#52 Garett Tujague: Wolfpack Snatching Souls

Paul Horne: Welcome to Trenchometry. If you spent any time in or around the trenches, playing offensive line isn't just blocking, it's chess at light speed. You're controlling angles while a 280-pound defender tries to destroy your running back. Every snap, calculating leverage, mirroring footwork, and anchoring against pure violence. Miss one step and your franchise player gets flattened. We're here to discuss the most undervalued aspect of the game of football, the offensive line. You can draw
Garett Tujague: Yeah.
Paul Horne: up all the plays you want, but if you don't own the trenches, you don't own the game. Remember, you master the trench, you win the war. This is trenchometry. Today, we are joined by a man who has spent nearly four decades breathing and teaching the art of the of the offensive line. Before he was a master technician on the sidelines, he was an all-American in the trenches at Chabot College, and a three-time all-conference champion at BYU under legendary Lavelle Edwards, and the anchor at left guard protecting the Heisman Trophy winner during one of the most explosive offensive errors in the college football history. As a coach, the man is a relentless program builder, from a dominant run as a head coach at the College of the Canyons to To building powerhouse fronts at BYU in Virginia, where his units protected record breaking quarterbacks and produced Remington trophy finalists. He's done it all. Now he's the mastermind running the ground game and locking down the front for the NC State Wolfpack. Fresh off of coaching second round NFL draft pick Anthony Belton and clearing paths for the ACC's leading rusher. With 22 bowl game appearances as a coach, three as a player, and a lifetime spent mapping out the trenches, put on your hard hat and buckle your chin strap. Welcome to the show, NC State offensive run coordinator and offensive line coach, Garrett Tujague Welcome, Garrett.
Garett Tujague: Dude I love it. I appreciate the intro. It makes me sound better than I really am, I think. But it's good. It's good.
Paul Horne: It's funny. I it's Coach McKeefery from Oregon State. He said I read
Garett Tujague: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Paul Horne: that too, his his intro, and he said, That's awesome. That just means I'm old and I've been around for a long time. So we're we're we're
Garett Tujague: Exactly.
Paul Horne: getting to the point where our accolades are getting longer and longer. So I I first I wanted to start off. I want to get your journey. What what what led you to the sport of football? Why football for you as a young man?
Garett Tujague: Yeah. So man, my mom and dad were totally against football and wouldn't let me play until I was in high school. So, man, all of my like
Paul Horne: Wow.
Garett Tujague: baseball, baseball, basketball, soccer, we were huge in soccer and and I think that helped me translate, especially with my feet. but they wouldn't budge at all. And so my first year playing was my freshman year in high school. Man, I had no idea what I was doing. you you go out in the yard and you play all these games and or you go down to the park and you play you play games and you have fun, but you really have no idea behind everything. And I had a I had a really good line coach in Rick Sheridan, man. He he at high school, he was awesome, man. Very good teacher. Taught me how the game was supposed to be played, violent and and never never apologize. Cause you get out on the basketball court as a big guy and they're like, foul, I'm like, it's not my fault. I'm big and he's small. But anyways, it was fun
Paul Horne: Mm-hmm.
Garett Tujague: and it took off. It just It took off from there. And really it was in high school, all these I got a little bit of a little bit of recruiting from some local schools in the Bay Area. And they're like, Hey, are you a qualifier? And I'm like, Yeah, I can qualify for anything. What do you mean? I I'm act absolutely having no idea that they were
Paul Horne: Huh.
Garett Tujague: talking about academics. So that's how I ended up at Chabot College. t Terry Kaganan, again, another tough, tough guy. Just a man's man, man, we would sit in a wrestling room and go through the whole offense throwing a med ball off your chest. And if you used your hands to catch it, you had to start over. So we were in the wrestling room, he'd turn it up to a hundred and just get going in there. So I learned at an early age that this game was about a controlled violence, right? And then the coaching that I had at Chabot elevated me, was was blessed and fortunate enough to play this game at the highest level in college. And man, my whole life changed when I went to BYU. Roger French was the reason I chose BYU because at the time he was one of the best pass blocking guys, O line coaches in the country. And I ran the Wing T at College of the Canyon, or excuse me, at Chabot. And then I ran the Veer in high school. So I
Paul Horne: Mm-hmm.
Garett Tujague: I I felt I could run block. So I went up there. And then on my first, my first fall camp, I'm like, Where'd Hugo? it's because guys were just flying around me. But man, started to build. And then again, just the people that I was around shared the same passion for the game that I did. You never felt like a coach was trying to just collect a check. He wanted to develop men. And so that was my introduction to football. And man, I I just I remember, my I met my wife at BYU and Wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I was thinking about being a police officer. And she said, I will not marry you if you're gonna be a police officer. I think they're awesome, they do a great job, but I'm not gonna lay in bed at night worrying about where you are or what you're doing. I was like, All right, because I was
Paul Horne: Uh-huh.
Garett Tujague: kind of striving and wanting that camaraderie that I'd had in the locker room and on the football field, and it just helped me become who I was. And I said, All right, how about a firefighter? And she's like, What yeah everybody's running out and you're running in, I'm not doing that either. So Man, I ended
Paul Horne: Mm-hmm.
Garett Tujague: up going, I love coaching. And I I spoke to one of my mentors early on. I was like, I really want to get into this coaching stuff. And he's like, all right, so like, what do you want to do? How do you want to do it? And he's like, the best way is to be a teacher, right? Because then now you're at the school and you can and you can make a difference on campus with the kids, or you can be an off-campus coach. But man, your schedule's got to be really flexible. And how does that work? Like, how do you do that? And he's talking about sales positions because you can create your own hours and stuff like that. Ended up just going the teacher route, which was a total blessing. started teaching at a little bit at Chabot College. That was my first stop. I went back and worked for Pete Davis, who was the defensive coordinator when I played, and another man's man, tough guy, gritty. And and so I was like, man, this coaching stuff's amazing. loved it and then career, I was like, man, I if I really want to do this, man, I need to get I need to be a GA and get my master's degree. And my wife's like, time out. I was with you in school at BYU. School is not your strength. And I was like, Yeah, fair
Paul Horne: Not a good idea.
Garett Tujague: enough. So fair enough. But I found a place I had opp correct, correct. Yes. So I I I
Paul Horne: She didn't want to lay in bed and worry about you flunking out.
Garett Tujague: figured out like I had I had opportunities to go back and GA at BYU or There was SC was in the picture and I had a bunch of different opportunities. And I chose the University of Redlands because I was the GA, but I was also the offensive line coach. And I wanted to have my own room because I'd come from Chabot having my own room. And it and man, it was awesome. I learned a lot about the organization and structure of college football from Mike Maynard, just being in there with him and and man, it it just exploded from there and then found this awesome college. in the northern part of Los Angeles County that was just bringing back football by I think after a nineteen or eighteen year hiatus at College of the Canyons, college president Diane Van Hook was awesome. She wanted college football at her school. So I started working with Chuck Lyon and that's when I started to take off learning the passing concepts of of college football and and had a great run. He retired. I was blessed enough to co take over as the head coach and it man, it was amazing. And One of the things I got a phone call from Lavelle Edwards when I was announced as the head coach at College of the Canyons. And he called me and he's like, Hey, do you remember what we talked about in in my office? And I was like, Coach, I was in your office a lot. There's a lot of things we talked about. Can you be more specific? And he's like, Man, if you're the smartest guy in the room, you're in the wrong room. Surround yourself with with
Paul Horne: Mm-hmm.
Garett Tujague: coaches that are stronger than you in certain areas. Man, I and I and I was fortunate I did that. I was worked with Dean Harrington, who's a a big time high school coach out in California. Don Fellows has taken over a program in Michigan and he's had wild success. He was my offensive coordinator. So I was able to put good people around me. I had Danny Corbett, who's our my defensive coordinator, and we just, man, we took off and it and we had a great time. And I'll remember I was at my daughter's soccer game. She I think she was going into her junior year or senior year. I think she was in the middle of her senior year in I got this phone call from Bronco Mendenhall asking me if I would consider coming to BYU as the offensive line coach. And I was like, I at that point I I was a tenured faculty at Chabot. I had I mean, I life was good and and my family, we were thriving in the northern part of Los Angeles County and kind of came back to my wife and I was like, Hey, so what do you think about? She's like, Where's your resume? We're what l I wanna see your resume because I wanna make sure it's great, you're getting this job. And I was like, Okay, wow.
Paul Horne: Mm-hmm.
Garett Tujague: So we were all in and we and and we took off and I had a lot of phone calls come in. Probably nine of the ten phone calls were like, You're an idiot, what are you doing? You're leaving a tenured position. And and it just you're you're safe. And I was Yeah, you know, but I always talk to my players about getting out of their comfort zone. your comfort zone is where you die. And
Paul Horne: Yeah.
Garett Tujague: and so man, I went went up there and loved it. I was surrounded I was with Robert and I was our offensive coordinator and he's a just a a mastermind when it comes to offense and unbalances and tradings and shifts and motions. And man, it was it was a great experience. And then I was out recruiting and my phone had a there like a weird it had a weird buzz to it. Like and at that time you could set your this is your daughter, this is your other daughter, you could know the tones. And it was my youngest daughter
Paul Horne: Right, right.
Garett Tujague: saying, Dad, Broncos going to Virginia, and I had I was like, what?
Paul Horne: Mm.
Garett Tujague: I had no idea. And then obviously later that night he called me and said, Hey man, I would love for you and your family to join us in Virginia. And I was like, We're going. We're in. And he's like, Well, you should probably talk to your wife first. And I'm like, We're in. We're going. And we were West Coast people and man went out to Charlottesville and it was amazing to my family. Getting to be in the ACC, a power five at the time conference and and playing against great teams. And Man, loved every minute. The first year, man, our first game, we were out there and and we're playing a a little school up the road or down the road from us from Charlottesville. And you know, we were like a 21 point favorite. And we ended up losing that game. I remember grabbing my wife going, What have we done? And again, it
Paul Horne: Mm.
Garett Tujague: just took off, right? They had done things at Virginia that hadn't been done for decades before, just under Broncos' leadership and then With I was again with Robert and I as the offensive coordinator. And man, it w it was so much fun. And and that's kind of when I got like, hey, this Garrett Tujague guy he knows what he's doing. And and so man, loved, loved my time in Virginia. And then we had a terrible tragedy there. The where we had a few players murdered. and it was national
Paul Horne: Mm-hmm.
Garett Tujague: news. And my wife and I had made a decision to, man, we're gonna stay with these kids. They need us. We we need We need to help them get through this. And I turned down four job offers prior to that. One in the SEC, two in the ACC, and then one in the old Pac twelve at the time. And sitting on our couch and watching this rivalry between NC State and Chapel Hole. And and I was like the i i NC State
Paul Horne: Ha ha
Garett Tujague: ended up in ended up winning and and And coach Dorn got on the mic, they interviewed him at the end of the game. He was emotional. And my wife goes, Man, that would be a great guy to coach with. And I'm like, Yeah, I don't, we don't know each other
Paul Horne: Mm-hmm.
Garett Tujague: at all. And so, man, two weeks later, I get a phone call from Dave Dorn. I'm like, You gotta be kidding me. You've gotta be kidding me.
Paul Horne: Wow.
Garett Tujague: And so he ended up talking, and and obviously I ended up making the move and and Raleigh is. The best kept secret. It's no longer a secret in in the country. It's one of the top three places to live in America. My wife and I and our family is thriving out in Raleigh. And it was and again, here I am. And so it was an awesome road. I I'm totally blessed. I've been to five different institutions in 34 years, which is unheard of in this profession. And again, I remember Roger French telling me, I told him I wanted to be a division one coach, and he's like, Why? Why would you like, why would you want to do that? And at the time I was like, wow, I mean it's the biggest stage. You get to coach the best guys, get to get out and see the country recruiting and develop those relationships. And he's like, those aren't the right reasons to do this, Garrett. And I was like, okay. And he said, Listen, if you're chasing money, you're gonna go to a hundred different schools before you retire. You need to chase good people. And so I've holed on to that this whole time. And I've been, like I said, very lucky. I've been around amazing men. have the same values as me, family, my faith is first, family and then and then football, obviously. And so being around good people is what I attribute my success to. Cause again, there can be a lot of egos in this. And again, every football coach has a little bit of an ego, right? And again, to me it's just being grounded every day and surrounded by good people. What more can you ask for? And then you get a coach the game you love. So
Paul Horne: Yeah, kinda counteracts that counteracts that ego a little bit and keeps you kinda grounded to where you you don't believe your own press clippings as much, right?
Garett Tujague: Correct. Correct. Correct. You're very humble very I've been around very humble coaches, but again, that have you're always trying to stay relevant and what's the next step and instead of just staying in the status quo. So
Paul Horne: Fo focusing on the challenge at hand, not necessarily how to make yourself and make your life better, but fix the problems in front of you. How do you get that left tackle better? How do you get your offense to score more points? what's gonna what what benefits the program in general? I think that focus sounds like good people typically are focused on those things, not necessarily looking at the next merry-go round to jump on. And I I'll be honest with you, that was one of the things when I I had the same process with you as as you going through the what do I want to do. And when I started talking about coaching, that was one of the things that deterred me from wanting to get into the collegiate level was I didn't want
Garett Tujague: Yeah. Yeah.
Paul Horne: to have five kids and have six different hometowns for
Garett Tujague: Yeah.
Paul Horne: each one of the kids as they were going through their their lifespan there. And and I always wanted them to have a hometown to come back to. And that was something I thought, man, at the time you look and you're kind of unique in that situation with with being at
Garett Tujague: Sorry.
Paul Horne: a limited amount of institutions over a long career like that. Cause that's not you're talking what, every two and a half, three and a half years people are typically moving on to from colleges? it's brutal. I and and then you mention
Garett Tujague: Yeah, that's that's the normal. Yeah. It's bit yeah, it it's it's brutal.
Paul Horne: Good.
Garett Tujague: No, it it it it is brutal. And it's funny because all three of my children were born in California, but only the oldest claims California. The middle one, she went to high school and and college in Utah. And then my son is you you could talk to him until he's blue in the mouth. He's from Virginia. And so to be able to have three children and each one claim a different state as home is pretty cool. but it's again, that's that's their home base and it it's it's pretty special. So
Paul Horne: Yeah, we'll have to I'm I you know I'm a William Mary guy, so I'll have to overlook your time at Virginia and not hold that against you and not not
Garett Tujague: All right, all good.
Paul Horne: not hold it against your son for being a Charlottesville guy and and
Garett Tujague: Yeah. Yeah.
Paul Horne: be being a Wahoo at heart there. But
Garett Tujague: Yeah.
Paul Horne: have some good memories of going up there and playing. My first start was in Charlottesville against old Chris Slade So those are that was a night nightmare week. Nightmare week, but a good, good experience to to
Garett Tujague: yeah. Yeah. yeah. Yeah.
Paul Horne: go into. yeah, you mentioned Raleigh. That is a really cool area. You you got your hands on the Stanley Cup yet? You had a chance to get near that thing at all?
Garett Tujague: No, I haven't had I've seen I've seen it. I've out I've been like ten feet from it, but I haven't had a chance to put my hands on it. But
Paul Horne: Okay.
Garett Tujague: what the it's the best way I can explain it is that that that city loves athletics. our if we're playing at noon or seven thirty PM, th there's massive tailgatings going on at seven thirty in the morning. That that that they are They are fanatics about their college football, all their sports, but it's awesome. It's like the way I can sense it is I've I've played in SEC stadiums and I've felt that that away presence. And our like, you know, I think our crowd, and I tell that it's a hundred percent them, is like they average five false starts for the other team's offensive game. And I our
Paul Horne: yeah.
Garett Tujague: crowd does a great job. They are they the Wolfpack Nation is huge. And so when they were having that run for the Stanley Cup. I mean, the st the city was going nuts. And it it's awesome to see that.
Paul Horne: Yeah.
Garett Tujague: So much so that they had the game was out in Vegas and they were selling out our arena in Raleigh for people to watch the game on the Jumbotron.
Paul Horne: Mm-hmm.
Garett Tujague: And they had this huge computer thing where the dots were moving all over as the players were moving on the ice. I mean, packed. Our whole our tailgate lot was packed. And you're like, is the game here today? And they're like, No, it's in Vegas. And so that tells you about our fan base and our city. Man, it's an exciting place. It's growing. A lot of different companies are coming there. It it's the the research triangle, as they call it, is it's a great place. Lots of lots of great food. So that's always a positive for the big guys.
Paul Horne: And and no and and no light blue to be seen anywhere, right? That's that's a we we'd step and spit upon light blue whenever we see it.
Garett Tujague: Zero. Zero. Zero absolutely. So yes.
Paul Horne: That's fantastic. I love rivalries man. That's awesome. all right, coach, you
Garett Tujague: They're the best. They're the best.
Paul Horne: said you mentioned excitement. Talk about that exciting time period where you got a quarterback behind you that is the best in the country and everybody's wanting a piece of his time. And how's that process for you as a lineman?
Garett Tujague: Yeah. Yeah. You know, and one of the things I'll say is like to me, leadership is is pivotal. And every probably and I would say the same for you and anybody. The best teams you've ever been on have been player led. Period. In the discussion. If they're coach led, it man, it could go either way, but player led and Ty, he made you believe like we're we're gonna win. We're We're gonna beat Miami coming off their national championship. And you're like, have you have you s seen their D-line? are you what like and it but it didn't matter. He believed. And so he got you to believe as well, which was really cool. great human being. Like, and I and I mean this wholeheartedly, he would give you the shirt off his back, man, if it would help you become a better person. And he was a great guy to be around, and just A lot of fun, a lot of joking, like in the huddle, like at mid mission critical times. He would he try to be funny and you're like, dude, let's go. Come on, we got you know, and and again, he's just he he had a great sense of humor. But I would say the number one quality about him was absolutely his leadership, man. And he he's like, This is where we're going. You're coming with me, and we're gonna mount that flag on top of that hill. So that was it was all it was great. It was a great experience.
Paul Horne: Did you did you feel did you guys feel as a unit, did you feel pressure to protect him more or do more for him? What la like as a as a performance aspect of it, did you feel like
Garett Tujague: Yeah.
Paul Horne: you were under the gun or under inspection each week to to get him to the the height where he could win the award?
Garett Tujague: Yeah, if you if you let yourself think about it, yeah, you could you could get that way. And it was never brought up about, again, the tie for the Heisman. And it was it was more of like, yeah, he's special and he and he's a he's a game changer. But at the end of the day, man, you train for what? Like you you you practice for what? What what's the objective? And and I mean this every single huddle huddle break. that we ever had at BYU was SEC or no the God, what was the conference? I for the we were what conference were we in again? Dang. Yeah, well it wasn't the the WAC. The WAC No, it was the WAC It was WAC WAC
Paul Horne: Well the Mountain West. WAC Mountain West? What's it Mountain West? WAC yeah.
Garett Tujague: chance WAC WAC Champs That was our that was our every time that's all our goal was. That was all of our objectives. So it wasn't looking at all these outside entities of, hey, we could do this or we could be
Paul Horne: Okay.
Garett Tujague: the number one offense in the country. We could like it was all about just WAC champs. And so it made it very specific on what our our job was to do. So I didn't feel that added pressure, but man, when it was all said and done at the end of his career, you look back and you're like, dang, I mean, I I was fortunate enough to be a part of that. So didn't feel that extra pressure. It was never presented to us that way from the offensive staff or the O-line coaches. It's just like, do your job, right? Do your job. So yeah, it wasn't there wasn't any of that out of
Paul Horne: W so was WAC Champs so that focus of WAC Champs, did that come from Coach Edwards?
Garett Tujague: Yes, one hundred percent. It would you you were not you it I don't know if you ever said you're not allowed to break off of anything else, but it was always WAC champs. And that was more for him, like he started that and it was well before I got there. Like the the lineage of offensive linemen that had come out of BYU prior to me was astronomical. And so it was it was not even you didn't waver from that at all. It was WAC champs. So And you and you and as a coach now Yeah. And as a as a as
Paul Horne: Go ahead, Coach. Go ahead.
Garett Tujague: a no as a player, right? And you know this as a coach now, obviously the more games you win, the more accolades your team gets, the more individual accolades because you're you're not gonna put a Heisman trophy winner on a two and two and ten team. Like that guy's not gonna be up for it. And so just man, WAC champs and winning those games is what was the most important thing to us.
Paul Horne: Yeah. I like that 'cause it gives you the the most current closest goal to to aim at, to achieve at. And like you said, you start focusing on the Heisman and and you're missing five steps between the relevant
Garett Tujague: Yes.
Paul Horne: today stuff and what can happen. that's I that's not even at the end of the season. That's weeks after the end of the season. You've missed the opportunity to capitalize on anything or To win a game or win that play or win this series, make this drive, score points, whatever it is that you're trying to get done, that's gone. You've missed that opportunity. You're focusing in the way down the line, and you've missed the opportunity to make that step to that next goal, get there. I like that that approach from Coach Edwards and putting it out there. So you you mentioned that Coach Edwards brought you in and said, make sure you're not the smartest guy in the room. What else did you take away from? I mean, a legend, right? Like I I I remember
Garett Tujague: Yeah.
Paul Horne: seeing him talking to AFCA. He was so just nonchalant, he was very humble in his a in his interview that he gave there on the big stage. But there you could see just underneath the surface there was a focus. It wasn't just laissez-faire. He was focused. He had he had focus, but he was very calm as he was answering the questions and everything. What anything else you took from him that sticks out in your mind?
Garett Tujague: Yeah, he, he he was he would do a lot of the the organizational stuff. He was always at everything, like practices and all that. And he was a very good part of everything. And and but man, I I feel like the most important thing I took from him was to live in the moment. Right. And again, it's just, and all those cliche things that people say like, what you do in the dark will come to the light. He was never, it wasn't any fancy talk. He's just one, hey, live in the moment. Let's and and so I took that, as a big piece of my philosophy is like, man, here we are, here's where your feet are. Take care of the grass that you stand on and and and be in the moment. Because again, a lot of times, like you said, you start looking at things that are at the end weeks after the end of the season, man, you lose sight of right now. And and that was very important to him. Also an extremely fair human being. Like he he treated people. fairly and not necessarily equally, because what's what's fair to me might not be fair to you and vice versa. And so I love that approach. Like, there's some organizations that have like massive, like these are the rules, and you got to follow the rules, and the book starts getting bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger, man. And it was real simple to him, man. It was just live in the moment and make sure you're just making great decisions. Right. Because again, my decision affects the entire program. So those would be the things I took from him. Yes. Yeah. And now and Broncos was ch Yeah. Do do the right thing. And and again, that's that that encompasses all of it. And he he would say choose the right. You know, and again, I think,
Paul Horne: Mm-hmm.
Garett Tujague: you know, not to go down a faith path or anything like that, but man, the greatest gift I believe I've been given is the power of choice. And I talk to my guys about this all the time. You absolutely have the power of choice. You get to do whatever it is you want to do. What you don't have a choice over is the consequences. And so if you're choosing the right, those consequences are not even close to you. But man, to me it was choose the right and and again, man, you have the gift of free agency. And then and and again, you don't get to choose the consequences.
Paul Horne: Yeah. Consequences, your BYU offense shredded some people over the course of your career. You guys
Garett Tujague: Yes.
Paul Horne: did you realize that you were on the cusp of something that was revolutionary or you guys out there had di a different offense than what the rest of the country was was running, and you guys were slinging it around and and you mentioned the pass pro aspect of it as one of the things that led you over there to BYU. Did you realize while you're in the midst of it, how unique it was?
Garett Tujague: Did we did. And I don't think it was necessarily talked about as much in the building as it was like, man, like every everywhere I go, everywhere, hey, how do you how do you do five-man protection? How how how do you do six-man protection? what do you think a full slide? And it was it's it's always been, hey man, talk to me about I could tell somebody, hey, we used to line up backwards and we do and they'd be my, and they'd be just taking I'm like, we never lined up backwards. But everybody wanted to know, hey, How how did you protect the quarterback? And again, one of the I got I was an interview question I I took and guys like, all right, so tell me about your your passing concepts and stuff like that. And I was like, there's no pass game without protection. Like I talk all the time
Paul Horne: Mm-hmm.
Garett Tujague: with my guys about seven on seven is underwear Olympics, man. It's not it's it's not real. It doesn't get that way until we get
Paul Horne: Yeah.
Garett Tujague: in it. And so to me, the I I I we were aware. Because again, it would be almost disappointing if we didn't have over four hundred and fifty yards passing in a game. Like we'd be like bummed that we missed the mark or or whatever. And so it but it wasn't like that was the the number one thing, or or it was just like this is su being a part of something unique and special was you definitely knew you were in it. So
Paul Horne: Yeah. I mean 'cause you guys were throwing up numbers that were unheard of. Like nobody else in the country at that time was
Garett Tujague: Astronom. Yeah. Yeah.
Paul Horne: putting I mean, they might have a couple hundred yards passing you guys were four hundred plus week in, week out. Right? Wha what'd he throw four
Garett Tujague: Every week.
Paul Horne: something what was his what was Ty's total your like
Garett Tujague: Dude, I I think it's I yeah, it took a guy in his fifth or sixth year to finally beat his numbers like twenty years later. So it it it you know, it it I
Paul Horne: Yeah, I mean w he was f twelve, fourteen thousand yards or something like that. I mean some crazy amount of yards in his career.
Garett Tujague: Yeah, crazy number. I I don't rem yeah, it was it was unhurt like he was almost considered untouchable of what we were doing. So
Paul Horne: Yeah.
Garett Tujague: yeah. So yeah, it was it was fun. It was a lot of fun.
Paul Horne: I just I remember every week and and you guys at BYU typically would be a late you you play on Thursdays a bunch. You guys kind of were on that first part of the Thursday game nights as well. So
Garett Tujague: Yeah.
Paul Horne: a lot of the country was getting opportunity to see you all play. It just it it was like, well, they're not playing against good competition. And then you would show up and do it against one of the big name schools and just yeah, just
Garett Tujague: Yeah. Miami. Yeah. Yeah.
Paul Horne: drop. yards and points and just the scorebo there was crazy special teams plays and weird formations and reverses
Garett Tujague: Yes. Yes.
Paul Horne: and just all sorts of out of the box thinking. It's been incorporated in what most people do today is an average offense does us but you guys were doing it all and nobody else was everybody else is lined up in a wishbone or
Garett Tujague: Yeah.
Paul Horne: I formation and banging in on people and you guys are out there slinging it. It was it's It's not something that people look back on and give a lot of credit to. But I remember, I was kinda when I was playing and and growing up as well. So I distinctly remember that going, Whoa, it's these are like pinball numbers once you guys got going.
Garett Tujague: Yeah, I was it was it was fun. And I and you know, again, it was just never like never was like not the offensive coordinator or the head coach never was like, well, we only threw for 400 yards this game. It was just WAC champs. And everything we were doing was to be WAC champs. But it again, that was part of Lavelle's plan was he wanted us to play on a Thursday night or a Friday night, not traditional Saturday, just so the nation could see, what what we were doing and and like 'Cause a lot of times, like you're saying, it's like, well, who you know, who are they playing or whatever? But it didn't matter. The opponent a lot of the times was faceless and nameless. It was just, hey, we're gonna do what we do and man, what are their top blitzes they do in these situations? And we would master those and and it just it just i our coaching staff made it really easy for us to be successful. So
Paul Horne: And it's funny 'cause that that criticism still hangs it there's kind of an air of that over BYU still today on some level. Like this year, people felt like they didn't belong in that playoff setup,
Garett Tujague: Yeah.
Paul Horne: but all they did was win. All they did was win to put up numbers and and you
Garett Tujague: No. Yeah.
Paul Horne: never they're never out of the game.
Garett Tujague: No, no, never. And that and that's a great testament. Obviously, Kalani's doing a phenomenal job there as an alumni. I'm super proud of of what he's accomplished. And but again, he's also taken Lavelle's page of putting people around him that are better than him and things. And he'll be the first one to tell you that. And again, he talk about humility, talk about just he's
Paul Horne: Mm-hmm.
Garett Tujague: all about his players. And and obviously I have really good friends that are on that staff and They they love they love the his approach and and so but yeah it it's it's the BYU way. Kind if if you will, is like again, having plays that that are different or unique or sp especially special teams or just at the last at the like at the very last there's no way they're faking it here and it's on the two yard line and they fake it. You're like you
Paul Horne: Yeah.
Garett Tujague: know, you're like that's just that's just what we do. That's what we did. So
Paul Horne: W when you were talking to your story, you bring up Coach Klein, when when you were talking to your story earlier and talked and mentioned your wife talking about Coach
Garett Tujague: Yeah.
Paul Horne: Dorn, his story similar about his approach or when he was called to apply for the BYU job. I
Garett Tujague: Yeah.
Paul Horne: heard him tell his story. I jeez, I maybe it was this year at AFC. I remember where I heard him interviewed somewhere,
Garett Tujague: Yeah, yeah.
Paul Horne: maybe it was on social media, whatever it was, and how his wife basically made him sit down and do the interview and he was like, Sh they're not gonna ask me those questions. Why would they ask me those questions? And and
Garett Tujague: Yeah. yeah. Yeah.
Paul Horne: and at the end he was like at the end of the interview, he's he asked the person, he's like, Have you talked to my wife? Because she had all the questions that she asked were the questions
Garett Tujague: Yeah. Yeah.
Paul Horne: that they asked during the interview and it just it went together. It's a really funny story interest. I don't remember where I saw it's it's out there. You can Google it and see if anybody's interested. But all right, coach so let's get in.
Garett Tujague: Yeah. No I yeah, th it is a very good interview.
Paul Horne: I love it. It was a great story and and and Definitely makes comment on how important wives are to coaches and making sure that coaches, if you're not gonna listen to your offensive line coach on a play call or a head coach on a go for it call, at least listen to your wife when she's telling you what to do because she's probably got some more insight than than
Garett Tujague: One one hundred percent.
Paul Horne: the lunk head football coaches think they do. So let's get into where you are now, coach. You're there at NC State. You guys are building a a competitive program and and putting people out on the field and you guys are scoring points and churning up through the ACC itself. What are you looking for in those guys you're bringing in to block for the skill positions behind them? Is there any traits that you favor over another?
Garett Tujague: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I to me like it's real I have three things that I'm looking for in offensive linemen. And it's made it real easy because I I've I've got some good friends in the business that they look for like a twenty seven point checklist, like they're taking their car to Jiffy Lube. And I I like I don't I don't know who's coaching the kid. I don't know his background and I get to know those things, but what he's being taught. So the first thing is length. Like I anytime I I go to see a young man, a prospect that I'm interested in, I want to know his wingspan, right? I want to know his arm length. I want to know his hand size. And I'm not it's not necessarily this. I mean, the bigger bank beats the little bank most of the time, right? But this can sometimes be misconstrued because if you got a six seven guy that can't move, what like what what are we doing? And so length is the first thing I look for. And then second is their athleticism. How are they on screens? How they are when they pull? How do they get to the second level? Are they athletic enough? And again, that can encompass a lot of things, but I want to see a true athlete. And the third thing, which is a non-negotiable, I I need nasty dudes. Like I want dudes that are trying to snatch souls. Like I I like finishing blocks. I want the refs to come up to and man, your guys are kind of like jerks. I'm like, good, throw the flag. I like I want guys that are gonna finish. And if I'm half in the coach effort and I'm having to coach finish, I got I've got the wrong guys. So I'm looking for nasty dudes. And so that to me is what I can coach. That fits me, that fits my personality. and so those are really just the three things because I can do a lot with those three things in my in my opinion.
Paul Horne: It's funny you say that I had a couple they weren't tall, no length, but they were nasty and they were athletic. And they'd gotten to the point where they'd mastered everything in our offense by the time they were into their junior year, going in their senior year, and their senior year we're in the playoffs and the and the ref came up to our side and was like, Coach, you better get you guys under control. I'm like, what are they doing now? 'Cause you get those kids that they they just look at they find the other things on the field that they can mess with and 'cause they already got their job
Garett Tujague: Yes, yes, yes.
Paul Horne: taken care of. And I was, I said, what are they doing? He goes, get their mouths under control, coach. I said, What do they say? Are they out there cussing? What what's going on? He goes, No, they're not cussing. I said, Are they calling the other team names? No, no, no. What are they doing? They're complimenting the other team. And I was like, dear God. So now sarcasm's a 15-yard penalty. They were telling the other guys how
Garett Tujague: Yeah, yeah.
Paul Horne: you are trying so hard. I am so proud of you. You are doing such a good job. And it it
Garett Tujague: Yeah, yeah.
Paul Horne: just that guy you described are those guys, they got to the point where they'd done everything else. And being nasty to them was the sarcasm was the nasty part because they had already physically beat them. They'd they manhandled
Garett Tujague: Correct. Yeah.
Paul Horne: everything they could and they were like, Well, how else can we snatch these guys' souls? we'll be sarcastic to them and let them know that
Garett Tujague: Yeah. Exactly.
Paul Horne: whatever they're do, whatever they do isn't actually impacting us whatsoever. So I love that.
Garett Tujague: Yeah.
Paul Horne: I love the aspect of the nastiness and and what that brings to the table. So once you get those guys on campus, you get these you find some long, lanky guys, you find some
Garett Tujague: Yeah.
Paul Horne: athletes that got a little nasty streak in where do you
Garett Tujague: Yeah.
Paul Horne: start off when they get on campus? And most of the time you're trying to get up there early, I'm assuming you're trying to get them
Garett Tujague: Yeah.
Paul Horne: there that spring semester.
Garett Tujague: Yeah. So there's been a big trend in obviously getting to school in January, graduating high school early, getting there in January, because again, that window is so important. And and again, sometimes they're seventeen years old, and it's the world the days are just going by. But man, I get them up there. I want them to be in my presence. I want them to be in our room. I want them to understand the culture of NC State. I want them to understand the culture of offensive line play. at NC State. And and again, it it really helps when you got Dave Dorn who he loves offense and defensive linemen. I mean it it all and like you said in the beginning, like it it it all matters up front. Everything matters up front. And so you want him to be around there. Our strength coach, D'Antonio Burnett, we call him Thunder. He played that I mean the dude is amazing. This is again I I haven't been to a lot of stops and I've been with some great strength coaches, but this is the fastest strongest, biggest, powerful group I've I've been around in in my in my 34 years as far as what he's done at NC State. And I think the thing that's really beneficial for us there is Dave's going on year 14. Thunder's going on year 14. They all these people have been together for a long our offensive coordinators going on year nine. it just it there's people that have been that been our special teams coordinators going on year eight. Like there's there's a lot of people that have got, if you will, blood in the bricks there. And so I think that that helps. But
Paul Horne: Mm-hmm.
Garett Tujague: man, when I get them there, they get there. They don't get a lift with the the big guy the big guys. They are our our assistant, our number one assistant, a strength coach. He takes them and he makes sure they're fundamentally correct in the weight room. And then man, I just start saturating them in our terminology and again, giving them drills to go out and do individually and and have them look, like this, this, and this, and our older guys. Like I was taught at a real young age by my father that a rising tide lifts all boats. And so when you do that and you have the older guys taking an onus in what we're doing and how we do it that way. And and there's 10,000 different ways to to teach offensive line. You got to find what fits you and then also the players that you're that you're searching for. And so Again, to me, it's just getting them saturated in that. So when we get to spring ball, they're not making mental mistakes as far as which way to go, what play is that. They know all that. And then
Paul Horne: Mm-hmm.
Garett Tujague: now you get a minimize or work on the techniques. And so every time after the end of every season, I've got a process where I start off and we go back to the very basics and it's very slow and it's very deliberate. And then it starts ramping up as we get to spring ball. Right. And then it now it's fast. Right. And then spring ball ends. Man, we go way back to the beginning. We're very deliberate. You know, and again, like people like, well, do you teach a six-inch step? Do you teach a three-inch step? Well, who am I blocking? Right. So then now we got to study
Paul Horne: Right.
Garett Tujague: our opponents. And because footwork's going to change on who I'm blocking. And so I don't have like, it's got to be this footwork. It's got to be that. This get length or whatever. But man, we go over the basics. And like there's drills we do near foot, far foot. And my guys are like, Coach, what like what are we do? We've done this a million times. I said, Yeah, and that's why we're being able to last year we had the number one ACC rusher, right? And so to me it's all those little things add up. And then as right now, they've started gearing up and things are starting to happen faster as we near fall camp. So to me, that's a big part of my process is, part part whole, but then also deliberate, demanding, right? Not demeaning, but demanding on what we have to do. And then, man, then it just becomes second nature and they don't gotta think about their first step. They've done it ten thousand times. And so to me, that's a big,
Paul Horne: Right.
Garett Tujague: big part of of the teaching process for me. So man, once I get to get my hands on them, that's what we do with them.
Paul Horne: So they can put their technique on cruise control basically, because you've gone through it so much. And now you can expand that vision, the understanding of what's happening, the the strategic approach, what's happening on the field, what's happening on this play, what do you pick up on preset? Pre-snap reads is the guy's feet staggered, is the safety creeping
Garett Tujague: Right. Correct.
Paul Horne: up? Is the is the opposite hand down from what he's been all all game? So that it looks like there's a game coming. He's moving the opposite
Garett Tujague: Yeah, yeah.
Paul Horne: direction now, or or whatever, whatever those little I don't know, sneak peeks or or cheat codes that you can get in tells
Garett Tujague: Call them tells. We call them tells. Yeah. It's just like a you play you play poker with someone who's got terrible tells. You're taking all their money. So we it's just we we we call them tells. What are their tells for this or that and talk a lot about where the how are their feet are. But if you're so worried about assignment and technique, you don't feel those things. And then now you can't anticipate that movement or that base look. And and so now again, if you can anticipate that, man, you start playing at a super high level. And like you said earlier, you're looking
Paul Horne: Yeah, I like that.
Garett Tujague: for that, they're they're doing that extra stuff. if a kid's so worried about his assignment or his technique, he doesn't have time to like, hey, great job, buddy. You're doing a good job. Keep it up, patting them on the ass as they go back to the huddle They can't they can't do that stuff because they're so caught up
Paul Horne: Yeah. True. Yeah.
Garett Tujague: in the fear of failure. And and I'm like, man, I don't care what you do, man, play fast. Just play fast. Be decisive and play fast. And then Man, I've implemented that like the last 10 years and it's been amazing for us. Like it, dude, we're all gonna make mistakes. Just be deliberate, play fast, be decisive. Man, the first thing that comes to your mind, do that. And if if you got athletic enough for guys, they can maybe recover or not, but at least they're being decisive.
Paul Horne: Yeah, I I always defaulted the if you get confused, just block the guy in front of you. Nine times out of ten. If we can just do that. If you if all
Garett Tujague: Yeah. I am yeah.
Paul Horne: that stuff's happening fast for you, just block the guy in front of you and and we'll worry about the next play, the next play. What coach go ahead. No, no, go ahead.
Garett Tujague: Yeah, my young guys love it. They love go ahead. No, my young guys love it because I tell I I said, listen, if you don't know what to do, just like you ever seen like a wolf eat a bunny rabbit, there's hair flying. Just maul the dude in front of you. I can coach that.
Paul Horne: Yeah.
Garett Tujague: And there and and I'm like, what are you doing here? He's like, Coach, I I'm just mauling the guy in front of him. I'm like, great job. so that's a great technique.
Paul Horne: All right. Next time, avoid him and get to the next level and then mall the next level or whatever the problem is. All
Garett Tujague: Yeah, if it y yeah, exactly. So
Paul Horne: What what is the what's your one drill that you're going to live and die by? You got weather coming in, you're going to get it in no matter what. That's the the backbone of what you feel
Garett Tujague: Yeah. Yeah.
Paul Horne: your drill work is.
Garett Tujague: So I'm not a I I'm not a big sled guy 'cause defensive linemen don't they're they don't look like sleds. you gotta get a sled with a big ass belly on it and I make fun of about all that and watch them hit those little stand up pop
Paul Horne: Mm-hmm.
Garett Tujague: up dolls that just have their and we you know, I so but I live and die by the crowther And I know like a lot of people say, Well,
Paul Horne: Okay.
Garett Tujague: coach, it's it's kind of expensive. I can't afford that. I'm like, listen. Take all your big guys, buy them speedoes and do a car wash for a weekend, and you'll have more money than you'll know what to do with. Like I had to do that at College of the Canyons, because I like you're not serious about running the football, in my opinion, if you don't have a crowther So every day I'm I'm gonna hit we do our crowdler progression. And I man, I it it's a it's it's a non-negotiable for me. And that that slide, that sled, and then I have a Ram sled. And I'm not sponsored by any of the like the Like these are just sleds that I and every single time I've left
Paul Horne: What you do, yeah.
Garett Tujague: left the program, my guys will go out there with a sawzall and cut up the RAM sled into a hundred pieces. They hate that thing. But it's so good for your hands and position. And but yeah, though I'm I'm gonna get on the crowther there every single day. So that's a non negotiable
Paul Horne: That helps with that helps the timing. It helps the partners feel the the fit on there a little bit and makes them run their feet, gives them a little bit of resistance. And then you can that's a starting block and then you're gonna put real bodies, you're gonna put big fat pot bellies in front of and and make block those guys too.
Garett Tujague: Yeah, yeah. And and they love it too, 'cause like sometimes I'll I'll be like just work on the crowther and then they see me turn my whistle around like, that fat bastard's about to stand on that thing. So they hate it when I I'll get on there and I'll stand on it and they they're like, crap. And my my assistant, he's a little bit smaller than me. So they'll we have three crowthers So hi he'll get on one and they'll all try to go over there and then he and I switch and they're so but it it's there's a non negotiable. We're gonna crowd her. So
Paul Horne: They're always they're always skeming and plotting, trying to figure out how to get the least amount
Garett Tujague: always.
Paul Horne: of that's a commonality, right? It doesn't matter, no matter what level what coast you're on, it doesn't matter. They're all gonna try to figure out the closest spot
Garett Tujague: Al always always. Yep.
Paul Horne: to the water and the lightest weight to lift for sure. okay,
Garett Tujague: Yeah, yeah. So
Paul Horne: on the same on the same token then, is there anything that you see other coaches talking about or everybody's got their drill and they can justify it and I
Garett Tujague: Yeah.
Paul Horne: and I'm not criticizing people using different drills, but is there any drill that you see where you're like, I don't get it. I'm not I I just can't incorporate that in in what I do.
Garett Tujague: Yeah, so and again, and I like I love like I I'll I'll do clinics and I love to talk because it helps me do my like better become a better teacher and stuff like that. And so to me, if if if I don't see this on game film, why why are we doing it? Like it has to
Paul Horne: Mm-hmm.
Garett Tujague: all translate to the game. And there and there's there's thousands of drills and I'm sure that each one has a purpose. And and if you can justify it as a coach, that's great. But I start with the game and I work my way back. And then again, and and the teaching method is, man, I show the drill work, I show it in inside run, I show it in team on practice, and then I show game reps. And if your drills can't be represented in those four phases, then my question is why are you doing it? and I and I can give you a great example. And I and again, like I said, there's everybody has their thing. I used to be a big bird dog guy, like boom. Boom, you would step, clap. Each time I clap, you take a step. And I remember I was sitting with a coach and he's like, that is the stupidest crap I've ever seen. I was like, wait a minute, whoa, hold on. Hand placement, helmet play, like footwork. And he's like, show me where that's on game film. And I was like, hmm. Okay. And so to me, I and then I just I took it out of what I did and and and it just if you don't do it on a Saturday or a Friday night. then why are you doing it for drill work is just my biggest thing. So I and again, I'm al always looking for new drills, like he says, to stay relevant. But man, if it doesn't fit who we are or what we're doing or I can't see it on game film, then I'm then I'm probably not going to be a big fan of it.
Paul Horne: Yeah. I I've seen that I've said this a number of times here on on my on my show that Marcus Lawrence down there down south of you there in Fayetteville State was at the AFCA convention and and shared at the AFCA convention this year and it was awesome because he had dr his drill tape that he broken down and and showed in shorts and then showed them on the practice field and pads doing it and then showed it in the game and showed all the technique that he'd been working on. It was it was really well. He did a very good job of putting it all together and and justifying that approach of here,
Garett Tujague: Yeah.
Paul Horne: look, it's happening in the game. We did this on Tuesday and and then we did this in April in shorts, right? And and it all worked
Garett Tujague: Yep. Yep. Yep.
Paul Horne: together. It was a it was a very good thing. I think that's a great answer there as far as what justifies what you do and how you go about building your individual time. So that kind of leads me into your practice prep. Are you when you sit down with your game plan, are you doing the same thing? Like is your you guys are off on Sunday, Monday, whatever it is, your first day of the week of practice, do you do the same drills at the beginning of every practice, say Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, whatever your prep week is, or are you catering each week based on what your scheme requirements are?
Garett Tujague: Yeah, so hopefully, and that's a great. So hopefully my my off season and my fall camp has given us the the grounding that we need to be able to move. But I like you said during the season, I'm probably gonna get on the crowdler once or twice, not every day, because there's other things that I have to get taught. That are specific to that defense we're facing that week. Or again, it might have been a near foot lead for this week. And now this week, because of the way they play, it's a far foot lead. And so just working on those little things, but absolutely like I a lot of times, and I and I understand there's levels of players. I get that. I understand that this guy's gonna be better at this than this guy. And as a coach, I feel it's my responsibility to put my players in the best possible position. So if if our wide receiver coach wants to run a post corner post, coach, you got three and a half seconds. And I know our 40 times out there, we don't have world class or what where, like again, it's my job to make sure that, hey, the offensive coordinator and I get together and we say, This is what my guys can do. Right. And we're gonna be really
Paul Horne: Mm-hmm.
Garett Tujague: good at it. And if you're gonna ask them to do things that they're not really good at, I think that's poor coaching, in my opinion, right? There are there are definitely levels of athletes that that that we get to coach. But if you're asking a young man to do something that he can't do, is that his fault or is that the coach's fault? And so so many of us get caught up in, man, I'm an air raid offense. Well, man, if you don't have a quarterback or you don't have an offensive line that can protect the pass, what like what what what are we doing? And so one of the things I've really enjoyed about being with Robert and I is that when we first got to Virginia. it was bad. And we had the we came from BYU and we'd had this offense and it didn't fit what we were doing there. We didn't have the players to do that. So he's con we were constantly evolving. We had, our our guy, man, his name just three to the neck. our quarterback. Gosh dang it. And he was really good at option stuff. Like he could read real well, zone read. And that wasn't a big part of our plan at BYU. When we had Taysom, it was. Right. And then again, it just you you have to you have to use the tools in your shed and and and like evolve your offense to fit the players you have. And so that was a big part of what what we did in a little bit at BYU and at Virginia. And so again, to me it's like putting your players in the best position to be successful starts with man knowing their individual, their basic stuff, and then being able to, hey, this week it's it's different. the mic comes first before the will, or the will comes first before the mic. And understanding those little intricate pieces of it. But to me, you have to be the guardian, right? I think as an offensive line coach, you're the guardian of two things. You're the guardian of effort, right? You're you're the standard for what the effort is on the team, in my opinion. And then also two, man, what can your players do? And you have you have to hold on to that as as tightly as you can. And again, there's trick play things or whatever it d there's always there's always could be an exp like an exception to the rule, but for me it's like this is what we do, this is what we're gonna hang our hat on and we're gonna make it work. So
Paul Horne: Yeah, kinda stay within color within the lines there. Don't when you start coloring outside the lines
Garett Tujague: Hundred hundred percent.
Paul Horne: with what they can do, you're you're putting yourself in a in a vulnerable, at least a vulnerable situation. It doesn't necessarily have to end
Garett Tujague: Correct. Yeah.
Paul Horne: negatively, but you're definitely gonna be more vulnerable than you than you you care to be and and that's no fun. When you you when you call the play
Garett Tujague: Yeah. No.
Paul Horne: and you kinda go,
Garett Tujague: Yeah.
Paul Horne: maybe we that's that's a bad situation. You're you're you're you're grab bagging at that point and you're not you're getting out of your get your framework, you're out above your skis and and who knows what's gonna happen.
Garett Tujague: Yes. Yeah.
Paul Horne: And then then you find yourself in a bad situation, it ends up you're third and fifteen and now you're at everybody's mercy and nobody wants to be that way. So I I
Garett Tujague: Yeah. Yeah.
Paul Horne: agree. That's why I would I would fight super hard for that too.
Garett Tujague: I think I think you you have to risk a little bit, but you have to understand the the the the consequences of those risks. And and again, I think at a play caller, it's sometimes you can get yourself overwhelmed with having to call the right play. And and a lot of times, man, players gotta make you look good. Right. They gotta. And again, do
Paul Horne: Mm-hmm.
Garett Tujague: is that within their realm? And so again, you you minimize those risks, but yet still have to take risks sometimes. Yeah.
Paul Horne: Yeah. So I I what I hear there then is it's not you're doing a little bit of fundamental work and hopefully your fundamental work on the off season and the summertime can can carry you through and you're touching up here and there, but most of it's gonna end up coming down onto the the schemes and the tactical stuff that you need to prepare for for
Garett Tujague: Yeah.
Paul Horne: that particular game is what you're gonna focus on most. And and touching up
Garett Tujague: Correct, correct.
Paul Horne: the the fundamentals here and there just a little bit little bit, not as much. Probably as as a high school coach,
Garett Tujague: Yeah.
Paul Horne: I was doing fundamentals way more than I was probably doing skiing because that was what my
Garett Tujague: Yeah. You have to.
Paul Horne: guys needed. But you're you already got that hand picked and and hopefully have those guys that have a foundation already that's that's pretty solid. You don't have to work on it too much at that point.
Garett Tujague: Correct. And and I think like, and again, one of the biggest differences, like, and again, I I I love high school coaches and I understand their struggle because they may have a left tackle that's gonna be a prize possession, five star, whatever, whatever that crap is. And he's really good, but the guy next to him is gonna be an elite plumber. And he just wants to be a high school football player.
Paul Horne: Mm-hmm.
Garett Tujague: And so again, I I get that. And and there's some of that at our level, because every kid in my room realistically or unrealistically wants to play in the national football league. Right. And I and I get that and I understand that. But there's definitely different levels to it for sure. So
Paul Horne: Mm-hmm. Just to to to have that expectation. I the kids in high school, like, I'm D1, I'm D one. I said, Have you stood on a D1 field, son? Well, you know, I I'm strong. I'm like, they're freaks. They're freaks. They're non,
Garett Tujague: Yeah. Yeah.
Paul Horne: they're they're the exceptions to the human species that are out in those division one football fields. And then it's just
Garett Tujague: Correct.
Paul Horne: a whole nother. level of species when you step on that NFL field. And a lot of guys, man, I it's crazy to me they don't see it and don't understand the difference. But it's very easy to see once you stand out there. Some guys belong and some guys don't.
Garett Tujague: I mean, I love I love going to like a NFL like mini camp. Cause I'm like, my gosh. And I love I love taking my guys to go like there's certain symposiums that I'll take my guys to, and there's NFL all pro guys there. And they're like, and it it's just like, maybe I need to rethink my life goals and stuff. But to me, I think self awareness is very important. But also too, like, There is those one offs that they beat all the odds and they do it. But again, there has to be some reality there. And again, standing on an NFL practice field is completely different than standing on my field, right? Completely different than standing on your field. And so yeah, it it's it's it's important that there's some self awareness there.
Paul Horne: What's your what's your favorite scheme to run, Coach? You got first and ten. They they give you the headset. You get to call the play out there. What what are you gonna call? You throwing the ball or you gonna run the ball? You run inside zone, okay.
Garett Tujague: Yeah, we're we're we're gonna run inside zone. No, we're gonna run inside zone. We and it might be it might be wide zone, but it's gonna be either one of those two, inside zone or wide zone. So I I live and die by those suckers.
Paul Horne: All right, we make sure Coach Detmer doesn't we we don't want Ty Detmer to hear this that you're not gonna throw the ball there on first and ten.
Garett Tujague: Yeah. There's there there's been a couple of my my teammates that I played with that are about to take my my pass protection card because I I love run the ball so much. So they're like, dude, we're about to pull your card and I'm like, All right, you know, so but no i it's
Paul Horne: That's right. Yeah, we're gonna take your picture down off the wall.
Garett Tujague: Yeah, we love, we love like our and I our offensive coordinator, Kurt Roper, he and I, it's a great relationship. But man, I think you I think you throw the ball to score and you run the ball to win. It I is is is my like again, big chunk plays are important and and all that and and we track those and I think that that's important and and I'm like, you know, you get a big chunk play handing it off too now. So but but again I I get that. You know, you you throw the ball to score, but but again, you get to exert your will to run the ball to win. So yeah.
Paul Horne: Yeah. At least it worst case scenario is just assault the game away and put it away at the end. You have to be able to control the clock and control what's happening
Garett Tujague: Yeah, exact exactly. Exactly.
Paul Horne: on the field and and f and force like you said there, force your will upon somebody else. That's that has to happen at the end of the games for sure. All right, coach. We're getting down to the our time limit. I don't
Garett Tujague: Correct. Correct. And you wanna give your guys Yeah.
Paul Horne: wanna go ahead.
Garett Tujague: No, you want to give your guys an opportunity to move another man against his will. And I think as an offensive lineman, there's no better like because at the end of the game, we look each other in the eyes and we know. We we know. Like again, you may you may have won the game, but that individual battle, you got your tail kicked. And and as men, we know when you do that. So to me, getting that opportunity to exert your will and move another grown ass man against his will. It's that's kind of tough to beat in the world of football.
Paul Horne: Yeah. I always told my guys when you win, you get to take a little piece of their soul with them. You get to put it in your back pocket and that's there forever. They will forever know.
Garett Tujague: Hundred percent. Hundred percent.
Paul Horne: man, he got me. He got me the whole time.
Garett Tujague: Yeah. Yeah.
Paul Horne: as we get down here, I got two more questions for you. Second
Garett Tujague: Okay. Okay.
Paul Horne: to last one. The the offensive line room. is a is a collection of characters. And I've always argued that the funniest place on earth is ten minutes before meeting starts in the offensive meeting room with the offensive line. Any stories that you could shed light on from your playing days or your coaching days of guys that were just
Garett Tujague: huh.
Paul Horne: absolute characters that anytime they opened their mouth, something was coming out and you knew it was going to be good.
Garett Tujague: Yeah, there there's like if I talk about my current room, it it's like I try to get in there like ten minutes early just so I can hear the dialogue. It it's it's hilarious. There there's no better position in any sport in the world than the offensive line room. It it's again, it's just different. And a lot of times there's things that are talked about in there that you're like, What but it's but it's awesome. It's who we are. And I I and my guys know, man, it's not necessarily Man, we don't fight because we hate what's in front of us. We fight because we love what's behind us. And to me, that's a big process. So we're
Paul Horne: Mm-hmm.
Garett Tujague: there's all kinds of jokes and just this. And and again, now with the whole AI thing, you can put people's heads on certain bot. We have a blast with that. It just it's so funny and and and it's a good time. But again, it it also allows a younger player to feel comfortable to correct an older player. And an older player c comfortable enough. So again, it we're all pulling in the same direction. And when you have that, I think it's it's magic. And so, you know, there's all kinds of things. Like when I was at BYU, our center, this is a great story. He took a a big long chocolatey Claire donut and put it under his shorts. And we were going through a walkthrough, and the quarterback would have to go under center. And so the chocolate cream. is coming on his head. Like so the dude offensive linemen are just the craziest, but just stuff like that was just like it'd be like, there's no way you're gonna do it. I'm gonna do it. And so, but it's again just little things like that, but it kept the the the jovial part of it. And again, it's a game. And and you know, I had a an uncanny opportunity to speak with Michael Jordan. I asked him a really important question and, he's just like Garrett, we're we're I'm not out there curing cancer. It's a game. I've been in this situation a thousand times. And if it goes in, great. The only people that really care about whether it got it goes in are my teammates and the people in Vegas. Right? But to me, it's a game. And so you again having that levity, it's a game. And it's serious. And I get it and I understand that part. But man, we're not out there curing cancer. Right? We're out there playing a game and we're blessed to do it. And I think My our rooms are the are the best. You get the guys from all spectrums and and they have a really good time together. It's hilarious. So
Paul Horne: And and that and it seems like my favorite things were when the conversation started at that ten minutes before the meeting started. And then they're they're kind of still talking about it under their breath during the meeting. And then you get out of the practice field and that whatever it is they're talking about, it could have been the best hamburger they had, whatever. Who knows what the conversation,
Garett Tujague: A hundred per
Paul Horne: the best superhero, the whatever. And it goes the it'll go the entire practice, the entire
Garett Tujague: Son.
Paul Horne: three hours of Practice. It'll go. And they're talking about it in between plays. What are you guys talking about? I'm talking back here. Coach, we're still talking about whatever the you know, the the best
Garett Tujague: Yeah. Yeah.
Paul Horne: shade of red is. Whatever. It could be whatever. And they're going the whole time. Then
Garett Tujague: Yeah. Anything. Yeah.
Paul Horne: geez. Doesn't stop. I like the Eclair and the Shorts thing. That's that's a that's that's terrible.
Garett Tujague: That was that was classic. I I have not told my guys so when they see this, they're gonna be like, That is a brilliant idea. And our quarterbacks will be like, damn it, two J, why are you telling us so but it it just that that's just that's just the normalcy
Paul Horne: It's yeah, y you got me
Garett Tujague: of old line room. So
Paul Horne: That's right. Nobody thinks anything n there doesn't even second thought about that. There's not even that'd be great. There's fifty guys. Fifteen guys in there go, Yeah, yeah, yeah, do it, do it, do it, do it. That's
Garett Tujague: Two, too, yeah. yeah.
Paul Horne: funny. And then my last question for you, coach. you go back to your playing days, getting ready to walk out there in BYU and and take on the the dreaded Falcons from the Air Force Academy or somebody out there in the in the WAC. did you have were you listening to music back then? What was your how did you get right? What was your lock in process for you knowing that this all right at this point I'm going out there and it's we got a battle to face? What was your process?
Garett Tujague: Yeah, so my yeah, my wife gets all over me because I'm very I'm very sequential when it comes to football. I'll I'll never be late for football, but man, it it's tough for me to be on time for church sometimes. So but like so to me I was
Paul Horne: Yeah, yeah.
Garett Tujague: very process oriented and so in the in the game of football and so like I would I would lay out my uniform, make sure like I have my socks, my my compression shorts, my paint, and I would lay that out. Back then, you know, and again, my guys are gonna be all over me for there weren't like walkmans were kind of like they weren't as popular or or whatever. And they're and they're like they're like, Coach, what
Paul Horne: Yeah, barely barely. Yeah.
Garett Tujague: the hell's a walkman? They don't even like so anyways, as far as music, I was I was a big like A C D C, Metallica, like I I
Paul Horne: Mm-hmm.
Garett Tujague: like I I was th those were the things that I listened to. Like got into, you know, I would get in a little I I grew up like right when I was in When I was in like towards the end of high school, like NWA came out or or you know, L Cool J or Dr. Dre, I would listen. I love that kind of
Paul Horne: Mm-hmm.
Garett Tujague: stuff too, as well. But as far as creating a playlist, you didn't, we there were you did, you just it was you didn't have that. You had to just switch tapes or whatever.
Paul Horne: Not an option, yeah. Yeah.
Garett Tujague: And so, but man, I would pick something and and I would I would kind of vibe out to that. And then 10 minutes before we were supposed to leave, man, I would sit in the in my locker with my helmet on. And I would just go over plays like I you know, like I knew this or knew that and just I would go over my list of tells for that defense just to get locked in. And then when I got out there, it was like just let me off the chain. Let me off the chain. Let me go do what I need to do and
Paul Horne: Look like that buffalo chasing that guy through Wyoming.
Garett Tujague: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. The wild animals, man. You can't trust But it was it was the same thing. Just let me off my chain. And and again, I I think part of my part of my playing, I I was a I wanted to make sure my O line coach had proud was pr had pride in me. So I was I was a pleaser and I wanted to make sure I was doing it right. So that's why it was more process oriented in the beginning. But then, man, about twenty minutes before the music would go in and they would just get going. Get going, I take it out ten minutes before and then man by the time I hit the field I was ready to snatch souls. So yeah.
Paul Horne: Had Zach changed as a coach?
Garett Tujague: yes and no. Like when when we get to there on game day, like in our meetings leading up to it, I mean it's football, football, football, football. And then when I get there, they know like there's a routine that I want them to go through on the field before we get out there because they're all gonna go out there. They all wanna y they you know, they're all gonna go out there and so there's certain like you guys gotta do this, you gotta do that. And I don't I I leave them alone. Like I let them be them and let them get into their vibe. And then I don't really start coaching them again until the kickoff. just so they can have their time. I I again I've been around guys that they they take every minute of that and I want my guys to know, man, this is your time, right? This is w now you this is where you need to be decisive, go make plays. And then I just I leave alone. But I I'll sit in the locker room and as coaches we'll just have, you know, it's the same locker room regular conversations and Just talking about this or that and man, have you tried this new pizza place or what, you know, just stuff like that. But it's probably way more relaxed. But I really try to grind them throughout the week. And then I give them Saturday. We'll have a walkthrough in the morning and after that, man, I man, I just let them go. And I I do like I have this thing where I got I'm just constantly having to touch. Like I did this study back in my master's degrees about the power of touch. And so I'm just trying to go around and touch as many guys as I can. Dap up or whatever, hit him on the
Paul Horne: Mm-hmm.
Garett Tujague: head, just so that we're getting that connection piece. But I won't I won't say very much to him. Now they'll come up and ask me a question about this or whatever, then I'll answer it. But usually I I let I let go. And then I'm just kind of hanging out. And then man, when the when when I get to a certain time on the clock, I get out there, I sprint out onto the field and let's let's snatch some souls. So
Paul Horne: I love it. I love it. Well, coach, I appreciate you taking time out of your schedule. I know you're out there celebrating your family and hanging out with your family and the downtime that you have, which isn't a lot for you guys during this during the school year and during the summertime. You're getting ready to go into camp here. And I wish all the best for you. I I'm so thankful
Garett Tujague: Appreciate that.
Paul Horne: you took time out to to share your process and your journey with me. I think it's an exciting thing to hear about. Not ever like I we said earlier, not every left guard gets to tell a story. And I kinda pride myself on letting those guys tell their story. So
Garett Tujague: I love it. I appreciate it
Paul Horne: I'm thankful for you showing up today and and sharing that with us. And as we go into the season I'll be definitely tracking the Wolfpack and and seeing how
Garett Tujague: Love it.
Paul Horne: we do there and try to get that A C C rushing championship again.
Garett Tujague: There you go. There you go. And again, I appreciate you, Paul. It's been awesome. Like anytime you get a chance to talk about this, I think, everybody wants to talk about the skilled players and all that. I love what you're doing. It's great for our game. and the people that you're having on here are gonna definitely make a difference. So I I'm grateful that you allowed me to be a part of this and man, wishing you nothing but the best on your trip with you and your family. And and I hope you guys have a great time. So thanks again.
Paul Horne: Awesome, thanks so much. And as we get out of it, remember if you master the trench, you'll win the war. Have a great afternoon.