.

[Mark Ingram]

Good on you, Go usa.

[Rob Stone]

And good on you, coach, for opening up your heart to soccer. We're glad you're part of our family. Hopefully we can keep you around a little bit longer. That does it for the triple option. Follow subscribe rate us on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you get your podcast, as well as across social media 3x option show. Submit your questions in the comments to have them answered on the show. As always, thanks to our wonderful sponsors, Wendy's and nhtsa. Guys, we'll see you again soon.