Here's What Texas Southern's Radio Analyst Says About Cal's Next Foe

Few know Texas Southern football like Lary "The Chattabox" Hale, who has served as radio analyst for Tigers games for 26 seasons on KTSU 90.9 FM.

So we sought out Hale to answer 5 Questions we posed about Cal's opponent on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium.

We provide highlights of Hale's remarks; for his full answers click on the videos.

Here's what he had to say:

1. How heartbreaking was it for Texas Southern to lose the way it did, falling 22-21 on the final play of its opener against Prairie View A&M?

“That was a very tough loss for the Texas Southern faithful. The game was back and forth. Prairie View scored on the last play of the contest.

"I’ll tell you something, Texas Southern just has to pull itself up by the bootstraps. There’s no pity party here, no one’s giving out any sympathy cards. Still got a lot of football left to play.

“We just want to come in and give it a great effort . . . and coach (Cris) Dishman has those guys focused.”

2. This is head coach Cris Dishman’s second season after going 5-6 a year ago. In what areas does this former 18-year NFL defensive back envision improvement this season? And what do they have to do to put together their first winning season since 2000?

“I’m going to tell you one thing about coach Dishman: He came in and he changed the culture. He changed the way that they thought, changed their ever-day process, got into their mindset, he injected positive energy into these guys.

“You bring in coach Dishman, who came in late (in 2024) and you managed to win five games even though you started on the recruiting. I’m really excited about this football program.”

3. Texas Southern’s “Ocean of Soul” marching band is making the trip to Berkeley. What can fans at Memorial Stadium expect to hear and see?

“I’m sure the Cal faithful will be amazed and pleased with the Ocean of Soul’s performance this Saturday. When you think about the Ocean of Soul, it’s over 50 years old. My mom marched in the Ocean of Soul back in 1968.

“I really am pleased with the way band director Brian Simmons has come in — he’s an HBCU guy, went to Southern University — to inject that swag. This band has done some amazing things, performed with Beyonce for the Super Bowl.

“They’re no stranger to the big lights and they just want the world to see how special this band really is.”

4. Tell us about quarterback KJ Cooper. What are his strengths and what kind of season does Texas Southern need from him?

“KJ Cooper has a very great football IQ. We have different quarterbacks in that quarterback room, but there’s nobody like KJ Cooper because he has the size, he’s very hard to bring down and he has one heck of an arm.

“So they’re going to rally around their leader. And f KJ Cooper can stay healthy, we’re going to turn some heads and make some noise later on down the line.”

5. Who are several of the Tigers’ best players on defense?

“You’ve got four players who really make it go,” Hale says, citing linebackesr Jacob Williams, Isaiah Bogerty and Charles George Jr., and defensive tackle DeMarcus Thompson, a graduate transfer from Delaware.

On Williams, who should be clear to play after suffering a light sprain last week: “He runs with a lot of energy. They respect him. He hits hard. Once you think you’ve gotten away, he’s right there to pounce on you.”

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