Transitions from Player to Broadcaster with Darion Griswold

You can tell a lot about a football program by what happens before kickoff and after the final whistle. We’re launching Saturdays In Jonesboro to pull back the curtain on Arkansas State athletics and show the full game day picture: the preparation, the people, the relationships, and the moments fans remember for years.

For our first guest, we brought in the person Matt sits next to every Saturday in the fall: Darion “Grizz” Griswold. Grizz walks us through his Arkansas State football journey from arriving on campus in 2011 to becoming an all-conference tight end, then leaping into the NFL with the Colts and Falcons. He shares what it felt like joining a winning culture, adapting through coaching changes, and living through defining Sun Belt Conference moments like the electric 2012 finale at Centennial Bank Stadium.

We also get into what fans rarely hear about the broadcast side: how a former player prepares to call a game, why blowouts are the toughest to talk through, and how note-taking and film study still matter when you’re in the booth instead of the huddle. Then we zoom forward to the modern era of college football, talking NIL, roster turnover, and why Butch Jones’ attention to detail and culture-building approach gives Arkansas State a foundation to keep growing into 2026 and beyond.

If you love the Red Wolves, college football stories, and the real behind-the-scenes of Saturdays in Jonesboro, subscribe, share this with a fellow fan, and leave us a review. What part of game day do you want us to spotlight next? Follow us on @arkansasstatemedianetwork

Transcript

Welcome To Saturdays In Jonesboro

SPEAKER_01 0:10

And we welcome you to the very first episode of Saturdays in Jonesboro. This is one of the new podcasts as a part of the Arkansas State Media Network. And really excited about this. My name is Matt Stoltz. This is my 21st year being the play-by-play voice at Arkansas State. I do the football, men's basketball, and baseball games for the Red Wolves, something I really enjoyed doing, still to this day. I enjoy it more and more every single year. And one thing we want to do with this podcast is just show every side of game day from what's happening on the field with the players, the coaches, to what's happening off the field as well. So we're going to hit every single aspect of game day as we go along on these podcasts. And one thing that I've been able to do over the years as part of my job is work with so many great people, get to know so many amazing people with the different coaching staffs and the players and the administration at Arkansas State, but so many fans as well, people in the community. We're going to talk to those people on this podcast as well. So excited about getting this new platform started for Arkansas State. And in our case, Arkansas State Athletics. And this podcast is titled Saturdays in Jonesboro.

Meet Darien Griswold

SPEAKER_01 1:40

So we thought, well, what's a better guess than the guy that I sit to or sit next to every single Saturday during the fall? And that's Darien Griswold. And for those who don't know Grizz, he was an outstanding player for us at Arkansas State, A-State football player from 2011 to 2015. He was an all-conference tight end, went on to the NFL, played a couple of years in the NFL and both the Colts and the Falcons organizations. And here in the last few years, he's become our color analyst on the A-State football broadcast on the EAB Red Wolf Sports Network from Learfield. And wanted to bring him in today to show several different aspects of game day. Number one is a player.

SPEAKER_00 2:53

And I mean, it wasn't long ago we were talking about this coming along, and now we're sitting here and being able to do this, and just a blessing to be here and blessing to be a part of this. And obviously, always working with you the last three years, but I mean, feel like we've been knowing each other forever. And that's probably the case too, probably about 15 years now.

SPEAKER_01 3:13

Yeah, so here we are. I mean, this is 2026. You came to campus in 2011 for that 2011 season. Does it seem like 15 years since you set foot on this campus?

SPEAKER_00 3:26

Not really. Um, just kind of seeing everything unfold. No, man, time really flies by, goes by fast. And and now me having kids, I think that's the biggest thing. It's like, yeah, dude, you've been around, you've been around for a while. So um, but it's always a blessing to be able to come back and see Arkansas State. And obviously I live in Jonesboro, but to step foot on campus and see how different it is and how many new amenities and things it is, is it's really cool and fun to be a part of.

SPEAKER_01 3:54

All right.

Arriving On Campus In 2011

SPEAKER_01 3:55

So I want to talk first about your time as a player because you come in in 2011 and Coach Hugh Freeze was the head coach back then. And that was a season that's very memorable around here. It began this amazing run of nine straight winning seasons, nine straight bowl games, five conference championships during that time from 2011 to 2019. You redshirted that particular season, but what do you remember about just coming in during that 2011 season and being here on campus and getting acclimated here?

SPEAKER_00 4:33

Yeah, I mean, coming from a small town, Dumas is not many people. Um, you know, obviously, no college in the city, um, but you have smaller colleges around. But coming to Jonesboro, um, I don't want to say it was a culture shock, but it was different. Um, the weather was different. Um, obviously having more uh things to see. Uh it was a big difference uh for me just coming in first. And obviously coming on my visit, it was always a place where I was like, man, I can really see myself being there and having friends and obviously family that had already stepped foot on campus. They were big on like, hey, man, Arkansas State's a great place. And so I wanted to come here, uh come on an official visit. Uh just remember going to a basketball game, and I was like, man, I could really see myself being out there on a basketball court and you know, just going and restraining my freshman year, being able to play uh as a true freshman in basketball. So things like that that I really enjoyed. But yeah, just remember just really stepping on campus for the first time and saying, like, man, I'm a college student, you know, because um where I'm from, there's not a lot of people that go to college. And now I'm, you know, more so in the era now, in the generation now they do. Um, but as far as my family goes, there's not a lot of people that, you know, step foot on campus or uh was able to, you know, live in a dorm room. And I mean, I just remember having a a roommate, Arteas Brown was my roommate, my our freshman year. From Newport. From Newport, Arkansas. And it was it was different because I'm like, man, I got to share a room with another guy, you know. But over time, um, I just kind of remember just getting acclimated to college, um, understanding, embracing being on campus, embracing being a part of the football team. Um, really never went through workouts of that sort. And, you know, things started to hit home. And it's like, man, like you really have to be uh set out for these type of things. And obviously, that's always an aspiration for a lot of people is to be a college athlete. But are you willing to go along the journey and things that you you don't think you're gonna go through? And adversity was uh was a big part of that. Obviously, no family as far as mom and dad, but people like that. You gotta wake up on your own, the 8 a.m. classes, and as a freshman, you're gonna have them. You're gonna have those 8 a.m. classes, and that was one thing that I really had to grasp and just the responsibility of come becoming a young adult. Um, and so I really enjoyed, you know, obviously being on campus, but my freshman year was when I learned a lot about myself and uh was able to pick up on some things. Also uh having having guys, having former teammates that's already done it, you know, I would drag on their coattails like, hey, what do I need to do? What do I need to stay away from? Uh, what are some things I should get into? So uh really having um a group of people that surrounded me to for good um really helped me along the way.

SPEAKER_01 7:30

Yeah, and you were here during that first conference championship season in 2011 and watching it, but I mean you're able to watch somebody like a DiMario Davis who's gone on and is still playing in the NFL. He was a senior that season, but able to kind of watch him and and you were part of that group that kind of turned it into a winning culture around here, even with all the coaching changes. And Coach Freeze was here in 2011, and then in 2012, Coach Malzon comes in, and that was another historic season, an amazing ride. Everybody remembers that 2012 season and just the success and and the way that team got better every single game. You were a redshirt freshman that year, and I remember you know, you came in as a quarterback, but they moved you to tight end. And Coach Mausan, I know you played basketball as a freshman for Coach Brady, but I know he wanted you out there on that football field. Yeah, and you were you were part of such a special team there in 2012. JD McKissick was a redshirt freshman, and he had over a hundred catches that year. And Ryan Applin was Sundell Conference player of the year, and he was the guy out there throwing you passes.

Switching Positions And Finding A Role

SPEAKER_01 8:56

And there was just such an an amazing dynamic on that 2012 season. What do you remember about it?

SPEAKER_00 9:02

Oh man, like you said, just the guys and the the leaders that we had on the team, a lot of different people come obviously coming from different places. And but the common goal was to win. Um, and all those go all those guys, especially the older crowd, they they they instilled that then in us, you know. Obviously, 2010 season, not a great season, but all those players coming back in 2011, they wanted to win. You could really see that, even going through the offseason, uh, winter workouts, things like that. They were able uh to help me in the summer be like, hey, this is this is what it has to be. Um, either you're gonna get on this boat or you're gonna swim. And I wanted to make sure I was on that boat. And I was just remembering in 2011, um, being a being a red shirt, I was giving everything I had to scout team because I knew it was gonna make us better. And like you said, going against the Demario Davis, the the Brandon Joyners, the Kelsey McCrae's guys like that, that great players really uh set the tone for us, not only during practice, but during the games, how you prepare for the games, things like that. And uh, you know, going into that 2011 year or 2012 year when I really started to play, I played basketball. So I was kind of behind the A-ball and learned a new offense because Malzo was coming in. And uh I remember going to play a hybrid tight position receiverslash tight end. And I was like, well, if this is my way on the field, then I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do whatever I need to do to win. I, you know, I didn't really care what position I played, but I just remember being going out there for the first time and saying, man, I'm not a quarterback. Like, this is so much chill. Like, this is very chill. I only have to know what I have to do, you know. So that was something that uh I really took from playing quarterback and saying, hey, I can dissect the defense very fast, I can line up and coach. Because Malzo would throw me at all these different positions. I'm like, what's throwing me to all these positions? But he expected me to know that. I don't think a lot of people knew that Malzo was my position coach. He's usually not a head coach that's your position coach. Right. He was my position coach. And um, he really helped me learn the playbook. He helped me um understand the concept of the offense from a receiver's perspective. And I think that's why as a rusher freshman, I got to play a lot. I mean, I started half the season. Um me and Carlos McCantz uh pretty much split reps, and we had a really good camaraderie at that five position, um, that bigger type receiver that we played. And I just remember my first ever game was against Oregon. And you walking in there and you see the bright lights and you see the Ducks and the Big O's and the Nike chicks, and that was Marcus Mariota's Mariota. First start at Oregon. Yeah, and you know, you could just see how well they did that year. But I remember us being one of the highest uh points scored on them that year was scored 34 was 20 uh 2012. Um, you know, but obviously that being the first game, those guys going on to uh I think they played for a national championship that year or pretty close to to uh were a high highly ranked team in the beginning anyway, but a lot of guys on that football team that was great. So um, and then that really helped us throughout the season say, hey, we can go back to this game and say, hey, we we were able to score this many points. We shouldn't have a problem, you know, can continuing to do that. But I think after that game was really when you seen a lot of leaders come along. Obviously, Ron Applin um was a very vocal guy. Um, two times Sumbell Player of the Year. Um, he instilled a lot in me to, hey, I need you to be open. You're a big target. I need you to be there for me. So when I had guys like that that were much older than me, um, instilling the trust and the responsibility in me, um, I was all for it. And I and I enjoyed every minute of that 2012 uh class and all the guys that came along.

SPEAKER_01 13:04

It was a fun ride.

The 2012 Title Game Atmosphere

SPEAKER_01 13:06

And I think everybody that was there on that final day of the regular season in 2012 at Centennial Bank Stadium, they still remember it vividly. Yeah. And for me, I remember it like it was yesterday. Over 30,000 were there. It was a school record crowd, and people always talk about how good it can be. And we saw it that day. Just the support from the fans and the electricity in the air. And what was a Sunbelt Conference Championship game? They didn't have the championship format like they do now, but that was a de facto conference championship game because it was the top two teams in the league, the Red Wolves and Middle Tennessee meeting on the final day of the regular season, and whoever won was going to be the outright conference champs. And it was the most perfect performance I think you could have ever dreamt of with the Red Wolves winning 45 to nothing. The game was pretty much over at halftime. What do you remember about that day?

SPEAKER_00 14:16

Well, I'll go back to about uh third or fourth um game of the season, probably about the fifth game of the season. We played Western Kentucky. And we were up at halftime on Western Kentucky, and they came back to beat us 26 to 13. I remember. And we're thinking, like, oh man, the conference is over, we lost, you know. And one thing I remember uh was a lot of the seniors is like we control our own destiny, we just gotta continue to put weeks together, continue to win. And in that Middle Tennessee game, I don't ever remember having a doubt all week that we were gonna win that game. And you could just the practices were different, uh, the demeanor of players were different. Like we wanted that. We wanted that, and all we heard was, oh, Middle Tennessee is really good, blah, blah, blah. And in my mind, I'm like, they have to come to us, they have to come play us at home. And that was all we needed to say, hey, we're gonna go out here and we're gonna, we're gonna destroy them. And we did. And um to be a part of that and to see all the fans there. I mean, I still have pictures to this day uh of the 30,000 people and my family coming to watch me play. And one play that I always remember uh was when Artez, my roommate, goes down there on the kickoff and he flips the guy upside down. And, you know, you talk about the tone setter of a football game. And I'm talking about from that play forward, I don't think they wanted any part of us on that football field. And I mean, you know, you go off to win nine games that year and uh be able to win a conference championship. That was a really good start to a dynasty, I think, over the next nine years.

SPEAKER_01 16:02

Yeah, you're right. It was kind of a golden age of Arkansas State football that was beginning

Coaching Changes And Team Bond

SPEAKER_01 16:08

during those 2011 and 2012 seasons. And of course, you still played three more years after that. You won a conference championship in 2013. That's when Brian Harson was here. It was a completely different story that season. I always remember the South Alabama game and how things just completely changed in the second half of that game. It seemed like the whole season turned around at that point and able to go on and win the conference, won a bowl game for the second straight year. So that season I know was memorable. And then Blake Anderson comes in for the 2014 season, and there were some growing pains there in year one. And a lot of it was because of some holes that needed to be filled, especially on the defensive line. They got filled the following season and as a senior, able to win another conference championship in 2015. And what what's amazing about that whole run is, and it's still amazing now, is the fact that it was a completely different time in college athletics because after the 2011 season or the 2012 season, everybody would have been coming after that entire roster, the way it's set up now with NIL. But even with all the coaching changes, you guys just seem to get closer, and that bond grew through all the head coaches. And it's still so strong to this day. I know so many of those former players, you've got a text group still.

SPEAKER_00 17:48

We still have a text group, and and I am in multiple text group. Um some some from older guys, you know, 2011, 2012, and then even to a 2014, 2015 text group. And I mean, we're still close. And like you said, NIL really kind of changed the game over the last five or six years. Um, but for us to be on the side of we're we're losing our coach every year, it was different, and it did make us closer. Um, it did make us a little bit hungrier because we knew that, hey, this could happen again. You know, 2011 it happens. It's like, okay, cool, we get a new coach. And then 2012 it happens, you're like, okay, a new coach. And I think that 2013 year, it was so different for for us because um Coach Harson coming in, Malzun, Coach Freeze, they were kind of the same as far as uh X's and O's go, but we were going to something totally different. More two tight end sets, um, more of a power game. And we weren't used to that. We were a run and gun on a football field. That's what we that's what we wanted to do. We wanted to play fast. And I think, you know, throwing that wrinkle in, uh, obviously different mindset, control the clock, that was something that he really believed in, because Harson would believe in was we got to be able to run the football and control the clock. And going back to the South Alabama game, I remember uh Adam Kennedy wasn't much of a runner. He wanted to stay in the pocket, stay clean. And I think that was the turning point to him running the football because he was so effective at it. We didn't need him to uh score touchdowns, we didn't need him to get 20 yards, we just needed to stay on schedule. So if it was second and three, third and one, fourth and one, you give Adam the ball. He's 6'6, he's gonna fall for those type of yards. So the the mindset was different when Adam started to run the ball and have that confidence to run the ball. And I think we really rallied around him and said, hey, go get these yards, go get these yards for us. And, you know, he was one of the guys that was coming in. He was new uh because he was a grad transfer. So he was one of the newer kids or guys on the on the team. And we just wanted to make him feel welcome. And I think after, you know, filling us out and having that camaraderie with us, he really stepped it up and turned out to be a great player for us.

SPEAKER_01 20:12

It's amazing how much an offense changes when you've got a quarterback that can run the football. And and I I always think about that too with Adam Kennedy in that 2013 season because he came in as a pocket passer, but we saw that when he ran the football completely changed the whole offense. And we've had so many good dual threat quarterbacks over the years with Ryan Applin and Freddie Knight and Justice Hansen can run the football a lot better than people probably gave him credit for. And we've seen it the last few years with Jalen Rayner. But it just changes an offense when a quarterback's able to do that.

SPEAKER_00 20:54

And I think it just puts so much pressure on the defense to have that 11th guy be accounted for. And, you know, for some teams, obviously having the pocket passers like, hey, if he gets outside the pocket, we can run him down. But having guys like Freddie, my last two years in 14 and 15, uh, Freddie, Freddie didn't want to run. Freddie knew he had to. And Freddie, that's why Freddie was effective because we knew Freddie didn't want to. Obviously, having Freddie on the football field was was huge for us because we knew what he could do. We knew he was a great passer. Um, we knew that if we just gave him another second, another half a second, Freddie was going to be able to do something special. And I remember the um Georgia State game, we played them at homecoming. Freddie took off running. I don't think Freddie wanted to run. Freddie took off running and he ended up shocking himself by scoring a touchdown on like a 60 yard run, just right up the middle, nothing open, had a clean pocket, but nobody was open downfield. And he took off, he broke a few tackles. I remember going to the sideline like Freddie. Like, you can

Quarterback Run Threat And Team Play

SPEAKER_00 21:58

like you can run, dude. Like, I need you to do that. You know, we we got your back. We're gonna make sure you stay clean. And I think just like I said, going back to having that confidence and instilling that confidence, not only in your quarterback, your offensive line believes in you a little bit more, they'll block for you a little bit longer. And that was the 2013, 2014 was the was the years I really had my hand in the ground. And that was new to me. Um, so to be a part of that and and really start to pancake guys, and you get these receivers that that block a little bit longer, and then you watch them like I didn't know you had that in you, but that's going back to that, those are the things that we did in the summertime that we knew that was gonna make us different, that was gonna make us better. You know, it's not just the sixth offensive linemen in the tight end blocking. As a receiver, you know you're not getting the ball. It's your job to block. And obviously, in high school, you just get in the way, whatever the case may be. But when you go to the next level, when you go to college and then on to the next level, those are the good receivers, those are the good teams, the ones that's 111, everybody doing their job. And you know, when once you understand what that means, that 111 doing everybody doing your job, hat for hat, then that's when teams decide to be different. And Mike G and the running back crew that we had, 101, Silky Johnson, like those guys do some good ones. When I get the when I get the ball, every time I get it, I have a chance of scoring a touchdown. And um having that confidence, dude, it is bar none the the best thing that that could

Senior Night Touchdown At Quarterback

SPEAKER_00 23:32

have happened to us.

SPEAKER_01 23:32

I always bring it up with you. Just how that 2015 season ended at home. Yeah. Texas State game. We're up big, and Coach Anderson puts you in at the very end of the game, and and you end up at quarterback, and you run in for a touchdown, and that's how your A-S Day career came to an end at home. And I thought that was so fitting. I mean, yes, you end up being an all-conference tight end, but you finish up at quarterback where you would actually come in to Arkansas State to play the quarterback.

SPEAKER_00 24:09

That was that was a uh moment I'll never forget. I still have that video on my phone to this day. And I'm gonna shout out Logan. Logan Moran got tackled, and that was the only reason that the play was called. Uh, Coach Bill called a timeout, and he's like, Hey, you're going to quarterback. And I'm like, Oh, okay, cool. And you could just see all the offensive linemen, Jamar Clark, uh Rob Monday, like Devin Monday. All these guys are like, hey, run the ball behind me. Like, you're going to get into the end zone. And I think the hole was so big I would have scored from 50 yards away. I mean, obviously, we were on the goal line. Um, but I remember all those guys coming to me, like, hey, man, you're going to get in the end zone. We can we're going to make sure you get in the end zone. And uh, that's a moment that I'll never forget to come in and obviously uh be a uh a quarterback all throughout high school, even my freshman year, and then getting that chance on senior night to be able to score a touchdown against Texas State. That was the ultimate celebration for me. And I just would never forget that moment.

NFL Respect And Undrafted Mindset

SPEAKER_01 25:10

I know you're a proud Red Wolf. And after all that success over the years that you were here at the five years that you were here as a player, you go and play a couple of seasons in the NFL. I don't know if I've ever asked you the question from this angle, but when you were in the NFL and you talked to other players in the league and you said, Hey, I'm from Arkansas State, did it hit a little bit different? Did people kind of realize at that, at that point that hey, Arkansas State's a football school now?

SPEAKER_00 25:46

Yeah. I remember 2016, um, one of the first practices we had was early in the morning. I was sitting down eating breakfast, and I said at I was one of the first ones there. I sat at the table by myself, and uh Andrew Luck comes and sits at the table with me, and I'm like, you know, cool, Andrew Luck. Some other players come and sit down. I'm like, okay, cool. So they asked me who I, you know, do we get to talk and there? He was like, Andrew Luck was like, You went to Arkansas State. And I was like, Yeah, he was like, Man, you had all those head coaches. And I was like, Yeah, I did. Like, how do you know that? And why do you know that? You know, but that that right there was a very respectable moment for me because guys knew where Arkansas State, where Arkansas, Arkansas State was, and that I came from there. And that was a very proud moment for me. Obviously, being at a now, I would consider this a major D1 school, but it was, you know, mid-major school. Um, for guys to know, like, hey, man, you you come from a you got it out the mud, you know, that's what the kids say now. You got out the mud. But yes, I did. And uh to to be on that team and guys know who I am and know where I come from and say, hey, man, you you know, you're gonna you're gonna do big things. And to even on that next level, for guys to instill that in me, um, that was that was great for me. And that pushed me to even to go even harder during practices. I remember Coach uh Chuck Pagano coming to me and saying, Hey, like you can tone it down a little bit. And I was like, dude, I don't, I don't get, I don't get that opportunity to tone it down, you know, because I I come in and I'm not a draft pick, you know, I'm an undrafted free agent. They called me five minutes after the draft was over and was like, hey, we we we want you to sign with us. And you know, for me it was a no-brainer. Um, I'm a huge Coach fan, always have been. So to get that opportunity to be there, walk through the locker room, uh, be in Indianapolis, it was just great for me, you know, and I and I never forget that moment. And it was just a great opportunity. Frank Gore was one of the older guys that was running back, and he didn't practice a whole lot, but he would come stand next to me and say, hey man, I need you to get these middle reps because I'm gonna quiz you on this later. So for guys to do that and you know, to say that to me, I I felt a part of the team and I just wanted to do something great. And I mean, that whole Ricky class, like we were very close. A lot of guys coming from Clemson and Pitt, bigger schools. Um, I remember being on a bus with a lot of them. They was like, hey, how many anybody won a conference championship in here? And I raised my hand and they were like, How many you win? I was like, four. And they were like, Dang, you win that many? And they were like, We don't even win any. And it was crazy. I was the only one out of the rookie class at Indianapolis to win a conference championship. So that was my one up on all these draft picks that I had third-round picks, and I'm like, It's a big flax. Yeah, I got I got one of those, you know. Got four of them. Yeah, but um, I mean, that's the competition and the the everyday lifestyle. You have to live that. And whether whether guy you think a guy knows your name or not, you got to show up every day. You got to be prepared every day, and that's something that I wanted to be.

Joining The Radio Broadcast Booth

SPEAKER_01 29:05

All right, so I'll give everybody a little background here. In my 21 years at Arkansas State, I've worked with some good partners on the broadcast. I had the legendary Bill Keaty for the first 10 years I was here, and just a one-of-a-kind personality, and always had so much fun with him. I know our fans really enjoyed him. And there was a year where Tom Castell actually was my color analyst after Coach Keaty had passed, and then Tim Allison for several years, then Philip Butterfield, one of your former teammates, had come in and worked with me on the broadcast for a couple of years. And I always really enjoyed working with all of those guys. And Philip, after two years, was in a position where he couldn't do it anymore. And I started thinking about former players that were always well thought of, that were very well spoken in interviews. And the the one name that came to mind was you. And before that 2023 season, I give you a call to ask you about coming on to the broadcast. So you remember your reaction, your first thought about maybe going into broadcasting?

SPEAKER_00 30:26

I I couldn't believe it was happening. I do remember, um, I remember when the coaches was like, hey, we we want you to be on the radio. Uh, Matt's gonna give you a call. You're gonna talk to Matt on the radio. I'm like, hold on. Like, y'all didn't even ask me. Y'all just telling me that this is gonna happen. And I remember the first time we talked, I was so nervous, dude. I was a nervous wreck. And over time, because it seemed like we talked a lot throughout the my college days of uh me being on the radio, I was like, why are they always picking me to do this? Like, I guess I'm okay at it, you know. I don't mind talking, but I didn't know how good or how well, you know, I sounded on the radio. I hate hearing my voice on a recording. So it takes a while to get used to for people who haven't done it. Most definitely. And um, I don't actually remember my reaction to it. I think I turned you down maybe the first time or told you that I would think about it because I was like, this is something totally different than what I'm used to. I'm used to just going out there and playing. Now I'm having to talk about the game and really dissect and break the game down. And um, so no, I don't necessarily remember how the conversation went.

SPEAKER_01 31:40

So I remember talking to you, and I I think you were apprehensive just because you didn't know what you were getting into. And I think you had called Phillip, and you guys you guys talked. And I think that helped out the process a little bit because he really, really enjoyed it and he was good at it. And I'm like, I think Grizz can really do a great job and really represent us well here and turn into a really good broadcaster for us. And I I remember telling you, hey, I'm gonna be right there by your side. I'll help you. I'm gonna guide you through this process, and and it's gonna be some work. I mean, you're gonna have to work at it, but I'll tell everybody the way you've worked at this is like anything else you've ever done because you care tremendously about doing a good job, your preparation, your note-taking when we go and meet with Coach Jones on Thursday to watch and practice, studying the charts, and sitting down to just make your notes for our pregame show. I I know that's something that you take a lot of pride in, but it seems like you really enjoy being part of it.

SPEAKER_00 32:59

Oh, I love it. I I honestly didn't think that I would have this much fun. And obviously, game day is a different atmosphere. That's always great. Um, but it's, you know, obviously we travel on Fridays, it's the time we spend together, things like that that makes me want to be great at because it's oh, I don't want to let Matt down. I don't want to let JC down. I want to be just as good as you guys, and you know, always tell myself, like, yeah, man, you're still pretty new at the broadcast, but every day you just try to get 1% better. Every game, try to get 1% better. Um, one thing I do remember is my first ever broadcast game.

SPEAKER_01 33:39

And um that was as tough of a game to call as and I told you this. It was the Oklahoma game. I said, look, every now and then there's a game like this, whether it be on one side of this or the other of a lopsided game, and they're the toughest ones to call. I I said, This was the toughest game you're probably ever going to have to call. And I told you that at halftime.

SPEAKER_00 34:06

Yeah, it may have been a little bit before halftime. We took our headsets off and he was like, listen, it don't get no much tougher than this. And like you said, the the games as close, the games, you know, when you get when everything is kind of flowing like it's supposed to, it's fine, you know, because ball is just ball. But when you get one-sided and you almost run out of positive things to say, whether it's Arkansas State or the opposing team, you know, that that gets very tough in the blowouts, one way or the other. Um, and that was something I wanted to get better at. And always what I do now is always jot down uh something about different players, uh, the city that we're going to,

Preparation For Tough Broadcast Moments

SPEAKER_00 34:50

to just kind of have that to talk about so you don't run out of things to talk about. I also remember the Coastal Carolina game when Grayson McCall got hurt and it was a 20-minute segment there where you we didn't have we didn't script for. And I was like, man, like this is this is getting tough to continue to talk about you know the same thing. Like, where can we go from here? So I always wanted to be prepared. So I always was an over note taker. So on Thursdays when we go talk to Coach Jones, I write down way more than I probably should, but just to be prepared for moments like that. And like I said, I I never thought I would be in this situation. And going into my fourth year of broadcasting, it it has been a really good time and enjoying every moment of it.

SPEAKER_01 35:34

And I'm so proud of you. I mean, you've done such an amazing job, and such, and I'm so proud of our entire team with Carol Richie, who does our pregame coverage and our Wolfhouse program to me and you in the booth, to JC on the sidelines. It's so fun and just being on the road. Those are some of the best experiences. And hanging out with guys like Jerry Scott and Mark Taylor. I mean, it's such a fun experience, still. And I'm sure you weren't thinking about the other side of it when you were a player, but it's a completely different experience, I'm sure, on the broadcasting side.

SPEAKER_00 36:12

Oh, completely different. Um, because the the and the thing that's the same is your preparation. You know, obviously, I'm not out there Monday through uh Thursday doing the preparation like a football player, but my preparation is the same too. What who are we going against? Um, who are their top players? So you still have to break down that, break down film. What are they like to do? Uh, what type of environment are we going into? Is it going to be hostile? Is it a rivalry game? So I still prepare as if I'm a player. I just don't have to get beat up on Saturdays. And I do enjoy, I do enjoy that. I mean, I love my time as a player. Um, but now being on the other side and seeing you guys' perspective of the game and being in the booth. And it is it's crazy how much more you see by being up there. And I thought, like, man, well, like, I'm gonna need binoculars, like, it's gonna be hard to see. But most stadiums that we play at, you don't really need that. You can pretty much see uh pretty vividly what's going on, and uh just to see the reaction uh from different players and how they interact with each other. I as a player, you know, you're down there, so you kind of get caught up in those moments on the field. But just to see it um, you know, as a whole pitcher, it is so crazy uh how you see things unfold as a former player and versus broadcasting, because we always talk about different things on a broadcast, and normally those things happen, and you're like, man, we kind of prepared ourselves for this moment. Um, but the thing is, you know what type of team you're dealing with. You know Arkansas State, you know who's gonna show up for you on game day. And I think that's always that's something that's been uh big for us, and always go back to picks the click because I always usually ask for help because I'm like, man, I don't know. I don't want to be wrong, and I know anybody on the team could have a breakout game.

SPEAKER_01 38:08

Yeah, and this is a segment that we do in the pregame show where you're picking the guy that's gonna stand out on offense or defense.

SPEAKER_00 38:16

Yeah. And you guys always help me with that. And you you guys are throw out names, and I'm like, okay, I like that pick. But at the end of the day, it's still up to me to make that choice. And this year, I noticed probably eight, probably eight games. We were pretty spot on on who we picked. And I always go and I leave my notes on my iPad. So I've got three years of notes of picks to click. And last year was a really good year for us of picks to click because either both of them, or for sure one of them, always hit. So um, you know, even to down to that point, I always want to help with things like that because you guys watch the game just like I

Butch Jones And Building Culture

SPEAKER_00 38:56

do.

SPEAKER_01 38:56

Yeah, and another big part of that process is our relationship with Coach Jones. And it's been so fun working with him. And I I'll say this I've worked with a lot of head coaches over the years, and he's as good as any I've ever worked with. I just admire the way he's built this program his way, even with the rough first couple of years. He always had the end goal in mind. He wanted to build his own culture. And, you know, even after those two years, you felt like, okay, things are starting to flip in the right direction. And then the last three seasons, three straight bowl games, and they've won the last two. So you're starting to see the results of the work that he's put in. But when we sit down with him, we have our pregame meetings with him on Thursdays, and this will be early Thursday afternoon before practice, and we'll come in after lunch and we'll sit down with him. And he doesn't have to do anything more than the pregame interview that we're gonna record the playback on Saturday. But we'll sit down, and I enjoy those conversations as much as any that we have throughout the course of the week because of the communication he has with us. He's gonna shoot us straight, but you hear more and more about the vision that he has. And I I love, I've told so many people this. When you sit down with Butch Jones in a room, and if you or I or anybody else that's uh sitting down with him just to have a conversation, and you say something that stands out to him, he thinks he might be able to use either with the team or uh a conversation with with somebody in particular, he'll write it down at that moment. And it's that attention to detail that I think has made him so successful over the years. And it's one of the things I admire most of him about him, but his access to us and just you know, his friendship means a lot because I think we both consider him a friend, and he's somebody that um that cares so immensely about Arkansas State and the program, and I love the way he gets behind the other head coaches on campus and just uh is totally bought in to what we're doing here at A-State. But those meetings on Thursday are one of the highlights of my week.

SPEAKER_00 41:36

And I think you enjoy those too, don't you? I look forward to Thursdays and my my boss and my at the gym I work at, she's like, Why are you always leaving on Thursdays? I was like, Well, I have a meeting to go to, uh, football meeting to go to. And I was like, I can't miss. I said, I feel like I'll be let Coach Jones down if I'm not there. And, you know, 20, 30 minutes, but it is worth every minute of it. Like you said, the attention, the details that he has, the accessibility he gives us. Obviously, me being a former player, um, it really, it really helps me because I get to see a different side of the head coach. You know, obviously, when I was a player, it was always, you know, I'm your head coach. But for him, it's like you say, he's a friend. Um, he's a guy that you can go to for any anything. And for and I I think at some point, you know, he listens to us, but you could you see him write down a lot of notes. He was like, oh man, I didn't know about this. Let me write that down. Hey, I'm gonna look into this for you guys. He's even asked me to stick around for uh the leadership meeting that they have. And, you know, I was being grateful to be a part of that and to see the different guys that's in that room. And it's the usually the guys that we pick for picks to click. And that's why I'm saying it's it's so full 360 um because he wants to do it the right way. And I know a lot of people, um, obviously, you know, the the early start when he first got here was not what they wanted, but I hope they see now that his vision and and the things that he wanted and the caradery he wanted from the community and and even from his players are starting to show. I mean, back-to-back bowl games obviously continue to have these winning seasons, he's doing it the right way. And I I think I've told him this uh uh a lot of times. Like, hey, I wish I could play for you. I wish I was in the era where I could be on your side because I know you're gonna give it to me straight. And I know you're gonna get the best out of me and make me work for it. And you'll be a fool not to want that from a head coach. And and I'm not saying that I didn't get those from those other coaches I had, but I know for for sure, just seeing him on a daily basis, like he's gonna get the most out of you. And I mean, just a great guy to be around, and and he's definitely continuing to do it the right way.

SPEAKER_01 43:58

And it's such a challenge anymore.

Turnover In Modern College Football

SPEAKER_01 44:00

With group of five programs because there's so much turnover. And if there isn't all conference players standout, then a lot of times you see them go on to the power five level. And it's hard to compete with those kind of dollars that you're competing against. Still, what Coach Jones has done is he's put a culture in place and he's got the core guys that are around. And even with over 70 newcomers last year, that's one of the most amazing stories about last year. Over 70 newcomers to the roster still able to turn in a winning season and go win a bowl game.

SPEAKER_00 44:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:42

And a lot of the power schools don't have to do that because they're not dealing with that kind of turnover. Now, going into this season, it's not quite 70 players, but it's 50 something. It's a lot of newcomers. So you still feel good because you do have that culture in place. And it's because of guys that were in at the beginning of this thing. And I always point back to Justin Parks because I think we remember him being on the field as a co-captain, as a true freshman. He wasn't even starting on defense yet. But Coach Jones, that he saw that he was that kind of leader and the kind of guy that he wanted to be kind of at the forefront of his football program. And even after Justin graduated two years ago, he brought him back last year to be a part of this program. He's a big part of this program still, and kind of setting the tone, the culture, if you will, of what Coach Jones wants this A-State football program to be.

SPEAKER_00 45:47

And a lot of that is a testament to how much you believed in Justin. And as a coach, that's what you that's what you want. It obviously you want to win as many games as possible, but what as a coach can I do for a player that will help him in the afterlife? Football does not last forever. And for the people that's gonna have a chance to go to the NFL, they'll tell you that it stands for not for long. The average is three years. I was able to play for two and a half, and that that ball's gonna deflate. The air is gonna go out of that ball, whether it's a football, basketball, it doesn't matter. You will not be able to strike it in any type of way or hit anybody or shoot a basketball, whatever the case may be. But as a coach, as a human being, what is the most I can help this kid with? And a lot of that, a lot of things that I've learned from coaching and just being a college athlete was responsibility. And now that I have a full-time job and I'm not playing sports anymore, a lot of things are easy for me to do because of what I've been through when I was in college, the things I've been through when I was a professional. It's so it's so easy for me now to say, hey, I got a job, I got to get up. I got I got boys, I got two boys, I got just two kids. I I do things for them. It's not about me anymore. So that to be able to go back 15 years and say, hey, I learned this 15 years ago and still use that to this day. Um, I think that's the biggest thing for Coach Jones is saying, hey, you're gonna be able to remember these hard moments, this adversity, when you are out there in the real world and and things are going great like you thought they would. Everything is not glitter or everything's glitter, not gold. And that's one thing that I think he gets out of his players the most is to live in that moment. And once you're gone, I'm still a part of your life and I still want to help you out. And you just see that with Justin Parks and even Zach Wallace, and those guys make a difference on the sideline for sure.

SPEAKER_01 47:59

All

2026 Season Hopes And Fan Support

SPEAKER_01 48:00

right. We'll wrap it up with this. We've talked a lot about the past, but let's talk about the future. 2026 season.

SPEAKER_00 48:07

What are you looking forward to? Oh man, I'm looking for a great time. Hey, I get to go to Coastal Carolina first time I've ever been to Coastal Carolina. The teal turf. So looking forward to it. I think that's the biggest thing I'm looking forward to. But or as far as the turf goes anyway. Um, but just looking for a great season to continue to build on uh to where Coach Jones has done, the the culture, the standard that he's set here. And the standard is high. You know, for everybody that's coming in and that's a newcomer to Arkansas State, whether you're a player, a uh regular college student, like the standard is high. And I want you kids to live up to that standard. Don't try to lower that standard. Whatever the standard is for you, you try to go exceed that standard and um just looking for uh a great competition. We got one going on right now in the quarterback room, lots of guys uh competing for spots and just looking for guys like Chauncey Cobb to come along and be that leader. Um, you know, he's a small guy, but he packs a lot of punch, got a big heart, and I think he's gonna be one of those guys to take it to the next level as well. Um, but just looking for a great season of great broadcast, looking forward to being around you guys and learning more. I don't I don't ever put myself in a position to say, oh, I know it all. I don't. And I'm looking to learn and I'm willing to learn. So um if even for for us to to if there's anything I need to get better at, I don't mind hearing that. You know, a lot of people may take that like, hey, I'm not doing I I want that. I want that because I want to be better every day. And I want to be able to say, hey, I've been doing this for 21 years. Like that is that is the ultimate goal um for a career uh for for anything. I mean, obviously, you've been you do three or four different sports. I I know sometimes you're like, man, that could be a lot for me. But every day you chop wood and you go to work, just like football, basketball, baseball, and you see all these sports at Arkansas State doing well. Um, so we just got to continue to chop wood as a red wolf, continue to get better, whatever sport you play, uh, whatever, whatever you do on campus, whatever your major is, continue to chop wood. And that's the Red Wolf standard is chopping wood and making sure you're available, making sure you're there and in presence. So hopefully everybody come out and um support whatever sport you like to watch. It's a lot different watching it in the stadium than it is on TV. So hopefully everybody come out and support uh these guys. They put in a lot of work throughout the offseason. You gotta love what you do. Yes, sir. Fortunately, we're doing something we love it. We love it. We love it around the program that we most definitely, most definitely.