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for a little Cougar byte, gonna see what Rob Wright
and the Todd King Richie Saunders had to say about
the loss of the Kansas Jayhawks.
Speaker 3: What happened, why did it happen? And more.
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All right, let's get into it. Richie Sanders Todd King.
Where does this game stack up against the games? Uh,
you've played in your career.
Speaker 4: Tru performance, tough, coming out short, right, I mean it's
I love playing in big games, and anytime I get
the opportunity to play what I love like, I'm grateful.
Lots that we need to improve on and we will.
I'm excited to continue to move forward, have been in
this position many times around my career, and I know,
I know the flip side of of what's what's waiting
for us.
Speaker 2: He's ticked off, and that's what you love about Richie. Okay,
he had a great individual performance, one of his best,
one of the best of his career, and he's pissed
off because his team lost. And I'm not saying like
you gotta be, you know, just livid in front of
the media and in front of fans and be pouting
and moaning and all this stuff. But you get a
sense that he's disappointed. He qualifies, you know, whatever he
says on the back end of his head, like yeah, well,
first it was like, this is a tough loss. And
you know, to me, I think that's indicative of his
competitive nature.
Speaker 3: It's one thing to enjoy winning.
Speaker 2: Everybody likes to win a board game, a basketball game,
you know, yes, you know I like to you know,
stiff arm my son, my four year old, and win
and neat and tackle football at night. You know, I
gotta let him know who whose boss still keep score?
Speaker 3: You know what I mean.
Speaker 2: It's another thing to hate to lose. There's a difference,
a stark contrast between enjoying winning and hating to lose,
and Richie hates to lose as a team. Okay, so Richie,
what was the mood at halftime with all you guys.
Did you feel like you were gonna come back and
win this one?
Speaker 5: Yeah?
Speaker 4: I mean we've we've been in this position many times.
We've been down big numbers a half before and we've
come back and won. So I know we were all
locked in and be ready to get a win. And yeah,
well decided to to move.
Speaker 2: Forward, excited to move forward. But we've been in this
situation many times, as Ky stated earlier in the press conferences,
like of sick and tired of hearing about how great
of a second half team we are. Well, then, you know,
the definition of insanity would be what you know and
when you continue to do the same things over and
over again expecting a different result.
Speaker 3: Well, we got to figure out the first half.
Speaker 2: What needs to be done in the first half so
that we're not in this situation over and over again
in February. Right, what is something changible? What is something by?
Speaker 3: You can do it?
Speaker 2: It's the old adage, It's the old saying that I
love from one of my favorite films of the silver screen.
What is it that the people have sent the Poco
really does well? What can we do do better? What
can we do better in the first half? What is
it the people who sent the Poco provo Utah can
do better in the first half? Give me something, Ronald
the three man. We were diagnosed street this BYU basketball team,
just to do something different in the first half.
Speaker 3: What is it today they can do?
Speaker 5: Yeah, I trust me.
Speaker 6: This is something I've thought long and hard about, Ben
and I think something that they do well that might
not always maybe show up the way it needs to
is they're rebounding. I mean they had what five offensive
rebounds in the second half, Like you kind of have
to do something with your second chance points there when
I think about it. I know Kansas also played a
phenomenon as well, but look they they had fifteen, They
had seventeen total rebounds, only had two offensive rebounds, so
you got three more so by you and this is
even at home. But they have to do more with
those rebounds. Right, It was tied seventeen a piece and
you got three more O boards in them, but didn't
do anything. And here's the best part. Richie had two
of them. He's on the glass doing I love that
he's upset. You see Mahilo grabs one, Cava grab one.
So they got to do more with their second chance points.
And then again, you want to know something that they
did in the first half and that they didn't do
in the second. You're ready for this. And Kansas did
a great job. They had zero fast break points. They
really don't get in transition as well as they would
like to in the first half as they do in
the second, and I think that really killed them. So
you gotta make more of those offensive rebounds when you
get them. You gotta put push in transition, and yeah,
I think those are the biggest things because point painting,
second chance points, all those will come if you rebound
better and you push and transition more.
Speaker 5: Like look what Arizona did.
Speaker 6: That's why Arizona was even able to weather the storm
ben because what did they do when they grabbed a
rebound defensively, they pushed and when they got offensive rebound,
they went right back up and try to get to
the foul line. So that's something to be What he
does well is their top in the conference and rebounds.
I want to see them do more with those second
chance points, Rick, what.
Speaker 3: Do you got for me?
Speaker 7: I'd say more defensive intensity in the first half.
Speaker 3: You know you think that that's your qualm right now?
Speaker 7: Yeah, I just don't think they're putting in that one
hundred percent Houston Connecticut type defense where they're.
Speaker 3: Just Irish State. Yeah.
Speaker 5: They have guys though, that can do that is my question. Well,
they got it if they want to win it, you know,
you're right, yeah, exactly, but.
Speaker 3: I think final eight or final four.
Speaker 6: I don't want to be negative, but like, what guys
can really do that? And what what they have? Mohilo's
a stretch, you know, four? You know five?
Speaker 5: If you want small ball, like knar Rich.
Speaker 7: Defense is mental.
Speaker 3: I mean you they can do it. It reminds me
of the defense. Yeah.
Speaker 7: My old football coaches said all right, everybody, put your
hands as far as you can reach.
Speaker 2: And then he says, do it a little more.
Speaker 3: Everybody put it up.
Speaker 7: See I told you at first put it up as
high as you can, and uh, you know, then I
told you do.
Speaker 3: It a little more. You got it.
Speaker 7: Then you come on, guys, a little just a little
more work in that first half, a little better defense,
a little stronger more intense.
Speaker 3: It would be nice, wouldn't it be nice? Yeah?
Speaker 2: You know, something I would like to see is not
settling for threes in the first half as much not
going volume. Now, there's something to be said about getting
into a groove and volume creates efficiency. That's the idea
of volume creates efficiency. Eventually you get hot, you get
your shots, and you start hitting and there's a certain
amount of continuity and connectivity and chemistry that you that
you just get into a neuromuscular groove, right, the old
muscle memory.
Speaker 3: So I get that. Would you like to see, B
what you try to get to the.
Speaker 2: Rim a little bit more, be aggressive getting to the
rim or and maybe even taking you know, less three
point shots on the first half. Is that something that
needs to be addressed. So I'm kind of leaning there too.
We'll see if they do anything different there. Rob right
the third a guy that takes a lot of two
point shots as well. Rob, you played against Bill selpafore.
Did that help you in the game on Saturday, having
been familiar with him already.
Speaker 8: I think it does. But I mean when you start
off the game like that, like Coe said, it was
just hard to dig yourself back on the road. So
just gotta find a better way to start.
Speaker 3: Gotta find a better way to start.
Speaker 2: We suck in the first half, Rob, How motivated was
the team to play well for AJ because of the
matchup between him and Darren Peterson.
Speaker 8: I mean, like you said earlier, we was just motivated
to get a win on the road. We wasn't really
too rare about the storylines.
Speaker 2: No storyline action there, no sir, no way, no how anyway.
I do want to address the defensive component here. Vick
So sent a sound by to you, Ronnie. We'll play
it for Kugarnation. So TMT sports was breaking down this
game and Jamal Nashburn former NBA RAID. He's alongside I
believe Chris Webber and others BYU they stayed b YU
did AJ no favors by putting him on Peterson on defense.
Jalen Rose, Actually this Jalen Rose talking about I apologize
his reaction to yesterday. This was Saturday's mar Quy matchup
between Darren Peterson and AJ Debontsa.
Speaker 9: The whey is DYU did AJ no favors by putting
them on Peterson. I don't understand why he was guarding
him as the initial defender that that should not have
been as a what if he said I want that child, Yeah,
well you shouldn't want that chap.
Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 9: You're six eleven and he's a point guard that's like
six foot.
Speaker 10: Four, six foot five, and he gonna give you that work.
Speaker 9: It's not that you're not, you know, a good defender
or anything. It's just that you just don't have the
skill set and to stay in front of him consistently,
especially if he's going to get a screen. Like Darren
Peterson had eighteen points in twenty minutes. Yes, he didn't
even play the last sixteen or so minutes and they
was up twenty a half. And I hate that all
of the highlights are against AJ, but he.
Speaker 10: Showed me something as a player in Peterson did him
handling the ball. I knew he could handle the ball,
but he handled the ball to some positions the other
day yesterday and was able to get to the bucket
and dunk on guys. I did not know he necessarily
had that in his game, because to me, I think
the best college players are not specialists, the guys that
got game. They're guys that have mid range. So some
people think it's boring, but to me, it's beautiful. And
so to see a guy be able to get his
shot at tough times, with the shot clock going down,
the crowd going crazy, and to hit a fifteen foot
er to get to your spot. And I respect players,
they got spots, moves, encounters. Those are real basketball players.
And to me, he and AJ showed me that. But
you're right, besides the three point shooting of some of
his teammates, they really didn't give Aj any help.
Speaker 2: Yes, so a great instagree with that, Ronald three man.
Even they didn't give AJ much help. They set them
up as a competitive and a competitive competitive disadvantage in
that situation, and it was maybe the wrong thing to do,
especially if you're trying to get if you're trying to
go point for point, tit for tat offensively with Aj
at the opposite A.
Speaker 6: Look, if the kid wants the challenge, Ben, you're not
gonna tell the kid that he can't have the challenge.
Jay Len Rose is saying that on national television, and Ben,
this is why he's on television.
Speaker 2: Right.
Speaker 6: Let's be honest, He's learned what to say correctly because
I know Don well, if I were to ask him. Okay,
so when you play it off record, you're gonna say
not to take that guy as a competitor. He's not
gonna tell me yeah, he's not gonna say that. There's
no there's no competitor out there that's gonna say, yeah,
I don't want that matchup.
Speaker 5: Then I think you are.
Speaker 6: I am telling you, former player or not, you aren't
a true competitor. Now that could not work during the game,
and they can make adjustments. But if you go to
your coaches and want that matchup, and this is directly
if he says I want to do this, it's different
than the coaching staff put him in that situation. Those
two different things. But I'm saying if a guy says, hey,
give me that assignment, I want that one. I want
that challenge. Remember like you know, like go back to
the WCC days, the San Francisco Guards, you know what
is it. Shabaz would he would ask for assignments he
wanted Alex Barcelo he did him and Jamari Buie they
wanted matchups. So you're supposed to tell the competitor if
they don't and your confident in their ability. And it
didn't work, you know. I mean seven of his eighteen
points came on edge. I went back and I counted
it right. I went back and I did the math
of that, and yeah, off of and two of them
come off screens. And it's a great job by getting
in front of it and doing that. And he is
right in a skill set standpoint, when you're six nine,
six ten, I don't think a six eleven on always
getting that. But when you're six nine and you're slower,
and he's a guard and he's six five sixty six
and he's able to move maneuver faster, especially with screens,
and Darren has great ball handlability. That's not gonna do
you any favors. So and that's why they maybe said, okay,
let's go Canard. And then the foul trouble came, so
aj probably had to go not go back, and then
they picked were picking on Rob. So I don't know
if they necessarily didn't do them any favor, do aj
any favors in the beginning. I think what did aj
O favors was taking the matchup and then the lack
band of offensive production in the first half and how
they weren't scoring and aj wasn't able to get involved
and I was. And now I will say this, I
think what BA, I think less about the defense, what
more was it? This service was Darren had three steals
guarding AG and their piss poor passes like what do
we like Mahilo's throwing the ball, white guy's fronting like
you don't throw that pass like that to and is
like he three of his steels they gave to him.
They said, okay, he go Darren like you wait for
Aj to post up, but he didn't even post up.
Speaker 5: They're locking arms and ages getting set.
Speaker 6: So I felt like the team didn't really set Aj
up to get to his spots well on top of
him having to play defense on Darren the start.
Speaker 5: I felt like it was a bad combination.
Speaker 6: And that's why I think maybe he wasn't able to
get in rhythm because when you're on the road, been
that matters when you have to chase the best player
and then you're not able to get to your spots
and like you alluded to, and not even two set,
and I agree, I think AJ has to get to
the free throw line early like they do in the
NBA to get going, and it just it didn't it
didn't work, and those games happen, but I hope that
they can see that on film. But to me, it
was less about the defense you gotta if you want
AG to get in rhythm, you can't throw the ball
to the guy that he's guarding him and turn it
over because then he has to like run.
Speaker 10: Yeah.
Speaker 6: Just I was more disappointed that BYU didn't let him
set up and get in the spots, and they let
Darren when he was playing defense look like an All
NBA player and an All Conference player in AG wasn't
able to get in a rhythm.
Speaker 5: That's what I was more disappointed about. And seeing.
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Speaker 3: One last thing is I was discussing this with a friend.
Speaker 2: He says, look, is the difference just that Mag care
and played harder than Davis?
Speaker 3: Is that the difference? I think that's a component, guys.
Speaker 2: I think Canard Davis like to me, I look at
body language a lot. Body language is very telling in
this Gamege tells me everything I need to know. I
for the most part, I like A J's body language.
It probably needs to be better. Canard davis body language
definitely easy to be together, not even I never quite
I never questioned what Mag's body language. I never questioned
Trevinell's body language. I never questioned Dawson Baker's body language.
Speaker 3: Do you think that had to.
Speaker 7: Do with something about what you know? At the beginning
of this season when he got have that experience game over?
Speaker 2: I mean, what do you mean like that that's that's
gonna make him? I think if you're if you're, if
you if you have a certain lifestyle and you're you know,
you take certain substances.
Speaker 3: Maybe it's it's it's uh, it's.
Speaker 2: Prescribed, you know, maybe you're a little bit you know, kick, kickback,
laid back, you know, trying to reduce the anxieties, trying
to reduce this stress, trying to be comical, collected and
not be in that high anxiety situation. Right, I don't know, like, uh,
in my opinion, like there's a there are there's two
differences right now, what mag was a better three and
D guy than Kennard Davis Junior, and he gave better
effort and obviously what Matt earned it beat out Cannon
catching who was the odds on favorite to be that
star right to be that guy, and he just struggled defensively,
didn't put in the effort. Cannon Ketchen's body language was
doo doo, just.
Speaker 5: Dud was so bad. Was out there.
Speaker 2: Man, And and you know what it is, what it
is like And and I don't know how you changed
that after you've been you know, brought up a certain
way and inculcated a.
Speaker 3: Certain like, I don't know how you changed that anyway.
Speaker 2: The other thing that you always this shing is just
someone coming off the bench that can hit us standing
three point shot or a catching shoot situation. So to me,
Dawson getting injured combined with having no nail, we don't
have a nail. We don't have a nail in the coffin,
we don't have a nail on the head. We don't
have trevid Nell like those those two guys.
Speaker 7: Those injuries hurt us going down.
Speaker 2: We don't have those role players right now, and so
that sucks. It's not good. It's not good. But I'm
not concerned. I'm not as concerned as others. Okay, uh, well,
we'll see how it plays out. I do think they'll
get on the right track at the right time leading
up tomorrow.
Speaker 5: They figure it out. They still they still got time.
Look got tome, baby, Ben, look out.
Speaker 2: I was looking at have a sense of urgency, though
I'm not telling you, like, yeah, yeah, they gotta have
a sense of urgency.
Speaker 6: But I did the math right, you know, looking at
it because we saw nine eight or nine qual wing
games being if if they go eight and two in
their last stretch and they pick up some of those
on the road, which I believe they will do in
some at home, if you're able to get h or
Iowa State or whichever one, or Texas tack on the
last game of the year, and if they go eight
and to the rest of the season, eight of those games,
you know, let's say one of them is a quad
one loss and you go seven to one, that you know,
that's that's eleven and no excuse me, that's thirteen and one.
I believe in thirteen to five. My apologies, and that's enough. Ben,
Like you said, at the end of the season, if
you're eighten what eight wins of your last ten, and
you're going into the tournament and riding that momentum and
thirteen and then you'll get another win obviously in a
big twelve tournament because those count two.
Speaker 5: That helps.
Speaker 6: I still think they the three seed is still available
in the NCAA tournament for their hopes and they can
still do it. But I'm with you, they can't drop
too many more games. I gotta go back last and
look what Arizona did with their quad one losses. But
if they're able to go seven to one, bin, I
think they still have a shot. But if they get
another if they get two losses and quat one play
against teams, whether that's at home on the road. Then
I think you're gonna be looking at a four seat
and it's gonna be difficult because then you got to
play the five. You gotta go play the one, and
that's just tough. Like you alluded to, you got to
be a top three seed to make a push. You
got to be a top three seed.
Speaker 3: No doubt about it. Guys.
Speaker 2: Let's take a brief time out. Don't go anywhere. Let's
talk some stats, some college football. On the flip side, LJ.
Martin coming in as one of the more notable returning
football players in college football. Where does he rank for
ESPN and why the top one hundred players ranked in
college football heading into the twenty twenty six season. We'll
delve into that, also talk some Kida utawave and maybe
discuss even some of the new coaches that are coming
to Brigham Young University of the football team that up next.
This is Cougar Sports. One of three nine ninety eight
point three.
Speaker 1: Is It's time to celebrate the freest team sport known
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Cougar Sports with Ben Kreble, Welcome back UGR Sports one.
Speaker 3: Of three nine ninety eight point three ESB in the fan.
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Speaker 3: Get on a pre q at eight.
Speaker 2: No obligation to at best q anda with our tax
more Wealth advisors are certified financial planners. Nobody does it
better than vander Well. And we're gonna get into a
little college football segment section here and get into some
of the news and notes coming out of Brigham as
well as what's happening in.
Speaker 3: The college football world, discussing LJ.
Speaker 2: Martin, Kada Uluave and other players on the bou roster,
as well as the new coaches that are repping the
why now we'll get into that and much more. It's
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American four.
Speaker 3: How about this? L J.
Speaker 2: Martin running back BYU in his junior season twenty twenty five.
Notable stats one thousand and three and rushing three thousand
and five rushing yards, twelve touchdowns, thirty.
Speaker 3: Six receptions Okay.
Speaker 2: His preseason ESPN Top one hundred raking he was not
rated Okay, not rated.
Speaker 3: Going into twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2: Going into twenty twenty six, though the junior from El Passo,
Texas is in the top one hundred, He's ranked sixty
ninth heading into twenty twenty six. Martin earned First team
All BE twelve honors. And was the Big twelve Offensive
Player of the Year. Loved what I saw from him. Obviously,
had six one hundred yard rushing performances, including a memorable
two hundred TWENTYWOY game and a key win against Cincinnati
late in the season. Okay, so love what we saw
from LJ. Martin when he was healthy. He was strong,
He was tremendous. If he continues to learn how to
run behind his pads, he will elevate his draft stock
to that, you know, from that fourth fis sixth, sixth,
seventh round to you know, I don't know if it'll
go day one, but day two, yes, yeah, I think
he can get there. He took a huge leap in
athleticism from last year to this year. He in top
end speed, Like I was surprised at his burst, his
acceleration and how he was able to increase his top
end speed. And you got to give a lot of
credit here, okay, to not only LJ, but shout out
to Ryan Phillis and doctor Skyler men Kolby class and
the medical staff as well. They do great stuff the
human performance realm, the attritionists as well as the medical staff. Okay,
to keep these guys helping strong, nurse and strengthen and pliable. Elastisic,
elastic and explosive. So I just want to highlight that
another off season at Brigham Young University, he's gonna he's
gonna scale.
Speaker 3: You put in the work, you get the r o Y.
You put in the work, you get to do the
r o Y.
Speaker 2: One of the reasons why LJ comes back is because
he saw a significant difference in his burst and in
his draft stock and in even like you know, how
his body felt from you know, two years ago to
present day, from last year to present day, he's seeing
the marginal and macro growth of being developed formed. Okay,
this clay Within the BYU football program, if there's there's
a couple of things that BYU should be really good at,
in my opinion, development should be the number one because
you typically get kids in there that are coachable.
Speaker 3: The you just do you attract coachable.
Speaker 2: Kids at BUYU. They come from good families because it's
high academic institution, it's a moral, ethical, spiritual, religious institution.
You tend to attract the type of player that's going
to be coachable, not entitled, and you can get more
out of them. You can ask more of them. I've
said that time and tom again over the years. If
you've been tuning into the show since two thousand and eleven,
can I always I can always ask more of my
BYU football player. And if you have great mentors around them,
all these different touch points, okay, they.
Speaker 3: Can really scale their growth. They can really see, you know.
Speaker 2: Day to day marginal progress, and they get into that
that macro process year to year. And that's why Lj's
coming back, and that's why he's ranked the top one hundred.
And I do expect him to make another leap. I
do expect him to take another jump. There is a
certain law of diminishing returns over time as it relates
to athletic potential.
Speaker 3: Most of us have an athletic potential. Okay, we just do.
Speaker 2: Okay, we have our genetics, and then you know, you
can try to maximize those.
Speaker 3: It's like the whole thing.
Speaker 2: Like when you first start lifting weights, Like the first
year of lifting weights, you know, put on like ten
to fifteen pounds, twenty pounds, and you're putting up signal.
I can't remember what the percentage is, but like your
incremental growth is insane. And then you get the marginal
growth on the back end. But I think he's gonna
take another jump. I really do with this with this staff.
So shout out to LJ. Martin, another guy on the
defense that you're looking. So that's your offense. Now let's
look at your defensive defensive guy. Okay kadu uluave all
acc linebacker. He's supposed to replace Jack Kelly. Right sack
sack Kelly would be the idea. Possibly the Cougar's picked
up Kate and that was awesome. It was massive, had
over one hundred tackles last year. He's a junior with
one year of ELGA. Builder Manning gives b Yu one
of the top linebackers available in the portal and he
he veri well could be a top one hundred player
in college football this next season. On three rated the
top impact transfer portal additions for the top twenty five
programs and lo and behold, Yeah, kata Ululavi is one
of those top twenty five players. So shout out to
BYU their coaching staff in their retention and acquisitions of
key players, key coogs, key personnel that can take them,
hopefully to the next level, get them to a big
twelve championship game and actually win it this next season. Okay,
a couple other things here. Speaking about the coaching staff,
some of you may be excited to know that we have.
Speaker 3: Our coaching staff pretty much solidified. Now.
Speaker 2: We got our guys, we got our dudes. We know
what is that We were able to retain the most
of the coaching staff. You lost Jay, you lost your arm.
You retained all of your key players. I think that
were really healthy. Your two D players. I know Max
Alford was a two D player, Shae Brian Strother two
D player.
Speaker 3: But they're injured.
Speaker 2: They're coming off ACL reconstructions, right, So I'm not saying
they're damaged goods. But you just don't know what you're
necessarily always getting from a recovering anti your cruciated ligament athlete,
especially if you got injured late in the season. Not
to say that they can't get back to one hundred
percent of you just don't know at any rate. Shitaki
Kalani Sataki announced promotions and in additions to the BYU
coaching staff, Lonnie today announced the promotions of Justin Enna,
who's your linebackers coach.
Speaker 3: He's now the special teams coordinator and.
Speaker 2: Chad Kahaha as outside linebackers coach, as well as hiring
veterans secondary coach Lewis Walker as the quarterbacks coach.
Speaker 3: So big news on that front.
Speaker 2: Enna, who has served as the linebackers coach in the
past three seasons since joining Kialanie Satake staff. He's a
nineteen year coaching veteran with thirteen seasons of experience as
a coordinator, including five years coordinating or co coordinating the.
Speaker 3: Special team S unit.
Speaker 2: Coach Chad kay has, who has been at BA since
twenty twenty four as a senior analysts more than eighteen
years of college coaching experience, while Walker comes to BA
with eleven seasons of college coaching experience in the secondary
and two years as a defensive coordinator. Okay Kalani stated,
I'm excited to have Justin Enna and coach Chad Ahaha
stepping into these roles and to announce that Lewis Walker
is joining our staff. Before we undertook sis Kalani, before
we undertook the recent changes in our defensive staff, I
intended emphasize special teams even more within our staff structure
heading into twenty twenty six. I'm pleased to announce that
Justin will be the new special teams coordinator, with responsibility
of putting his entire focus into the coordinating this important
phase of our program. Chad has been a valuable contributor
to our defense the past two seasons as a senior analyst,
and I'm blessed to be able to promote him into
the position coaching role with our edge rushers and at
outside linebacker, an area where he hasn't excelled in his
experience and expertise. Lewis has spent spent more than a
decade coaching defensive backs and he will be a great
addition to strengthen our secondary in the cornerbacks room, with
Tomorrow Warren overseeing the safeties. Satake previously announced the elevations
of Kelly Papinga to defensive coordinator and defensive line coach
Scioni Puja to associate head coach, as well as hiring Warren,
an eighteen year coaching veteran, as By's new defensive pass
game coordinator. With the hiring of Walker to coach the quarterbacks,
Warren will coach safeties on the staff as stated before him,
Pepinga will coach inside linebackers with Anna moving from linebackers
to exclusively overseeing special teams. Now, that's an intriguing element
in all of this. Coach Enna is not coaching a
specific position group. He's coaching the entire team of special
teams because it really is you have out evaluate the
best football players on offense, the best football players on defense,
and lo and behold, what do you see?
Speaker 3: What do you do with those guys?
Speaker 2: You have the special team coordinator orchestrating it all. Now,
it's hard to take all your starters right, but you
do get a lot of starters at BUYU get a
lot of starters.
Speaker 3: Playing special teams.
Speaker 2: But you delve into the depth and you develop that
depth and you gain confidence with that depth as they
prove themselves. So shout out to Justin and he's been
a special teams coordinator and coached some great specialists in
his career and entered coaching after his NFL playing days
where he was tutored playing special teams by John Harbaugh
and Dave Tubb of Philadelphia. Kelvin Pepinka did an excellent
job with the special teams unit, said Kaloni Shatake. The
past three seasons, I feel just in taking on this role.
We'll all out our special teams to keep thriving as
an important priority in vital phase of the game for
our program in playing high level complimentary football. Justin Ena
is a native of Shelton, Washington, and it was a
three time All Conference linebacker at BYU from ninety seven
through two thousand and one and a four year NFL
player with the Eagles and Titans before starting his coaching career,
turning to BYU to joins Tataki staff in January twenty
twenty three. Justin Anda coached at all five of Utah's
other Division one schools that sponsored football, Utah, Utah State,
Southern Utah, Wevers State, and Utah Tech. He's well familiar, Okay,
with the Utah recruiting game, as well as coaching stops
at Eastern Washington and San Diego State. While at Utah
coaching linebackers and also served as co special teams coordinator
under head coach Kyle Whittingham during and his final three
seasons with the Utes from twenty sixteen to twenty eighteen.
Enna's coverage units played a role in the Utes winning
the NCAA Net Punting title in twenty sixteen, while the
twenty seventeen team was fifth nationally and net punting, followed
by the twenty eighteen squad, which ranked fifteenth, while punter
Mitch was Snowski and kicker Matt Gay captured the twenty
seventeen Ray Guy Award in twenty eighteen lou Grose Award, respectively.
So pretty good resume here coordinating those special teams. Anda
was also the special teams coordinator at Southern Utah for
two seasons froma to nine under head coach at Lamb.
With na special teams coordinator, Southern Utah teamed NCAAFCS top
twenty five national rankings, including a number one rank in
net punting in two thousand and nine. The Thunderbers also
ranked number three in punt return average and number six
and net punting in two thousand and eight and number
nine in punt return average in two thousand and nine.
Individual honors during Enna's time at Southern Utah feature two
time All America puncher Trup Reward and return specialist Nick Miller,
the nation's leader in all purpose yards in two thousand
and eight.
Speaker 3: So you're seeing.
Speaker 2: This this robust resume from Justin Enna as a special
teams coordinator Justin states, I'm grateful for the opportunity that
Kialani has entrusted me with as a special teams coordinator
at BYU. This university has molded and changed me in
my youth, and I tend to also help shape our
young men to be great ambassadors at BYU while also
competing and winning championships. So that's a brief breakdown.
Speaker 3: We'll get it.
Speaker 2: We get more into it with coach Chad, what his
role will be, what his background will be, who Lewis
Walker is as well in the following segments. But Ronald
the three man Weaver, your reaction to the news on
the addition of having a cornerbacks coach moving tomorrow Warren
to safeties coach and and and then also elevating coach
Chad k to outside edge coach and Justin ed at
the special teams coordinator.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I think the biggest thing that I noticed out
of all of this has been when we you predicted
this and I looked into it more just of coaches
like j Haill, other coaches you know, Morgan Scaley.
Speaker 5: Right, a lot of DC's are safeties coaches. You know
you're looking at those. I just wanted to you know,
do some history and some that.
Speaker 6: So I looked at this said, okay, that's on par
you know, I think you got to bring in the
cornersback coach, you know, to do that. That's just how
it goes. You have to have and a position coaching
division for the NDCs will do the safeties. But I
think the biggest is that Justin and A, you know,
being the spe coordinator. I think that is one of
the biggest reasons why BAU has been so successful. I
think over the last you know what, five six seasons
under Kolane is the special teams to get Union. And
I'm gonna go back in the day Ben remember even
Hobbes Nyberg. I'm gonna go back guy Hobbs.
Speaker 5: Hobbs.
Speaker 10: Yeah.
Speaker 6: I love Hobbes, right, good dude, even him when he
was a you know, punk returning excuse me, pardon me.
I think it's great to continue that because that's gonna
be that's gonna bowl.
Speaker 3: Well. B YU was.
Speaker 6: Able to flip the field because of punting, and they
really were able to be able to use.
Speaker 5: That against opponents.
Speaker 6: Like when you're seeing that on film, like you would
always point out block this guy and finish plays into
the ball and then you get the football. That is
how you're able to, you know, excuse me, get to
college football playoffs.
Speaker 5: Is uh succeeding at all three levels. So I like that.
Speaker 6: I think that one's the most intriguing. I love all
the new additions as well. I'm excited to see it.
But outside lines backers, I'm excited to see that, especially
because when in you know, Isaiah Glasker, Ben Braxton, Lindsay
nooseydalmaball like, I'm excited to see that. I really am
gonna be looked forward to this. So I love these
and I can't wait for March. Been Lily, a month away.
I know it's hoop season, but a month away in springball,
you and I will be there observing and then lo
and behold, the countdown to the kickoff to the season
will begin.
Speaker 3: Let's take a time out.
Speaker 2: We'll be back with more Cougar Sports content, but real
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this is Cougar Sports on one of three nine ninety
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