MWC Media Days: Day 2 Recap

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Mountain West Media Days concluded yesterday and the event gave us the chance to familiarize ourselves with the new faces in the conference. It also gives us the opportunity to set our expectations for this fall, despite the league not releasing a preseason poll. Yesterday, Jeremy gave us an excellent rundown of the opening day that include preseason teams and players of the year.

Per the usual, day two tends to focus more on the coaches. Here is the rundown of everything we learned from yesterday’s event with coverage of each team.

The commissioner kicks things off

Day ✌️ let’s gooooo 🏈
Commissioner @GloNevarez on stage with @JKurtz_MWN & @KarliePDrew to kick things off
Watch live on MW+ https://t.co/QGYFI0e21g pic.twitter.com/Mqfk9I9QML
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) July 16, 2026

Commissioner Nevarez also explains why the conference decided to hold Media Days

"𝗕𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁-𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿, 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵… pic.twitter.com/sBkmzrepSj
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) July 16, 2026

The head coaches are ready to roll

Head coaches front and center on day two 🤩#MWFB | #BuiltBold pic.twitter.com/sNc7Sd2SLT
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) July 16, 2026

Meanwhile at Mountain West media day, the Old Trapper mountain man mascot enjoys some College Football 27, says the transfer portal has been around since the 1800s when it was simply called Manifest Destiny to seek better resources and opportunities! pic.twitter.com/CHbbeVE0Fx
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) July 16, 2026

Air Force

Troy Calhoun talks about this year’s Air Force squad

"𝗜'𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 – 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 … 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗴𝘂𝘆𝘀 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿."… pic.twitter.com/sX8C142Y7Z
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) July 16, 2026

Hawaii

Can Timmy Chang and the Rainbow Warriors build on the momentum of last season?

#HawaiiFB head coach Timmy Chang now live on the Mountain West Network live show. pic.twitter.com/xztQq6XNxT
— Christian Shimabuku (@c_shimabuku) July 16, 2026

#HawaiiFB @CoachTimmyChang time at Mountain West Media Days! Coach will join @KyleGaldeira and I live on @HIsportsradio this morning. Tune in 8-10 a.m. HT 🤙
🔊 https://t.co/ooAxA4EyFb pic.twitter.com/mTlSXddjih
— Ku'ulei (@KuuleiAgbayani) July 16, 2026

"𝗪𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗮𝗵𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗱, 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗹𝘆. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗴𝘂𝘆𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 … 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗴𝘂𝘆𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲."… pic.twitter.com/xp02yfnw7U
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) July 16, 2026

Nevada

Coach Choate gives his thoughts on the transfer portal

"I'd be disingenuous if I said I hadn't taken advantage of opportunities in my career."
"If the kid's goal is to go on and play at Notre Dame, that doesn't bother me."
Nevada head coach Jeff Choate weighs in on transfer portal talk at Mountain West media days #BattleBorn. pic.twitter.com/wDzxCFSwON
— Grant Kiefer (@KieferMedia) July 16, 2026

How do the newcomers feel about Nevada football?

From 5 p.m. last night: Hear what the newcomers in the Mountain West have to say about Nevada ahead of the 2026 season.#BattleBorn pic.twitter.com/JbioHmeyGM
— Grant Kiefer (@KieferMedia) July 16, 2026

New Mexico

Coach Eck looking sharp as he discusses the 2026 Lobos

Lobo tie & the Zia on the socks. @Coach_Eck representing New Mexico on Media Day 2.#GoLobos | #RealOnes26 pic.twitter.com/SMCVOv4vBB
— New Mexico Football (@UNMLoboFB) July 16, 2026

The Lobos are well represented on the preseason all-conference team

Five University of New Mexico football players were named to the preseason all-Mountain West Conference team in voting released by the league Wednesday morning during the opening salvo of the league’s annual Media Days in Las Vegas, Nev. https://t.co/fanZaWXEiy
— Santa Fe New Mexican (@thenewmexican) July 16, 2026

Eck gives his thoughts on some important players

Jason Eck on LB Jaxton Eck: "It's funny now. You talk to people from Power Four schools and they'll tell me, 'oh yeah, he was on our board!' Because they were looking and evaluating players in the Group of Five and the FCS for moving up and things.
"So I do get that sometimes.…
— Sean Reider (@lenaweereider) July 16, 2026

Jason Eck on Layne: "He has thrown full this summer and, you know, we still wanna be smart with him. Try to keep him on some pitch counts and make sure he's not wearing it out. But we expect him to be back and do a good job for us." https://t.co/tvorOXBFqd
— Sean Reider (@lenaweereider) July 16, 2026

North Dakota State

TIm Polasek discusses the Bison’s move to the Mountain West

NDSU Football Head Coach Tim Polasek joins The Insiders live from Mountain West Media Days🏈⛰️
LISTEN:https://t.co/UfacYInEZr pic.twitter.com/j5aljq2RdX
— Bison 1660 (@Bison1660) July 16, 2026

Polasek talks about the importance of adding more players during spring ball

Live from Las Vegas, @CoachTimNDSU touches on adding more players to the @NDSUfootball roster throughout the spring pic.twitter.com/CnnfQYFOUE
— Hot Mic with Dom Izzo (@HotMicWDAY) July 16, 2026

The offensive line is a strength of this Bison squad

ICYMI: @NDSUfootball head coach @CoachTimNDSU talks more on Griffin Empey and the offensive line pic.twitter.com/TreINGlhl7
— Hot Mic with Dom Izzo (@HotMicWDAY) July 16, 2026

Northern Illinois

How does Coach Harley feels about the Huskies move to the Mountain West and his team’s chances heading into the 2026 season

NIU fans, we're about to go LIVE on MW+ for Mountain West Media Days, subscribe with no pay needed to tune in!https://t.co/1uIdSFJby1 #GoHuskies #BuiltBold pic.twitter.com/LmrGaTvJOZ
— NIU Athletics (@NIUAthletics) July 16, 2026

On the 📸 early #GoHuskies #BuiltBold pic.twitter.com/qwxZbM3jDa
— NIU Athletics (@NIUAthletics) July 16, 2026

San Jose State

Coach Niumatalolo discusses what the Spartans need to do to rebound from a disappointing 2025 season

San Jose State football head coach Ken Niumatalolo joins The Insiders live from Mountain West Media Days🏈
LISTEN:https://t.co/m1lI9lxD8u pic.twitter.com/cNwI4t2FGx
— Bison 1660 (@Bison1660) July 16, 2026

Coach Niumatalolo has high hopes for his new quarterback

San Jose State head coach Ken Niumatalolo says former #HawaiiFB quarterback Luke Weaver caught his eye in the Hawai’i Bowl, back when he came off the bench and threw the winning touchdown. Weaver is now in the running to be QB1 for the Spartans. pic.twitter.com/mO62NDf4nB
— Christian Shimabuku (@c_shimabuku) July 16, 2026

Niumatalolo has been around for a long time, he reflects on his long journey

Hawai'i native Ken Niumatalolo reflects on entering 37th year of coaching journey, reuniting with Radford & UH teammate Brian Norwood at San Jose State ahead of 2026 season • For continuing coverage from Mountain West Media Days 👉🏽 https://t.co/mR4UHIAFGM 🤙🏽 @ken_niumatalolo… pic.twitter.com/AY18Ekx7nn
— Rob DeMello (@RobDeMelloKHON) July 16, 2026

UNLV

Coach Mullen gives his thoughts on the new Mountain West and the upcoming season

UNLV Football Head Coach Dan Mullen joins The Insiders live from Mountain West Media Days🏈
LISTEN:https://t.co/QDcObUsRhe pic.twitter.com/G9PHxMakL3
— Bison 1660 (@Bison1660) July 16, 2026

Rebel Daily Drive 7.16.2026 | Mountain West Media Days Interview with UNLV Head Coach Dan Mullenhttps://t.co/4WDvPRZfUR
— The Scarlet Standard (@SS_MediaLV) July 16, 2026

Mullen discusses the importance of retaining his coaching staff

UNLV head coach Dan Mullen on how retaining much of his coaching staff will make the team more successful in Year Two: pic.twitter.com/aY2YpxzrdX
— Derek Hegna (@DerekHegna) July 16, 2026

UTEP

Scotty Walden talks about his team’s new conference and why he believes they will be improved this fall

UTEP Football Head Coach Scotty Walden joins The Insiders live from Mountain West Media Days🏈
LISTEN:https://t.co/oPjQeh84iM pic.twitter.com/WNWCmDZbib
— Bison 1660 (@Bison1660) July 16, 2026

Coach Walden has some advice for young coaches

At age 26, Scotty Walden became the youngest coach in college football with @GoETBUTigers in East Texas.
Now, the @UTEPFB head coach (#PicksUp) gives his advice to all young football coaches trying to break through and find success. pic.twitter.com/2GaPaxJnKo
— Bryce Brauneisen (@brycebrauny) July 16, 2026

Reporting in with Coach Walden for day 2 of Mountain West Media Days! ⛏️#PicksUp | #WinTheWest pic.twitter.com/hvJVYzF2dL
— UTEP Football (@UTEPFB) July 16, 2026

Wyoming

The pressure is on for Jay Sawvel and the Cowboys

Day 2 of Mountain West 🏈 media days. Cowboys HC ⁦@JaySawvel⁩ will be live on MW+ at the bottom of the hour. #mwfb #gowyo pic.twitter.com/yzva82EaaP
— Ryan Thorburn (@By_RyanThorburn) July 16, 2026

Sawvel is excited for the new Mountain West and he is not a fan of Pullman, Washington

Wyomijng coach Jay Sawvel at Mountain West media days:
“A year ago, there was just this cloud, right? We come to these media days, and it was like, ‘OK, there’s ‘those’ guys, and then there’s ‘these’ guys.’ Now, we don’t have ‘those’ guys. They’re out. They can do whatever. They…
— Alex Taylor (@alex_m_taylor22) July 16, 2026

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