The Preferred Walk-On: The People's College Football Show

Missouri State head football coach Casey Woods joins The Preferred Walk-On Show to talk about leadership, culture, faith, toughness, family, and what it takes to build a football program that lasts.Coach Woods shares his journey from playing at the University of Tennessee, earning his way as a walk-on, coaching on a national championship staff at Auburn, helping build winning programs at UAB and SMU, and now leading Missouri State football into a new era.This conversation goes beyond wins and losses. Coach Woods opens up about the influence of his father, long-time head coach Sparky Woods, the lessons learned from adversity, the five core values guiding his program, and why the walk-on mindset still matters in college football.If you love conversations about college football culture, leadership, player development, program building, and the people behind the game, this episode is for you.Chapters:00:00 – Intro: The press conference is the result, not the beginning01:39 – The moments that prepared Woods for the head chair04:11 – Sparky Woods: a hero, a mentor, and now a staff member07:23 – The non-negotiables of a Casey Woods program11:12 – What a player should carry beyond football14:43 – The walk-on mindset & the TNT All-American17:37 – What adversity teaches you about yourself21:38 – Advice to young Casey leaving Tennessee for the last time25:15 – Closing thoughts“Love your team. Love your teammates. Always compete. Enjoy the journey.”“You can’t separate the wins and losses from the impact, because the cost of the platform is winning.”“The proudest day of my life is when the University of Tennessee put me on scholarship.”“Two things every single coach can be: organized and enthusiastic.”“Don’t ever, ever, ever settle for average.”If you enjoyed this conversation, subscribe to The Preferred Walk-On Show for in-depth interviews with the coaches, players, and leaders shaping college football. New episodes every week.The Preferred Walk-On is the people's college football show. Hosted by Seth Saunders, with James Kehm joining as featured co-host, the show covers college football's full Division I landscape: every Power Four conference, every Group of Six matchup, and every corner of the FCS. Walk-On grit. All-American tape.Apple Podcasts & Spotify — search "The Preferred Walk-On Show"Instagram — @preferredwalk_onTikTok — @preferredwalkonFacebook — facebook.com/PreferredWalkOnX / Twitter — @PreferredWOWant to reach The Scout Team? Sponsorship packages available:Walk-OnPartial ScholarshipFull RideInquiries: [email protected] grit. All-American film.

South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer sits down with The Preferred Walk-On Show to trace his path from walk-on player to leading a Power Four program - and to explain why culture, core values, and resilience matter more than any recruiting ranking.Coach Beamer opens up on the leadership lessons that shaped his coaching philosophy, the outsized role walk-ons play in building winning culture, and how adversity and failure became catalysts for growth. He digs into the core values - love, gratitude, and trust - that anchor his program, why authenticity and hard work earn lasting respect, and how the relationships you build become your real legacy.Whether you're a coach, a player grinding for your role, or a fan who loves the human side of the sport, this conversation is a blueprint for building something that lasts.In this episode:🏈 Shane Beamer's journey from walk-on to South Carolina head coach🏈 Why walk-ons are the heartbeat of championship culture🏈 The core values that define South Carolina Football🏈 Leadership lessons from success, failure, and adversity🏈 How players can earn trust and create opportunity🏈 Why "every day is a résumé builder"🏈 Advice for young coaches and future leadersMemorable Quotes• "Core values are the foundation of a program."• "Every day is a résumé builder."⏱️ Chapters:00:00 Intro to Coach Shane Beamer01:17 The Importance of Walk-Ons02:35 Beamer's Journey as a Walk-On04:31 Finding Your Role09:07 Building a Program: Core Values13:10 The Legacy of Coaching15:09 Lessons on Adversity17:28 Advice to Young Coaches20:55 Walk-Ons in South CarolinaIf you enjoyed this conversation, subscribe to The Preferred Walk-On Show for in-depth interviews with the coaches, players, and leaders shaping college football. New episodes every week.The Preferred Walk-On is the people's college football show. Hosted by Seth Saunders, with James Kehm joining as featured co-host, the show covers college football's full Division I landscape: every Power Four conference, every Group of Six matchup, and every corner of the FCS. Walk-On grit. All-American tape.Apple Podcasts & Spotify — search "The Preferred Walk-On Show"Instagram — @preferredwalk_onTikTok — @preferredwalkonFacebook — facebook.com/PreferredWalkOnX / Twitter — @PreferredWOWant to reach The Scout Team? Sponsorship packages available:Walk-OnPartial ScholarshipFull RideInquiries: [email protected] grit. All-American film.

For over a century, the NCAA was the sheriff of college football. Today there's no sheriff at all - and the fight to replace it is reshaping the sport. In this solo deep-dive, host Seth Saunders makes the case that NIL, the transfer portal, conference realignment, and playoff expansion aren't separate crises. They're symptoms of one massive transfer of power, and college football is living through its own Cold War.Seth traces the legal through-line that got us here: from the 2014 O'Bannon case, to Justice Kavanaugh's unanimous Alston concurrence ("the NCAA is not above the law"), through the wave of state NIL laws and the House settlement, all the way to the Brendan Sorsby eligibility fight - the case that proves the NCAA is now just the trial court, not judge, jury, and executioner.From there: why the SEC and Big Ten are the sport's two superpowers, why the ACC has become the "Berlin Wall" everyone's watching, how NIL Go exposes college football's enforcement problem, and the six proxy wars driving every headline. Seth closes with three possible futures for the sport - "NFL-lite," managed expansion, or the regional renaissance he's pulling for, built on the lessons of the FCS.The sport isn't dying. The money's never been better. But the fight over who gets to decide what college football becomes is fully underway — and the next five years may define the next fifty.🎧 Listen & subscribe so you never miss an episode — and if this one made you think, share it with your tailgate crew.Topics: college football, NIL, SEC, Big Ten, conference realignment, College Football Playoff, House settlement, NCAA, transfer portal, revenue sharing, ACC, FCSThe Preferred Walk-On is the people's college football show. Hosted by Seth Saunders, with James Kehm joining as featured co-host, the show covers college football's full Division I landscape: every Power Four conference, every Group of Six matchup, and every corner of the FCS. Walk-On grit. All-American tape.Apple Podcasts & Spotify — search "The Preferred Walk-On Show"Instagram — @preferredwalk_onTikTok — @preferredwalkonFacebook — facebook.com/PreferredWalkOnX / Twitter — @PreferredWOWant to reach The Scout Team? Sponsorship packages available:Walk-On Partial Scholarship Full Ride Inquiries: [email protected] Walk-On grit. All-American film.

College football is changing fast — and most of those changes aren't for the good.Between conference realignment, NIL, the House settlement, player compensation, TV money, playoff expansion, and the slow erosion of regional rivalries, the sport is at a crossroads. In this episode of The Preferred Walk-On Show, Seth Saunders lays out a comprehensive vision for how to reshape college football while preserving what made it great in the first place.This is not just another complaint about the current system. It is a full blueprint.Seth breaks down a proposed model for a unified college football structure built around 14 regional conferences, traditional rivalries, a more inclusive 24-team playoff, campus-site postseason games, iconic bowl tie-ins, and a national championship stage worthy of the sport’s history.The goal: restore regionality, protect rivalries, create more meaningful conference championships, give more schools access to the postseason, and increase revenue across the entire sport — not just for the biggest brands.In This EpisodeThe current state of college football governance and why the sport feels fragmentedWhy regionality still matters in college footballHow traditional rivalries have been damaged by modern realignmentA proposed structure of 14 regional conferencesHow a 24-team College Football Playoff could workHow at-large bids could create access without watering down the postseasonA new postseason calendar featuring campus games and major bowl sitesWhy the Rose Bowl should be considered as a permanent or recurring national championship venueHow TV rights could be packaged under a unified college football modelThe potential role of federal legislation, antitrust protection, and collective governanceHow this plan could generate more revenue for Power 4 schools, Group of 5 schools, and smaller programs alikeChapter Markers00:00 Introduction to College Football’s Current Landscape02:53 The Impact of Compensation and Expansion on College Football05:56 Proposed Changes to Restore Regionality in College Football08:36 Reimagining Conference Structures for Better Rivalries11:17 The New Playoff System: A Path to Inclusivity14:02 The Vision for a National Championship at the Rose Bowl23:10 Revising the College Football Calendar28:16 The Vision for a Unified College Football Association34:46 Navigating Legal Hurdles in College Sports40:35 The Future of College Football: A Comprehensive PlanCollege football has never been more valuable — but it has also never felt more unstable.The Preferred Walk-On is the people's college football show. Hosted by Seth Saunders, with James Kehm joining as featured co-host, the show covers college football's full Division I landscape: every Power Four conference, every Group of Six matchup, and every corner of the FCS. Walk-On grit. All-American tape.Apple Podcasts & Spotify — search "The Preferred Walk-On Show" Instagram — @preferredwalk_on TikTok — @preferredwalkon Facebook — facebook.com/PreferredWalkOn X / Twitter — @PreferredWO

Geoff Collins walked on at Western Carolina, earned a scholarship, became a three-year defensive starter — and turned that into a college coaching career spanning three decades that took him from DIII to the FCS to the head coach of multiple Power 4 programs. Seth Saunders sits down with the former Temple and Georgia Tech head coach for the second episode of The Preferred Walk-On Show's summer interview series.Collins traces his full path — from what jersey numbers 92 and 5 meant to a walk-on earning his place, to what he learned from Nick Saban, Pete Carroll, and Jim McElwain, to building his own programs from the lessons he earned along his coaching journey. He talks about why the lower levels of football made him the coach he became, what authenticity actually looks like in a locker room, and what he'd tell the next generation of walk-ons and young coaches.KEY TOPICS:→ Walk-on to scholarship to three-year starter at Western Carolina→ The stories behind jersey numbers 92 and 5 as a Catamount→ How Saban, Carroll, and McElwain shaped his coaching philosophy→ Why coaching at the lower levels is a lab, not a stepping stone→ Building culture through relationships and authentic leadership→ Handling adversity and external noise as the head coach→ Advice for young athletes, walk-ons, and aspiring coachesTIMESTAMPS:00:00 — Geoff Collins — walk-on, starter, head coach02:00 — Jersey numbers 92 and 5: what they meant at Western Carolina06:00 — How walk-on grit wires your work ethic for life09:00 — The mentorship moments that set the course13:00 — Saban, Carroll, McElwain — learning to lead by watching and observing the best17:00 — Why the lower levels of football are where you really learn to coach21:00 — Building programs on relationships, not just schemes25:00 — Navigating adversity and blocking out the noise29:00 — Trust, authenticity, and staying grounded33:00 — Who you surround yourself with matters more than you think37:00 — What Collins would tell the next generation of coaches and walk-onsThe Preferred Walk-On is the people's college football show. Hosted by Seth Saunders, with James Kehm joining as featured co-host, the show covers college football's full Division I landscape: every Power Four conference, every Group of Six matchup, and every corner of the FCS. Walk-On grit. All-American tape.🎧 Apple Podcasts & Spotify — search "The Preferred Walk-On Show"📸 Instagram — @preferredwalk_on🎵 TikTok — @preferredwalkon👍 Facebook — facebook.com/PreferredWalkOn🐦 X / Twitter — @PreferredWO