With Amex Platinum, you can enjoy access to dedicated card member entrances at select events, because skipping the line makes you the star of game day. That's the powerful backing of American Express. Terms apply. Learn more at americanexpress.com/withamex. Card member entrance access not limited to Amex Platinum card. Welcome to the UNI Panther Football Show, your weekly dose of Panther football on demand with yours truly voicing the Panthers J.W. Scott. This week, we'll hear from first-year Panther coach, LaQuinton Black, a one-time recruiter of Coach Mark Farley and the Panthers. Black has established himself now as a strong, effective voice for the Panther defensive backs. Also this week, we hear from head coach Mark Farley about the week three laws, a hard-fought battle in Nebraska. Coach tells us what impressed him about the way the Panthers performed, what the atmosphere was like on the sideline, and how the team needs to turn this moment into sustained success. But first, listen in to some of the top moments from the past game, with the Panther Claw calls of the week. So a 30-yard field goal attempt for Kaden Palmer, who is one of three on the season, is only made field goal a 19-yarder. It was crucial in the fourth quarter last week. Dominic Sisneros snaps it away, the hold is down, the kick is up, that hit all state right in the middle. Moment not too big for Kaden Palmer, and he knocks one through. Panthers are on the board, a drive that soaked up more than 10 minutes. They get on the board, down 7-3, drop back for done, wants to throw. Now he steps up in the pocket, dumps it off short, tie Edwards needs to do some work, does and picks up the first down. He's inside the 43 to the 42-yard line in the pistol look. Done takes the snap, flag flies, Aiden's going to roll, dumps it off, pass it kicks it wide open at the 30, turns up 35-40, gets down the sideline to the 45, and he's got the first down, they let the play go, which gives you a little hope, and we'll see, play fake for done, keeps it, rolls, fires it back across the left, throws it to Derek Anderson complete for a first down, tumbling out of bounds at the 36-yard line. They'll run it on first down and 10, Panthers are all in the backfield card, are you, it pushes his way up for the tackle for loss on the tellback down down. There's snap back on a fourth down and three over the middle, incomplete, knocked away with good coverage from Albert Nunez, getting into the kitchen of the receiver, and the ball goes back to the Panthers. Yola with an eye formation, play fake, he's going to keep it, Big Belkin brought him down, he at least forced him back inside and he slipped and fell, back at the four and Belkin will get credit for the tackle for loss. Third and seven, snap to done, pressure with four, Aiden escapes to the right side, done with some green space to the 48, he juked his way to a first down, no didn't get a great spot, but he should still have it. Let's pressure maybe from the left, done with three wide receivers, two right one left, four man pressure, Aiden escapes it, in the in zone, and he throws, and it is complete to Desmond Hudson for a first down at the 15. Des, what a grab, in traffic, and a dart from Aiden done. I don't know how that got through there, the safety was hooked, breaking out of the rover, Isaac Giffer. Because it was a dart, Pete. Yeah, it was a dart. Turn and run it, left side, Big Hole closed up quickly. Good tackle by Tucker Langenberg to up end Rameer Johnson. That Memorial Stadium, Panthers down 21 to three, they'll run it, pass it kicks in, trying to find a seam on the right side, cuts back to the middle, bounces off one tackle to the 30-yard line, little forward progress, falling ahead, up by 24, and he's going deep. He's got a man, middle of the field, and it is caught. Or is it intercepted? Intercepted, Panthers got it, and the 40, up with a battle for the football, and you and I has it. Their first takeaway of the year. Here, every Panther game live on the Panther Radio Network with me. JW Cox and longtime Panthers, Scott Peterson, fired us on your local radio affiliate by going to unipanthers.com and searching Keyword Network. Take us anywhere you go via the Varsity Network app. Something out of here from the coach, what was the biggest positive that you took away from your team from that game on Saturday? That we know, our players know, and we all say that we know and say that, hey, we'll play with them, that type of stuff, and we all talk tough. But I tell you what, once you experience as I told the team, at halftime, you're going to know and confirm that you're what you're capable of. And that's what we did, what we did with that 10-minute drive, what we did in our control of the line of scrimmage to a degree. I'm careful with the words I use, but I really felt we managed the game, and we controlled the tempo of the game through what our offense was doing. Made some Arizona defense at critical times that made they had some fast scores on us. And it wasn't like they were beating us, it was that we were making critical errors, being exposed by great athletes. And then they got some quick scores, but I walk away going, we now can confirm what we're capable of, but now we have to be consistent and do it in every football game and not just in the environment that we were in on Saturday. When you looked at that film, as it seemed live to me, there were multiple moments where, okay, so let's say on offense, you run a play, it was executed, it was blocked, it was schemed while everybody did it. And then all of a sudden, here comes this athlete from the other side, who was able to make the play and stop it because of their sheer speed or whatever it was. Did that bear out on the film too? There was a lot of good, even if it didn't turn into the play because of what you were facing on the other side. No, there's a couple of plays that were there, that was the difference that you saw on film. The size difference, the strength difference, I thought was neutralized to a degree. It was the speed of a couple of those guys that, like you said, once you make an air, you're really exposed by the speed if you make the air. And I think that's the best way to say that is when we made air, the speed is what exposed. It was hard to recover, somebody else to recover and seal that air up because of the speed of your opponent. Ran for over 120 yards against a team that had come in, top five naturally and stopping the run. Where did the credit go for that effectiveness there, running the football, continuing what you guys had done. Credit goes to the offensive line, I thought we really had a good game plan. I thought the execution was very good. I just felt if you go back, we gave the player the week to our offensive line because of what they did consistently throughout that game. And that's, again, what were they used to be consistent is we were very good on the offensive line play, picking up the blocks, picking all the schemes they did. They did multiple stuff, man. They threw the book as they come from every direction with great players. And we were fighting cracks, making gains, climbing on blocks, making adjustments on the run. I felt our offensive line was really in tune along with our two tight ends of the blocking schemes and our running backs have been running very, very well these last few weeks. During the game, you're locked in, but whether it was pregame or whatever it was, were you able to take in any kind of the environment that it was? And what were your thoughts on that as far as to play there at a space where they take a lot of pride in the environment that they create? Oh, they should take a lot of pride. That was elite. I mean, that was flat elite. I've been to some nice places and what they've done and where they've taken that too and that crowd. And then what they did in timeouts with people, yes, I was locked in and everything going on. But man, you've got to see this stuff. I mean, it's all around you. They turn the lights out between the third and the fourth quarter, man. That place is, man, that's like the July 4th going on, man. That is a party and you're trying to keep your guys locked in, but at the same time you have to kind of step back and look at the moment and say, man, you know, this is the real deal. This is the pinnacle of college football and in the same way and all those breaks. I mean, when we're in those timeouts and everybody moved away probably from the TV, that place lights up and then let alone during the game, you know, that place comes down on you too. The biggest thing that happened that we were prepared for, but yet you can't do it until you actually experience it, was after that drop kick, we muffed the kick. We're in the student section down there in that high part of the stadium that was just built that's straight up and we're right in front of the student body. And that's the loudest part of that stadium. And we're right in front of it when we muffed the kick. And yet we had to get our first down coming out of there and we did. And they were trying to make plays. They were about as juicy as they were going to be in that section, their defense against our offense. And our back was against the wall and we fought our way out of the corner, man. It was like a Mike Tyson, Muhammad Ali moment that you're either going to fight your way out or you're going to get knocked out and we fought our way out of that. You faced a really high level offense, certainly throughout that we saw in the defense. You said post game, you were surprised at how much man you never thought you would play that much man-to-man defense against a team like Nebraska. What about how your defense had performed to that point? Gave you the confidence that, all right, this, I know we kind of have to do it, but they can go perform if I put this challenge in front of them. Sometimes you're, you're, you're, you got to call something that's okay, let's, that we're going to do it. And then when we did it, we did it well. And our players have confidence as that's built by the assistant coaches, man. They've been, they've been working hard at it and it's, it's what their, what the culture is in your individual room is just as important as what your culture of the team is and the individual room being the corners room, the safety's room, what culture have we built in there of confidence of whatever we're calling. And it's the players that got to have the confidence, it's not the talk. And I'm always, this chatter, that's everybody's chatters who plays, who's productive and they, they were out there playing man to man against Nebraska and being productive enough that I was saying, okay, I'm starting to get really confident that I can play this and we can play at Nebraska. A little bigger picture, your three games in now. What's the biggest thing you've found out about your team is you've prepped and played and reviewed and now prepped and played and getting ready to prep again since the end of camp to now. What's that biggest thing you found out about your team? That is a great question, I'd probably say they're determination right now and I think that shows up in our rushing game and I also think that shows up in the growth of our defense because the defense was probably, I would say behind going into this whole thing with the inexperience. But the determination of our offensive of, when you, when you're rushing the football, that's determined, tough running is not bombs, it's toughness, it's, it's discipline. And on defense, what I'm finding out is is that we have a bunch of guys that have to grow in confidence as they get to know each other. Just as I explained coaches and players alike, we have to, we have to grow together and rely on each other to get us in the, in what we're good at. Thanks to Head Coach Mark Farley for his time this week. Thanks to Head Coach Mark Farley for his time this week. The Panther point of view is your spot for all things. Panther athletics from the UNI Panther football show in the fall to the Hoops and Family podcast in the winter and everything in between. Like and subscribe to the Panther point of view to never miss any of the great content from UNI athletics. My special guest on the UNI Panther football show this week, defensive assistant coach Lequinton Black. Coach Black and I start going back to his journey as a player. Originally from Oklahoma, started out in eight Oklahoma and then we transitioned to Davis, Oklahoma, which is the smallest school and stuff Southern Oklahoma right around my ninth grade year. We transitioned there. So played my high school ball and stuff there was a triple option quarterback. Coach Farley actually, he had found me there way back in 2006 and '07 man. So transition from from high school in Oklahoma actually was not a qualifier right out of way. So I was committed to play at the University of Northern Iowa right out of high school and they placed me at NIAC North Alexandria Community College. So was there, played well and then ended up committing to the University at all? So got a chance to be able to play, you know, in state in state I should say and then I finished my last year in Missouri Valley College in Marshall, Missouri. So take us back to that time when you're talking to Coach Farley before you go up to NIAC there. What was it about Northern Iowa that it kind of struck you? Was it just him finding you or what was it that you thought about the place back then? Yeah, so obviously there was a Oklahoma coach on staff. Coach Brandon Hall, actually he was from Oklahoma and he actually recruited me him in a former coach, Jerry Montgomery. So they both had recruited me out of high school and obviously got a chance to be able to know, you know, more about the University of Northern Iowa and then obviously Coach Farley would then fly me up and get a chance to be able to meet him and kind of see what they had, you know, going on here and see the falls because I'd never heard of it before. So, you know, getting the chance to be able to come here and see it firsthand and meet Coach Jett, you know, and that was a lot going on that I really felt that I can be able to be comfortable to be able to come in a place like this because, you know, being from Oklahoma, it was like, okay, it's a big culture shock, you know, transitioning up this way. But everything fit well and stuff, man. And obviously, you know, I'm a firm believer, everything happens for a reason because it didn't happen the first time around. So circling the back around and here coaching now. So I'm a humble bot. And when Coach Farley found you, yeah, what was your first impression of this guy from this place that you'd never heard of? What was it about him that stuck in your head? He scared me, hasn't he? When I, when I first, when I first sat down and we had our, I had, like I said, I have my official visit and we had our one-on-one meeting because I had a hat on and my hat was, my hat was kind of low and stuff. And I don't even know why I had a hat on at that moment of time, but I had a hat on and he was like, take your hat off. Let me see your eyes. And he took my hat off and he stared me right in my eyes and I'm sitting there like, holy crap. But, but it's funny because I tell recruits all the time. I said, man, I said, he hasn't changed one bit, you know, and he'll still look at you in the face and he wants to be able to see you do the same. And but just like I said, super great person, intense, but that's who he is, you know, when I said haven't changed a bit. So that's something I respected about him. So that's what I would say. Now obviously you've had a lot of different experiences since then, both as a player and as a coach, as you say, now you're coming back full circle. What was it this time that said, hey, now I'm a family man, I've got a wife and kids and this is what I need to do. What was it about the place now as Coach Black, the coach and the man? What was it that drew you back here to you and I? Well, really truly, you know, Coach Farley, you know, and just the things that, you know, we discussed and, you know, him sitting down and getting a chance to talk to myself and, you know, my wife and, you know, really what the whole, you know, family atmosphere here at you and I was all about, you know, so when he called me and we discussed it and we kind of talked about, you know, just the vision, you know, that he had for the program and where he continued to want to be able to take it, you know, I was all in with it. My wife was all in with it and, you know, we're happy to be here now. Well, it's been the best thing about being in Cedar Falls even outside of being a part of the staff. I know you haven't got a whole lot of chance to kind of cool your heels and check everything out. But what's been the best part community wise for you? I just think everyone is so welcoming here, you know, just from, you know, we go in the grocery stores, you know, we go around town. It may be, you know, the, I guess they call it the, um, the Cedar Valley, where they have like the sports complex. Yeah, sports plus all those different type of things. Everyone is just so welcoming, you know, my kids, they love being around, you know, the football players and stuff. So, um, that, I think that's been, you know, the easiest part. And even with the daycares and stuff, man, everyone's just so welcoming. And they, they, they bleed, you know, the purple and yellow. So, um, it's awesome to be able to see, you know, the community involvement. So it is definitely a special place. When you, now you can go back, again, to, to some of those starting days and, and in a project I've kind of thought about and kicked around. And so when I get a chance to talk to coaches and players, I try to remember to, to go this route, whether it's whatever sport it is. But for you football, when did you fall in love with football? And what do you think made you fall in love with football? Um, I would probably say, you know, my dad, he was a, you know, he was a really special football player back in Oklahoma. You know, he was a Hall of Fame football player at East Central University back in Oklahoma. So, um, you know, we, uh, my brothers and I, we, we toured those tapes up. All this highlight tapes were watching them continuously, man. And he always wondered what happened to him. And, you know, I wouldn't tell him this now, but you're probably here, but they're torqued because we watched them so much. So I would say, um, watching my dad, you know, highlight tapes and stuff from him being in high school and college and then, um, you know, and then transition and obviously I didn't play it, you know, in Little League, but, you know, played it right around the seventh grade year and just kind of say fell in love with it. That's why I was always my first love, but I knew I couldn't be six foot. So I didn't, I didn't have those gifts, but, uh, you know, felt, you know, naturally with the football aspect of things, man, I love it ever since. What role then besides maybe being the inspiration part, now moving on later and you are playing football, what role did your dad kind of play in helping to foster that and seeing in you maybe some of the same things that he had done when, when he was playing? Um, you know, honestly, man, he was, he was awesome, you know, about it because he never really tried to force it. You know, it was just more kind of just naturally just kind of letting me, uh, my brothers is kind of just do our thing, you know, and, and when we did, you know, get, you know, heavy into it, you know, he would always kind of sit away, you know, at the top of the stands or away, you know, from people. And, you know, when we got home, we would discuss it and talk about it if I had a question, but he never would try to be able to bring anything up. And I think that was big for me because, you know, always wanted to be able, I always kind of felt that pressure on myself like, man, I want to be able to make my dad proud. You know, he was a good ball player and everyone knows him. So I wanted to kind of, you know, always make him proud. But, um, you know, he, he, I think he'd done it the right way. He just naturally just kind of let us do what we need to be able to do. And, um, we just kind of just drew that connection, you know, throughout that whole process. When you think of your career in those early stages, is there a moment that, whether it was a touchdown that you threw, you ran for, you caught whatever it was early on that was kind of the feeling that you would then chase from there on that was kind of like the motivating factor. I had, I had that success. I want to do that again and bigger things. Yeah. Um, I mean, man, you know, like I said, from being a triple option quarterback, you know, getting a chance, I would say getting a chance just to be able to have, um, I got a chance to play with my, my youngest brother. Um, so, you know, we played in a wishbone offense and getting a chance to be able to have him next to me and me pitch an option to him and stuff. That was those were moments, great moments and stuff for me, you know, outside of scoring touchdowns and getting into sessions, getting a chance to be able to just have him on the field and get a chance to play with him was awesome. Now fast forward, you go from the playing career to obviously choosing a career to become a coach. What was, what was that process like for you and what was the motivation there to, to make that turn in your football life? Um, well, honestly, right when I, uh, right when I graduated college, my, I started the internship at the YMCA. Um, it was called the dream team. Um, and we, it's standard for, um, developing real excellence among minors together equals a movement. So, um, you know, a lady there at the YMCA by the name of Lisa Macomba. She had, uh, she'd offered me internship, came in and I started a speed and agility program and she wanted more of a mentorship type. So, um, that actually had sparked it for me. Um, you know, it started out about six kids and then it grew to where I was able to open my own sports performance facility, um, back in the hometown that I had actually, it started the, uh, where I graduated college, I'm sorry. So, that sparked it for me, just getting the chance to be able to work with, to work with kids and, um, you know, develop those type of relationships and learn how to be able to, uh, you know, adapt and, you know, and, and talk and go amongst those type of things. So, um, that grew to where I really wanted to be able to get into coaching. I was volunteering at a high school, local high school there in town and, um, got a chance to be able to earn a, uh, graduate assistant, uh, position, you know, at Central Methodist University, which wasn't far up the road in Missouri. In the scheme of things, that's not that far long ago, right? We're talking 2017, 2018, right? That time when you would have been starting. Right. And yet a lot has changed. I feel like in the coaching industry, but what I like is when I can talk to you guys, basketball coaches, whomever it is, because you have the perspective, yes, there are things that are different from when you were a student athlete, from when you started as a coach, but, but there's still those core aspects. What do you like about that ability to coach and reach an individual player, a group of players, whatever it might be? I'm a firm believer, man, that, you know, everyone's different. And I learned that, um, at a very, you know, at right at the start of coaching, and I was humbled by a really, really, really good coach when I first started out, because, um, I always thought everyone should be able to do it at the capacity. I should be able to do it. And I got humbled right away. And he said, man, listen, he said, you have to find a way to be able to reach these guys. And that's your fault. If they're not getting the chance to be able to perform at a level that you are expectations. So I was humbled very quickly, um, and got a chance to be able to, okay, you know what, I really want to take the time to make sure I'm developed the right type of relationships with guys that way, you know, I understand them. And because everyone, they, they, they learn different, you know, they take coaching different. So you got to be able to find a way to be able to reach kids in a different capacity. Um, and that that's something that I learned very quickly. So I'm, I'm very humbled by that. Now, I know from just talking beforehand, you've got three, three boys. And so that, you know, quite literally is going to get you up in the morning. I'm sure they're the ones who wake you up. But when, when you look at the life you built right now and where you're headed, what is it that's that biggest motivating factor that they get you up and gets you going? Oh man, I would say them and my wife, the, those, that's, that's my number one, you know, and just getting the chance to be able to, um, see them, see their smile, you know, just to, to see them and, and how they thrive, you know, when they get a chance to be able to be around, you know, the players or whatever it may be just, um, that's, that's my motivation, you know, every single day just to get up. And you know, even the days where, you know, I'm exhausted, you know, just to be able to know that I'm going to make sure that they're taking care of, and I got a smile on their face. And, um, you know, someone told me a long time ago, they don't care what happened, you know, at the office or at practice or whatever it may be, you know, and give you that comb and hey, you're going to play Hot Wheels with me or whatever it may be. So, um, you know, and I, I learned that very quickly and, um, so that's, that's, that's my motivation. They are. And you talked about your dad and it seems like you're striking this balance, but is it, is it tougher as a professional coach to not want to, whenever it is that your kids might, you know, start to show interest in sports and some of the older ones probably have at this point, is it harder for you to kind of rein that in because that is what you do and you want them to succeed or what's your experience been with that? Yeah, um, I've kind of, I actually had that moment and stuff here not too long ago when we actually had the youth camp the other day. And, um, you know, it was just to be able to kind of sit back and be a dad and kind of watch our players kind of interact and have him kind of my five year old kind of go through that whole camp process. It was very humbling for me because he's now kind of just kind of get started with the tee ball and stuff like that and gymnastics and stuff. So, um, I make sure to kind of see, you know, uh, how that, how that goes about, but hopefully I can be able to go about it, you know, like my dad did because I think he did the right work. We talked about some of the changes in college athletics and obviously a lot of that goes on the type of guy you recruit as far as whether it's straight out of high school, which still happens or the transfer porter and all of that. What do you see when you're out there on the road? Like you mentioned, it's been a lot of windshield time already for you. That's just the season that it is for you guys when we're talking. What do you see out there on the road? That might be different from what your experience was when you were getting recruited as a player and what you were looking for. What guys are looking for now and what that relationship has to be. It's a different A and H, you know, with the whole NIL and all that different type of stuff, but, you know, um, I try to with me and how we go about things here at UNI. It's, you know, of course, Farley is being on what type of relationship do you have with the kid, you know, and I think it still goes back to that, you know, and really spending the time and, you know, a lot of people can hide behind text messages and different things like that. But, you know, we like to make sure we're on the phone and we're active with these kids. You know, we're going to see them when we get the opportunity to go and see them and and developing the right relationship. So I think it's, you know, people say it as cliche, but relationships are big with me and I really try to make sure I'm developing true genuine ones with these kids and going about it the right type of way because, like I said, this day and age is different to where, you know, like I said, the end of hell is taking care of a lot of stuff. But at the end of the day, too, I think it still goes back to that and you got to really have that true genuine relationship. And you're talking about a generation that's kind of growing up online and that's where they do a lot of their interacting, whether it's online or text messages or whatever, like do you see a difference? Like when you get in a room with a kid or on the phone with a kid, like they're appreciating that at least because they notice that it's a little different than maybe what they're getting from other places or what they're used to. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I do. And, you know, social media just from, you know, with the graphics and, you know, all those different type of things that pops up and that you see, you know, on your timeline or whatever it may be. So, you know, it definitely is. It's different, you know, when kids, they thrive off of that. And I think you just got to continue to be able to adapt with what's going on while you're still trying to make sure you have your core values within your program. All right. Let's talk about you a little bit. Get folks a chance to know you. What other hobbies you got besides, besides football and obviously three kids. I know how that goes. There's not a lot of time for hobbies, but what else do you like to do? Oh, man. Honestly, I love just getting a chance to be able to have some downtime and stuff with my kids when we get it. You know, obviously, you know, my ritual for those guys is, you know, obviously, at home is on Sundays, you know, I'll get up early in the morning, you know, when they're sleeping, you know, I'm cook, I cook breakfast, you know, I'm big on a breakfast guy. So love cooking and stuff form on Sundays and get up and we'll play our praise and worship music and, you know, all the different type of stuff. Love grilling. We're just getting a chance just to be able to hang out, you know, when we get a chance to go back to Oklahoma, you know, we'll go to the lake and, you know, all those different type of things. And so that's me, man. I just like to be able to spend some time, downtown to relax when we get it and, and spend a lot of time with them. So now they're getting a little bit more involved as far as sports and stuff like that. So it was kind of taking them and just kind of seeing them do the thing. If you were going to grill one thing that you could be the last thing that you would grill for the rest of your life, what would, what would be your specialty be? Oh, man, we're going to put some pork chops and stuff on that grill and pork chops. And we're going probably, you know, have some burgers with my dad, you know, he has his own special adapt that he puts on there that he hasn't even gave me the full ingredients. So does he give you some of it? Give you some of it. And so I'm kind of taking, you know, what he's giving me and then putting my little extra two cents in there and stuff, man. So I mess with him all the time. I'm like, I think I got your beat, but he still says, now you can never mess with me. So that's good. That covers food a little bit. What about dessert? What are you guys? What's the favorite dessert for you? I'm a, I'm a, I'm a cheesecake got me in my life. You know, we, we're cheesecakes. So, um, you know, I have to try to stay away from it. Obviously I, you know, I'll work out, you know, when, when I need to in the mornings, early morning guy, but that cheesecake, man, when it's in there, it's hard to stay away from it. I'll tell you that. What's your go to movie? If you're just, whether it's, I don't know, you feeling you need to pick me up or you feel one that just makes you feel good when you watch it, you got one of those? Yeah, I, I love all the bad boys. Oh, okay. And, and bad boys in life are two of my favorite movies, just from, you know, you get the action and you get the comedy with it. So I would take those two any day of the week and I'll be fine. However big you want to take this or small, you want to take it, whether it's position group, defense as a whole or team as a whole. Or is there a word or phrase that you've got kicking around in your head or maybe that you've talked about with your coaches that you kind of want to define this year's team as you look at it? Oh, man. You know, I, I wouldn't say a word. I think just for us, it's just establishing who we are truly, you know, with our identity, you know, as a, as a program, as a defense, you know, in, in the secondary, you know, just from, you know, I speak from the secondary standpoint, for us, it's just establishing who we truly are, you know, in the back end and, and how we want to be able to go about this thing. And I think that myself and, you know, Coach Bryce, Coach Bryce Jones, you know, we've kind of put our minds together on kind of how we wanted that picture to look with Coach Farley. And I think we've got it going in the right direction. There's another subject I wanted to touch on. Obviously, there's a lot of turnover and you're part of that with new guys coming in, certainly on the defensive side. What the two guys at the top have been at a long time in coach pop and coach Farley on that defensive side of the ball. But what's it been like kind of meshing together as a new unit there and as a coaching unit is you guys have gotten to spend some time together and figure out what you want to be? Right. Well, I think, you know, Coach Farley's done a great job of being able to mix and match, you know, people with different expertise and, you know, how they can kind of go about things. And obviously Coach pop has done it for a very long time and at a very high level. So getting the chance to be able to hear his expertise, you know, when how he goes about things and what he looks for as far as from the defensive line standpoint in the run game and us being able to kind of mesh, you know, kind of how we think. He thinks things need to be able to look from the passing game standpoint from where I've been and where, you know, coach Jones and stuff have been. And then obviously, you know, with the whole realm of, you know, coach Farley's thought process with it. So I think, you know, we've mingled very, very well. How important is that? I mean, because obviously, and as the coach, you would probably say this is with good reason. The players are the ones that go out there and they do it. And so a lot of focus on the players, but it's an important working relationship, I guess, is what I'm trying to say between all you coaches. How important is that to get started right? I mean, to be able to have that on the right foot before you even do anything else. Man, it's very important because the kids see through that right away. You know, they can see the chemistry, they can see if it's genuine, they can see if the coaching staff is on the same page. You know, when we want to make sure when we step on the field, no matter what the situation may be, we're all on the same page. We're all in unison and it's going to make things be a lot better. So, you know, our kids see that that right out of the gate. So I think it's very important. So let's talk about that position group specifically, that defensive secondaries you look at it. What what excites you the most about kind of the pieces you guys have back there and what you've put together as we sit here right now? I think the kids are very eager to work and they're eager to learn and they're eager to be coached. That's something that I picked up on right away. There's there's there's no ego about anybody and you usually kind of read that stuff right out of the gate and that's something that I can say for myself personally that I picked up on right away. So I'm excited about it and I think we got everything going in the right direction. So just a super excited bill to build off of it. You went to a couple of different stops as a player. I imagine that yeah, you can bring your hard work and there's some elements of technique that are going to be universal depending on what position you're asked to play. But then everything else is probably going to be new and you're going to have a learning curve. The guys that have come in here, how can you and your experience having done that at a couple of stops? How can that help them hit the ground running as fast as they can for whatever length of time they have? Just continue to be eager to be coached. Obviously, you know, I'm big on just I'm going to teach you first. I'm going to develop your second and obviously, you know, try to be able to love your respect and be a mentor source to you. I try to keep those things and stuff at the end because, you know, those things take time and I I definitely understand that it's going to be able to take time to get guys to be able to, you know, obviously meet you in the middle so that they can be able to perform at a high level because at the end of the day, it is all about them and making sure they're in the best situation to be successful. So I think guys, you know, just continue to be able to be eager to learn and let's continue to be able to build together. You know, it's not about me. Try to be able to put you guys in the best situation so you guys can thrive. I've learned over the years that, you know, you kind of always have to have this in your mind no matter how happy and content you are where you might be. When you look at what you want to do in this game, how do you kind of define what your your biggest goals are and and what you want to do? For me, it's am I making the right type of impact on these guys? And that's off the field and on the field because I'm big now as I'm seeing it and kind of, you know, bending it for a little bit is okay, you know, if you're making the right type of relationship and the right type of impact on the kid, if he's calling you after ball, you know, in all those different type of things and and I'm seeing that firsthand and that's big for me, you know, because like I'm a firm believer, I can be able to probably teach you any coverage and stuff on the board. But if you don't know that I freaking love you and I care about you, what are we doing and what are we talking about? So that's big for me is making sure I'm making the right type of impact and stuff on these kids and doing it the right type of way and everything else. I feel they'll be able to take care of it. So have you gotten that feedback and been able to see that from some of the guys and some of the other stops where you've been so far? I believe so. I would say so, you know, you know, my wife sees it too, which is awesome. You know, when she gets a kick out of that, you know, when when they're calling, you know, got a kid and stuff that, you know, got a chance to go play, you know, at the next level and he's calling back and, you know, saying this and then I got one kid and stuff that's, you know, just got married, you know, and I was like, colleague, man, this stuff used to be able to happen when I was in school. So I mean, I know that those type of coaches have made a big impact and stuff on me. So it's awesome, you know, to be able to see and, you know, just I just want to be able to make sure I'm going about things the right way, man, and just be a good person and do it the right way and everything else, man, it'll take care itself as it needs to. So you got some younger guys on staff and then there's a lot of guys that have families and wives and as you look at it in from your perspective, you know, people say this about broadcasters too. I'm sure they say it about coaches. It might be a young man's game and people might think, oh, it's easier if you don't have to worry about the family and things like that. What does her support, which just through the interview is pretty clear that it's pretty strong, what does that mean to you and what does it allow you to do as a coach and make you a better coach? And it's, I didn't realize it until because, you know, you watch, I watch a lot of my other mentors and coaches and stuff, but you them having great wives and having that support. But, you know, when I had, you know, got a wife and stuff on my own, she has been the tremendous rock, you know, for this whole thing because, you know, I'm blessed because obviously, you know, with her being a nurse and stuff, it helps with the transition and stuff, but just to know that, you know, she's able to be able to have home taken care of, you know, and knowing that, you know, if I'm out on a road or whatever, I know that she got it. And, you know, we're a great team, you know, we communicate well, but without her, man, I couldn't do any of this. So, it's been awesome and she is the boss. Just a last couple to kind of wrap up here. What is something that whether through just normal conversation or whatever might not come up about you that people know, it's not a secret, but that it's kind of a part of your personality that maybe not everybody that hasn't met you might know. What would you tell people about yourself that kind of fits that category? Probably, I mean, I would probably be very, you know, soft-spoken or so, you know, when I'm walking around or when I'm talking, but they're probably noticed to me because I'm loud, but, you know, it's not a lot of the rara. It's just I'm very passionate, you know, I really care, and I try not to do it so much as far as we're talking, but just from how my actions and stuff are. So, you know, very passionate about this game and passionate about helping young people. So they'll pick up on that and they'll notice it right away. So, hopefully continue to do that in the right capacity. When you look at how you've been able to become a part of Panther football, what's been kind of the easiest part of that transition for you, knowing that, okay, there was a lot new thrown at you to get your family here, to get them set, get your boy set, and get yourself ready to go. What has made it easy to transition here at UNI, place that now you've basically chosen twice? The people, yeah. The people. I would say that to people. I mean, just so many people have just been very, very welcoming. I mean, just people like, you know, Kelly, you know, been just so many different people, men have been welcoming and just helpful in the players, man. They have been, you know, tremendous, you know, seeing how the relationships are, you know, when I first walked in the door, because usually, like I said, you can read through that stuff right away. You can read through a locker room and, you know, those guys, they mesh very, very well and stuff together. So, I think we've got the right type of pieces. We just got to make sure we just make sure we put it all together. Thanks to Coach LaQuint and Black for taking time to join me this week. Don't forget to tune into the Panther Radio Network pregame with me, JW Cox and Scott Peterson starting this week at 10 o'clock Saturday night from Honolulu. You've been listening to the UNI Panther football show. Each week, get a dose of the Panthers on the gridiron as you hear from head coach Mark Farley and special guests. Don't forget to tune into the Panther Radio Network pregame with me, JW Cox and Scott Peterson starting this week at 5.30 from Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska. Kickoff at 6.30. The Panther football show is a production of Panther sports properties from Learfield. Thanks for listening. Go Panthers! (upbeat music)
