Mountain West players and coaches are laser-focused on football as the conference race takes shape. Those who don’t earn a championship game berth can console themselves with at least six wins and a bowl berth.
Boise State (5-2, 3-0 MW) and San Diego State (5-1, 2-0) are the last two undefeated teams in conference play. Hawaii (6-2, 3-1), UNLV (6-1, 2-1), Fresno State (5-2, 2-1) and Utah State (4-3, 2-1) all are in the mix with one loss. Hawaii and UNLV both have reached six victories, and several of their conference peers are expected to follow their lead.
Every player on every team has a story. The Union-Tribune talked to many of them as the season began about how they got into football, their passions off the field and the fun parts of the game. Here is a sampling of their responses:
If you weren’t a football player, what would you be?
Fresno State OL Jacob Spomer: “I tell my parents I couldn’t do a 9-to-5 job. I think football is my sport, my lifestyle. I don’t know, but I’d do something in sports. NFL agent would be cool. You ever watch the TV show ‘Ballers’ (where Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson stars as a financial advisor to NFL players)? That’s a good lifestyle to live. Working with players. Seeing their lifestyle and how you could change their life. Always being surrounded by football would be good.”
Fresno State CB Al’zillion Hamilton: “I’d be a baseball player. That was the first sport I ever played. I played second base and shortstop. Out of high school, I only had offers for football. During my recruiting process, I really didn’t know how to talk to schools about both sports, so I just took my full ride for football. I did give some thought earlier in my (college football) career to give it a shot when my skills were still kind of there, but baseball is a sport where you’ve got to keep your skills up. So I just focused on football.”
Nevada DT Thomas Witte: “I got my pilot’s license when I was 17. That’s the plan after football, to become a pilot. If I wasn’t playing football, I’d be up there in the sky flying. Everyone in Alaska (he’s from Anchorage) is a pilot. It’s a cool thing. I’ve had a love affair with it since I was a child. I soloed an airplane on my 16th birthday and got my license when I was 17. I’m working on my commercial pilot’s license now. Whenever I have some free time, I’ll go work with an instructor and build some hours, go for different ratings. It’s a long process, but I love to be in the air.”
Nevada QB Chubba Purdy: “I’ve thought about this. If I didn’t go to college, I’d probably go to trade school and maybe be a lineman (repairing electrical and communication lines) or something along those lines. Also, in high school, when I wasn’t getting offers, I thought about going in the military. I thought about trying to be part of the Army. Serving my country would be pretty awesome.”
New Mexico OL Richard Pearce: “Growing up I told my parents I was going to be a bounty hunter. I don’t know why. I would watch this show, ‘Dog The Bounty Hunter.’ I liked the adrenaline rush.”
Boise State OL Kage Casey: “After I’m done playing football, I’d like to go to seminary school and get my degree there. I don’t know if I’d want to become a pastor or just do a ton of mission trips and help lead people that way. But that’s one thing I really want to do.”
What is your most memorable moment on a football field?
SDSU edge rusher Trey White: “Most memorable moment was probably winning the Oil Can a couple years ago (33-18 at Snapdragon Stadium) against The Team Up North (Fresno State).”
SDSU center Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli: “Winning the Frisco Bowl (38-24 over UTSA in 2021 for a school-record 12th victory) was really cool. I played special teams. Seeing how the team works. That was the last time I felt a real football family, until this year. I’m feeling that same bond, that same tradition that is Aztecs football.”
New Mexico edge rusher Gabe Lopez: “My greatest moment was beating Washington State last year after transferring from there. First upset in years (since 2003 over a ranked team). That one felt so good.”
What is your most embarrassing moment on a football field?
SDSU’s White: “Every time I miss a tackle, it’s embarrassing. Every time.”
SDSU’s Ulugalu-Maseuli: “I tried jumping over someone (against Air Force) who fell down on a play trying to tackle our running back. He got up, hit me between my legs and I fell on my face.”
Nevada’s Purdy: “At Florida State, I tried hurdling a dude. I hit his helmet and did a flip. I thought it was cool, but it could be embarrassing, I guess. It was crazy. I’ve got (a clip of) it still on my phone.”
San Jose State LB Taniela Latu: “It was in junior college at College of San Mateo. We have this punishment where we have to roll all the way 100 yards and back. It was a team punishment. I think somebody said or did something during practice, and our coach was just fed up. This day, we had to do 300 yards. I got up after and threw up and then had a full-body cramp. I just had the whole nine yards all in one day.”
Originally Published: October 23, 2025 at 6:32 PM PDT