Speaker 1: With Ben Gretel, and it's time for the Cougar Beat.
Speaker 2: Getting the dish from the local reporters that cover Cougar athletics.
Welcome back Cougar Sports. One of three nine ninety eight
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dot com. Let's get out to the hotline. Welcome to
Cougar Sports Insider representing BYU TV. We got Jerem Jordan
on the line. Jerem, how the heck are you?
Speaker 1: Ben Cridle, What is up?
Speaker 2: My brother living the dream man getting into this off
season of transfer portal talk as well as BYU hoop season.
Speaker 3: Where have you been allocating your bandwidth?
Speaker 1: Listen? It's always football season. It's always men's basketball season.
And then it's am I calling men or women's volleyball,
And right now that's men's volleyball. Two and h two
more matches coming up this weekend, touch and metsup UC
San Diego BYU and so it's all happening baby, the
portal and football. This afternoon they announced the new men's
basketball transferportal window, which is fifteen days after the national
championship game. And so yeah, that's when you jump in.
You don't have to jump out by the end of
the fifteen days, but you just have to basically declare
that you're in the portal within that fifty day windows.
So there's always something man. People always people probably ask
you the same question, like what do you talk about
in the summer? There's always stuff going on. It's rare
where we're like, I don't know, let's make something.
Speaker 3: Up, always something to talk about.
Speaker 2: There's always news and notes coming out of Brigham b
Why you has acquired seven football transfers via the portal?
Speaker 3: What else is missing? What else does be?
Speaker 2: Why you need Many people are saying we need an
RB two. Many people are saying we need a wide
receiver one. Many people are saying we need a CB three.
What are your priorities right now?
Speaker 1: Jerem Well, given how unbelievably good the retention has been,
I don't know that. You know, be always gonna have
a ton of dough to go get a ton more dudes,
because you only have so much unless you got Cody Campbell,
you only have so much dough to spend. And you
said the word acquired like it's a pro team, Like
that's where we are right obviously do all He wants
it to be transformational, not transactional, but there's a certain
amount of transactions. I think he probably got its left
tackling paki Fino from Washington. They added some beef almost
a thousand pounds the other day. I thought that was great.
Kyler Casper is a guy that we hope, you know,
has an impact and it's exciting. You know, an experienced
guy that from Oregon six to six, you know, hasn't
had a ton of catches. Maybe he maybe he does here.
Maybe that's the Alex Barcelo Carson Ran principal. You come here,
it's a nice fit you you explode onto the scene.
RB two is an interesting one. What will Sione Moa
become and can he get healthy after compartment syndrome? You
know that's that's tough. Does By. You have a ton
of resources to go get a guy that wants to
be RB two or three, because when you when you come,
when you come here, if you're super good, you're staring
at LJ going how many carries am I going to get?
Because this is gonna get twenty a game. I do
think boy needs a viable backup quarterback potentially, Uh, you know,
Tracy Boorgay has good experience obviously at Western Michigan but
hasn't really played the last two years. You know, you
bring Eniquatson off a mission, you say, Cole Hagen, so
you basically have room for one more guy. If you
carry five quarterbacks like you did this year, you know
you don't replace Chase Roberts. You're not gonna go pay
a million bucks to a dude that's gonna come in
and be that guy. I don't think, but I do
love Kadu Luave coming in at back of replacing Jack Kelly.
That dude's legit. And I don't know if in the
Portal era or even before, if you always brought in
a more proven transfer, he's not the Well hopefully it's
a good fit and he produces. Guy, It's he is awesome,
He's going to produce. It's that's an incredible get for Byu.
Super excited about him. I'm wondering if they keep him
at middle linebacker move him to the outside because as
a pass rusher, he's crazy, crazy good. That's the best
thing he does. And he makes a bunch of tackles too.
So I think, you know what, a second tight end
wouldn't hurt if they wide receiver feels pretty loaded given
some of the young guns they're bringing in and the
excitement around Legend Glass and Jared Pula and and uh
sorry on and I feel pretty good at that spot,
and it seems like they feel pretty good at most
of the other spots. I mean, there's not a lot
of transfer portal major needs, and I think for the
most part they probably filled them.
Speaker 2: You mentioned h A y Too alongside maybe the incumbents
competing for that why Too job. But Roger Sally of
PAGA has entered the portal. He was offered by BYU
out of orm Utah. He had I believe three recepter twenty.
She started a touchdown for the Dutch this past season.
I think he's played two years there. Do you think
he could be a target?
Speaker 1: That'd be Sweeten man like, there's some good options to
what I love about DYU right now. Bennets like, they
don't have to go, oh crap, we need thirty dudes.
It's that year one in the Big twelve. It was
that and it didn't work. It was five and seven.
You know, Texas Techuin did that and it work for them.
So sometimes it does work, and it's not just because
you have a bunch of dough. You're gonna be good.
It has to come to get like Indiana BYU is
going to have more four stars next year than Indiana
had this year. It's not always about kind of the
talent out of high school or how much money you
have to come together in a way that works and
functions at a super high level. If you're Texas Tech
and you crush BYU, then you get crushed by organ like.
You have to figure it out, and I think YU
is maximizing its opportunity in terms of motivation, coaching system,
culture resources continue to get better. Now you've got to
play better in the biggest games all season, when you
play Notre Dame and when you play Utah again and
in a hopefully another Big Hole title game. But Boa
doesn't have to add in tones from the portal. I
think it's really good, like YU was very good last year,
almost great. They're very close. You want to get into
the playoffs. If you win the Big Hole title, that's great,
but more importantly get into the playoff. I think they're
real close and they're super motivated and you can see
that from everyone that wanted to run it back, which
is incredible.
Speaker 2: Speaking of running it back, Lj's back. You made the
pitch not too long ago on why he maybe could
be coming back his draft status as maybe a day two,
day three guy. He had hopped onto our show as
well prior to the bowl game and discussed a few
of the elements that could influence him one way or
the other. It seems like you can make just as
much money in college football if you are maybe a
late Day two or definitely a Day three. If you're
a Day three guy, you could probably and you're an
RB one in college fotball at the P four level,
you're probably making more money at the university than you
are in the NFL.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And I talked to LJ today. We record an
interview that where tomorrow on Josports station, and we asked
him some of those questions he spread up, like why
did you come back? What was it hard? He said
it was hard and he was thinking about maybe going,
but he thought about, Hey, I might be able to
be the all time league rusher, I might be able
to win the Dope Walker. We might be able to
win the Big twelve and go to the playoff. Yes,
and of course you know you can be paid well
and by you made sure he was paid very competitively
because I'm sure that was a conversation and it's worth it.
You know, if you're the big twelve offensive player of
the year, you think about the sixteen teams in the league,
he was the best offensive player. That's amazing. You deserve
a certain amount, right and BYU got that to him,
and he wants to be here. He wants to run
it back. He had surgery a little earlier so he
could be healthy and be ready to go, you know,
by April, So it sounds like him miss Springball of course, recovering.
He told us he got a millennium Falcon lego set
for Christmas. He has class and nothing else to do
right now, so he's busy doing that. He's got the
nil A pay for that thing. That's great. Yeah. The
research I did in reference to the tweet that you
mentioned is unless ye're a four to four guy, you're
probably not being drafted in the first three rounds. That's
typically kind of what I saw from last year's draft.
Ashton genty didn't run forty because he didn't need to.
He ran for twenty six hundred yards, the lowest, the
slowest dude that was drafted the highest was a four
to five to seven guy out of Ioway in the
late third round. So to me that was probably LJ
ceiling right, like late third round. Super productive does everything well,
he's not a four to four guy, probably a four high,
four to five guy, and that's okay. He is he
is an NFL running back. He's not a burner, but
he's lacing doubles against defense if you will, all the time,
moving the chains, success rate, power rusher inside the red zone.
He does so many things. Well, I think he can't
and he mentioned this too. He feels he can up
his stock. What if he can be a mid third
round guy, like maybe he sneaks into the second just
typically that dude is a four to four guy, and
so I think it was wise for him to come back.
He gets paid. He can be the guy, can maybe
be the all time landing rusher. And I don't think
a BYU rusher has led the team in rushing all
four years they've I think he'd be the first to
do that.
Speaker 3: Do you think he breaks the record?
Speaker 2: Do you think he breaks the the the all time
total yardage record and surpasses some pretty good running backs
on the way up to it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, beat Jamal And you know, if he plays fourteen games,
then yes, he basically played eleven and three quarters because
he didn't play all the Portland State game because boy
was up so much. He comes out after a quartering
at Siowa State. You know, he doesn't play in the
bowl game. So yeah, there were some moments. Rate wasn't
in there all the way. But if he can assimilate
something similar to this last year because he went over
thirteen hundred yards, he'll be right there. Man. That'd be
pretty cool. You think about all the great running backs
he always had, especially the last ten years, last twenty years,
Balley cranked it up. It used to be if you're
the running back, you were an afterthought here. Not so
kind of Luke stay on in this century like Luke stay,
Curtis Brown, Jamaul Williamsil L. G. Harvey, Unga, L. J. Martin,
like there have been some dudes, And that's pretty awesome.
He could be. He could be the all time leading rusher.
Is he the best running back in boy history? I mean,
if he had another year like you did last year,
there's there's a strong argument that perhaps he.
Speaker 2: Is well, especially considering he's the strength of schedule, right.
There's a number of different things that go into the
productivity of a running back. Obviously a quarter the quarterback's
ability to throw the ball, the coordinator's ability to call
the right place, the great blocking ability of his supporting cash.
But you know, LJ definitely gonna be up there all
time in BA football history. I mean, how do you
rank it currently all time running backs? Is Jamal at
the top Tyler's years right there? Harvey Unga, you got
Luke Staley, you got Jamal Willis, Kaylin Hall, he got
some you got some dudes.
Speaker 3: How do you rank him right now?
Speaker 2: Uh? And uh and and and insert LJ into the mix.
Speaker 3: If he's in that group.
Speaker 1: I'd have to break it down more. But off the dome, like,
I really love Luke Staley's two thousand and one, as
in two thousand he was a scoring machine. He would
just come in in the red zone and he led
the nation in scoring for a while and that was crazy.
In ninety nine, you know those two years. Two thousand
and one obviously goes off and he's the Dove Walker
Award winner, and he's eight yards of carry and I
really like that season. Tyler Alger's twenty one was amazing.
Tyler was incredible, Jamal's consistency over his time was amazing.
Harvey Junga you could argue as the goat here. I
mean you even go back to lache Ahey MOOLEI heys
had some great ones. But yeah, if LJ, if LJ
has another year like last year in the Big Twelve,
in all four years he leaves Boing rushing and he's
the all ten leading rusher and he's drafted let's say
third or fourth round. I mean, there's a real argument
that he is the best joy running back year he's
ever had. Like now, if I'm stacking my my all
time team and i get a first picker running back,
I'm probably going Tyler Elgier at this point or Jamal.
But Lj's in that conversation, which he should be proud of.
He's gonna end as a top five guy probably history.
Speaker 2: Jerem Jordan here on a Cougar Beat and it's brought
to you by Utah Protective Films, Utah Protective Films dot
Com BYU Basketball is doing great things, one of the
We got to enjoy these moments, right, I mean, this
could be the year that BYU gets the monkey off,
it's back the most NCAA tournament burst without a final
four run.
Speaker 3: I was reading up on a stat today.
Speaker 2: If you got an an NBA draft, pick your top
ten in offensive efficiency per Kenpom, in top twenty five
in defensive efficiency per ken Pom, you are a national
champion in the making. That's the three facets of a
national champion. It looks like over the last six or
seven years, I just want to get through the final four.
Speaker 3: Jerem. It doesn't happen this year.
Speaker 1: And very well could you always got a starting lineup
and a trio and a star player and players to
do it. Did they have a bench enough to make
a run in March? He's gonna dag have much of
a bench, you know. Sean Farns mentioned that Wayne Salers
mentioned that Mark Durant's mentioned that like come back in
the CC, we weren't like, oh they go ten deep.
What BOI had last year is super rare. It's not
common and it's not the model that probably is gonna
work going forward because you're just not going to be
able to afford a dollon Hall and a foos on
your bench. They're gonna want to go somewhere and get
paid and have more playing time, you know. And that's
what Dallan did at Virginia. And he starts and he's
in the A SEC. That's great. It's like BOI put
a lot of its resources into its Big three and
it is absolutely working. D yu is should be a
top ten team. I know people are upset about that
this week. Don't worry. You win to this week, You'll
be fine. You know, TCU at Texas Tech Utah and
then you have this gauntlet right Arizona at Kansas in
one week. There's gonna be opportunities. BOI should be a
top three seed in the nca tournament. That should That
should really help you with the seeding to get to
the sweet sixteen. And now you're playing a massive game
of which you will have played many in the Big twelve.
You will be a hard and team that's been through it.
And it's nice Ben to walk into every game going.
Boa has the best player on the court, and that's
Aja or Richie. Typically rob Right the third can do
amazing things. Canard Davis knocksdown three is. kVA Cata is
perhaps the most athletics center you always ever had. Times
are good, man, enjoy all these games, only so many
times to see AJ and the Marriott Center. And we
got the Gimmer announcement of the jersey retirement against Colorado
and Valentine's Day, which would be fun. So it's awesome, man,
Like I think BYU very well could be in the
final four. Like it's you have to get hot at
the right time, you have to win, foul trouble and
injuries and all this stuff. But it's it's sucking great
and I'm expecting at least in a Lite eight obviously
with love, would love the final four. And if you
get to the Final four, come on, let's win the
whole thing. Let's go.
Speaker 3: We discussed this about I don't know two weeks ago.
Speaker 2: I noticed you guys were discussing kind of the brig three,
and I wanted to ask you the question, it's just
the best trio and b y U basketball history. Is
this better than Danny Ainge and Great Hide and Fred Roberts?
Is this better than than Jim Or and Brandon Davies
and and Tyler Hawes.
Speaker 3: I can't remember. I guess who's the third Jackson Emory?
You know?
Speaker 2: Is it truly the best trio and b YU basketball history.
Speaker 3: What do you make of it?
Speaker 1: Yeah, who's gonna guard a j Who's gonna go.
Speaker 3: Kresmere Joseph josephs will Well? What Rowan Mitzon?
Speaker 1: Dude goats fifty one n I T title. Let's go
n MSG. That's what That's what they and this team
have in common.
Speaker 2: They won Haffa Haffa would body would body up aj
on the perimeter?
Speaker 3: Or what about Travis Hansen?
Speaker 2: Travis Hanson, Hafa and uh and and Ladey.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, Yeah, that's a good trio.
Speaker 1: That's Hey love Travis. That ain't happened to Dude, Hofa
would get cooked, he'd walk over to Tucanos, he'd get
some facial wata. No, this is the best one. This
is the best one. Du Like you have two of
these three guys are NBA. One of them is the
future NBA All Star. You know, only only Danny could
say that from before. Right, No, this is I think
this is the best trio. Obviously they still got to
finish the season to do something. But the way that
what they're pacing to do and what they're doing in
it in the Big twelve. By the way, this isn't
the wagon much of the FCC. Yeah, and I think
it even expands beyond basketball. We were talking about best
trios among all sports of joy ever, like they might
be the best ever. It's it's pretty awesome.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I was kind of reviewing through just like you know
the hoops teams, and you know, you wonder it's like,
you know, what are we witnessing right now?
Speaker 3: And are we savoring it? Jerem? Are we true really
savoring these moments?
Speaker 1: We need to? And I've been screaming this from before
the season, like, enjoy this whole process. Don't rush it,
don't push it, just take it in. If you have
a chance to watch them in person, you know, try
and do it. Watch every game like this is special, Cougarnation,
this is special. And you know, boys has never been
more talented on a basketball court. And they have the
right coach and the right players right now to do
something awesome. And we're just getting going in Big twelve play.
If you're always playing TC you tonight, I'm gonna it's
nine pm. That's so who cares. We're gonna enjoy every
second of this because hard things happen in life, and
you don't get it, just kind of sitting and enjoy
certain things. Sometimes we're stressed out. This is the time
where we can just enjoy this and it's gonna be awesome.
Speaker 2: Hey, you know a squad that could maybe give these
guys a run for their money. How about Andy Toolson,
Jeff Chapman and Michael Smith. No, no, Michael Smith, Jeff
Chapman and Andy Toolson.
Speaker 1: Huh that'd be good. But again carding Ah, who's guarding
Rob and who?
Speaker 2: Mike?
Speaker 3: Mike Michael smith Man, Mike, Mike.
Speaker 1: I talked to Mike all the time in the belt.
He ain't stand in front of ag AJ's windmill dun
in a half court.
Speaker 3: Michael Smith.
Speaker 1: Michael Smith was ahead of his time. Like if Michael
Yeah played now, he would crush it because it'd be
a stretch for They didn't. They didn't let him kind
of sit there and shoot threes like they would now. Also,
Michael Smith could have been an All American volleyball player.
Speaker 3: He was unbelievable, no doubt about it.
Speaker 2: Uh, Jerem Jordan, Ladies and gentlemen talking Brigham ball and
uh b y U football here on your UTI ESPN
radio network. Uh, what have you heard regarding the coaching
vacancies for the BU football team.
Speaker 3: We still have.
Speaker 2: Maybe a safeties coach. It looks like everybody else's gonna
be retained. I haven't heard anything different. You're gonna have
to maybe shift it up a little bit, Chad, Chad
k maybe moving over to the outside edge roll. That's
what he's done in the past. He's coached defensive tackles,
defensive ends. We'll see where Kelly's going to be coaching.
Where does Justin ene go. What do you make of
maybe some of the domino effects that we're seeing on
the defensive side of the ball with Tomoro Warren heading
in there to coach up the corners.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I love the idea that bay he feels like, hey,
we've got what we need internally. I mean, b what
you had one of its best, if not its best
coaching staff ever this last year with Chad Kase and
mentioned Gary Anderson behind the scenes. Gary Anderson is behind
the scenes, you're telling me the former DC at Utah
Utah coach Oregan State Wisconsin is behind the scenes. That's
how good this team is. Yeah, I'm hearing Chad k
on the ends as well. Was hoping for Gavin Fowler
at safeties, but since they named him the DC at
we were staying officially, I don't know, They're just that's
TBD still and then yeah, I wonder if Kelly Thingy
just takes the backers and then TVD on who the
safety coach is. But I have full confidence in the
staff will be find fantastic and super experience and that
they will maintain the continuity of what boy has done
the last couple of years. I have confidence in Kelly
Popinga and the experience that he has at b y U,
at Virginia, at Boise State, now at b y U again,
that it's his time to call these plays, and I
think it's fully ready and capable. We've seen what the
special teams have done in the last couple of years,
and I'm excited to see the the maintenance of the
culture and continuity. Even though you lose great coach like.
Speaker 2: J Hill to Michigan, Well, Blau's football roster be better
than it was this last season, Well this year be better.
Speaker 1: It's good question because you lose Chase Carson Jack. They
had jotta those you know, Tanner Walls, the NFL guys. Yeah,
those those NFL guys, do you net gain? Do you
get better? Like? Is better better next year than he
is this year? I would, I would hope. So canel
j equal or better what he did last year? Certainly hope?
So can that O line be as good? I think?
I think by he feels like t J. Woods has
brought in the guys and there are four of five
guys returning three or five, you know, three and a half.
I think that's pretty good defensive line. You're bringing in
a lot of the same dudes. You know, Katou Luave
is a probably tit for tat ad for uh Jack Kelly,
you know, Raider de Mooney. Can he approximate what kind
of Tanner Wall did and can follow tells Thoughts will
continue to be the Kyle Knicks, Kyle Hamilton and college
football is an NFL guy. Some photography him being a
high as a first render, like can he be big
time as a junior?
Speaker 3: Now?
Speaker 1: You know the Yeah, it's hard to replace Chase Roberts.
So to me, that's the biggest question mark is like
where's that production coming from? Because Parker had a great year.
I can Parker go next level? I thought he was
really good? So yeah, that's a good that's a good question. Obviously,
we'll see it play out, but I would say right now,
it's hard. It's hard. It's hard to say yes because
those are some big names that you always losing. But
I'm excited to see what these guys can do. And
early in the season they were like, dude, they are
better than last year. And like I said, they're gonna
have more four stars on the rosters than they've ever had,
So why not. It's not just about the stars, but
it is nice that you get those cuts.
Speaker 2: Who's wide receiver one next year? It's something we've debated.
Do you have a wide receiver one?
Speaker 1: I mean, you got to just say it's Parker Kinson, right.
I know he's not like the traditional outside receiver will
be the flat guy, but he absolutely will be a
wide receiver one for be Away next year.
Speaker 2: Do you think they add any others or do you
feel like they have enough between the new you know,
Kyler Kasper and then the young bucks coming in to
replace the old guys that are going out.
Speaker 1: I think they do have a lot of good young talent,
and I think they they like where Reggie fresh Neck
could be. I think if you combine, you know, some
Reggie freshnecks, so maybe they throw deep to Cody Hagen
a little more Jared Pula Terrence Sorry. On the combination
of these guys, I think they feel like, yeah, they
could replace some of the products can Jojo Phelips, Scope Nuts.
They I feel like, okay, among the group, perhaps they
could combine for what Chase was doing. But Chase was special, man.
I think he's top top five receiver probably at b
YU all time. He was really really singing good you
don't you don't just easily go yeah, we're good with that.
I'm like, yeah, and they'll take some development. And Betty
Stuck is up for the challenge. I'm sure he's no
a great job.
Speaker 2: Jerem Jordan, Ladies and gentlemen, Jerem. Best way to support
you what you do, how you do it for all
the listeners, just.
Speaker 1: Give me high five if you see me. That's kind
of the best way to support, you know, just just
nuts high five, Brooks super wide, like any any of
that is great, But yeah, continue to watch listen to
Voce Sports Nation Money to Friday Tending the Mountain on
the OTV B Are you ready on shout out to you, Ben,
for all the great work you're doing out here, doing
the Lloyd's work, you know, covering the.
Speaker 2: Coops, thrusting, thrusting in our sickle with our might, you know,
just trying to make it impact, trying to give the
content that Kugarnation loves and deserves.
Speaker 1: The field is blue already to harvem I think right royal.
Speaker 3: Indeed it is royal, and we are loyal to the royal.
Thanks so much, JJ, Thanks Ben, there you go.
Speaker 2: That's Jerrem Jordan, Ladies and gentlemen, and great segment brought
to you by Utah Protective Films Utah Protective Films dot com.
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coming out of Brigham Here on your Utah ESPN Readio
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