Talking to quarterbacks and those that help build them is one of my passions. And today’s conversation on Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is a deep dive into that position with Seth Wickersham.

Seth wrote the best-selling book, American Kings, A Biography of the Quarterback. In a sentence: it’s the best QB book I’ve ever read. He combined years of interviews, insights and experiences and takes his readers on a ride that had me taking notes, pondering the position and juiced up to talk to coaches this spring about my takeaways.

After co-authoring 5-Star QB and then reading American Kings and sitting with Seth Wickersham, I kept coming back to this: the best quarterbacks aren’t defined by success, but by how they evolve when their identity gets challenged.

As always, every conversation is fueled by our founding sponsor 76, keeping you on the GO GO GO so you never miss a beat.

I walked away from this conversation with Seth Wickersham thinking less about quarterback play and more about what the position does to you. Not the throws, not the scheme, but the identity. The role asks you to become something bigger than yourself early, and then at some point in your journey, it asks you to let that version of yourself go.

And that tension feels heavier today than ever.

Quarterbacks are arriving with attention, expectations, and a version of themselves already defined before they’ve truly been developed. And even though every player knows their path won’t be perfect, there’s still a belief that it will be. What this conversation reinforced for me is that the ones who last aren’t the ones who avoid the hard moments — they’re the ones who can rebuild when everything they thought they were gets challenged.

In this powerful and insightful conversation, Seth Wickersham discusses the complexities of the quarterback position, exploring the mental, emotional, and cultural aspects that define elite players. From leadership and humility to the pressures of fame and the journey of development, this conversation offers valuable lessons for aspiring and current quarterbacks, coaches, and fans.

Some high level thoughts this book will force you to have:

* The psychological traits of successful quarterbacks

* The impact of fame and social media on players

* The importance of humility and self-awareness

* The transition from college to professional football

* The influence of family and coaching on player development

Also, if you missed my conversation with Dr. Michael Gervais, this is a bookmark for you if you love QB play, leadership and development of the world’s best.

As always, thank you for the time and community.

I’m off to the mid-west for a spring tour with Todd Blackledge as we hit Illinois, Indiana, Notre Dame and others. Be sure to subscribe to Y-Option’s YouTube page as the content will continue to come all off-season long.

Much love and stay steady,

Yogi

Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.y-option.com/subscribe

There are a handful of conversations each year that stay with me.

Today’s conversation with Dr. Michael Gervais is one of them.

I’m excited to share it with you while we’re on spring break in Japan as a family. And to those who sent recommendations on where to go and what to do, thank you. We’ve been loving it.

Dr. Michael Gervais is one of the leading high-performance psychologists in the world, host of the Finding Mastery podcast, and fresh off a Super Bowl run with the Seattle Seahawks. He’s also a dear friend who makes time each year to join this show.

As always, every conversation on Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is fueled by our founding sponsor 76, keeping you on the GO GO GO so you never miss a beat. And this one is worth slowing down for.

Dr. Mike and I rarely stay in one lane. We start with football and quickly get to something deeper. This time it was about performance, pressure, parenting, and what it really takes to build people in today’s game.

We talked about championship environments and the tension every team lives in. Every individual wants to feel like they matter while also being part of something bigger. The best teams don’t fight that tension, they coach it.

That led us into college football right now. NIL, the portal, new rosters every season. It’s easy to chase what it used to be. The reminder was simple. Great coaches make contact with reality. They coach what is, not what they wish it was.

And more importantly, they coach the human, not just the athlete.

Because underneath performance is something deeper. Pressure. Identity. Fear. The need to belong. If you only coach the surface, pressure builds. If you understand the person, you give them a chance to play free.

We also spent time on something that doesn’t get talked about enough. Emotions. Not as a weakness, but as a skill. If you want consistency in the biggest moments, you have to be able to name what you feel, understand it, and work through it. As a father, coach, husband, and teammate, that part landed for me.

Since 2011, Dr. Mike has been a staple at Elite 11, so we had to talk quarterbacks. With a front row seat to Sam Darnold this past season, we explored a simple question that parents should explore.

Is the biggest stage always the best place to grow?

Then we went to something every parent and coach is navigating right now.

Technology. AI. The future.

It’s never been easier to remove struggle. But growth has always lived in it. The word that kept coming up was discernment. Knowing what actually matters.

We closed on youth sports, and it hit home. Most coaches care deeply, but without the right tools, the experience can miss.

One simple idea stuck with me. Give kids goals that are completely within their control, then let them reflect on them. It builds ownership. It builds confidence. It builds humans.

That’s what this conversation was really about.

Not just high performance, but how we show up for the people in front of us.

If you’re a coach, a parent, or just someone chasing growth, this one is worth your time.

Much love and stay steady,Yogi

Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.y-option.com/subscribe

Last week a clip of USC practicing in 2008 went viral and a few friends sent it to me.

Watching it brought me right back. Every rep felt like your position was on the line. Every drill had juice. And what stood out most was that everyone welcomed it. It was competitive, it was fun, and players thrived in it.

Today’s Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth podcast, fueled by our founding sponsor 76, keeping you on the GO GO GO so you never miss a beat, focuses on this year’s Trojans.

And I’ll admit this. Being around this freshman class at the Navy All-American Game, speaking to the team last month, and now watching spring ball, I finally sense that this roster has the type of competitive depth that can make it feel like that again. Daily.

I’ve been around USC for a long time. As a camp counselor in 2002 and 2003 while playing at Pitt, on the coaching staff from 2005 to 2009, and now broadcasting their games for nearly two decades. I’ve seen a lot of cardinal and gold.

One of the biggest takeaways from my time with Pete Carroll, and from learning alongside him since, is his definition of competition.

Most people think of it as striving against one another. He always went back to the Latin root. To strive together.

That’s what the best teams do. They compete every day knowing their job is on the line, but their focus is on the present moment and getting better through it. That’s not easy anywhere, and in Los Angeles, it might be the hardest place in college football to truly live that out.

What helps is talent. Real talent. At every position.

And this year’s Trojans might have that.

The freshman class has elevated every room. The portal additions have done the same. But the reason I’m leaning toward USC making a run at the CFP isn’t just the talent. It’s how the returners are responding to it. The offensive line, the quarterback room, the running backs, the defensive front, the linebackers. They’re welcoming the competition. They’re leaning into the idea of striving together, not against.

After being at practice, I don’t think talent alone is driving this. It’s their disposition.

This team feels blue collar.

That might sound odd in Los Angeles, but if you’ve been around this program, you understand. There has always been a tension between internal reality and external expectations. The hype can get loud, and at times, it can get in the way.

This group feels different.

The young players aren’t arriving expecting anything. They’re arriving ready to work. And the veterans are responding to that, not resisting it. There’s a shared understanding that competition is the path.

Up front, the offensive line looks like one of the better units in the country with real experience and depth. At quarterback, Jayden Maiava has a calm confidence that comes with ownership of the role at USC. Along the defensive line, there are multiple players who can impact a game and look like future pros.

And maybe most importantly, when you watch this team walk onto the field, there’s no drop off. It looks like a complete roster. Head coach Lincoln Riley and GM Chad Bowden deserve a ton of credit for that.

Now let’s be real. It’s March. Spring ball creates optimism everywhere. And USC’s path is not an easy one. Hosting Oregon, Washington, and Ohio State. Traveling to Rutgers, Penn State, Wisconsin, and defending national champion Indiana. That’s a B1G schedule.

But this team feels like it knows exactly what it has. And more importantly, what it’s building toward.

So yeah, I’m leaning into the hype.

Because I’ve seen what it looks like when it gets rolling here. And once it does, it’s hard to stop.

Thanks for all the support of Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth and our YouTube channel. Be sure to subscribe, share, and let me know what you’re seeing as our spring tour continues and if you’ve missed the last two episodes, be sure to run it back to learn from Curt Cignetti and my takeaways from Nebraska.

Much love and stay steady,Yogi

Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.y-option.com/subscribe

Spring football always tells you something if you’re willing to listen.

I found myself in Lincoln, Nebraska for a quick trip to learn about this years team. I flew in at 5am, got a great cup of coffee at The Mill Coffee shop, walked to the stadium, spent a few hours around the program, and headed back home to hang with our sons. And the 24 hour down and back to a true blue-blood program was insightful on many levels.

Upon landing back in LA I was able to reflect on my time in Lincoln and wanted share my thoughts around the 2026 Nebraska program, which is the focus of today’s Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth podcast, fueled by our founding sponsor 76, keeping you on the GO GO GO so you never miss a beat.

When I go to a practice, I try to organize my mind first. I build out a depth chart, jot down what I’m most curious about and track position groups. Overall, I’m just trying to understand who’s who so I can focus on how they move, how they compete, and how they communicate. Because in mid-March, that’s what you’re really evaluating —growth.

And right away, Nebraska felt intentional.

There was no wasted movement. Warmups had purpose. Guys were talking, moving, transitioning with clarity. It felt organized, but more than that, it felt player-led vs coach-fed.

In a sentence: this team felt mission-minded.

Then practice started, and the energy jumped. Bag drills, bodies moving, juice from the start. It took me back to my days around Pete Carroll where practice wasn’t something you eased into, you attacked it. And knowing how much Matt Rhule believes in that philosophy, it made sense. This wasn’t just a practice, it felt like a standard.

What really stood out though was the competition. Every drill mattered. Not just team periods, everything. Routes, blocking, individual work. And when that’s real, you stop focusing on Saturday’s and you start obsessing over winning a Tuesday practice in the spring. This team felt like it was living there.

At quarterback, Anthony Colandrea has real presence. You can feel it. He’s dynamic, decisive, and there’s an energy to him that lifts people around him. That “It Factor” is hard to define, but I’ve always felt it’s defined as someone whose presence is felt when they walk into a room…AND they make everyone better.

Behind him, there’s growth and depth. TJ Lateef looks like a different player, and Danny Kaelin coming back home looks like he’s ready to compete in a real way. That room feels strong with three Power 4 starters.

The receiver group is deeper than I expected, and in an offense that’s built on mindset as much as scheme, that matters. The offense, led by Dana Holgorsen isn’t just concepts, it’s conviction, and in the Air Raid offense you need guys who can play that way. I think this group is best suited for that approach.

Defensively, new DC in Rob Aurich brings in a new system from San Diego State, but the same theme showed up. Intentional coaching, clear teaching, real physicality. Take a look at who he has been around and it’s easy to be impressed on many levels. Additionally, watching coaches like Roy Manning work, you could hear it and feel it in every drill.

After practice, I spent some time with Coach Rhule, and I walked away thinking this isn’t a reset in Lincoln, it’s a build. A program taking its next step with clear standards.

It’s early, way too early to make any bold claims, especially in the hyper-talented Big Ten, but I left feeling something that’s hard to fake — competitive depth, clear identity, and a team that looks like it’s having a blast doing hard things.

If you want the full breakdown, take a listen to the Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth podcast and as always, thanks for the support.

Much love and stay steady,

Yogi

Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.y-option.com/subscribe

Welcome back or welcome to THE PROCESS, a limited series within Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth, hosted by myself and Rhett Kleinschmidt. This series exists for one reason: to study how high performers actually live. Not what they post. Not what they say at a podium. What they do when nobody’s clapping.

The first 5 conversations delivered in powerful ways: Mark Jackson, Peyton Manning, Chris Fowler, Jared Goff, Dan Lanning and today, the final episide airs within this limited run.

This conversation, fueled by our founding sponsor 76, keeping you on the GO GO GO so you never miss a beat, takes us to Bloomington, Indiana. We go inside the head coaches office. Inside the mind of the man who built one of the most relentless, standards-driven programs in America.

Curt Cignetti.

Indiana and Coach Cignetti are coming off a season that ended with hardware and history. Awards. Trophies. Headlines. The whole thing.

And the first thing he made clear was also the most revealing.

Inside the building, it is already time to start over.

While the outside world is still celebrating, he is in development mode. New faces, teaching standards, sharpening the details, preparing for spring ball. The tone is not nostalgic. It is not sentimental. It is focused and the message is simple: what happened is real, and it is over.

What Rhett and I loved most is that our conversation was not a performance from Coach Cignetti.

It is who he is.

The deeper we went, the more the through-line showed itself. His approach does not change because the circumstances do. Big game, small game, championship, rebuilding year—it’s all the same.

The Process stays steady, but the improvement never stops.

Coach Cignetti is always refining how his staff teaches, how they spend time, how they build schematically, how they communicate. That mindset shows up in how he evaluates players too.

We have all heard his phrase production over potential and this conversation gave it real teeth.

Yes, the portal makes evaluation easier in some ways—you have a body of work. You can see consistency. You can see how a player performed against real competition over multiple seasons. But he talked about something that matters more than highlight tape.

Fit.

When you sit across from a player, you learn a lot fast. How they carry themselves. How they talk. How they listen. First impressions are not perfect, but they are meaningful. Then comes the research. The calls. The trusted recommendations. The quiet intel. The stuff that never gets posted.

He also got specific about what he looks for physically too, beyond the high school combine stats.

* Flexibility in the lower half. The ability to stop, start, redirect, generate power. It is detailed. It is intentional. And it is consistent.

* But toughness is still number one.

Not the cartoon version. Real toughness. Day-to-day accountability. The willingness to work. The ability to be coached. The resilience to keep growing when it is hard, when it’s boring.

What stood out most: even with more doors opening after a historic season, the standard does not bend.

Most of us would imagine that there is a temptation after winning to widen the net, to take a few more chances, to rationalize why a guy might be worth it. Coach Cignetti made it clear that is how you quietly change the standard without admitting it. If you start accepting players below it, that becomes the new standard.

And that is a reminder that goes well beyond football.

Everything is earned. There are no promises. There are no guarantees. There are no shortcuts.

We also spoke about pressure and how he manages it for his players and his staff.

Coach Cignetti shared a story from early in his head coaching career that has become one of his quiet tools. In the tensest moments, when the game is tight and everything feels heavy, he will drop a simple line that changes the temperature. It is a reminder that the players are alive in the moment, not trapped by it. It is pressure relief and recalibration in one breath.

With his staff, he is big on consistent messaging. He will step into a staff meeting and deliver one short, specific message. One or two things he believes the team must embody right now. Then he trusts his coaches to carry it. He trusts the message to trickle down and become action.

He does not need to touch everything to control everything.

That trust, built over time, is part of why the standard holds. And if something is off, he will step in and rattle chains. Not because he is emotional. Because he is protective of the level.

The conversation closed where so many great ones do: family.

I asked about his father, about adversity, about the moments that shape leaders before they ever wear the headset. He talked about his dad as a fighter. Competitive. Disciplined. Tough. A man with a relentless work ethic who never met a challenge he did not believe he could overcome.

Those traits did not just stay in the family. They got handed down into the program.

That might be the real story of why Indiana has been able to rise and sustain. Not just scheme. Not just recruiting. Not just facilities.

Its identity. Its standard. The daily choice to do it the right way, even when nobody is watching.

Coach Cignetti said he is proud of the team they had. Proud of the leaders. Proud of the closeness. And he made the point that matters most—whether you are building a program, a company, or a family:

* You can win games, but you do not win big or win consistently if you are not doing it the right way. If you are helping people become the best they can be, football will carry them now, and it will carry them later when football ends.

Then Rhett and I stayed in The Afterglow for a few minutes, because these conversations always leak into real life.

We talked about standards at home. Non-negotiables. The idea that if you want your kids to live with discipline, you have to model it. If you want a standard, you have to set one, and then you have to live it.

Nobody keeps you more honest than your kids.

That might be the best accountability system on earth.

So here is the takeaway I am sitting with today:

Dig into your philosophy, your values, what matters most to you and your circle. And compete to keep the standard. Then attack the details, but do not attach to the outcome. Rather, and maybe even ironic, stay connected to The Process…

Thanks for coming along for this ride with Rhett and me, as it’s been a blast.

Much love and stay steady,

Yogi

Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.y-option.com/subscribe

One of my college roommates is heading to Canton.

That sentence still feels surreal.

When I first met Larry Fitzgerald on his visit to the University of Pittsburgh, I had no idea I was meeting a future Hall of Famer. I just knew he had presence. Not hype. Not ego. Presence.

When he arrived at training camp, the coaches quietly pulled me aside and asked me to help him learn the offense. What I didn’t fully grasp at the time was what they already knew: he wasn’t just there to compete. He was there to take over.

And it took about two weeks.

But here’s what most people miss about Larry’s story. Yes, he could high-point a football like nobody I’ve seen in 25 years around major college football. Yes, he tracked the deep ball with the instincts of a center fielder tracking a line drive into the gap. Yes, he could manipulate defensive backs, adjust stride length mid-route, and finish through contact with late, violent hands.

But that’s not what made him an All American at Pitt.

It was how he saw the game — and his life — from the beginning.

So in the latest Y-Option podcast, fueled by our founding partner 76, keeping you on the GO GO GO so you never miss a beat it’s just me, celebrating him.

My 1st lesson from him.

During the first game of his freshman year he, like the rest of us at Pitt, wore a suit and tie to the game. That was the rule our head coach, Walt Harris, mandated. I think we all liked it as it felt like a business trip. But postgame everyone was changing into warm-ups to leave the stadium.

I noticed that Larry started to put his suit back on.

I quickly told him that he doesn’t have to. He looked at me and said, at least this is how I remember it, “Yogi, they’re going to know what I’m about from the jump.”

That wasn’t bravado. It was clarity.

He came to college with a vision. Not just to be great at Pitt. Not just to make the league. But to be a pro — in habits, discipline, preparation, relationships.

Small things, All things as the phrase goes.

Larry grew up around it. His father, Larry Fitzgerald Sr., covered sports in Minnesota. As a kid, Larry was a ball boy around legends and he saw how pros moved, trained and most importantly how they treated everyone around them.

By the time he arrived on campus, Larry Fitzgerald wasn’t dreaming. He was executing.

Talent Is Everywhere. Discipline Is Rare.

I’ve been around Elite 11 quarterbacks for nearly two decades. I’ve been a broadcaster for 19 years and a coach for 4. Point being — I’ve seen first-round talent up close. Natural ability is not rare at that level.

What’s rare is clarity.

Larry didn’t drink. Didn’t party. Had a tight circle. Was early to bed. Lived in the film room. Lived in the weight room. And that playlist was on repeat daily.

I remember visiting him during the season when he was with the Arizona Cardinals. It was 8:00 PM and he said, “You can hang out, I’m going to bed.”

Why?

“I’m trying to be my best.”

That’s it. No drama. No speech. Just alignment between what he dreamt of and how he lived.

When he decided to leave Pitt early for the NFL, I asked him if he’d considered coming back. He reframed it in a way that’s stayed with me forever: if a surgeon is offered his dream job early, he goes. If a musician gets the gig of a lifetime, she goes.

He was a wide receiver being offered his dream.

He wasn’t chasing status. He was honoring preparation.

Playing Through Loss

During spring practice after his freshman season practice stopped and Larry left. News spread that his mom had passed away.

I didn’t know then what that kind of loss felt like. I do now.

What I remember most wasn’t just the grief — it was how he channeled it. He played for her. He carried her smile. He allowed the pain to sharpen his focus, not shrink his world. Or so it seemed.

I know there was a lot of pain and I imagine that playing with his teammates allowed him to navigate through it. At least all of us hoped that we helped him out in the smallest of ways. After all, that’s what teammates do. And our roster was extremely close.

Looking back he taught me a powerful lesson that season: that there’s a difference between playing for applause and playing with purpose. After he lost his Mom, it felt like Larry was playing for something deeper that just touchdowns and wins.

And it showed.

The Infinite Game

Recently, I watched him receive his Hall of Fame invitation and greet Randy Moss — another all-time great. There was a knowing smile between them. A shared understanding of what it takes to get there.

But when I think of Larry, I don’t first think of Pro Bowl’s or a Super Bowl run. I think of the freshman who chose the suit. The teammate who made everyone feel seen. The competitor who handed, or threw, the ball to officials after touchdowns like it was part of his joy.

He played an infinite game.

Not just to win on Saturdays.Not just to dominate on Sundays.But to become.

He became one of the greatest wide receivers of all time.He became the greatest teammate I ever had.He became a father whose eldest son is now headed to University of Notre Dame to chase his own dream.

And in a few months he officially becomes a Hall of Famer.

I’ve never been to Canton before.

This summer, I’ll go.

Not just to celebrate a gold jacket.

But to honor the habits.The discipline.The clarity.The compassion.

Larry Fitzgerald didn’t just achieve greatness.

He decided on it — early — and then lived accordingly.

And if there’s one lesson in his story for any young athlete, entrepreneur, artist, or dreamer reading this, it’s simple:

* Be clear about what you’re about.

* Be truly confident around what Matters Most

* Then let your daily discipline make it undeniable.

Much love and stay steady,

Yogi

Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.y-option.com/subscribe

The offseason is when football gets quiet enough to actually see it.

In my recent Substack collaboration with Cody Alexander of Match Quarters, we didn’t just talk trends — we talked about the hidden language of defense, and why it’s still the hardest side of the ball for most people to truly understand. Offense has a few common dialects. Defense is a thousand little ones. The same concept can be taught five different ways, named five different things, and argued over like it’s personal.

That’s part of why Cody’s work matters: he’s built a space that translates complexity into clarity without dumbing it down.

As always, every conversation here at Y-Option is fueled by our founding sponsor 76, keeping you on the GO GO GO so you never miss a beat.

Cody’s story is also a reminder of how quickly the game can redirect a life and one I have deep regard for. A former college coach who left to chase his passion is a lane I can get down with on so many levels.

Coaching gave Cody the foundation, but instability — and the desire to protect time with his family — pushed him to create something sustainable. What began as writing on the internet turned into a full-time platform that now serves everyone from curious fans to coaches at the highest levels. He’s not just analyzing defense; he’s teaching it.

And it didn’t happen overnight.

So for the young coaches out there who are often whispering to me about life away from the office, this conversation may inspire you.

Also, as former coaches, we zoomed out to the sport itself and trends that are coming to college football.

The biggest takeaway: the NFL and college football are closer than they’ve ever been. As pro football fully embraced space, spread structures, and two-high solutions, defensive ideas that once felt “college” now live on Sundays — and NFL approaches are flowing back down into Saturdays.

We spent time on what teams like Indiana, Oklahoma, Oregon and Ohio State represent: defenses that win with multiplicity, movement, and disguise without asking players to memorize a novel. It’s less about having one perfect call and more about building a system that can adjust at a premium level week to week.

We closed with something I loved — an idea bigger than scheme. When you know the game deeply, it’s easy to turn into a critic. But Cody still watches with joy. He studies hard, teaches relentlessly, and still loves the sport for what it is.

That’s the point of the offseason, too.

To learn. To see. And to come back to the game with more appreciation than noise.

Much love and so grateful for our community. Let’s stay steady folks, spring ball is right around the corner.

Yogi

Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.y-option.com/subscribe

There’s a certain kind of coach you can spot from a mile away.

Not because of the headset or the scheme or the postgame soundbite. But because of the energy — the tone in the building, the way his players talk about the work, the way the staff carries itself on a Monday, the way the program feels when the season is done and the scoreboard is no longer speaking.

Tim Plough is that kind of coach.

Welcome to our Coaches Series, where this off season we will bring you in depth analysis, insight and conversations with coaches and GM’s in college football.

Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is a reader-supported publication. To learn what Makes Coaches Great be sure to subscribe to our newsletter, podcast and YouTube channel

Right now, leading UC Davis football, Tim Plough is building something that doesn’t fit neatly into the modern college football algorithm. It’s one that has almost nothing to do with chasing the next rung and everything to do with owning the one right in front of you. And for every head coach or aspiring head coach, this conversation will cut you deeply. (And if you’re a fan of Ted Lasso, Tim Plough will tee you up for this season)

As always, every conversation here at Y-Option is fueled by our founding sponsor 76, keeping you on the GO GO GO so you never miss a beat.

Coach Plough’s first two seasons as a head coach have been the kind that earn attention: postseason football, national visibility, and a growing sense that UC Davis isn’t just “a good program” — it’s a program moving toward something bigger.

But what stood out most in our conversation wasn’t the resume line. It was the way he described his head coaching experience: the learning curve, the mistakes, the emotional toll of falling short late, and the obsession with getting better without letting the business turn him into someone he doesn’t recognize.

In a profession that often equates “growth” with leaving, Plough has had to define the word differently.

Because he’s lived the push-pull that every ambitious coach knows: succeed where you are, and the world starts telling you the only rational next step is to get out.

“The two-box filter”

This part of our conversation will be cut and pasted into my life and may impact yours. Coach Plough shared a simple framework he’s used to make career decisions — one that applies just as cleanly to players in the transfer portal as it does to coaches staring at the next offer.

He evaluates opportunities through two essential questions:

* Who will I be around every day?

* Will this make me better—on and off the field? Essentially, will I grow holistically?

If he can’t check both boxes, he stays.

That’s it.

No elaborate speech. No posturing. Just a disciplined refusal to trade daily environment and development for a temporary dopamine hit — whether that dopamine comes from money, visibility, or the illusion that “this leads to that.”

It’s a filter built for a chaotic era. And it might be the most practical tool I’ve heard from anyone navigating modern football. And it hit me square in the face as I almost changed my life path last year due to a temporary dopamine hit.

Joy isn’t soft. It’s the edge.

If you’ve watched UC Davis this season, you’ve probably seen it: the “JOY” hat, the postgame interviews with his kids, the steady presence even when the stakes are real.

That isn’t branding. It’s philosophy.

Plough’s relationship with joy started years ago — through the influence of Jim Sochor, the architect of what so many still call the “Davis coaching tree.” Sochor didn’t offer him a playbook first. He offered a question: Have you found joy?

Over time, that question turned into a guiding principle:

* Happiness is outcome-driven (and fragile).

* Joy is process-driven (and stable).

Tim Plough’s point is simple: if your emotional state is tied to outcomes, you’ll live on a roller coaster — high after a win, hollow after a loss, never anchored long enough to actually develop.

But if you can build a “neutral mindset,” where gratitude and daily craft define the work, you gain something most teams spend all year chasing: consistency under pressure.

Joy, in this framing, isn’t softness. It’s durability.

Quarterbacks, development, and the modern trap

Tim Plough is a quarterback coach at heart, even with the head coach title. And I had to present to him my philosophy on the QB position right now:

* QB development in high school is as advanced as it’s ever been.

* QB development in college—especially at the highest levels—is often the thinnest it’s ever been.

He agreed and took it a step further. After all, he said the development of the quarterback postion is “Quest of my life right now.” His reasoning is not because coaches don’t care. It’s because the incentives have changed, at every level in college.

When teams can buy experience through the portal, many stop investing time in the slow, messy, essential process of developing someone. Instead, they recruit ready-made résumés: starts, reps, game film.

The problem? Most of the quarterbacks who ultimately thrive — at any level — aren’t always the ones who arrive as finished products. They’re the ones who get shaped somewhere, then explode when opportunity finally arrives.

In other words: development still matters. But fewer people are willing to pay for it with patience.

Plough’s counter is clear: if a player chooses a place where he can actually be developed, he can still end up on the biggest stages later — only now he’ll be ready for them.

He pointed to the rare modern decision that reflects this mindset: a young quarterback willing to be a backup, to learn, to be built, instead of chasing instant stardom.

That choice feels almost rebellious in 2026. Which probably tells you why it’s so valuable.

Why players stay at UC Davis

This stat blew my mind. Since 2018, only 11 players transferred out of UC Davis compared to broader Division I trends where the number is over 200 per school.

Think about that for a moment — only 11!

In an age where movement is the default, Davis has become a place where continuity still exists.

Plough’s explanation isn’t complicated:

* Players feel coached.

* Players feel developed.

* Players feel valued.

* The environment makes sense.

* And the program’s identity is strong enough to hold people in place.

It’s also worth noting: UC Davis operates without the financial weapons many programs now rely on. Which, paradoxically, helps clarify motives. If a player chooses Davis, it isn’t because the check is the loudest voice in the room.

It’s because the work is. And now, it’s because they see the transparency with Tim Plough.

Family as culture, not accessory

One of the most telling parts of the conversation had nothing to do with third-down calls. We touched up on the latest news around the coaching profession with new Bills head coach Joe Brady sharing that he missed the birth of a child due to a game and reportedly the GM of the Vikings is being criticized for taking two weeks of paternity leave. Two things that made most of the sports world cringe.

Plough talked about building a staff culture where being a dad and a husband isn’t something you squeeze in after the job — it’s part of the job. A program where kids are around, where life isn’t kept outside the facility doors, where coaches are expected to show up for their families with the same intensity they show up for game planning.

He’s not naïve about the grind. He’s just clear about the cost.

And he’s making a decision — publicly, structurally — that time is more valuable than a bigger number on paper.

That’s rare. And if you’ve spent any time around football, you know how rare it is.

Getting over the hump

For Oregon, Penn State, USC, Washington, Iowa, Nebraska fans — this one will resonate. Coach Plough opened up about the hardest part of building: getting over the hump and how to maximize a teams ability.

That space between “we’re close” and “we did it” is where programs either fracture or evolve. And for him, the answer isn’t a magical speech. It’s a renewed commitment to the smallest details:

* Situational mastery

* Ball security

* Incremental improvements across offense, defense, and special teams

* And, maybe most importantly, playing your best football when your best is required. (Hello Indiana fans)

He’s chasing the final step the same way he’s built everything else: by refusing to let the moment become bigger than the craft while still seeking joy.

The essence of our conversation

College football is louder than it’s ever been. More movement. More money. More urgency. More pressure to be “first” instead of thoughtful.

And that’s why a coach like Tim Plough matters.

Because he’s building something rooted in a different scoreboard.

One that measures joy. Daily growth. Development. Family. Process. Environment. Identity.

The Davis Way isn’t a throwback. It’s a counterpunch.

And in this era, it might be the competitive advantage hiding in plain sight.

Hope you enjoyed today’s conversation and hope you enjoy our Coaches Series this off-season as more are on the way here at Y-Option.

Much love and stay steady,

Yogi

Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.y-option.com/subscribe

College football doesn’t really end anymore.

The clock hits :00. The trophy gets handed out. And almost immediately, the sport gets loud again. Portal moves, litigation, coaching changes, CFP debates and more. Oh, and by the way, we’ve also got a Super Bowl coming up with Seattle vs. New England. (Hello Elite 11 finalists Sam Darnold and Drake Maye)

With everything seemingly happening all at once in football, there’s a race to be first instead of thoughtful.

It’s the same in the content world. Instant reaction shows. Social posts fired off before the dust settles. Takes delivered as fast as possible.

That’s not how we do it at Y-Option.

Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

After the Hoosiers hoisted their hardware, we took a pause. And today, we took a detailed look back at the season that was in 2025.

Today’s episode of Y-Option, fueled by our founding sponsor 76® — keeping you on the GO GO GO so you never miss a beat, is with Jim Thornby. For nearly two hours, we just talked. No timer. No rush. Multiple cups of coffee. Dozens of teams. Real perspective.

One hundred and five minutes later, the result was less of a “podcast” and more of a conversation. And as we talked, one thing became clear:

* The biggest change in college football isn’t happening at the top. It’s happening in the middle.

The 12-team Playoff didn’t just give more teams access, it changed the psychology of the sport. Suddenly, programs sitting fourth, fifth or sixth in their conference are making million-dollar decisions with almost no margin for error.

Quarterbacks cost more. Mistakes cost more. One Saturday can swing an entire donor base’s belief.

We talk about why that reality is both exciting and dangerous and why the sport still hasn’t figured out how to handle what comes after the final whistle.

We went league by league—not to rank them, but to understand them.

The Big Ten’s rise isn’t accidental, it’s legit and not going anywhere but up. The SEC isn’t broken, but it’s no longer bulletproof. The ACC looked chaotic… until Miami made a run that forced everyone to re-think the narrative. And the Big 12? Still searching for the moment that changes how the country sees it.

Context matters. And it’s usually the first thing lost online.

We also spent time on the Pac-12, a place that impacted both of us deeply, as it steps into a new reality.

Looking back was a reminder that Oregon State and Washington State found ways to survive, even when the odds were stacked against them. And now, under the leadership of Commissioner Teresa Gould, they’re building something with substance: proven head coaches, programs with real momentum, and a league that still has a path to the CFP.

That’s why we made this episode. To celebrate the game and coach the viewer.

We know it’s “too long” according to the experts and the algorithms. But Y-Option wasn’t created to win an algorithm. It was built to serve the thoughtful college football fan, coach, and player.

So before we sprint forward into the Super Bowl, Signing Day, and Spring Ball, let’s take one last look back at where we’ve been as a sport.

As always, thank you for being here. This doesn’t happen without your support.

Much love, and stay steady,

Yogi

Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.y-option.com/subscribe

The season may be over, but moments like the one in Miami linger because they tell us something deeper about the game.

Fresh off the National Championship, I connected with the Big Ten Network’s Howard Griffith on the latest Y-Option podcast, presented by 76 - keeping you on the GO GO GO so you never miss a beat.

Howard spent the week in Miami, inside the emotion of the instant classic of Miami vs Indiana. He shared what stood out from the Hoosiers, and it wasn’t just how physical the game was, it was how complete Indiana looked. This was football built from the inside out, defined by line play, mental conditioning, and a team prepared to absorb pressure without flinching.

Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

As a 2-time Super Bowl Champion, Howard has lived championship moments at every level, and he recognized something familiar (see John Elway) when Indiana’s quarterback put everything on the line in the biggest moment of the game. Those plays don’t just move the chains, they unify a sideline and reveal belief.

What followed the final whistle felt different too. It was the culmination of a two-year build by IU marked by road wins, discipline, and an ability to handle the invisible weight of being undefeated without talking about it.

That’s the part that can’t be copied easily. Indiana didn’t win because of recruiting rankings or shortcuts. They won because everyone, from Curt Cignetti to the locker room as this team was aligned in message, intent, and daily habits.

Indiana isn’t going anywhere in the Big Ten Conference. Neither is the standard they revealed on Monday night. And that may put even more teams in college football on the clock.

Thanks for the support and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel as we hope to bring you thoughtful insight into college football.

Much love and stay steady,

Yogi

Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.y-option.com/subscribe

We just witnessed the greatest story in college football history as Indiana goes 16-0 and beats Miami to win the National Title.

Welcome to a LIVE and instant reaction to the game and the conclusion of the season with Ryan McGrady of CBS Sports and 24/7 and the man who has helped shape Y-Option: Scouting. Ryan has worked in the NFL, College Football and MLB, let alone working at Pac-12 Network and currently at CBS Sports.

Most importantly, he’s been a close friend and someone who has expertise in all things college football.

Hope you enjoy our short conversation and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel for more insight and analysis within college football!

Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.y-option.com/subscribe