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Speaker 2: Wealth at He's time for a little college football on
Cougar Sports. I was able to catch with Kevin gilbrid
BYU's tight end coach and I talked some twelve personnel,
one back, two tight end approach.
Speaker 4: It seems like all of the double digit.
Speaker 2: Win teams and BYU football history, we've had many of
them coincided seems with like twelve personnel two really good
tight ends. Now I think Klane has been able to
kind of undermine that a little bit. You had, you
know a little bit like Neil Powell for a minute,
and he was kind of a tight end wide receiver.
He was a necessary tight end, but he wasn't necessarily
just like a pure wide receiver. You know, you can
make some arguments for it, but like traditionally in the
glory days, you always had two awesome tight ends, and
you wonder, is this the year? Is this a walker
lines Roger Saliopaga twelve personnel type of team that gets
the double digits again in wins.
Speaker 4: So I chatted with him about it. Stay tuned, don't
go anywhere.
Speaker 2: As we get to know Kevin gilbrid in his tight
end room, he also talks about depth and the young
bucks that are on the rise in that room. This
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BFPY discounts that you always get from any one of
our sponsors. All right, let's catch up with Kevin Gilbride,
b Yu's tight end coach. All right, we got Kevin
Gilbride tight Ends coach b YU. Kevin, how would you
describe Camp Koalani twenty twenty six springball spoonball?
Speaker 5: A lot of learning, a lot of growing.
Speaker 6: We've got a couple of new faces with Roger Sali
of Hoanga and Walker Lyons, who are two really good
players and they have to get caught up to speed.
They're doing a great job with that. But as as
the day's piled on and the install piles on top
on top of itself, it could get to be a lot.
Speaker 5: So it's about refining once they learn and then being
able to.
Speaker 6: Actually truly teach them how to execute rather than just
their job. The guys that have been here in the past,
we have a little bit more familiar familiarity with the offense,
have taken steps in the right direction, which we need.
Speaker 1: So how would you describe your room right now?
Speaker 4: What do you like about it?
Speaker 1: From top to bottom?
Speaker 6: We have some some leadership and some veterans with you know,
with Key and Need being here last year and playing
a lot of plays for us, and Noah Moayaki, and
then some younger guys who have stepped up and started
making some plays.
Speaker 5: On offense with Jacob Ny and Will Zundel, which has
been great.
Speaker 6: And then the new guys are they're complete players and
both of them as far as they're physical tools. Again,
we've got to keep getting them ready to you know,
play in games.
Speaker 5: But they can both be very multiple.
Speaker 6: They can be in line blockers, whether it's past protection
or run blocking, and then they could stretch the field,
whether it's from inline or flexed out.
Speaker 1: How does that lot like?
Speaker 2: Yeah, so how does that change maybe the dynamic of
play calling for a guy like Karon Roderick and I mean,
I know you're you're involved in that install and kind
of projecting how you're gonna utilize the talent, But how
does that maybe change the dynamics of play calling. When
you have twelve personnel, you know that he can conthy push.
Speaker 6: Out there, it can really stress the defense, especially when
they're multiple, meaning they can do many things. If you
just put a guy out there who's just an inline guy,
or a guy out there's just a flex guy, that's
not as hard on defenses. But when they can get
into three point stance and come off the ball and
strike somebody and then flex out as a number one
receiver and go down the field or run a slant
or whatever the case may be that we ask them
to do and make place, you know, that really stresses
the defense a lot.
Speaker 5: So it can when we put our pieces in place
the right way.
Speaker 6: We can also manipulate what the defense does or understand
what they're trying to do to stop us.
Speaker 5: But all those things are valuable to us.
Speaker 2: YU fans geek out whenever I talk about twelve personnel
on my show.
Speaker 1: They think of you know, Chad Lewis.
Speaker 4: And he too, La Neeely.
Speaker 2: They think of Johnny Harleyan and Dan Coates, Dennis Pitta
and Andrew George. Is you know, I know you want
as many tight ends on the field as possible, right?
Is there like a competition of personnel for the coaches
too to get their guys on the field. Obviously all
trying to get the best eleven on the field, But
is that kind of a priority for you, Hey, I
want my tight ends on the field.
Speaker 6: It is a sense of not necessarily competition, like you
want we all want the best eleven players to be
on the field, but you want your guys to be
the eleven best players.
Speaker 5: On the field, so at least a couple of them.
Speaker 6: So I feel fortunate with the guys I'm getting to
coach right now. I feel like we're putting ourselves in
a position where we're establishing ourselves that way.
Speaker 2: How is it that Walker and Roger can step in
so seamlessly with their skill set and already turn heads
immediately in spring ball.
Speaker 6: Because they work their butt off to know the place,
And that's really what it came down to, Like they
both came in very driven to want to learn the
offense and learn in and out, like not just what
they have, but how to get it done. So again,
as these installs keep piling up, it becomes a little
bit too much and we got to go back and
refresh and give them the refresher courses. But overall, I mean,
they've really done a nice job with understanding what to
do and how to do it.
Speaker 1: Trevin Osler is still part of that extended tight.
Speaker 5: End room with that right now.
Speaker 6: But that's that's something that you got to, you know,
have the opportunity to utilize at times, especially in the NFL,
and they use it all the time when they get
into their bigger packages.
Speaker 5: So it's not off the table.
Speaker 2: Certainly as far as what you've kind of discovered about
yourself coachy here you have an illustrious resume NFL college,
coming from great lineas with your dad one of the
kind of the legendary coaches in the NFL for a
long time. What have you learned kind of about yourself
here at BYU that has maybe stood out to you.
Speaker 6: I don't know anything specific other than if you're not growing,
you're not you're not improving, you're.
Speaker 5: Not getting better.
Speaker 6: And that's what I try to do, is I try
to get better with with my craft and how I
you know, whether it's perfecting how I teach or perfecting
help try to.
Speaker 5: Recruit a lot.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's kind of a unique thing, unique, you know
because like you haven't always been recruiting right either, So
speak a little bit more on that.
Speaker 6: It took not a lot, but it took a lot
of work, not a lot of time of work to
try to get caught up to speed.
Speaker 5: You know how things are done these days recruiting, and you.
Speaker 6: Know, compared to back when I did it, everything's different,
you know, So so you got to grow up pretty
quick in the in the understanding, whether it be the
rules or the style of recruiting that.
Speaker 5: We do here at b YU.
Speaker 6: But it's been great, Like I've really enjoyed it, Like
I understand and enjoy the challenges that come with being
here at b YU.
Speaker 5: I love it.
Speaker 2: The Air last year showed an elite proficiency in his
intermediate passion game, especially when it's in play action for
tight ends. I mean like Walker and Roger and Key
and you mentioned and a lot of these guys that
have some experience in Noah, that's going to be an
attractive trait, you know, with auction routes and seam sale concepts,
and I mean, if you're a tight end, why wouldn't
you want an elite Why wouldn't you want to play
for b YU right now?
Speaker 6: Well, I think that's a big part of how we
were able to land Walker and Roger was the success
that Carson ran had and then he laid the groundwork
as far as you know, us finding ways to get
the ball to the tight end, and then the success
he had, you know, will springboard us into the future.
Speaker 1: Carson had a great pro day.
Speaker 2: It really stood out one of the more athletic quick efficient.
I mean he was he was fast, but very very
proficient in his agility drills. What's stooding as to you
about his performance.
Speaker 5: I didn't watch much of the agility drills themselves.
Speaker 6: I just saw the times and those were excellent, so
I know he did a great job with it.
Speaker 5: I loved how he moved in his in his.
Speaker 6: Workout like he moved incredibly efficient, you know, and that's
that's something that he and I worked on.
Speaker 5: But he really worked on a ton through the course
of this last year. Just to see the steady improvement
in that area has really been fun to watch.
Speaker 6: He was a fun guy to coach, special special young
man for sure.
Speaker 2: Yeah, very coachable, right, And I always said, like entitlement
doesn't really work at VYU, bringing in the right guys
with the right skill set, with the right mindset is
pretty critical I think in the Kalani culture.
Speaker 1: Would you agree?
Speaker 5: I agree wholeheartedly.
Speaker 6: That's why it was it was special to get a
guy like Carson because he had that approach to Roger
and Walker have as far as one to hit the
ground running and really digest not just what to do
in the offense, but how to do it. And they're
almost mirror images of him in that regard.
Speaker 5: The approach that they have. So it's pretty special to
get Carson.
Speaker 6: And now we've got two other pretty special players and
human beings.
Speaker 5: So it's been fun.
Speaker 2: What are some of your mantras in your culture that
you liked and still in your tight end meeting rooms
and within your group.
Speaker 6: That it's all about the process, Like, I don't care
about the results.
Speaker 5: I don't care if you'd.
Speaker 6: Caught a huge pass, if you weren't doing things the
right way, I'm not gonna be happy, and I don't
think you should be either, you know. To the contrary
of that is, I don't care if you if you
fall down trying to block somebody.
Speaker 5: As long as you're trying to get better.
Speaker 6: And you're working the process of the technique that we're
working through, I'm okay with it because the process right
now in the spring.
Speaker 5: Does not matter.
Speaker 6: All that matters is the result on Saturday, you know,
in the fall. So that's what we're working towards right now.
When you have that approach, you have a growth mindset.
And so those those are two focused on the process
have a growth mindset, and then we're gonna be ready
come fallt mab b u Yu.
Speaker 2: Since the hiring of you and TJ, the run game
has progressed, leaves and bounds right one of the best
running teams.
Speaker 1: In the country last year in the Big twelve.
Speaker 2: Could you explain maybe the dynamic of a rod you
and TJ as as because it all kind of meshes
obviously Harvey as well with its running backs, how you
guys get on the same page in the run game,
and how the play action game has been able to
be maximized because of it.
Speaker 5: I would say that TJ does a great job with the.
Speaker 6: With the run game planning, which I'm not as big
of a of a part of as Harvey is. So
it's Harvey and TJ as far as the game planning itself,
but then it's up to us to implement it and
to get the get the guys to execute. And that's
kind of where I come into play in the run
game and then building things in the past game off
of it. And that's something that we've improved on and
we can continue to improve on, and I think you'll
see that.
Speaker 2: You know, come fall, tight ends want to catch touchdowns,
they want to run routes, they want to get out
in the open, but they have to be in line sometimes.
You mentioned the multiplicity of your tight ends. You know,
it sounds like Walker and Roger and these guys they
can all they can all block. What stands out to
you about their physicality why you believe that they can
be in line guys as well?
Speaker 5: Their toughness They're great.
Speaker 6: They've both shown it and it's been It's a limited
basis as far as the new guys that I've seen,
because you know it's springball. You know, we're not tackling
all the way to the ground, we're not going live.
But initial contact is initial contact, and that's there with
those guys.
Speaker 5: They don't shy away from it at all, so you
know they have it.
Speaker 6: We just have to protect perfect some of their techniques,
and they're getting there.
Speaker 5: They work at it.
Speaker 2: You mentioned a couple of young guys, Jacob n I,
Will Zendell. We saw Will run down on kickoffs. He's fast, Yes,
he's very, very linear, A good athlete out of I
think American four.
Speaker 1: Jacob Nike out of Texas. You know, hasn't.
Speaker 2: I don't know if we've got anyone's really a mantable
to see him. Can't explain your depth if you could.
Speaker 5: Will Zundel is exactly how you explained it.
Speaker 6: He is a fast, fast player, and he's big and
strong as well. He's learning the tight end position. He
played more receiver than he did in high school than
he did than he is now. Obviously he's playing tight end,
but but.
Speaker 5: He's learning it and learning it well.
Speaker 6: And a big part of that with him was understanding
the timing of the passing game and then understanding how
to get his job done in the run game. He's
taken He's grown leaps and bounds in the last.
Speaker 5: Year, which is tremendous. So he's headed in the right direction.
Speaker 6: Jacob has been hurt and his knee hasn't quite been
right yet. We finally got him where he's being able
to perform and perform at a.
Speaker 5: Pretty high level.
Speaker 6: We just have to get him more consistent. And again
he was more of a receiver than he was in
high school than he was And the tight end, what
are you.
Speaker 2: Looking for when you're recruiting tight ends like the freshman
Obviously that the portal tight ends may be a little
bit different. What are you looking for in that freshman
tight end that merits and offering of ty Getchi and
Brock Harris, those were a couple of big offers that
you had that end up signing.
Speaker 1: What are you looking for?
Speaker 6: It's really kind of hard to explain, but because I
don't think there's there's one making model for tight ends,
like and that holds truth in the NFL as well,
Like I coached a lot of different body types, a
lot of different skill sets. But how tough are they
are they willing to block? I?
Speaker 5: Do they have grit?
Speaker 6: And then the other skill sets have to match, meaning
like they have to if they're a little bit a
little underwhelming in the run game blocking, Yep, they better
have some height and be able to go get the football,
and you know when they're catching passes, but it's a
sliding scale and you know in those regards, so if
they're not quite as fast or something like that, then
they better be able to block their butts off. So
I can't describe one particular thing, but there's as long
as they've got grit, as long as they've got tough
toughness with physical and mental, we can make it work.
Speaker 2: Last thing, defensively, everyone's kind of wondering what the defense
is looking like now that you know there's some changes
on the coaching staff. How would you describe the defense
being coached up by k Pop and the crew.
Speaker 5: I think it's very comparable to our defense.
Speaker 6: Before they're flying around their competitive athletics, they throw a
lot at you schematically, whether it be different pressures or
different coverages. They're doing a good job with some of
their disguises, multiple in their.
Speaker 5: Fronts, so they make it challenging. And that's how coach
Hill had it as well.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much, Kevi o'brid good, All right, there you go.
Speaker 2: That's Kevin gilbrid, the tight ends coach for BYU football.
A couple of the gems that it got from this,
and it was like kind of on the back end,
I want to start off with, you know what he's
looking for in the tight ends that he is recruiting.
So you look at ty Gedgee, you look at Brock Harris,
you look at Walker, Lions, Roger Sally of PAGA.
Speaker 4: They're all kind of built differently.
Speaker 2: Brock Harrisson more like a Dennis Pitto tie big wide
receiver type sixty six, et cetera, and just a.
Speaker 4: Refined route run.
Speaker 2: A good athlete, obviously, but just a refined route run,
a great catching radius, super soft, supple hands, just catches
everything in the in that catching radio's great body control.
Tyketch you is more of like a springy athletic, just bouncy,
high pointing athlete, basketball player, really physical. He's well going
to be a good inline blocker, I think, when all
of said and done, really really a physical specimen in
that regard. Walker is an undersized tight end traditionally six
three six four two forty five, and by undersize I
mean like from a height standpoint, but really thick and dense.
Speaker 4: And very strong. Obviously a great talent.
Speaker 2: Roger Uh, He's built once again like six three sixty four.
He's kind of my Neil Powell comparison. He's more of
a big wide receiver than he is maybe a tight end,
but he can block too. Like, and so when he's
talking about things that he's looking for, like, yeah, I
want X, Y and Z, but like, it doesn't matter
the height, it doesn't matter the weight. It doesn't to
a degree, I guess it does. But I'm sure he's
got his cutoffs. I'm sure he has his curation process
where he's he's saying, well, you know, snow six to
one tight ends, right, No, sixth two and a half,
that's maybe his.
Speaker 4: His his threshold.
Speaker 2: But if he got great length from a wingspan or
on leg standpoint, that's that can make up for it.
Speaker 4: So you just got to go out there and do
the job. You better be gritty, you better be physical.
Speaker 2: And but he doesn't have a cookie cutter definition of
what a tight end looks like, which I think is
really good. I think the the NFL many times can
ruin coaches. And you can tell that he comes from
a football family. Remember Kevin's dad, Kevin gilbrid senior, he
coached college football, you know, starting in like the seventies
and then made his way to the NFL.
Speaker 4: By like nineteen eighty nine, he was.
Speaker 2: Coaching in the NFL with the Houston Oilers, Jacksonville Jaguars,
Sango Chargers, Steelers, Bills Giants, who became the head coach
there with the or the offensive coordinator with the New
York Giants, and really good offensive mine, et cetera. But
sometimes the NFL can ruin you. You look at height, weight,
tangibles and things that nature and athleticism and you get
you get drunken with it and you're not looking for
the best football player. You can tell that Kevin's looking
for the best football player. So I appreciate that. You
look at who we went out and got. You got
KEA Neid out of New Mexico ethan Wood, New Mexico,
New Mexico State and New Mexican University of New Mexico
both kind of a juco path with those guys, gritty
in line, tight ends physical. So he's looking for certain
skill sets, right, But he's not going to just say, hey,
this is the height and the weight. And a lot
of offensive coaches or defensive coaches will do that too.
They say, I'm not gonna recruit certain individuals because they're
not tall enough, they're not long enough, they may not
be fast enough, whatever it is. I know there's thresholds,
but I thought that was interesting that he doesn't cookie
cut on the tangibles, the measurables, et cetera. A couple
of other things that that I noticed about the conversation. Man,
he is upbeat, he is positive, he is One of
the things I was concerned about when we lost Steve
Clark was that, you know, it's always it's tough to
find the right fits at BYU from personality standpoints sometimes,
and Kevin fits the mold.
Speaker 4: Obviously.
Speaker 2: He had been recruited to b A who's there at
b AU for for a year before I believe transferring
as a player. But I just think he's a great
fit personality wise. I think he gets along with the
kids really well. He's he seems like a player's coach
to me. But some great gems there. I know, Ronnie,
were you were listening in anything stand out to you
from for that conversation. I know twelve personnel was the
topic as you were in. Roger Sally of pagin Walker lines,
they're gonna be on the field. It seems like all day,
every day with some intermittent I mean, he said, I
think he may have said, I love the thirteen personnel.
He probably wants to get Kia need on the on
the grid iron as well.
Speaker 4: Give me some of your takeaways.
Speaker 7: Yeah, I think the biggest takeaway at the end is
a reminder about the last two tight ends. He mintioned
Will Zondale being one of them. These guys play more
receiver in high school and they're converting over It sounds
like you're tight in learning the position, Ben, so you know,
there needs to be some growth and some patients and
you know, and when you mentioned Will being fast and linear,
I can't remember which game was, but I was looking
at it. I was like, man, eighty three just got
down the field way you fast. I said, who is that?
And I was next to another reporter and we both
looked a rousss like I did not expect.
Speaker 3: I was like, wait, wasn't he a receiver? So yeah,
we'll we'll moved over to tight end. Big body. Look,
don't want to get matched up with that dude in
the red zone.
Speaker 7: And I think the biggest thing is the guys that
he's going to get Ben out of the portal guys
that they're recruiting, and he said this, you know, are
you willing to block? He's not just gonna get you
if you're flashy, like you gotta put that hand in
the dirt.
Speaker 3: You gotta be able to get physical.
Speaker 7: He talked about, yeah, they're only doing thud contact, but
you got to embrace contact and deliver it. You have
to be physical at the point of attack. So, you know,
I thought that was something that was interesting to look.
All the tight ends coaches want to but you know
some you know, oh this guy just blocks, but this
guy does.
Speaker 3: Like you have to be willing to be able to
do that.
Speaker 7: You saw that with Carson Ryan, and I think the
reason why you got Walker, why you got Robert, was
you saw what Carson Ryan only did in the in
the receiving game, but in the blocking game, run game,
pass blocking game, and that became very attractive Ben, because
when you get to the next level, Ben, Look, everybody
talks about rob they talk about you know Travis, you know,
as being the greatest tight ends.
Speaker 3: They don't just catch the ball, they also have to block.
You have to do both.
Speaker 7: So I think that was really important to bring up that,
so we'll see what you know happens. I would love
to see, you know, a third guy, look, Ben, thirteen
fourteen personnel, keep it going with LJ ANDC on the
back if they're healthy, if that's your one two punch Ben, Look,
I would love nothing more than get you know, over
five six hundred yards on the ground, Ben, and you know,
be able to come back into his last year because
you know he's been he's been dinged up, but he's
finally fully healthy. I think that really is what contributes
to Bau's success been and not only getting back to
the Big two title game, beating a team like Nordre
Dame getting to the college football playoffs. You have the
big you have one running back. Now you need the
second guy who's been in and out to be that
next guy behind him. With the great offensive line, he
got the two tight ends to do it. So let's see.
And to your point, he is very upbeating, very very
a lot of good energy, very complimentary. So I was
really really impressed with that. Like his whole demeanor and personality,
very personable person So Kevin Gilbright, I see why they
brought him here and has worked out well and to
your last point. You know, Harvey Unger in the run
game and t J Woods phenomenal job, the guys that
they're recruiting, who they're talking to.
Speaker 5: Ben.
Speaker 3: You know, I've pushed this the last two days.
Speaker 7: You know we'll get our obviously, you know more thoughts
you know throughout Fall camp, but offensive line and the
run blocking game seems like, you know, the toughest thing
that they're focused on, like who and who along with
the tight ends and the offensive line are gonna be
blocking for LG. I think that's gonna be a tough
position for guys to get filled into because they got
so much depth there.
Speaker 2: Get ready for that twelve personnel hype trained cougarnation is
Kevin Gilbride coaches up all these fantastic tight ends and
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Hit them up today. But by the way, we got
a good tight end room right Walker, Lions, Rogers, Salley Pogops,
Matthew Frederick coming home from a mission.
Speaker 4: At the East High School.
Speaker 2: Josh Davis, Ethan Wood, Jacob Nye Kean neid Uh Cole Clement,
Noah moayaki. Those are your crew right now. It's it's
a Will Zendel as well. Sorry I forgot Will. Should
not forget Will. Will's fast man six five two forty.
He can gallop. He's a big body. He looks like you,
play like Dander linebacker two. By the way, he's got
that b