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

College football is back — and so is James, back alongside Seth as The Preferred Walk-On Show kicks off its seventh season. Before the first full Saturday of the season, we’re putting some early 2026 takes on tape: the teams nobody is talking about enough, potential conference disruptors, a Group of Six playoff sleeper and our picks for 10 of the most interesting games on the Week 0 slate. Could Syracuse make noise in the ACC with a healthy Steve Angeli? Is Houston a legitimate Big 12 title co

What makes a great college football trip? For Josh Sims - better known as CFB Travel Guy - the game itself is only part of the answer. It’s arriving in town on Friday. Finding the restaurant that’s been serving fans for 70 years. Walking a campus for the first time. Seeing the traditions you grew up watching on television. Tailgating with people you’ve never met. And feeling the energy build until kickoff. Josh has crisscrossed the country chasing those experiences, and he joins Seth for a wi

Matt Schumacker spent years envisioning himself calling college football in front of 80,000 fans. Now he gets to do it for real. The new lead play-by-play voice for SEC Network football joins The Preferred Walk-On Show to tell the story behind an 11-year climb through sports broadcasting, from calling minor league baseball for free and driving hours for $200 assignments to nearly leaving the profession altogether during COVID. Matt discusses the moments he wondered whether the opportunity wou

Western Carolina head football coach Kerwin Bell knows what it means to be overlooked. Bell arrived at the University of Florida as an eighth-string walk-on quarterback before climbing the depth chart, earning the starting job, and becoming the SEC Player of the Year. That journey launched a professional playing career and eventually a coaching career defined by explosive offenses, championships, player development, and a willingness to believe in players others might overlook. In this episode

UTRGV football is being built from the ground up, and Coach Marco Regalado is right in the middle of that foundation. In this episode, Seth Saunders sits down with Coach Regalado to talk about his South Texas roots, his non-traditional climb through the coaching profession, and what it means to help build a new Division I football program in the Valley. Coach Regalado shares how his football journey took him from Zapata, Texas, to Texas State, to creating a football club when his own playing p

Missouri State head football coach Casey Woods joins The Preferred Walk-On Show to talk about leadership, culture, faith, toughness, family, and what it takes to build a football program that lasts. Coach Woods shares his journey from playing at the University of Tennessee, earning his way as a walk-on, coaching on a national championship staff at Auburn, helping build winning programs at UAB and SMU, and now leading Missouri State football into a new era. This conversation goes beyond wins an