BOISE, Idaho — During the first session of Mountain West Media Days on Wednesday at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, KTVB learned something new about Boise State head coach Andy Avalos, thanks to the help of new Nevada head coach Ken Wilson.
Wilson and Avalos are close friends, as well as head coaches at their respective alma maters. The two were together on the staff at the University of Oregon for two seasons, with Wilson serving as the Ducks linebackers coach, while Avalos was the Ducks' defensive coordinator.
The duo also won a Rose Bowl together in Eugene and it is also where Wilson learned what really makes Avalos scared.
"I will give you one story and this is the truth, coach Avalos hates spiders," Wilson said. "I'll just put it that way."
According to Avalos, the coaches were sitting in his backyard in Eugene by a fire, when the Boise State head coach "almost got attacked by a spider the size of a football."
However, Wilson told KTVB it does not matter how big the eight-legged creature is. If Avalos sees a spider of any size, it will horrify the former All-WAC outside linebacker, according to Wilson.
"You should've saw the size of this spider. I hope coach Wilson didn't leave out the details of the size of this spider," Avalos said. "Let's just say that the legs were probably about 3-inches long."
Despite his success in a naturally physical sport, Wilson said Avalos' daughters - Paityn and Paige - would be responsible for removing any spider that enters the family's personal space.
"His daughters would have to kill the spiders. If there was a spider on his boat or in his backyard, he's not touching spiders," Wilson said.
While Avalos insists the spooky spider in Eugene was massive, he didn't disagree with Wilson's comment.
"Potentially, they need to learn how to not be afraid of spiders, so there's only one way for them not to be," Avalos said. "This particular spider, I may have needed assistance on killing it because it was - yeah - but, we handled it. We handled the situation."
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