WATCH: UC Bearcats 2026 Big 12 football opponents speak

Well, it's as documented, the margins are really thin. Respect the heck out of Coach Satterfield and the job that he does. And on both sides of the ball, so it's gonna be a huge challenge for us. It's not, like I said, this isn't about me. That was a dream I've had kind of my whole life. So if it happens, it happens. But to be able to make that happen, you gotta have a great team. And I think I got a great team around me. I think I got a great coaching staff that's been able to support me in so many ways. It's not about a Heisman campaign. This is about a Big 12 championship. This is about a Rose Bowl. And like I said, I think we have the people to go do it. Yeah, we expect the atmosphere to be electric this year. I think we've had a lot of support from our community. We've had a lot of support from our student section. And at the end of the day, University of Arizona, they want a good football team. We've been labeled as a basketball school for as long as I can remember. So we wanna give them a good football team. We wanna give them something to cheer about. We wanna give them something to come to the stadiums for. But we gotta go prove that we're worthy. He doesn't only kick ass on Saturdays. He kicks ass every single day of the week. And he is as special as it gets. We had a great rivalry with them in the Big East. And both at their place and at our place, it was always great crowds, good football team, good rivalry. So we're looking forward to that. We had some really good teams. We went down there and we were playing them. That was kind of the heyday of our, of starting our program. And I got a lot of respect for the coaches and the players. Those are the games you gotta win. I mean, we wanna win every single game. But when we play Houston at our place, when we go to Baylor, when we go to Cincinnati, to play in the Big 12 Championship, those are the games you gotta win. We played Cincinnati LaSalle. And Ohio started a week before Texas did. So I went out and watched Cincinnati LaSalle play. I got to see Cole Rayne and St. X play. So that's the first time that I've been in the stadium. I haven't had the opportunity to play a game there. But I've been in the stadium and got to see football. And I'm excited, cuz I think it's a really cool, the way it's built and the way the campus is built around it. I think it's a really cool environment. Have you had much contact with Brendan after all this? Yeah, I talked to him. We usually talk about three or four times a week. I talked to him two days ago. They were coming back from Florida for a family vacation. And so he's training here in Dallas and taking care of himself. And we're here to support him any way we can. Brendan's a friend, he's a teammate. I mean, yeah, he's a great guy. It sucks what happened to him. I'm excited. We've not played there, I've not been there. So I know from talking to other coaches, it's an incredible environment. Have nothing but respect for Scott and his staff and what they've been able to do. So I'm excited. And my guess is that it'll be an all blackout event or something like that. So I mean, we're excited for the opportunity. Well, obviously, I'm biased, cuz you see the kid every day. But he's really, really smart. He's got great football IQ, and he's a dual threat guy. He really can make every throw very accurate, great touch. And he really showed, I think, everybody, not us, cuz we watched him in high school and college. He's a very effective runner as well. For me, it's kind of who I am. Not everybody, do I think it matters? Absolutely not. Do you find this as a source of motivation? It's kind of who I am and how I've built my life, is trying to prove people wrong. Not everybody's that way. Will it be discussed for us? Yeah, I mean, you pick 16 out of 16. A lot of people that don't believe in you, you gotta believe in yourself. You gotta go out and prove that you are worthy of being anything better than what they think of you, cuz they don't know you. At the same time, just as they don't know you, it's your job to make them learn who you are. And we're gonna have an opportunity at that baseball. We don't care about what people say. People are always gonna have opinion. If my kids and my coaches and our staff don't understand who they are, we have a problem. They're not gonna allow you to identify who we are. And just because our guys were snubbed off a pole that's probably not gonna be consistent with the end of the season, we don't give a darn. Our kids know who, what, when, where, and how they are. And they know what they gotta do and how they gotta work. It just gives them that extra inside of them. And I'm thankful and appreciative of that. Yeah, I mean, it'll be fun. It was no different than what we had to deal with in Cincinnati. That was a loud and difficult place to play. So I think every team in this conference is difficult. And so nothing's easy, but I'm glad that we got them at home. And I'm glad that we have a good slate of teams come to our place. But nothing's a given in this conference. It was tough, cuz ultimately my goal is to play in the NFL. But just looking from the outside in, I thought the best opportunity was just to come back for another year and help my draft stock and possibly go higher. Just giving myself an opportunity one last time with these guys just cuz I love them. Yeah, there's a lot of hostile environments in the Big Bowl. There's a lot of competitive teams. Yeah, I mean, I don't envy opponents coming into the LES trying to play and trying to command an offense cuz it gets loud, it gets really loud.