The DII Sports Podcast

This week on the DII Sports podcast we're joined by Marcus Porter, linebacker at Fairmont State. We caught up with Marcus following a week one loss by the Falcons. They've since started to right the ship by defeating Urbana in week two. From on the field to off the field...this interview runs the gamut. And get this...Marcus isn't the only Porter on the team. His little brother Michael is his teammate and roommate! Hope you enjoy the interview.

Week 1 is in the books! We look back, and forward, with Paul Tortorella, head coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. In his first season as head coach, Tortorella brings years of experience and knowledge to the position, spending the last 22 seasons as IUP’s defensive coordinator. So far, so good as the Crimson Hawks are 1-0 on the very young season. Hope you enjoy it...back next week with more after another weekend of games!

The DII football previews continue this week with Gary Dunn, head coach at California University of Pennsylvania. Dunn, in his second season as head coach, was a four-year starter for the Vulcans and brings several years of experience as offensive coordinator at the FCS level to the table. As you'll hear in the interview, there's much more beyond what happens on the field that goes a long way in determining how successful a program is. Hope you enjoy it!

Our DII football previews continue this week with Jason Woodman, head coach at Fairmont State University. Coach Woodman has done a remarkable job of turning around the Fighting Falcons program in just a few short years. Spending time around some of the biggest names in the sport probably didn't hurt. Before coming to Fairmont State, Coach Woodman worked at LSU under coaches Nick Saban and Les Miles. After LSU, Jason followed Jimbo Fisher to Florida State and spent some time under legendary coach Bobby Bowden. Hope you enjoy this episode. The previews continue next week!

Before the season kicks off in a couple weeks I wanted to give you guys my take on how I think things are going to unfold. You know, that's because I can predict the future. Haha, yeah right. Let me just say right now that I have NO CLUE what's going to happen. But that's what makes things so damn exciting. There are so many teams scattered all across the country that have a legit chance of winning the title. Whether it's Northwest Missouri, Grand Valley State or Fairmont

State...there's a long list of contenders.

In addition to a bit of a season preview, I also decided to touch on why I believe a locker room experience is extremely important to the upbringing and development of our children. You can thank the recent events in Charlottesville, Virginia for this slight change of pace.

We'll be back at it next week with another solid football interview. And FYI, next person to leave a detailed review gets a piece of white paper with my autograph!!!!

With kickoff just around the corner we were lucky enough to grab Matt Mitchell, head coach of the Grand Valley State Lakers, for a season preview. Coach Mitchell is always one of my favorite interviews. The guy just gets it. He loves football and his teams are always in the running for the national title...and this year is no exception as most of the pre-season polls have the Lakers somewhere near the top of the pack. Hope you enjoy it. Definitely can't wait to have coach back on the show later in the season. Still haven't left a rating or review in iTunes? Do it NOW!

It's official, football is back, and yours truly could not be happier! From this point on we hope to bring you some top notch interviews with players and coaches from around the country. We're starting things off this week with Maurice Carnell, senior cornerback for the University of North Alabama. UNA had a great run last season, eventually losing in the title game to Northwest Missouri. They've since moved up a level but will still primarily be playing a DII schedule this season. Don't be surprised if one day you see Maurice playing on Sunday's. Hope you enjoy it! Please leave a rating or review in iTunes.

I can't imagine there are many things tougher than an NFL training camp...but one thing that comes close, if not exceeds it, is training to do an IRONMAN. It's something that I'm very familiar with...not because I'm competing, but because my wife, Mary Kate, has now competed in several. The latest one was in Lake Place in upstate New York. This episode is dedicated to all the competitors and I hope it at least sheds a tiny light on all the preparation that goes into the ultimate competition. Enjoy!

Ahhhh....so close we are to the start of training camps scattered across the country. When we started this podcast late last season, we only caught the tail end of the football season and then the playoffs, so I'm super excited that we'll be able to cover this coming season from beginning to end. To give you a taste of what you can expect to hear once the season kicks off, we're going to bring you some highlights from a couple interviews we did last season. First is Colby Carthel, head coach at Texas A&M - Commerce and second is Matt Mitchell, the head coach at Grand Valley State. We look forward to bringing you more interviews with coaches and players throughout the season. Enjoy!

We're now just a couple weeks away from NFL camps opening and just a few days beyond that for college camps. I CANNOT wait. Between Penn State and the NFL, I've lost count as to how many camps I've been through. Suffice to say it was a lot. And because of that I think I have a pretty good feel as to what goes into it, both as a player and coach. So that's what this episode is all about...what's going through the minds of the coaches and players as they know they've basically got just a few days of freedom left. On one hand I miss it but on the other I sure as hell don't! Hope you enjoy it. Leave a rating or review in iTunes!