Culture Beats Talent: How Strength Coaches Shape Teams

Winning games in November happens in January, far away from the Saturday lights. With pre-training camp in full swing, summer physical transformations and cultural alignment dictate the trajectory of the upcoming season. In this edition of Red Wolf Saturdays, Head Coach Butch Jones sits down with Director of Strength & Conditioning Ben Armer and starting linebacker Joe Drew to break down the physical and mental prep driving Arkansas State.

We sit down to break down the mechanics of roster development in modern college football. Highlights include moving an athlete from nickel cornerback to middle linebacker, managing caloric intake to pack on 20 pounds of lean mass, and integrating sports science with sprint mechanics. Coach Armor shares his core philosophy that strength staffs control nearly 87% of an athlete's calendar year, meaning daily micro-habits, not short-term motivation, determine fourth-quarter execution.

Putting on functional mass while maintaining top-end speed in 100-degree summer heat requires unrelenting discipline. Players face the physical strain of heavy winter lifting cycles, constant nutrition tracking, and early morning accountability standards where bad days simply aren't tolerated. Viewers will walk away with an insider look at how coaching staffs construct physical durability and install a high-standard culture from the weight room outward.

If you care about college football development, strength and conditioning protocols, and building a winning team culture, you’ll get a lot from this. Be sure to subscribe to the channel and share this episode with fellow football fans. What is the biggest physical or position transition you've seen a player successfully pull off on the field? Let us know in the comments below.

0:00 - Introduction & Staff Backgrounds

5:15 - Joe Drew’s Unconventional Path

12:06 - Transitioning to Defensive Leadership

16:09 - Revamping Strength & Conditioning Culture

21:31 - The Winter Bulking & Development Process

25:19 - Training Camp Expectations & Final Thoughts

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:10

Thank you for joining us of another edition of Red Wolf Saturdays. Going to kind of dive in and give you a little different, unique perspective. Look through the strength and conditioning area through the lens of a coach, but also as a player as well. So really, really excited about this edition today, kind of a pre-training camp edition, a summer update, as you will, where we're at, but joined by our new director of strength and conditioning, sports performance, Ben Armo, and our starting linebacker who made the changeover from nickel, played as a true freshman for us, Joe Drew. So we'll kind of start off, Coach Armour, if you could kind of maybe tell everyone kind of your journey, your background, your kind of path to Jonesboro, Arkansas.

SPEAKER_00 0:54

Yeah, so first off, I'm beyond thrilled, my family and I, to be here. Um for me, my strength and conditioning coach that I had in college at Western Michigan was the guy that really got me into this. And uh, and he made it very clear when I told him this is what I wanted to do. He said, if there's anything else in this world you can do, you better go do that. Because as you know, coach, the the hours that you put in in coaching in general is way too great if you don't have a strong passion for this. Um and so I had to get my feet wet with internships, like we all have to do. Um, those are volunteer and they are a lot of hours to do for no pay. And you'd find out.

SPEAKER_01 1:34

That means no money, like absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 1:37

And you find out very quickly if you have a passion for this thing or not. And so I learned very quickly that I I did, um, and I couldn't get enough knowledge. It was just a thirst for trying to learn more and go to as many clinics as I could and call as many coaches as I could. So through a couple of internships, um, I actually had the chance to start a strength program at a high school, um, which you might know in in Richland, Michigan. And um, and that was a great experience. If you can teach high school kids how to train, you can teach anybody how to train. 14 to 17 year olds are are no joke when it comes to working out. So it was that was the best experience I could have had as a young coach to get my feet wet. Um, I had the opportunity to be a graduate assistant at Ball State with who I would, you know, put in the highest regard in our profession in David Feely. And so um from there I got a chance to learn from some of the greatest minds in our profession, and what I call first generation strength coaches, guys that won Super Bowls with Bill Parcells and um Phil Jackson with the Chicago Bulls, and so many guys that have had a huge impact on my journey just from that time that I had at Ball State. I was an assistant strength coach at Miami University in Ohio. Um, that was for a very short stint, but it gave me a chance to work with Olympic sports, female athletes, overhead athletes, and you become a very well-rounded coach when you have a chance to work with that kind of variety of athlete. Um, I was beyond fortunate in 2016 to get called back to Ball State. And now I got the chance to be a director for the first time, um, to lead a football program there for eight years. And again, as you know, eight years in college football is an eternity to a lot of people to get a chance to see so many freshman classes graduate, and especially with the way college football is now, that was beyond um a wonderful experience uh for myself and my family. I got married there. I had my four, my three of my four children there. Um, so we had an unbelievable time. I got a lot of great um experience from that. And then um after 2023, I had the chance to go to Duke University to spend two years there as the director of sports science and to be the number two strength coach, and now getting the chance to work with all the technology that we have now in this day and age, which is um outstanding when you think about the things that we can learn now from data and being able to predict things and things that are gonna help translate to the game. Um, and then of course, you know, getting the opportunity that's that you you offered me in January, um, beyond grateful. And and this has been an unbelievable six months so far. I can't wait for the season.

SPEAKER_01 4:14

You you had mentioned an individual from Western Michigan that had a big impact. But you and I have some uh background familiarity. You want to tell everyone about it?

SPEAKER_00 4:23

And I'm I'm gonna give Coach Flowers where flowers are due, um, because uh Coach Jones was the head football coach of Central Michigan during my time at Western Michigan and big rivalry.

SPEAKER_01 4:35

If anyone doesn't know, it's probably the premier rivalry within the Mid-American Conference.

SPEAKER_00 4:40

It is the battle for the Cannon trophy. Um and I would argue, and I think you would agree, it is the greatest rivalry probably in the Mid-American Conference. It goes back the longest. Um, but Coach Jones got the better of us every single year. And then thankfully he left for Cincinnati, so we could finally win my senior year, um, which was outstanding. It was it was a highlight for my career. Um, but it was uh they were hard-fought battles. They always came down to the wire. Um, Central Michigan always had the upper hand, though. There's nothing about college football in the pageantry of a robbery game.

SPEAKER_01 5:12

We're gonna switch gears a little bit now, Joe. We're gonna come to you. Um great story if you really think about it in your journey to Arkansas State and really helping us win an X Bowl, uh, an Xbox Bowl championship last year, kind of coming out of nowhere. Our fans are like, who is this number 38? Where did he come from? But you want to kind of tell everyone kind of your journey here to Jonesboro.

SPEAKER_02 5:36

Well, Sue, my journey, uh, we could start a high school. Honestly, I wasn't even a football player. I didn't think I was. My freshman and sophomore year, I didn't play football. I actually ran cross-country. And that's kind of crazy, which, you know, I didn't think I could do it, but I just did it just for the fun. And then my junior year, I was crazy. My cross-country coach, uh, they fired her. So, I mean, the only other sport I really had some type of excitement for was football. So I know I just tried it. Junior year, uh I was about, I think, six foot, I'm 175 max. Uh, we didn't really lift that much. We did just squat power cleaning bench, but I wasn't really uh a weight room guy because that was my first time lifting in ever. So, you know, I go out there in junior year, I play corner. I had some uh highlight plays all over the year. I mean, uh all state. Uh first uh first team already at receiver, I was all state at corner. Um did it all. Yeah, I did it all. I had stats everywhere tackles, interceptions, throws, carries, receptions, all of them. We even won state. So that that made me that that was just that was crazy. No, senior year, do it again. We try to run the bat, we lose in uh Elite Eight, but my stats is even crazier. And uh I honestly after my senior year, I wasn't really thinking about any football interests. You know, I was when I went to basketball and I would play basketball, and I went to retract my senior year just to fill up all my high school memories because I knew it wasn't gonna last for that long. And then it's crazy. Out of nowhere, uh I was coaching a Red Department girls team during the basketball season for Red Department, and uh Coach Kwame, he called me out of nowhere and he was like, oh, hey, it's this is Joe Drew. You know, the number or something say, Y'all know me. If I don't know the number, most of the time I'm not gonna answer. So he called about three times. I answered it, and uh, you know, he was told with Coach Kwame. He said he was on the side of the road watching my film. He said he said he liked it, you know. And I didn't believe him. You know, I'm I'm a real guy, so I didn't really, if I don't see you, I didn't really believe him. But I did my research and you know, I knew it was I knew it was legit. Y'all all from me, I came on a visit. I visit was like unlike nowhere. It was like a walk-on visit. I don't think I don't think we did. We didn't take any pictures in the on the field, the pictures in the locker room. I only met in the O line room. I went in your office for maybe five minutes. And then Coach Kwame, he taught to me in the O line room. So it was, it was like, I didn't even know I was supposed to come. I mean, we didn't even know the photographers, they weren't even like here on time. So that all that was crazy. But then I think after that, um, after that, I kind of knew this was the place because after talking to y'all coaches, y'all, y'all are real coaches. One thing about me, I like uh real human beings. I don't like anybody trying to fake it one way or another just to please you. Like when Coach Armor King, when I feel like you was real, you know, you don't sugarcoat anything, I like that. You know, I'd be real back to you. But that that really that sparked me coming in.

SPEAKER_01 8:28

So your journey, so really, you know, where you come from, there's a great pride in terms of saying you're from South Georgia in the recruitment process. So you get here, I believe if my memory serves me correctly, you show up later. So you didn't even report when the true freshman reported. You're about a couple weeks late into it, but you emerge right off the way with your work ethic, your ability to learn. Um, kind of take us through your first year, you know, the wisdom that you gained, kind of how you continued to progress from where the season started to where the season ended, kind of just your takeaways from last year.

SPEAKER_02 9:09

Well, shoot my work, how I gained all my wisdom and work at the first off, was I wasn't a type of player that uh I compare myself. I know you tell us a lot, don't compare. You know, I wasn't really a type to compare myself. I just worked because that's what uh based off the last interview, that's what I mean, that's what my dad taught me. Because I'm the only boy, so he just told me you gotta work, especially now these days, you gotta work because I don't want nothing handed to me. So all the I used to uh when I first got here, I remember first our first practice was the uh fourth quarter outside. I mean, it was it was brutal. I was number 49. And I mean the the work you upgraded from 49 to 38. 49, 38. I had a bunch of numbers the whole year. And uh so I I went through that and you made me uh stand in front of the team. And I think I when I remembered through the workout, and it wasn't like I just made it. I mean, I actually like I was past some of the players or even some of the um players in my class. So, and after that, uh just throughout the season, as a freshman, I knew I wasn't I wasn't expecting to start first game, or honestly, even through the middle of the season. You know, I just knew, okay, I'm a freshman, I'm still working, but I'm not expecting, okay, oh, I need to start here, I need to start there. So uh AG McGee, when we had the brother system, he taught me everything I knew. Him and Coach Kwame, they was probably the biggest assets of me last year. AG, we used the Bub heads like for fun and stuff, but he taught me everything. He told me, he told me I was gonna play for y'all. And I mean, you know, I was the joke with him, but he was right. I uh shoot special teams. I did my hardest on that just because I mean I knew special teams, you had to play special teams to play. You say that all the time. So when that uh South Isle, I had my first taste, and we both know what happened to South Isle. But I learned from that, and when I got uh my second chance at Troy, I wasn't gonna let that one up. And then I mean the butterflies they didn't get to me. I just let that uh I let that fuel me because that was my first game. My parents came and a bunch of a bunch of people from my town came. So I was like, nothing to be scared for. I'm here now. I mean, we win or lose, I'm on the field, so I can't be scared now. And then after that, I just kept progressing and learning more and more as the season went on, you know, and we went to the Xbox Bowl.

SPEAKER_01 11:23

Your biggest memory as a freshman. I know you have a lot of great memories from last year, but your biggest memory from last year, what would you say it would be?

SPEAKER_02 11:34

Uh my dance after the big hit in the Xbox Bowl. That was my I think on the highlight tape. Yeah. That was my first time, I think I felt confident as a football player. You know, I when I made that hit and I just broke out of dance, and I I mean I got more in the bag. That was just a startup back, because that was my first one. I didn't you know, I didn't know how to feel. But that was the most confident I ever felt as just making a play and like just being just a hundred percent, you know, just in general of anything. I just felt like I just felt me.

SPEAKER_01 12:04

You know, we talk about the new age world of college football that we live in. So you play as a true freshman. So you go through your first year, but you now you're deemed as one of our captains, one of our leaders on defense. And when you really look at it in the grand scheme now of the five for five period, you're very relatively early stage of your career. How have you handled in terms of that leadership role now the expectations that now come in your second year here at A-State?

SPEAKER_02 12:37

It's no different. You it's not that much pressure. You just it's just more responsibility is on you as like just from the eyes. Like whenever anything that happens, now a lot of eyes are on you whenever something goes down. I mean, it could be last year. I still I think I had the same responsibility. It's just whenever anything went down, the eyes wasn't first on me. You know, we had Jalen Rayner, A.G. McGee, you know, a lot of the seniors, even on the D-line and the linebackers, that there was there was a lot of eyes on them. So now it's the same role for me. I mean, the standard's the standard. Everybody gotta hold up to the standard. So now just a lot of things that happen. I mean, holding up players accountable, you gotta look to me first. You know, and I'm gonna I mean I'm gonna hold it up regardless, because end of the day, we're all in at, you know, we're all for one. No, we're one identity. So I mean, that is just something that everybody has to do.

SPEAKER_01 13:26

So now you go last year you played the nickel position, and now some person gets some crazy idea to move you to middle linebacker. Kind of take us through your progression from going from really outside the box on defense and now playing in the inside in the interior of the defense, um, playing the linebacker position, kind of the nuances of that, and how has that tradition gone or how has that transition gone for you?

SPEAKER_02 13:53

Well, I don't know who thought about that, but uh the transition, it wasn't I want to say it was that crazy because being a nickel, like you said, we're just outside of the box. So we're really what two yards away from being a linebacker. I call it an outside linebacker. Yes. So I don't think I say the biggest uh part about the transition was just mentally just knowing more about the game. So now I know what happens inside the box instead of outside of the box. And I'm now instead of hearing from the linebackers, I'm the linebacker telling the nickel what to do. And after that, I mean, once you understand the game and understand like the schemes and stuff, it's it's simple. Like every everybody, when you master something, it's simple. Like a gymnast might not know what a basketball player is thinking, but once you master it, it's is it's nothing nothing hard. Instincts. Yeah, it's just instincts. And then, you know, then the physical part, you know, I was I was a 190, you know, so I had it had to get my weight up, which I got that up now. Then I I know I still got some more room. But uh, I think after just the after physical aspect, because you know, it's instead of hitting a receiver, you know, it's 300 pounds or maybe more. So I mean, after that, it's just about sea ball, get ball, once you understand the scheme stuff.

SPEAKER_01 15:03

I still remember that winter afternoon you coming in the staff meeting, and I asked you, I need you to research a player named Jalen Reeves Mabin. And it's just, you know, through your career, you have people that really impact you, and he's still one of the the closest relationships I have with Text Everyday. And, you know, he's played, I believe, 12 years in the National Football League. He's the president of the National Football League Players Association, and you two are like clones. You could be twin brothers in terms of he was about 190 pounds, he was a high school quarterback, he was a player of the year in the state of Tennessee, um, played safety, and we moved him to linebacker, and he was undersized, he didn't want to do it, and he first excelled on special teams, and that's how he's made his mark. He's the highest paid special teams player in the history of the league. And just, you know, your two progressions are the same of your instincts to go get the ball. You actually both start at the guard position on punt. There's a fraternity there. So it's been a great journey, and you know, kind of switching gears, and that's why we have Coach Armour on as well. Okay, so coach, you come in, you have a new team, you have to learn new things, you have your own philosophy. How was it coming in here, kind of implementing your style, but building trust uh in rapport with the players? You know, what were some of the things initially you thought you had to do in your area to help our football program and our football team?

SPEAKER_00 16:35

Yeah, I'll start by saying this. We I was under the impression I was gonna have to do more than I actually did. And I say that because of the number of guys that we had coming into the program that were new, when you're not used to that, and and we didn't we didn't have as many new new players coming in at at Duke, um, obviously at Ball State, this portal era was not what it is now. Um and then what I quickly realized was how whatever returners we had coming back, every single one of them understood the culture. You have a guy like Joe Drew who's been in the program for a year, and he knows it top to bottom, inside and out. And I can immediately go to somebody like him, I can immediately go to Chauncey Cobb, I can go to Jalen Benelli, I can go to Tristan Smith, Will Saxton, and I could go on. And they all know what our culture is, and then it's laid out for me. So the hardest part for any strength coach really is you're an extension of the head coach and the vision that the head coach has for the program. And so when you have all of this kind of laid out on a silver platter for you, it makes your job a hundred times easier. And now it's just follow the outline. That's all it is. So now we can really get into all right, what are we gonna do physically? How are we gonna change this team? And then how are we gonna uphold the standards of our culture while we're making these physical changes? And that's where you have the art and the science of strength and conditioning. The art is taking in all these things, all these intangibles that we need to have to make a strong football team last, to be great in the fourth quarter, to have great starts, to never get complacent throughout the game, and then all the while get stronger and get more powerful and fast and well conditioned. It's such a it's such a uh, you know, a really cool dynamic that makes it what I think is is a really fun profession to be a part of and to be excited getting up every day to do. Um, it was not as challenging as I thought, though. And that was that was great because we were able to hit the ground running because of the culture that was already set.

SPEAKER_01 18:35

So take us through a player like Joe Drew. He mentioned, you know, making the switch. We talked about from the nickel outside linebacker position to the inside, you know, had to put weight on. Talk about his progression and the weight he's been able to do and the lean muscle mass and all that's associated with that. And you have to do it really in a relatively short period of time, starting in January all the way through till July. And then obviously you start the next phase of in season, but kind of take us through that.

SPEAKER_00 19:05

So the first thing is I'm I met with every one of our players when they when they started with us in January, before the first week, really. And so when you meet a guy like Joe Drew, number one, before you even know anything about him, you you'd swear he's an upperclassman. The way he carries himself, his maturity level, the way he takes everything like a professional every single day. So already I'm under the impression this guy's been in the program for a while. So there's there's really no hesitation about being able to throw a lot at him because I felt early on, first impression, this guy's gonna be able to take on a lot, as he did. Um now, when you're having a guy make a position change like that, because I've worked with several athletes that have done this. You know, you talk about the Mid-American Conference. A lot of guys don't start finish in the same position they started in. Um so a lot of times guys tell themselves, I have time. It's okay. I'll slow cook this thing, I've got time. And Joe was not that way. He attacked it from day one. And you know, I can't tell you how many times he has hit me up on a on a Sunday afternoon to show me what he's eating. Um, when he's made it in the building on the weekend to show me what his gut is. Favorite food.

SPEAKER_01 20:14

If you get an opportunity to eat whatever you want, then what are you eating? Oh, easily. A Waffle House, All-Star Special. But then we have a new Waffle House in town.

SPEAKER_02 20:23

Oh, Waffle House, All-Star Special, two bacon, egg, and cheese melts, and a grit bowl all at the same time. And what are you having to wash it down? Oh, I do lemonade, lemonade or do you frequent waffle house a lot? Yeah, they know my order. Like you go, it's the one by uh going towards hijinks. So we may have like an NIL deal. I could have the place. I mean, you should. Hey, I want to I want to man.

SPEAKER_01 20:47

They literally they know when you walk in, they know what you're having.

SPEAKER_02 20:50

Hey, this I forgot her name. I'm trying to get her name. Every time I walk in, she'd be like, Oh, you want the same thing? Yes, ma'am. Every time.

SPEAKER_01 20:57

You have to go there quite frequently for them to know your order. Every day.

SPEAKER_02 21:01

This last week I haven't, but this all the other times, every day. Any teammates with you? I tell actually uh Paul Risper and uh Rasheen. They when I uh take some of the true freshmen under your wing. Yeah. Tell me, hey, it's it's the same thing. I'm not knowing you like Waffle House.

SPEAKER_01 21:17

So it's the spot. You know what? I'm gonna show up one of these days. What's the South George?

SPEAKER_02 21:21

That's a South Georgia thing. We got we gotta that is true.

SPEAKER_01 21:23

Yeah, that is true. Okay, so you can continue on with the Joe Drew development.

unknown 21:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:31

Now everybody can see exactly what I'm talking about here. Um, so in the winter, you know, we we put an emphasis on on three to four things at a time. We're not trying to be a jack of all trades because all we get is mediocre at all those things. So in the winter, we're really big on size and strength. We have to build that as our foundation. And it doesn't mean you don't work all the other areas of your program. You absolutely do, but that takes uh priority over anything else. Because if you don't have that, you play catch up in the summer when now. Your running picks up, your speed development picks up, it's really starting to be too late to get that process started. And really you're just spinning your wheels. So I thought Joe did a great job because, you know, you're talking about 190 pounds to really being about 207, 208. Um, so, and we had seven weeks. And as you know, we had that week where we had the snow, you know. So um, for him to do that, you know, it's it's a diligent process that you have to stay on top of, especially when you've never been that weight in your entire life. And then the second thing is how you attack the weight room. And it's it's a mindset to come in every day and train with the intensity level that we expect. That standard is is very high. And as Joe's mentioned, like it we're gonna be real with you about whether you're coming in with the right mindset or not. We have to make sure that we stack consistent days or we only get so many of the benefits. And um, I would say he's the epitome of what you're looking for when you talk about somebody that attacks it every single day. You're only gonna get part of the result if you don't do that. And so, you know, that's a credit to him. You know, as we transitioned into the summer, now he knew he had to finish the process. And he'd already built the blueprint for exactly how he needed to eat. The only thing that we had talked about was now the running is going to pick up. It's gonna be 90 to 100 degrees when we run sometimes. So now how are you gonna take in more with the calories that you're gonna be burning, which are gonna be far greater than what you did in the winter? Um, and you know, here we are another, you know, 12 to 14 pounds more than what you were finishing up the winter. I mean, this guy's in the driver's seat, but that's because um he doesn't have a bad day. And in this day and age of college football, that is a rare thing that he gets 100% of the credit for.

SPEAKER_01 23:42

We have no bad days. We may have bad moments, but no bad days. What do you, when you look at this upcoming season, what are you looking most forward to?

SPEAKER_02 23:54

Honestly, uh probably just the the way we play. And it's not the way we play, but just like how we play. As we pray is on, we're we're fast. We're fast. And I I can see we got a lot of talent out there. And I honestly, just from a player standpoint, when we're when we're on it, the the we especially the defense, it's fast. And I want to see us like I don't think I've seen like offenses handle like fast defenses that are not moving fast the wrong way. Like, we're actually moving fast doing our job, though. Like you saw Miami. It was fast and it was ruthless and vicious and all that. Like that's that's how I see like Sultan. I know y'all I mean, so we see Sultan just being like just a just a I mean uh I mean uh bat. You know what I'm saying? Just something like that. So I want to see us just dominate. And then we I know the offense, especially with a new offensive coordinator that we have, that that's gonna that's gonna handle that. So I trust I trust our offense, but especially in our defense, I want to see us just dominate and like don't be light as a in the good way. I want us to just beat them the bad guys because nobody wanted to lie. You don't want to be light, especially on defense.

SPEAKER_01 25:03

And you're talking about Salton Badness, yeah, who is another newcomer that transferred in here from Temple, who's a defensive end.

SPEAKER_02 25:10

Yes. And I just don't want to I want to be light, you know, because you would you fear us? Is this the we got you?

SPEAKER_01 25:16

Coach, what are you most looking forward to to this season and getting training camp started and just the next kind of progression of this football team?

SPEAKER_00 25:25

I am most excited about watching these guys uh accomplish the goals that they've worked tirelessly for for the last six months. I think the program that these guys have put together, not me, because they have to be the ones that put the work in every single day and which they have. And so, you know, as a coach, when you get to see that every single day and you know what they're training for, and it's the coolest thing that to me is why football is the greatest team sport that exists, because you get 12 guaranteed opportunities and eight months of your calendar year. And you know, oh, I'm gonna stop for a second, and I don't think I've ever told you this, but when you were at Tennessee, you actually did a study to find out what percent of the calendar year was spent with the strength staff, and it went public, and I actually found what that was, and it was 87%. And I used it in my recruiting pitches every single year. So while our paths crossed briefly when I was in college, that uh that was something that I had mentioned many times. But um, that's what makes it so great, is there's so much more time spent preparing for the sport than you get to actually play the sport. And that's why to me, like it's it's the most rewarding thing for a strength coach when you watch all these workouts and now they get to go put it on display, and now they get to go play the game they love. I'm I'm very excited for that.

SPEAKER_01 26:46

So you listen to Coach Armour describe who you are. Describe to everyone who Coach Armour is.

SPEAKER_02 26:53

Coach Armour's one of the really guys, realest guys I've ever met. And he's he's we uh we call him a uh a drill sergeant. Because you know, he comes in every morning. Good morning, man. He's got that command presence. And it's and it's every day. It's not just a one-time thing, it's every day. It don't matter how he's feeling. I don't know what time he wakes up, but I know it's early because we lived early. So it's every day, and he's he's gonna make his presence known and he's gonna hold like hold himself to that. Because once he's gone, we're gone. Because he, if he brings that energy, he knows we're gonna bring that energy. And it is and it's very in details, it's also one thing. Details, we he's very strict on details. It's not uh how much, it's like I don't know, something not how much you do it, but how you do it or how it's like something like that. Not what you do. Yeah, it's not what you do, but how you do it. Because I can shoot power clean, see, 350. But if it's not right, if it's not like the right fundamentals and the right and the right steps and everything, or how fast I do it, he's gonna critique me on that. I mean, there's a lot of guys that've been through that. I mean, he power clean went up crazy just because of different movements that we do, just uh uh help with the power clean, the sprints. We watched Usain Bowl, he uh broke down sprint mechanics so we all can get faster from linemen all the way up to the quarterbacks and the safeties and all that.

SPEAKER_01 28:11

Yeah. It's it's uh, you know, we always talk about you win with people, people make a place. And uh I think everyone can see why we're winning, and you're a great indicator of that on and off the field. And obviously, the addition of Coach Armour has really changed us monumentally as well. Um in closing, we'll close up just um what would you like in closing anyone and everyone watching to kind of know about you, this maybe this football team, um how far we've come in your area, and where do we need to go to get better?

SPEAKER_00 28:48

Yeah, so um I think where we're at right now is exactly what I just said. My excitement level is through the roof right now, um, with with what we're capable of doing this fall. Um I think uh our football team is is going to be um something that is going to draw attention. Um I encourage everybody to to make their way up um to watch this team play. If uh if if I haven't given enough of a a snapshot of what these guys have done over the last six months, and there's no way I could ever put that on you know on display as well as uh someone that's seen it every single day. Um, but this is a team worth coming to see. They are worth the price of admission 100%. And um I I think uh they're gonna be very pleased with what they what they see on the field, with the way these guys carry themselves, um, not just on the field, but in the community. And uh that's a that's a team you want to get behind 100%. Um I would leave it at that.

SPEAKER_01 29:48

You know, Joe, we we always talk about as a team in a program, it's really a pride of who we are, you know, and what we represent on a daily basis. When you think of Arkansas State football, you think of being one of the leaders, one of the faces of the program. What are you most proud of in terms of our football program?

SPEAKER_02 30:08

Is how we how we've grown and how we adapted to the changes from last season with the new new stream coach and new coaches, especially on offense, and the way we move and the way the way we like go out through our day. Because this summer is not, it's not even close to the same as last summer. Even me coming in late, there's still a big change. I mean, we the workouts we do, the types of meetings we have, the practices, the way we uh like orchestrate the practices now. I mean, there's there's nobody that would uh change and grow into how fast that we did. Because it if you look at his practice now, you'll probably think, oh, we've been practicing like this for I don't know how long, even though we just started doing this. So that that's probably the way we've grown is probably the most thing I'm blessed about.

SPEAKER_01 30:53

Great. Well, looking forward to the season as we get started pretty quickly here. But uh for Coach Armer, for Joe Drew, we really appreciate y'all listening to another episode of Saturdays with the Red Wolves, and it's brought to you by the Arkansas State Media Network, and we're really proud of this network as we continue to grow and expand as well. Thank you, Wolves Up.