Samuel Akem: FCS Landscape, Montana's New Era, and the Weight Behind the Work

Brock sits down with Samuel Akem, one of the most prominent voices in FCS college football media and a former Montana Grizzlies wide receiver. Sam covers the entire Big Sky and FCS landscape for Skyline Sports and co-hosts the Deep Ball podcast with Keenan alongside growing his own YouTube channel. It's a wide-ranging conversation about football, faith, mental health, and the grind of building something meaningful outside of a nine to five.The guys open up about what life looks like when you're juggling marriage, media, and big ambitions. Sam shares what he and his wife have been navigating since her serious ankle surgery earlier this year, and both Brock and Sam get candid about therapy, anxiety, depression, and what it really means to take mental health seriously, especially during Mental Health Awareness Month.From there the conversation shifts to the 2026 FCS season preview, including:Sam's top five Big Sky contenders: Montana State, Montana, UC Davis, Idaho State, and NAUNew Montana head coach Bobby Kennedy, his one year contract, his player's coach energy, and whether the shift away from Bobby Hauck's hard-nosed style is a strength or a riskThe UC Davis storyline heading into year three under Coach Plough, back to back quarterfinal appearances, a new starting quarterback again, and whether this is finally the year the Aggies break into the semisThe UC Davis vs. Montana game shaping up as one of the marquee matchups on the scheduleSac State's departure from the FCS and what that means for the Big SkyPlus Sam and Brock trade notes on growing in media, the importance of reaching a hand back to people coming up behind you, what it's like having institutional buy-in from UC Davis athletics, and why niche audiences might actually be the biggest opportunity in sports media right now.Follow Sam on YouTube and at the Deep Ball podcast with Keenan for weekly FCS coverage throughout the season.https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAx30nrtgXLFUdmqQhxD0GA/videos