Kedon Slovis, BYU QB

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What's wrong with your ears? Here is your college football fix only on The Zach Gelb Show. Fifty days until the BYU Cougars kick off against Sam Houston and now joining us is a man who started his college career at USC, transferred to Pitt and now is the starting quarterback for BYU and that, of course, is Keaton Slobus. Always enjoyable to get Keaton on The Zach Gelb Show on CBS Sports Radio. Keaton, appreciate the time. How are you? Doing great. Thanks for having me.

Well, thanks so much for jumping back on with us. So I was reading an article the other day about you. I didn't know this last time I talked to you that Kurt Warner was actually on the coaching staff of your high school. What was that experience like getting to learn from one of the game's best quarterbacks? Yeah, I was pretty fortunate to be able to be that young and learn from a guy of that caliber, a Hall Fin quarterback with such a great mind and really just got lucky that he moved into the area after he retired. His kids went to our school.

His son, he actually just signed as a UDFA for the Bucks as a receiver. Then his younger son, EJ, was younger than me, played quarterback and then now he's at Temple. So I kind of just fell in the middle. So luckily I got the ability to have that relationship and to get to learn from him. It was pretty special.

No, we're well versed with the Warner family. Kurt comes on all the time and I'm a Temple graduate, so I'm pulling for EJ and loved what he did last year. What were you really able to learn though from Kurt?

I mean, just at that age, just understanding defenses and how to really read defenses and look at understanding concepts and how they worked, what they worked good against. One of the coolest things about playing for Kurt was he was really invested in developing me as a quarterback and it really kind of pushed me to, you know, he'd always say, I'm gonna push more on you. And we're the most talented team ever, so he'd kind of say, I'm gonna push more on you because we need it to win, but also it can make you a better player. So I feel like he always made the offense maybe more difficult than a traditional high school offense, but I'm forever grateful that he gave that opportunity. When you were getting coached by him at first, what was the kind of the feeling, holy crap, this is a Hall of Famer coaching me up? Yeah, like for the first day or couple days, I think when you're a freshman, you're what, 13, 14, and especially as an Arizona kid and the Cardinals are pretty irrelevant until Kurt came in and just took us to the Super Bowl and I was a diehard Cardinal growing up.

So it was definitely pretty, pretty crazy. But I mean, that kind of goes away pretty quickly when you're working with a guy on a daily basis and just know his kids and family. And then you see other people kind of see him that way and you're like, get it, know it, you know, you have to check yourself and be like, I used to be that person too. So take me through some of your other favorite quarterbacks when you were growing up as a kid. Who did you really like? I mean, a lot of my family grew up in Michigan, went to Michigan. So I think Tom Brady was a big, you know, kind of forced upon me at a young age. And obviously he's the greatest.

And I think if you, I mean, Breeze and Rogers, Manning, like all those guys kind of ran my childhood, but I'd say Brady definitely, definitely Brady, Brady Warner was like my two favorites growing up. Keaton Slove is here with us. So how has it been? This is now your third school.

You've been through this before having to transfer and make those relationships with new teammates. How's it been going at BYU so far? It's been great. And, you know, I'm just so grateful for the opportunity to hear it sitting here, you know, in December, trying to make a decision of what I want to do with my last year. I kind of decided to take a risk and go, you know, somewhere I didn't know exactly everything, you know, inside the building, but I knew that good people on the offensive staff and that they're going to run offense to continue to develop me and help me get to the next level.

And again, the rest of it really fell into place. So I love the culture here. I love the staff. I love the players. And I'm just really excited to get to the season and play with these guys.

How do you look back at your time at the other two stops? Clearly USC is well documented and last year you spent a season with Narduzzi over at Pitt. Yeah, you know, it's all a learning experience. I think, you know, I'm super grateful for all my experiences and still lots of people and players and at both places that I'm grateful for. And I think that's a tough thing.

Sometimes certain things just happen. You know, your coach gets fired and you have to make a change, a scenery. And it wasn't like I ever wanted to leave USC and go through most of all you had to do.

And same thing, like I just mentioned, you know, I just want to give myself the best opportunity to, you know, throw the ball around, be in an offense that I want to play in and committed to. That's the crazy thing about this whole thing is Coach Roderick at BYU is the first coordinator I'll actually get to commit to and play for. So it's been pretty wild ride. I'm super grateful for it. And, you know, I'm happy I ended up here because I'm really happy with BYU and I'm happy to be at Cougar.

Keaton Slovis here with us. You've been through this before, having new teammates and having to build those relationships. Is that difficult or is it, hey, I've done this before, so it's a little bit easier? It can be a little overwhelming for sure, just because there's so many guys on the team. But I think as a quarterback, it's kind of your job to do that, you know, and you have to embrace it and it's your job to lead. And I think that that part comes naturally. It's just a matter of, you know, guys getting to know you and feeling comfortable. But I have to really give credit to the BYU guys. Everyone's asking, oh, is it easier this time around?

It's your second time. I was like, you know, it's more of the same, but the kids here at BYU are so open. They're so excited. They're so eager to kind of have me and really embrace me as their quarterback and leader. And it's made everything so easy coming in. I think a lot of those guys, you know, maybe it's because, you know, the Mormon connection, all the kids going on missions and having to be meeting a bunch of new people. But I feel like they kind of understand what it's like to be in that situation. And actually, I've been brought in with open arms.

It's been really refreshing and rewarding. Yeah, it's a unique situation at BYU. Why was it the right fit for you? I know you answered a little bit earlier in the conversation, but not everyone is fit to transfer to BYU. No, no, it's definitely not a place for everyone. But I think the thing, and obviously, you know, there's a lot of value centered around the church, but I'm not a member of the church like you on the team.

They're not members of the church. And to me, it's more a matter of what you value. You know, to me, if you're a good kid, you value working hard, you're humble, you're hungry, you love to learn, you're selfless, you're going to fit in great at BYU, because those are the values of the school. Frank, those are the values of the church.

And those are the values that Kalani preaches every day. And I think the thing that's just so rewarding is being to be able to fit in that program. I've never felt so aligned with, you know, the culture of one, the head coach, the culture of the offense coordinator, the offense, and also the players and what they bring to the table and their values. Starting quarterback for BYU, Keaton Slovis here with Dust. Get into your head football coach like you just talked about in Kalani Satake.

I always love when he comes on this show, always an enjoyable conversation. What was your first impression when you're making a big decision like this, final year of eligibility, what was your first impression of coach? Coach is just such a good human being, such a great person. I think it's hard to kind of come by in college football sometimes, especially the head coach position. It's just so demanding.

There's a lot of it and a lot of times you have to sell and be a recruiter. But for whatever reason, we got a really good one. And I know him playing under Coach LaValle Edwards really, really gave him a lot of experience. And I know he leans on ex-grants a lot, but I've loved just getting to know Kalani more and more as I've been here and playing for him in meetings. And he's a really great person, but also he pushes us to be better and he holds us accountable, which again, I think I've always kind of wanted to play for a head coach that brought that to the table. But again, I'm just so grateful to have the opportunity to play for him now. We've seen you on an enormous stage at USC.

We've seen you also at Pitt Takeover for Kenny Pickett, who was a first round draft pick to the Steelers. Now there's this new chapter, final year of eligibility for Keaton Slovis at BYU. What do you want to show everyone this year? You know, I think, again, just I'm not really focused too much on what other people want to see from me. Again, I think this, you know, talking to John Beck, my quarterback coach, a little bit about it, and he kind of mentioned like this is this last season for you and you get to do it on your own terms and go to the school situation to offense you want to do, you know, play your last season of football. And I think for me, it's just been incredibly rewarding already before the season has even started to be in this situation.

And I think for me, you know, going to the NFL, I want to feel the most confident I've ever been and hopefully have the best, you know, tape of my career going into this last season and, you know, going into the draft next year. So BYU is going to make their debut in the Big 12 this season. I know you're at Big 12 media days this week. Just what has kind of that experience been like as you're with the school for a year and they're getting ready to embark on a new chapter in their football program? Yeah, super exciting times for BYU, you know, and I talked to a lot of people who are familiar with the program, you know, in years past, they're talking about like, it's almost too late, like it should have been coming a long time ago. And it's rightful that, you know, BYU is back in a big conference on a big stage. And, you know, we're just so excited for the opportunity and there's so many great programs and story programs with great players and great coaches.

You got to be there. I got to be there this week in Dallas and just to see all you guys who were, you know, watching TV last year and playing such big games and such great coaches, getting to meet Coach Dykes and Coach Sark, the BYU guy, it's pretty surreal. So it's, and you know, you feel the energy in Provo, the fans, the players, the coaches, everyone's super excited. And I think for me to talk about, you know, a place that fits me, you know, I kind of wanted to feel that energy and excitement and the push for the coaches, you know, going into my last year because I feel that energy, you know, to have a great first year in the Big 12 and last year for me.

So again, even more alignment on that front too. I'll tell you, I look at your schedule. We know the Big 12 schedule is always going to be a problem.

A lot of great teams. You also have Arkansas. So you get an SEC game in there, but I see West Virginia on November 4th. And I remember last year that backyard brawl between Pitt and West Virginia. That was an awesome experience probably to be a part of.

Yeah, yeah. It was a pretty wild game and it's an incredible program. And, you know, that was a pretty good rivalry first game of the year.

And really didn't know a whole lot about it being a kid from Arizona, but they're a really good program. They play us tough and really all those schools. And you look at the Big 12, there's no, there's no gimmies by far. There's top to bottom, I think, you know, maybe the most complete conference in the country because again, I think any given Saturday a team can, can play pretty well.

Talking about West Virginia, like they played TCU better than, you know, probably anyone else in the country and they're playing massive change of games. So again, I think you look at it and, you know, it's a tough schedule, tough to ask, but, you know, we're excited for the opportunity. I know you'll probably give me the quarterback answer that every game is important, but is there one game in particular that you just kind of circle on that schedule?

No, there really isn't. Again, like there's a lot of, a lot of games you probably circle on a schedule just because again, we've got so many cool programs and great teams coming to play us here and we're going to so many, you know, cool venues as well and playing against some great teams. So again, I wish I could give you an answer, you know, it's not like, you know, at USC you have like the two Robert games and such and, you know, again, I feel like there's so many tough games and big, big games this year for us. Last thing I'll ask you, and I'm sure you'll get asked this throughout the draft process, someone's going to say, hey, if I have a pick, why should I draft you? So I'll ask it to you this way, going into this season, why should people believe in Keaton Slovis in this BYU program?

That's a good question. You know, I think for me, I've had a lot of experience in the past four years just getting an opportunity to learn, you know, college football and have snaps and game experience and to me, you can't really pass up game experience for anything else and that's the most prepared I've ever felt for a moment or a year in my entire life. And to me, I think, you know, we look at Coach Rogers' offense and what it's been able to do in the past, you know, three years, it's done some incredible things. So, you know, again, that's, that's why, you know, it's about the guys around you. We got a great team too, got a great o-line. I think we have a great receiving corps who's super selfless and disciplined and does things the right way and got some great tight ends and running backs too.

So again, when I think you look at it holistically, it's not even really about me, you know, it's about, you know, the whole product and I think we got a really good squad offensively. Well, always enjoy catching up with you. Good luck this year on this new chapter and thanks so much for giving us a few minutes. Yes, sir.

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