In the Trenches 598 - Smith Snowden Transcript
9/2/2026 8:44:00 AM | MGoBlue Podcasts
Jon Jansen • 00:00
Game week is finally here. There's no more waiting. There's no more countdowns. The Western Michigan Broncos will show up at the Big House at seven thirty on on Saturday night to get us ready for it. We've got a lot of things going on throughout the course of the week, but today we're going to be talking with senior cornerback Smith Snowden. We're going to have a seven from seventy seven and later in the week we'll have keys to the game and a locker room speech all to get you fired up for that game on Saturday night. You're listening to in the Trenches.
[music builds]
Jeff Laurence • 00:33
Welcome to the official podcast of Michigan Football in the Trenches with Jon Jansen. Presented by Meijer, presenting sponsor of the twenty twenty six Michigan football season and proud supporter of hundreds of local sports teams across the Midwest. Nobody covers Michigan football better than the two time captain, national champion and Michigan athletics Hall of Honor inductee.
Smith Snowden • 00:55
Coach brought it up a little bit. Just knowing that these guys, they might, this is their super bowl. They want to win this game and you know, we want to win this game too. So we just got to be prepared to get their best.
Jeff Laurence • 01:05
This is in the Trenches presented by Meijer. Once again, here's Jon Jansen.
Jon Jansen • 01:11
Welcome back, friends. And I can already see it in the comments. We've got a list, we've got a host of people that have joined us already today. Welcome back. Excited to be with you. And we are in week one of the twenty twenty six football season. The Western Michigan Broncos on the horizon. And we all know what the rest of the season is. We'll talk about that as we approach those opponents. But today I want to let you know what's going on with MGO Blue Podcast. The radio replay of Inside Michigan Football is already out. And now my guests, as always, are going to be Kyle Whittingham, head coach of the Michigan football program, Koy Detmer, the quarterback coach and QB one, Bryce Underwood finally get him on the radio show and so we're excited about that. And then defend the block as hosted by Brian Boesch, Courtney Ogden from women's basketball and Malachi Brown from men's basketball.
Jon Jansen • 02:03
That one is out as well, so again go to MGO Blue Podcast. Still to come, this will be the first edition this year of Conquering Heroes. That'll come out on Thursday morning. Field hockey head coach Kristi Gannon Fisher is the guest and Thursday afternoon In the Trenches. Keys to the game. Boy, it feels good when we've got keys to the game. A little bit of a locker room chat I'll call it that. I'm not going to call it a speech. It's just a little chat with the boys and then Saturday night in the trenches, as soon as the game is over, the, the, the team gets a chance to sing the victors. I'll interview coach Whittingham, we'll do all we've got to do and then Brian will work his magic, repackage it in the wee hours of the morning and you'll get a chance to listen to it. All of that on the M GO Blue podcast. Wherever you get your downloads, you could find it there.
Jon Jansen • 02:57
Now I want to bring in my partner, the aforementioned voice of Michigan basketball, mister Brian Boesch. How you doing, Brian?
Brian Boesch • 03:03
Busy, but we're rolling. Man, what a fun time to have the full slate of of M GO Blue podcast. And for those listening on the audio only edition which comes out Wednesday, which will have a conversation this week with our good buddy Smith Snowden. Excited about that. Be sure to check us out whether it's live Tuesdays noon like we are right now or with some of the videos. If you want to put a face to the name and to the interview, we are loading some of those on YouTube. The defend the block interviews with Courtney and Malachi are on there. John's conversation with Bryce Underwood is up there. And I did find the comment funny. Matt drew drums on the Bryce interview saying medium well steak, we're going three and nine.
Jon Jansen • 03:49
Yeah, I, I mean see.
Brian Boesch • 03:52
If you want to see John's spirit leave his body. I will say someone else replied to that comment and said he will graduate to medium, which is my selection. First egg, which John still looks down upon me for. But Jon's soul left his body when Bryce said medium well for a steak.
Jon Jansen • 04:13
And I mean I broke the cardinal rule of, you know, not asking a question that you don't know the answer to. And I was, it was a little bit open ended. And I will say this skill guys always a little finicky in their dietary needs. And I mean it's, it's, it's like, you know, hey, I asked the receivers like, what kind of M and Ms. Do you want, you know, pregame? Oh, only red ones, only blue ones. You know, it's, it's just they're, they're a little bit picky in how they go about their, you know, fulfilling their dietary needs. Medium well was a disappointment, but hopefully it's the only disappointment we have from Bryce this year.
Brian Boesch • 04:56
Elite Demon, Medium rare or bust. There's, there's a friend of yours, Scott, might as well. Make him a burger. Now, the rest of the interview was really, really good from Bryce. Encourage you to check it out and it does us a great deal of assistance. For those especially who are into the YouTube side, please, like subscribe comment. That engagement does a great deal to spread what we are doing extra on video and we appreciate all those who join us live. We still will have everything you expect on the audio side. Two episodes a week of in the Trenches presented by Meyer will be audio only. Just logistically, we're bringing you more and more as we go along on the video side and interactions go a long way. All right, let's get into our seven from seventy seven here. John, camp's over. First game week is underway. What feels similar or different in two different categories from camp until now, this season and from last year to previous or, sorry, from this season to previous seasons,
Jon Jansen • 05:54
there's, there's, honestly, there's not a lot that feels different season to season because there's always an anticipation. There's always. And you know, I mean, I talked to coach on Monday night about the penalties and how important it was to play a disciplined game, missed assignments and, you know, this wasn't. Hasn't been a team that has been a highly penalized team. So I wasn't raising that question. I just wanted to know his philosophy on how do you coach that into your guys. But the excitement there, the fact that you have been beating on your own team, you've been hitting maze and blue basically since January until, you know, week one of the college football season, it's the instincts of a football player never change. The excitement never changes. It's just you're finally there and you just want to have that release of enjoyment and fun.
Jon Jansen • 06:46
That's really what it comes down to. But in regards to, you know, the feeling from what it was maybe three weeks ago during training camp versus what it is now, it's, there's a sense of confidence and it comes with, you know, really good preparation, watching film, walkthroughs, practice, certainly as part of that preparation. But there's a certain confidence that this team is starting to develop in themselves and whether it's Bryce with the receivers, Bryce with his protection, the running game with the offensive line, some moving parts that have been sorted out. And coach didn't let us know what the official starting lineup was for that group. But have my thoughts and ideas. We'll get to that maybe a little bit later. But it's just, it's the confidence defensively of the terminology. It's A completely different defense, you know, on both sides it is, but there are so many new components and it's really, how do you become a team?
Jon Jansen • 07:41
And they're much more a team now than they were two weeks ago, three weeks ago, than they were in spring ball. And you know what? They'll be a better team and, and a better cohesive unit in week six and in week twelve. And it's exciting to see them grow the way that they're growing together.
Brian Boesch • 08:00
Number two on our seven from seventy seven, we mentioned the conversation with Bryce Underwood. The drumbeat has been, for the most part, positive, both with his progression on the field and leadership off the field. Saturday night, the first opportunity to truly see it against a different opponent. Obviously, we all know week two will be the true start of. Okay, where is Bryce Underwood? But how confident are you in watching him in, in seeing how he leads, in talking to him about being QB one captain and one of the keys to this season?
Jon Jansen • 08:33
Well, confidence is built by tangible evidence. So what he does in the big house, that's going to build confidence going into Oklahoma, that'll build confidence going into utep, into the Big Ten schedule. But what I've seen from him, in talking to him, watching him study, watching him work on, on techniques and really just, you know, hey, things like the center quarterback exchange, continuing to have a conversation with Jake Guarnera in regards to how he likes the ball and how Jake is going to block certain things, that's going to help him be better prepared, you know, for any game that he's in. But certainly the Western Michigan game, and it's there, they have given Bryce all the opportunity for success. And it's, it's by hiring Koy Detmer as a quarterback coach. He, he talked on Monday night about going out and having some time with Jordan Palmer, another quarterback coach.
Jon Jansen • 09:24
They, they went out and improved the wide receiver room. The running backs are better, the offensive line is much more experienced, and they, you know, you heard coach talk about what's going on in the weight room. I think one of the major beneficiaries of that is the offensive line. And I'll even bring up Blake Frazier. He has absolutely remade his body. He's put on some pounds, and it looks like a completely different player. So they have given him all the tools to be successful. Now it's a matter of how do you take it from Main street to State street or to State street to Main Street. You don't want to go the other way, but how do you take it and take it to the Big house and produce when it actually matters most. And I don't know how much it's going to matter in terms of win, winning or losing the game against Western Michigan, but it will do a hell of a lot in terms of the confidence that his teammates have in Bryce, that he has it himself.
Jon Jansen • 10:18
And that's really what matters most, is the confidence that he builds in himself throughout the course of this game because one of the best opponents they're going to play is on the horizon.
Brian Boesch • 10:27
Remember last year when we talked with Oklahoma play by play guy Toby Rowland, who will be with us next week to preview Michigan ou? He sick of the word vanilla because that's probably what we're going to see again in the week one appetizer. Michigan versus Western Oklahoma versus UTEP coincidentally. But I do think we will learn, not everything, but we will learn about Bryce Underwood and where he has taken some strides. Week two Brent Venables led defense. That's obviously one of the stiffest tests. It might be the stiffest test for Bryce against the defense all season, but we'll learn enough to have some meat on the bone. Some medium rare meat for darts.
Jon Jansen • 11:10
Yeah, some rare. Let's not even stop at that. Medium rare. Let's go straight to rare. And you know, here's what I'm looking for in talking to Koy Detmer, who, you know, was on the show Monday night as well. You know, everything starts from the ground up. I asked him about, like, where has he seen the biggest improvement? He talked about his footwork. Everything for a quarterback starts from the ground up. And I've mentioned this before, when you get tired, when you get stressed, when you are uncomfortable, it's going to happen. In a football game, you always revert to the lowest common denominator. The least thing that you do and we'll see all of that technique work, all of that fork work. Is it paying off for Bryce? Is that what has now become the norm? That he has good footwork and he's not throwing off his back foot, that he makes good decisions, that his eyes are always in the right spot?
Jon Jansen • 12:00
That's going to be one of the things I'm looking at as this game progresses.
Brian Boesch • 12:05
Love that the coaching he's gotten for eight months can show up with some, some of the fundamentals on Saturday. Then we'll see how it's applied against a better team. Number three on our seven from seventy seven one area. Even in, in the great years for Michigan, that's probably had a higher ratio of preseason hype versus postseason accolades. Is the wide receiver room. Andrew Marsh, to me, unquestionably has all American upside. We saw him last year. JJ Buchanan has earned plenty of praise. That continued with Kyle Whittingham on Monday night's radio show Catch it on the MGO Blue podcast audio feed. Also, Channing Goodwin, a guy that Whittingham highlighted as a level jumper type in camp when asked on his press conference Monday, to you, how good can the receivers be? Is that praise preseason something that we can realistically hope for and expect come the regular season?
Jon Jansen • 12:59
I one hundred percent expect that the passing game is going to be much more dynamic than what we've seen in the last five or six years. Even when we had jj, you know, it just. It never was as dynamic as I thought it could be. And now that you've upgraded that wide receiver room with all the names that you've talked about, the competition there for getting on the field, yes, we're going to see Andrew Marsh, we're going to see JJ Buchanan. But if this game is in control and you get a chance to see a guy like Salesi Moa, Jamar Browder, Travis Johnson, a freshman that's come in and had some moments where you're like, okay, wow, this is, this is something special. That's where that competition in that room of playing time, of where the ball is going is going to drive those guys to even higher heights. And the fact that you have now guys that can run all the routes, whether it's, you know, it could be more about a matchup that they're trying to set.
Jon Jansen • 13:59
Hey, you got a seam route. And maybe ideally it's Andrew Marsh route, but the matchup is better for JJ Buchanan. He can run that one. And you can have Andrew Marsh coming across the middle. You've got the tight ends, you've got, you know, the running backs coming out of the backfield that are very capable of catching the ball to be able to attack the defense through the air at every single level, from behind the line of scrimmage, at the line of scrimmage, linebacker level, secondary, and then deep, I think is going to be a huge opportunity for Bryce to put some of those individuals that said, oh, well, you know, I don't think he can make the throws. He's going to have the opportunity to make every single throw in the book.
Brian Boesch • 14:37
Number four on our seven from seventy seven this week. Game, week. Two other players that Coach Whittingham shouted out on Monday when talking about that level jumper, guys who have really jumped out since fall camp started. And the other Two were defensively, linebacker Chase Taylor, defensive lineman Nate Marshall. Thoughts on those two and the other comment that Whittingham said about just how deep he feels the edge group is. A lot has been discussed about the upside, the skill level of the D line led by Trey Pierce and Enow Etta. But I, I thought the fact that he said I think eight guys he feels comfortable with and he, he says six in the edge group could start for pretty much anybody in the country. How do you take in all that defensively?
Jon Jansen • 15:20
Well, yeah, I mean you get Nate Marshall, Dom, Dominic Nichols and then you know, Carter Meadows, freshman coming in. He's raised a lot of eyebrows, opened a lot of eyes. So I think you're going to get a chance to see a lot of guys and it's really going to be about who can be that two way player, who can be the guy that sets the edge on the, you know, if we're talking about the defensive edge, who can set the edge against the run, who can be disciplined against a quarterback that's a double threat quarterback in Brock Lowry for Western Michigan because it's a great lead up to Oklahoma and John Matier and what we know that they want to be able to do with him, you know, who is going to build that confidence in the coaching staff that, yeah, okay, he's got it like this is the guy that can do it and then obviously who can get after the quarterback. That's going to be one of the big things that we want to find out.
Jon Jansen • 16:04
John Henry Daley's coming in with a lot of accolades, you know, and those were all in the Big twelve. Can he take on Big Ten offensive lineman? Obviously Saturday, that's not going to be the comparison. But he'll, we'll find out against Oklahoma, we'll find out against Iowa. You know, is he, is he going to be able to bring that same production coming off the Achilles to Ann Arbor? And it's Cam Brandt, it's, it's all the guys that we're talking about, Nate Marshall, you know, Dom Nichols, Eddie. I think there is a lot of talent there, which also means kind of like we've seen in the past, you're going to see a rotation of guys in there and it's not going to be guys that are, you know, hands on knees. They're tired, they're, you're not taking them out because you don't have anyone else to put in. Hey, if you're tired, hey, tap your helmet. We'll get you out.
Jon Jansen • 16:47
We're going to get you right back in.
Jon Jansen • 16:48
But we want to make sure you're fresh on every single snap in regards to the linebacker position. You know, Chase Taylor was one of those guys that we talked about last year as he started to get more reps. When guys were hurt, guys were out, guys were missing. Chase Taylor, Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng, all of those guys got valuable reps. Not a lot of them. But what are they doing with that experience, the coaching and now this defense that they're in to go out there and be productive. And now in it's about building that experience that, you know, coach Coach Whittingham has talked about. Not a lot of experience without opposite Nathaniel Staehling, but those other guys are very talented. You'll build some experience against Western, build some more against Oklahoma and now you start putting good performance on top of good performance.
Brian Boesch • 17:38
All right, we'll continue our seven from seventy seven here momentarily and and discuss the matchup with Western the rest of the week one slate. But there is an awesome new element to game days at the Big House this season that our have to know about.
Jon Jansen • 17:52
Yeah, and it's called the Wolverine Walk. I'm really excited for this, for the guys, for the fans. You can welcome the Wolverines in the Big House at each game this season. This week at approximately five fifteen PM make sure you're ready. The team will arrive and head and head into the Lloyd Carr Tunnel. It's the Wolverine Walk and it'll take place near the garages along Crisler Center between the northeast entrance of Crisler and the tunnel. Stay locked into Michigan social channels for a map and bring the energy as the Wolverines enter the Big House for the very first time. Team one hundred forty seven taken on twenty twenty six and our our guy
Brian Boesch • 18:30
Scott, he was locked in. It's as if I sent him the rundown and not you. He posted this before we even started the stream. Excited to see what Coach Whitt brings to the culture. And then player walk to the tunnel will be a great addition for a new tradition. I will say the map. I think they're going to try to see how this goes, but there's a lot of upside for this, a lot of potential. Check it out. Make a point to come over there around five fifteen. Have your airpod in with the tailgate show on as well. But check it out. That'll be a lot of fun. Coming up, every home game in twenty twenty six. Number five on our seven from seventy seven. A little more than two hours after that Wolverine walk, it will be kickoff for Michigan and WMU Broncos reigning MAC champs. They return a pretty good amount of talent considering the new landscape of college football as it is.
Brian Boesch • 19:20
Certainly Michigan a big favorite in this ball game. The fact that, you know, Michigan took a lot of questions about, hey, how far down can you hope to get on the depth chart in this game? Are there areas as kind of a teaser for your Keys to the Game edition coming up Thursday afternoon on the audio side, MGO Blue podcasts. Any areas you feel like can be a good test where we can learn more about it than you would expect against a Mac foe coming to Ann Arbor.
Jon Jansen • 19:45
Well, there'll be a good test up front on the offensive line because they're going to be facing a group that has an all new group, four transfers coming in, one of them coming over from the Ohio State. And so you're going to have some good opposition there. But it is the game that you know the least about your opponent. So you're forced to trust your technique. You're forced to trust the things that, that your coach has taught you, that you've learned, that you've worked and practiced and the grind that you've had. That's one area. But I'll go back to, you know, in talking about Brock Lowry, their quarterback, I think this is a great way to prepare for Oklahoma. Broc Lowry is the reigning Mac Offensive player of the year. He was, he had a tremendous season last year. He's a dual threat guy, nearly a thousand yards rushing, eighteen hundred yards through the air, fourteen touchdowns as a rusher.
Jon Jansen • 20:38
You pair that with Jalen Buckley who was dinged up at the beginning of the season, but as the season went on, by the end of the year he ended up being a thousand yard back. So they've got, you know, that ability to who are you defending most, their actual running back or the quarterback? When they're rushing the, you know, rushing the ball. He was a guy Buckley, that was the Mac championship game player of the game. He was also the bowl game, I think I can't remember where they played. It was somewhere like the Bahamas or something like that. But it was, he was the player of the game in that one as well. I think he had one hundred seventy eight yards in that game. So they've got that, that dual threat in the backfield. And what it comes down to is you got to be very disciplined in your reads and your keys, know what it is, know how your role fits into this defense.
Jon Jansen • 21:30
And until it is, it is well established that either the running back or the quarterback has the ball. You got to stay tuned into if. If the running back is my responsibility, I have him until I either tackle him or I. It's determined that he does not have the ball. And then it's about pursuit. And I think that's going to be one of the things that's going to be really important in that Oklahoma game defensively, is pursuit to the football. We'll get a chance to see that in this game against Western Western forty
Brian Boesch • 21:58
one, Kennesaw six, Kennesaw State six In the Myrtle Beach Bowl.
Jon Jansen • 22:03
Yeah. Somewhere warm, which is not a stretch for a poll game. I guess I should have just said, yeah, it was somewhere warm.
Smith Snowden • 22:08
Yeah.
Brian Boesch • 22:09
It wasn't the Pinstripe bowl, the famous Idaho Potato Bowl. That's always a class on the blue turf up there. It's great. Number six on our seven from seventy seven. John, you said before this is the best week of college football because it
Jon Jansen • 22:23
is Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday.
Brian Boesch • 22:26
Exactly. So let's talk about it. We'll start in the Big Ten Thursday slate. It's one of them. Any intrigue among the trio of games? Rutgers? Umass?
Jon Jansen • 22:37
No.
Brian Boesch • 22:37
Minnesota. Eastern, Illinois.
Jon Jansen • 22:40
Minor. Because we play Minnesota.
Brian Boesch • 22:41
Yeah. Or Illinois. Uab,
Jon Jansen • 22:46
unfortunately. Well, maybe. Fortunately, the Illinois game will be on in the house all right.
Brian Boesch • 22:51
For the whole game. Isn't it a nine Eastern kick?
Jon Jansen • 22:54
Yeah, probably not. So how are they going to replace their quarterback, Luke Altmyer, who's obviously now the practice squad here at Detroit? What is it that they are doing? Because I've been. I've been really disappointed in Brett B. In his return to the Big Ten. I thought him coming into the Big Ten and going to Illinois, that he would have a dominant offensive line and I'm a formidable front. That really hasn't been the case last year. Illinois had one of the most experienced offensive lines, and they struggle to run the ball. They struggle to protect their quarterback. They've gone out and they've gotten three new players up front. Center, left guard, left tackle, through the transfer portal. And I am curious to see what type of. Of product they're going to put on the field this year. And again against uab, you're not going to learn a whole lot, but you will start to develop some tendencies and.
Jon Jansen • 23:49
And we'll get a chance to see what type of athletes, what type of players that they have on the field.
Brian Boesch • 23:55
Friday, Purdue hosts Indiana State. USC hopes for more fans in the stands in Week one versus zero.
Jon Jansen • 24:03
That was bizarre. Yeah, I can't imagine a. Okay, we're starting off with Western Michigan. Let's just say it was flipped and it was, it wasn't a team that was in the state, but it was UTEP for that first game. And we've seen it before with New Mexico. We've seen it with, you know, a bunch of teams that nobody really cares about. But people always show up to the big house. You get to second half into the game. It's a night game. Yeah. The stands might thin out a little bit, but to look at the Coliseum on the kickoff of, of a season where USC has a legit shot at the college football playoffs. They've got a guy in their quarterback, Jayden Maiava, who could be a dark horse candidate to win the Heisman Trophy and no one shows up for it.
Brian Boesch • 24:53
And I'll say this La La Land. Sure. And obviously, you know, LA is, is a sports town where you do have to earn it. Right. You have to earn it more. The loyalty is a little less.
Jon Jansen • 25:07
He's for the camera. If they're good, it will show up and the camera will show us.
Brian Boesch • 25:11
Sure. I will say, and it was super cool being last year was the first time I'd been in the Coliseum.
Jon Jansen • 25:16
Oh, me too.
Brian Boesch • 25:17
Coliseum may be the place where an empty venue looks worst in all of football. I mean, it looks like you are playing in just this red bowl. If there aren't fans there, I don't know why it's. I don't know if it's just the, the way that the seats in the rows slope up. Man, it looked, it looked bleak.
Jon Jansen • 25:42
Well, and part of it is like the end zones because of the way. I mean, I know they've made some adjustments since the, you know, the eighty four Olympics, but it's the way it was constructed. You're a long ways away when you're in the end zones and it just feels like there are more seats where it would be like, yeah, I'd be better. I'd rather watch this on TV than actually being in the stadium. But even, even, you know, between the twenties, there was not a lot of people there.
Brian Boesch • 26:12
No Calvin saying you were seeing why for nearly two decades there was no NFL team in la. I always thought it was so strange they went from zero to two. We never just tried one, but it's
Jon Jansen • 26:23
like college football playoffs. True. Let's just go from four to twelve to twenty four.
Brian Boesch • 26:27
Yep, exactly. Well, I mean, it does combine two to four. Yes.
Jon Jansen • 26:32
Brian, you're very good at math.
Brian Boesch • 26:34
No, I'm good at moving things together. That's not good at math. We should do six. Six would be a lot better than twenty four Anyway, but Calvin followed up, if there are no NFL teams, those seats are fuller. Week zero. My theory on it is USC is one of the, the fan bases in, in this century that saw like a peak era of their team. And it's really tough to follow that up if you aren't a super dedicated fan base. And I just, there's a lot of acts in town and usc.
Jon Jansen • 27:04
Well, and I would argue this in regards to the NFL teams. I understand that they're probably taken away in terms of what tickets can you buy, what tickets can you afford in regards to that. But it's not like that ticket was in high demand for usc's opener. And the fact that there was no NFL teams playing like it was the third week of the preseason and roster cuts, you got another week before the NFL season. It gets into week one. Like, to me, I just can't imagine a situation that would happen where Michigan Stadium would look like that without it being a pandemic.
Brian Boesch • 27:45
Unless, as David explains here, it was a maroon chance and maroon shirts and pants. That was a dangerous combination there. Maroon shirts and pants. Maze out equivalent, I suppose. Well, that could have been rough. All right, Big Ten preview continues here. Michigan State ushers in the Pat Fitzgerald era against a Mac contender. A team that, that should be in the mix with Western Michigan in the Mid American Conference. I think Miami of Ohio. Also in that realm, it's Toledo. I think that one has a chance to be pretty intriguing on Friday night.
Jon Jansen • 28:18
It does. Toledo, obviously, with a new coach. Michigan State with the new coach. And everybody thinks is, is very familiar with how I feel about Pat Fitzgerald. I think he's a tremendous coach. They've gone out on their offensive line and they've got three new guys that are supposed to come in and help protect their quarterback. Quarterback played well in the final four weeks of the season, but I think for, for, for Pat, he's a defensive guy. What are they going to be traditionally at Northwestern? When he was there, it was right up the middle. Big, strong, powerful defensive tackles, a dominant middle linebacker, and then a couple of safeties that were absolute ball hawks. I don't know that they have that. In fact, I know they don't have that yet. But I do think they're going to be a disciplined team. And throughout the course of the season, they will continue to improve week to week.
Jon Jansen • 29:09
They're never going to cash it in and just say, hey, wait till next year.
Brian Boesch • 29:13
Top three teams in most people's Big Ten predictions will all play before Michigan on Saturday. Anything you're Watching for in particular with Indiana versus North Texas, Ohio State versus Ball State and Oregon versus Boise State.
Jon Jansen • 29:29
So Indiana, I think it's all going to. A lot of the focus is going to be on Josh Hoover, their new quarterback. Can he operate that system with what is it? Nick Marsh, the transfer wide receiver from Michigan State. How dynamic will that pair be? And Curt Cignetti in his third year. We know college football playoffs, national championship. How does he follow that up? I don't necessarily know that it's. I don't think he's going to go back to back national titles, but I think as long as he is there, he's. They're going to be a force in the Big Ten. He has won every single place he has been and famously took JMU from a, you know, an FCS program to an FBS program, won a championship there. So I'm really just looking at how is this team, this version of Curt Cignetti's team going to be different than the other ones? Because even if you look at the last two years like there's there are some similarities, but the things that they did or didn't do well in year one, they mastered them in year two.
Jon Jansen • 30:28
And what does that mean for year three in terms of Ohio State, Ball State? I'll be watching their defense quite a bit. We know what they have offensively in Julian Sayin and in the wide receiver Corp. But defensively they lost. God, they lost a ton of talent and it all went in the top ten, eleven, twelve picks of the draft. So who are the names that we're going to be talking about defensively, how are they able to replace that much talent? So that's what I'll be watching. And then Oregon. Boise State is interesting because remember two years ago that was, it was a thirty seven, thirty four shootout and it was Oregon that obviously came out on top of. But it was twenty to fourteen in favor of Boise State at the half. Now teams are completely different than they were two years ago. Boise State is now what, a Pac twelve school? No longer in the Mountain West.
Jon Jansen • 31:24
Oregon at the time was a Big Ten school, but it's, that's a program that has developed a lot of confidence and there's a program that's got confidence not only in playing in big games, but winning big games and being competitive in big games. So of the three, that's probably the one I'll keep an eye on the most.
Brian Boesch • 31:43
Yeah, that, that certainly has a little more oomph to it than the other two. Just because we've seen Boise State hang around. And Boise is a popular group of six contender. Does it. If it's a thirteen point loss, that probably helps. If it's a forty three point loss, that probably makes it a detriment in terms of. Down the road. You're one.
Jon Jansen • 32:04
That'd be tough for Oregon to recover from that one.
Brian Boesch • 32:10
Oh, man. Anything else on Saturday that catches your eye? Before we talk about two interesting ones. Sunday, Washington hosting Washington State and then Wisconsin against Notre Dame. Night game Sunday at Lambeau.
Jon Jansen • 32:25
You know, it's. When you. There's not a lot of top twenty five matchups. In fact, I'm not sure that there's any talk. Twenty five matchups, but thinking about.
Brian Boesch • 32:33
Sorry, just saying Big Ten, we got. We got the rest of the. But just for Big Ten.
Jon Jansen • 32:36
Oh, just for Big Ten. No, I mean, it's, it's. We get. Get a feel for what the programs are this year. What Purdue is playing against Indiana State, I believe, or Illinois State. One of those two. Indiana State, I believe it is. And it's. I think it's the only game that they won last year. So maybe they can get off to a hot start again. That's about it.
Brian Boesch • 32:59
There you go. Any chance for some surprises? Washington and Notre Dame, both heavy favorites against the Cougs and the Badgers in a. Obviously for the second game there, a big big season for Luke Fickell in Madison.
Jon Jansen • 33:13
Then you nailed it right there. New athletic director. And they've given Luke Fickell every opportunity to instill his program and they went with the air raid. Now they're trying to be back and be a tough, physical team. A lot of respect for that program and a lot of respect for Luke Fickell. It just. They just haven't found their footing yet and hopefully they can. And there's no better way to do it than against Notre Dame and Lambo. And we've seen Notre Dame struggle at the beginning of seasons over the last couple of years. And so can Wisconsin be the. The quote, unquote, Northern Illinois of, Of twenty, twenty six and jump up and beat somebody? And the cool thing about it is it's at Lambo, right? I mean, there's just, there's just some. A huge cool factor there.
Brian Boesch • 34:01
And of course Northern Illinois is in what conference, Jon?
Jon Jansen • 34:04
I have no idea, nor do I care. Are they a Mountain west team?
Brian Boesch • 34:07
They are a Mountain west team. The Mountains of DeKalb.
Jon Jansen • 34:10
That's right. That's right. Nailed it.
Brian Boesch • 34:12
Good job. The Big Tens, like we've talked a lot about the Penn State schedule in Big Ten play. Wisconsin schedules pretty manageable at Penn State, home against Michigan State, at ucla, home against usc, at Iowa, home against Rutgers, at Maryland, at Purdue, home against Minnesota. They don't have to win this game, but I do think the Big Ten slate for Wisconsin allows for, I think legitimate judgment on Luke Fickell. If they can go nine and three, something like that, sure. Great. Stick around. You show your vision. If that slate at Wisconsin goes six and six, seven and five, it's probably time.
Jon Jansen • 34:52
Yeah, I would think so. Anything eight and four is kind of your. They got a decision to make.
Brian Boesch • 34:58
Yeah. Style points are important there.
Jon Jansen • 35:00
Yeah. Seven wins or less. I think it's, it's probably done.
Brian Boesch • 35:07
Yep. Number seven. Let's talk the rest of the country. We'll break this down in SEC and then elsewhere. Obviously we'll be keeping an eye on Oklahoma. Friday night, eight o' clock Eastern time kick against utep. So Michigan's second and third opponents squaring off highest profile games in prime time. Saturday at seven thirty, Battle of the Tigers, Clemson visiting lsu. We'll see how many former practice squad players will be suiting up for LSU in that one. And then Sunday at seven thirty Louisville and Ole Miss tangle in Nashville. Anything there SEC wise of of those topics or others that that's stands out to you?
Jon Jansen • 35:46
Well, Clemson has pretty much fallen off the map. It's the first time in what a decade or more that Clemson hasn't been ranked in the top twenty five. Has Dabo Swinney just completely lost the touch or is there is this the chance that they've been waiting for to hit the ground running in a new season? He really hasn't done much in regards to the transfer portal. Defensively they brought in a couple of guys but offensively it's pretty much the same cast of characters, you know, you know that are back from last year except for a couple of graduates, new quarterback. And I'm just curious as to can they go down there with LSU and Lane Kiffin and all the distractions, you know, self imposed distractions that are going on. And I am curious like okay, you, you got a couple of guys that are coming, maybe coming back to college football from NFL practice squads.
Jon Jansen • 36:41
Is your roster that thin that somebody that, that is cut by an NFL team is going to help you that much. I just, I am curious as to why they are so adamant in this one year. Because it's not available next year. It's not going to be available in years, you know, down the road. But why is it so important that he has these two or three guys on his roster. So it makes me wonder a little bit they've got talent. Makes me wonder a little bit about their roster and his concerns that they have on the roster.
Brian Boesch • 37:19
Have you seen the LSU basketball roster? I. I believe, John, you'd have a chance to make the team. In all seriousness, in football, if you look for any edge you can get, and, and these days, every season has to be its own. There's not a lot of building. I thought, you know, what Kyle Whittingham said to you on Monday night was so. I mean, the way he put it was so staggering to me. It used to be you had one hundred people to tell the new twenty people or thirty people what to do in your program, and they just kept shuffling out. That's not how it works anymore.
Jon Jansen • 37:51
No. So when you turn over half your roster every single year, sometimes more.
Brian Boesch • 37:57
Yep. Yep. And it's just. Lane Kiffin is going to Lane Kiffin. Like, that's just. That's just what it is. And. But yeah, this is all.
Jon Jansen • 38:07
What do you think ultimately happens over there?
Brian Boesch • 38:10
Oh, gosh, I. I have no earthly idea. I mean, to me, the. The range of outcomes is so wide. And here's the other thing. I want to bring up one thing because I. I can't remember in the last twenty years if there has been less discussion about Alabama during an off season than there is now. Right. You know what a potential outcome in all of this is. Right.
Jon Jansen • 38:33
Like, Kalen is gone and LSU is looking for a new coach next year.
Brian Boesch • 38:38
I mean, if a dude's going to go from Ole Miss to LSU during the playoff, what's stopping him there? Again, I'm not saying that's what's going to happen. I'm not predicting it. I just think the range is LSU has the resources and the tradition and the history and the talent locally. Whatever they could, they could win a national championship under him, and he could also leave in a year or two. I think Calvin sums it up. I have Lane Kiffin fatigue.
Jon Jansen • 39:05
Yeah, I do, too. And it's just. It's a train wreck that you just can't look away from. And when you hear some of the threats that are coming out from the sec, and one of them possibly. Possibly being. And I think there's a great use of the term expulsion from the sec. Now, ultimately, I don't think that happens, but how about. How about that is a scenario where they kick them out and then Lane Kiffin says, you know what? Hey, I thought I was coaching in the sec. Oh, Alabama's opened up And I go over there. It's unbelievable.
Brian Boesch • 39:40
Yep. What a time to be alive. Elsewhere, number seven, Miami, trendy playoff, maybe national championship type pick playing, of course, an ACC game Friday at nine against Stanford. And Davis Warren, who had a nice win in week zero, Monday at seven thirty. I think this is a really interesting one. SMU nationally ranked, a slight favorite in Tallahassee against Florida State. That or anything else that jumps out to you. We could talk the James Franklin era beginning in Blacksburg. Virginia Tech against vmi. Shout out to our loyal listener Dylan, correcting us when we were talking North Dakota State. It's not Bison. It's Bison. Bison. A Z like sound. And the Bison are one zero in fbs. Congrats to them. What else has your eye? Whoa.
Jon Jansen • 40:29
Who says it's. It's B, I, S O, N. Who says it's Bison? The.
Brian Boesch • 40:35
The entire state of North Dakota.
Jon Jansen • 40:37
Oh, they call them Bison.
Brian Boesch • 40:40
That's the. That is the correct pronunciation. It's just like. How do you say. How do you say the team?
Jon Jansen • 40:45
I've been saying bison wrong my entire life.
Brian Boesch • 40:48
I think in this context, bison. Just when you're referring to the animal is how you say it. But how they say their team name is with more of a Z sound.
Jon Jansen • 41:00
Okay. But their team mascot is an actual animal that's called a bison. They just want to call it a bison.
Brian Boesch • 41:07
Yep. It's just. Hey, it's the quirks of a community, of a culture. Do you know that we were talking about a team on the blue turf out there in Idaho? Do you know how to say the city that they're in? Boise. Boise.
Jon Jansen • 41:27
Things I couldn't care less about.
Brian Boesch • 41:28
I know for two hundred. Okay, well then in that case, let's move to something you do. James Franklin. Seven thirty. Enter Sandman. Plays VMI in town. Who you got?
Jon Jansen • 41:38
Clearly James Franklin. And here's what I'm curious about.
Brian Boesch • 41:43
I'm gonna cut just those.
Jon Jansen • 41:45
Yeah, yeah. With all the excitement I could possibly muster. I am curious as to how he. What type of level of success he is going to have in the acc. Obviously, Miami. I think it's a one team conference. I think it's. It went from Clemson and now it's Miami. But I am curious. Virginia Tech, what are they going to do in year one of James Franklin? What? Because we know he can recruit. That's never been the issue. He can recruit the hell out of some athletes. It's been his ability to actually win the big games. The other team in that. In that conference, Virginia. I am very curious as to what Virginia is going to be this year because if I remember right and I won't have their names but James Franklin took two quarterbacks from Penn State. He settled on one and the one that he didn't pick went to Virginia and he is now their starting quarterback and will face obviously Virginia Tech at some point.
Jon Jansen • 42:46
But Virginia last year had four overtime games and in the regular season won all of them. The only one they lost and completely threw the college football playoffs into a tether was the the matchup against Duke in the ACC championship game. Miami wasn't even playing in the ACC championship game. I, I am curious and I have the same reservations about a Miami team that I had last year. Can they consistently be good throughout the course of a twelve game schedule? I still don't believe that they can ultimately. They played for a national title last year and came up small in that game. Can they run the table against teams like and I don't think I can't remember Miami schedule but Louisville is a team that can beat you in that conference. Virginia is a team that could beat you in that conference. And I am curious about Virginia Tech and what James Franklin will be this year.
Brian Boesch • 43:39
No Virginia. And who was the other team you said?
Jon Jansen • 43:42
Louisville.
Brian Boesch • 43:43
Louisville.
Jon Jansen • 43:44
I think I said that right at Louisville. Louisville.
Brian Boesch • 43:47
Louisville. Full.
Jon Jansen • 43:48
Yeah.
Brian Boesch • 43:49
By Zen Yes, David, mentioning this. It's not Mackinac.
Jon Jansen • 43:58
You got me on that one. Yes it is Mackinac Island Fort. Mackinac.
Brian Boesch • 44:04
Yeah but Robert, yeah, local vernacular. Roberts here much more succinct way to describe it than I was trying to tiptoe around. But yes indeed for Miami it's really about them trying to make the matchup at Notre Dame november seventh more so. A a chance for a buy versus if they're going into that game with one loss and they lose it, Miami's it's going to be tough for them to have the strength of schedule. Eleven and one with a loss to Notre Dame probably gets. Well, it gets certainly gets Miami in because they win the acc. If you're ten and two and not win your league that that can get a little bit dangerous. All right, before we continue, our friends at Original Roofing Company Jon, they're fired up for the upcoming Michigan football season.
Jon Jansen • 44:50
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Brian Boesch • 45:38
Audio side Great conversation John had with newcomer Smith Snowden.
[music builds]
Jon Jansen • 45:52
Joined now by senior Smith Snowden, cornerback for this team. And I've got to ask you because we had you join the podcast earlier in the off season and a lot of it was hey, trying to figure out Ann Arbor, Michigan football, all this stuff. What's the transition been like for you now that you are in class? It's been a full fall camp in your in game week.
Smith Snowden • 46:12
Yeah, it's crazy how time flies. I just remember when we first talked that might have been in February or March. That was when I first got here. And you know, looking back at it's been eight months or seven months and I love it. Ann Arbor is everything I thought it was going to be. The transition was great. Fall camp was amazing and now we're a little less than a week away from game day and I cannot wait
Jon Jansen • 46:36
there spent so much player movement and anytime you have a new coach, there's going to be players moving around. And now that you guys have had a chance to like we said, hey, you've had spring ball, fall camp, you've had summer conditioning, winter conditioning, you've had the entire off season. What are the challenges as a veteran player of being a new guy in a situation like it is here at Michigan, but also having so many new guys and you've got to come together as a team. How do you build that team?
Smith Snowden • 47:03
Yeah, the coaches keep talking about connection. They say that the most connected teams win. So we've been really preaching about connection, getting to know your teammates, sitting with a different guy at lunch every single day just to, you know, learn a little bit more about your teammates. We spent so much time together so it's important to you know, know what's going on outside of Schembechler Hall. But yeah, what you were saying about how the transition was for me when I first got here as a, you know, as a transfer, honestly it was, it was really easy. But it was hard at the same time because I when I first got here, I got came off a surgery. I got surgery. So you know, I was healing up and, you know, as an athlete, you kind of get your. I don't know what I'm trying to say. You get your. Just your stuff from our ability. So when I was, you know, your identity.
Smith Snowden • 47:58
See my identity through what we do on the field. So just healing up at a new place, that was hard. But, you know, the guys brought me in and it felt like home.
Jon Jansen • 48:07
I always want to talk about the identity of teams, and I'm glad you brought that up because defensively, like, you're looking at this and you know, John Henry Daly's new up front, Chris Bracey in the secondary, yourself in the secondary, the Nathaniel Staehling as a linebacker. Like, there is. There's new guys everywhere. What through this point of camp and before we start the season. What is the identity of this team and what do you think it will be as you start to take on opponents?
Smith Snowden • 48:34
I think the identity is just a relentless team that wants to win and wants to compete at the highest level. Everyone on this team is hungry. And when you just named three guys with Nate, Chris and jhd, those are. Those are three dogs. Like, we have a lot of dogs on this team. And I'm just ready to see everybody go out there and go to work.
Jon Jansen • 48:52
What's the goal for week one? Western Michigan. And there's no. You can't say it. I will. It's. It's two different levels competing. This should be a game that you guys should control. What's the goal for you? What's the goal for the secondary and defense?
Smith Snowden • 49:06
You know, the goal is just go one to know. I don't know if you remember, but Notre Dame lost to Northern Illinois.
Jon Jansen • 49:12
Oh, yeah. We point that one out all the
Smith Snowden • 49:13
time last year or two years ago, and it's important because it's. You just got to go week by week. Every single game is important. So we're going in this. This week the same way we attack any other other game. We want to go out there and dominate, and that's what we plan to do.
Jon Jansen • 49:28
You guys talk about the importance of what happens in week one with the Notre Dame example. There's. There's examples across college football, but how it impacts you eventually having a shot at the college football playoffs.
Smith Snowden • 49:39
Yeah, Coach. Coach brought it up a little bit. Just knowing that these guys, they might. This are Super Bowl. They want to win this game, and, you know, we want to win this game, too, so we just got to be prepared to get their best.
Jon Jansen • 49:50
Coaches talked about having three corners on the field at all times. Obviously, you're in that mix. You've got Jyaire Hill, you've got Zeke Barry. How have you guys as a starting unit been able to communicate and work through a complicated defense? Jay Hill said it's one of the most complicated defenses you're going to find in college football. How have you guys been able to navigate that?
Smith Snowden • 50:11
Yeah, I think we, us three players, I think we all complement each other. I think we all make each other better. We push each other to just grow each and every day. And I think that learning this defense with them was honestly pretty easy. And I feel like we all got the groove of it and we're just continue to grow in chemistry and just look forward to making plays.
Jon Jansen • 50:34
Let's throw the rest of the secondary in there with Chris Bracy and Rod Moore. What's communication look like sound like in regards to like game day? Like, a lot of times you won't be able to, to make verbal communication. But how do you communicate with those guys in what you were expected to do?
Smith Snowden • 50:49
Yeah, communication is key. We're talking on the field every single play. If, if I see something, you know, if one of the safety sees something, they're going to call it out and I think that's super important. So the communication on the field is. It's everything and we do that and then communication off the field, we just want to make sure we're on the same page. So whether that's watching film together, just communicating what, what they want us to do in this coverage or that coverage, just little things like that.
Jon Jansen • 51:16
When you take a look at the schedule, obviously you're focused on being one and oh, but before this week, you had a chance to look at Oklahoma, Indiana, Penn State, like you go right down the list. And now you're a part of the Michigan football, football program. What have you thought about what it would be like to play against Oklahoma in the Big House? Have you thought about what it's like to play the rivalry games? Michigan State, Ohio State.
Smith Snowden • 51:35
Yeah, those games, I mean, it's everything. I think right when I got here, I looked at the schedule and it's like, wow, we see everybody and that's, you know, that's right around our alley. That's what we want. I just seen Coach Whit said something about bring it on. We love the challenge. We're here for it. Let's do it.
Jon Jansen • 51:55
How has going against a guy like JJ Buchanan, who you obviously saw last year in practice, now you're seeing him here on Ann Arbor. Jaime Ffrench, Andrew Marsh, the group of receivers. How has that challenged you defensively and has it made you better?
Smith Snowden • 52:09
One hundred it's made me better. You know, I, I have to attack the day like it's game day every single day because I'm going against dudes every single day. Dudes that in my opinion are soon all Americans, all conference players. So I'm excited to watch them play this year. But yeah, they definitely give me my best, my best work every single day.
Jon Jansen • 52:30
How excited are you to hit somebody that's not wearing Maize and blue?
Smith Snowden • 52:34
Man I'm super excited.
Jon Jansen • 52:36
What's, what's this week look like for you? And take us just from Wednesday, Thursday, Friday up until game time. What does it look for you look like for you as you prepare for games?
Smith Snowden • 52:47
Yeah, obviously a lot of film, just watching film, going to practice and then Wednesday, Thursday we'll have practice and then Friday go to the hotel. I think we'll catch a movie that night. Team movie. And then Saturday go to Friday night go to sleep. Then it's game day.
Jon Jansen • 53:05
So you've been around Coach Whittingham on game days for three years now. Obviously it's going to be a little bit of a different scene, but he's not going to change who he is. What is he like on game days? How would you describe his game day demeanor?
Smith Snowden • 53:18
Business. Literally. I would just say it's business. He wants to go into the game and just take care of business because that's, you know, that's what it's all to me about. Just go out there and like I said earlier, just go. Want to know when that game, what
Jon Jansen • 53:31
are some of the goals as we approach the season that you may have for yourself?
Smith Snowden • 53:36
Yeah, I think just doing my one hundred eleven, doing the best I can, making plays for my team, being a great leader and just. Yeah, I can't wait. I'm super excited.
Jon Jansen • 53:46
How do you approach. Because we hear this especially from veteran guys like going one and oh, how do you set aside anything that's happened? If we're talking week six or seven, set aside those first six weeks and just focus on the one and not look ahead to some of those big matchups. And this is one of those where you mentioned you can't overlook Western or else you end up like Northern Illinois and Notre Dame. How do you keep focus on this game without looking at anything in the past or anything in the future?
Smith Snowden • 54:14
It's important to be present, being in the now, the same way you want to have a short term memory when things may not go your way on the field. So it's always next play mentality. Yeah.
Jon Jansen • 54:27
What type of potential does this defensive unit have?
Smith Snowden • 54:32
Sky's the limit. Seriously, I. We have so many dudes that are going to contribute on this defense side of the ball and I just can't. I can't wait. There's so many dudes.
Jon Jansen • 54:42
Well, hey Smith, I really appreciate your time. Best of luck this weekend and we'll look for you down the road.
[music builds]
Smith Snowden • 54:47
Yes, sir. Appreciate it.
Jon Jansen • 54:55
Well, as always, I want to say thank you to Smith Snowden for the time that he gave us. There's a lot going on the first week of classes. Everyone trying to figure out their class schedule, film schedule, training schedule. There's a lot going on, so we appreciate the time that these guys give us. If you missed anything throughout the course of the week, make sure you go back to MGO Blue Podcast because we have reposted the coaches show which happens on Monday night at seven o' clock and on Friday. I want to let you actually it's going to be Thursday afternoon. The keys to the game as well as a locker room speech. And it has been oh so long since I've had a chance to get fired up. So there might be a little bit something special as we start the the season against Western Michigan on Saturday. Kickoff is at seven thirty six. For everything that's going on in and around Michigan football, make sure you keep it locked in here on in the Trenches.
Jeff Laurence • 55:47
Thanks for listening to this edition of in the Trenches with John Jansen, presented by Meijer, presenting sponsor of the twenty twenty six Michigan football season and proud supporter of hundreds of local sports teams across the Midwest. In the Trenches is part of our Michigan Athletics Podcast network, MGO Blue Podcasts. The preceding is a Learfield presentation of the Michigan Sports Network.
