Speaker 1: There's a quarterback race about forty miles down south, and
Speaker 1: nobody better to break it down than our good buddy,
Speaker 1: Spencer Lytton from BYU TV.
Speaker 2: Spencer, Happy Tuesday, Sir, how are you.
Speaker 3: Good, Spence? Great to talk with you, man. And what's
Speaker 3: this you mentioned of a quarterback battle. I didn't know
Speaker 3: something was happening there.
Speaker 2: Oh am, I breaking news for you.
Speaker 1: I mean, look, if the BYU media members need breaking
Speaker 1: news on the Home of the Utes about BYU Spencer,
Speaker 1: We've got something to talk about, buddy.
Speaker 3: Uh. We're in trouble. We're in trouble. Uh yeah, clearly, Spence.
Speaker 3: That is that is all anybody really wants to talk
Speaker 3: about when it comes to BA football at this juncture,
Speaker 3: is who's going to be the starter? You know, whether
Speaker 3: I'm at church, or I'm in the grocery store, or
Speaker 3: I'm walking to my car. Like I can see it.
Speaker 3: I can spot it from a mile away. Someone's easy.
Speaker 3: They make eye contact and I almost eighty percent of
Speaker 3: the time, I guarantee there's going to be a question
Speaker 3: about who's going to be the starting quarterback at BA football.
Speaker 3: But it comes with the territory, and clearly that has
Speaker 3: been the headliner to open up a training camp for
Speaker 3: Kalani Sataki.
Speaker 1: The main difference between you and I Spencer, even though
Speaker 1: we have similar names, is when you walk into church,
Speaker 1: they say, who's the quarterback? When I walk into church
Speaker 1: they say, what the hell are you doing here?
Speaker 3: With open arms? My friends?
Speaker 2: Oh, oh for sure.
Speaker 1: Speaking of which, do you know anybody named Spencer under
Speaker 1: the age of like thirty five? I feel like for
Speaker 1: about ten years, if you were raised in an LDS household,
Speaker 1: there was a good chance your name was Spencer.
Speaker 2: And now I don't think anybody will ever be named Spencer.
Speaker 3: Again, that's a great point. No, I mean, my oldest
Speaker 3: son has my name is his middle name. But yeah,
Speaker 3: I now that you ask that, I do not think
Speaker 3: I know anybody, at least not in my close circle
Speaker 3: that I could recall off the top of my head
Speaker 3: that shares my name. That is wild man. We need
Speaker 3: to more love for the name Spencer moving forward.
Speaker 1: And honestly, I believe we're close to the same age. Again,
Speaker 1: I know dozens of Spencer's in LDS families that are
Speaker 1: around our age. But I think after a while people
Speaker 1: are like, yeah, the name is all not all that great.
Speaker 1: We're gonna move on.
Speaker 3: It's been, it's washed up, it is, it ran its course,
Speaker 3: It's good.
Speaker 2: It is, it is.
Speaker 1: But indeed we traverse on all right, Well, I know
Speaker 1: you're sick of talking about it, but it is the
Speaker 1: one thing people want to know. So McKay Hillstead eight
Speaker 1: stars under his belt at Utah State, the tracing board,
Speaker 1: gay kid, that's been a couple of years of Western Michigan.
Speaker 1: And then bear Backmeyer, who I feel like a lot
Speaker 1: of people are really really high on. How would you
Speaker 1: handicap this as of now? And how do you think
Speaker 1: it's going to play out?
Speaker 3: Yeah, it is really splitting hairs at this juncture. And
Speaker 3: Aaron Rodrick, the offensive coordinator, said late last week it's
Speaker 3: going to be a minute. It's going to take some time.
Speaker 3: And I know that others have been outspoken. Brandon Doman,
Speaker 3: a former BA quarterback, He's like, no, they I mean,
Speaker 3: you have to make decision now. You've got to like
Speaker 3: you got to make your decision and go with it.
Speaker 3: The earlier the better, it's going to be more advantageous
Speaker 3: to your team. But I believe based on commentary from
Speaker 3: Aaron Rodrick and Tessei Sataki and other coaches on the
Speaker 3: current staff that they need at least ten practices to
Speaker 3: really be able to and it might be more practices
Speaker 3: in that to even get to a point where they're like,
Speaker 3: all right now, this guy is creating some separation. You
Speaker 3: just be always not in this situation right now where
Speaker 3: they can be like, Okay, all we needed was a
Speaker 3: wig he's the guy. No, we're not there. And so
Speaker 3: I don't think that they will know even within the
Speaker 3: staff that their starting quarterback is this guy until at
Speaker 3: least I'll thrown out a date like August twentieth, like,
Speaker 3: we probably need two more weeks and eight to ten
Speaker 3: more practices before they can feel confident in seeing separation
Speaker 3: for a guy. Now, if you were to ask me
Speaker 3: and you getting around about way, like who's the guy
Speaker 3: today and how are we handicapping them now? I would
Speaker 3: give a very slight edge to McKay Hillstead because I
Speaker 3: feel like his skill set naturally fits Aaron Rodgers' offense
Speaker 3: best right now, and I think that he's the guy
Speaker 3: that's hitting all of a Rod's love languages at this point.
Speaker 3: And for those who are wondering what the heck I'm
Speaker 3: talking about, a Rod pays attention to three things very closely,
Speaker 3: one red zone efficiency, two taking care of the ball,
Speaker 3: and three your ability to scramble and extend plays and
Speaker 3: make something happen when the pocket does eventually collapse. And
Speaker 3: I think Hillstead is the guy that is at least
Speaker 3: consistently doing those things the best right now. But it's
Speaker 3: I mean, a very slim margin between McKay and Trayson
Speaker 3: Borget and Bear Bachmeyer. If I were making the death
Speaker 3: chart today, I'd probably have McKay starting tracing very close
Speaker 3: second behind. And Bear is intriguing because he's a guy
Speaker 3: that you could implement some specialty packages for with what
Speaker 3: he brings to the field. And I know that people
Speaker 3: hate the idea of how multiple quarterbacks, Like I'm not
Speaker 3: saying Boa needs to play multiple quarterbacks, but don't be
Speaker 3: sprised to BYU. In the red zone and on the
Speaker 3: ten yard line and all of a sudden, Bear Backmeyer
Speaker 3: comes in and the defense is like, Okay, here's this
Speaker 3: kid wearing number forty seven. He's a big, physical guy.
Speaker 3: We know he likes to run, but you do have
Speaker 3: to respect his ability to pass. It's almost like what
Speaker 3: bou did with Taysom Hill in twenty twelve and frankly,
Speaker 3: what the Saints are doing with Taysom Hill right now?
Speaker 3: It's like, okay, well, we can't be sure that he's
Speaker 3: gonna run. We think he's gonna run, but he might throw.
Speaker 3: It might be a play action element. So that's kind
Speaker 3: of how I would sum it up right now is
Speaker 3: is McKay's the guy, very close race between he and
Speaker 3: Trayson who would be number two. And then some specialty
Speaker 3: packages for Bear Backmeyer who once he's in the system
Speaker 3: a little bit longer because he's been impressive thus far,
Speaker 3: just give a little more time to acclimate in and
Speaker 3: he's got the highest ceiling. But just he's third right now,
Speaker 3: but don't be surprised to see him on the field
Speaker 3: in some unique twists and a Rod's offense.
Speaker 1: You reference the number, and as I was watching some film,
Speaker 1: I'm like, can we get our guy a different number
Speaker 1: than forty seven if he's playing quarterback? Like it's just
Speaker 1: a little bit odd, Like what's the origin story of
Speaker 1: Bear Bachmeyer who is trying to be a quarterback at
Speaker 1: BYU wearing number forty seven?
Speaker 3: You know, he likes the idea of just being different
Speaker 3: and almost like a linebacker's mentality where he's just football player.
Speaker 3: So we need to dive into that some more. But
Speaker 3: from what I've gathered, it's just kind of a I
Speaker 3: like it because it's different and I feel like I
Speaker 3: bring a physical nature to the game, and so forty
Speaker 3: seven it is. It's just something that he made a
Speaker 3: decision about a while ago and it kind of made
Speaker 3: its way in through the prep ranks and what he
Speaker 3: was doing there, and so it kind of identifies himself
Speaker 3: as just different. So I've to get into the specifics
Speaker 3: of the forty seven with him and kind of dive
Speaker 3: like why that number specific went a number forty five
Speaker 3: or number forty two. So let me follow up on that.
Speaker 3: That is a loaded question and one that it's certainly
Speaker 3: worthy of being asked.
Speaker 1: So the Coach's Poll is released on Monday, and we
Speaker 1: just said Kyle Bonniger on the show, and I asked Kyle,
Speaker 1: throughout his entire career covering college football, how many coaches
Speaker 1: he's spoken to that admitted they actually did this, and
Speaker 1: he said one it was David Shaw, who said he
Speaker 1: did it one year and that never.
Speaker 2: Did it again.
Speaker 1: About three about three years ago, I texted a coach
Speaker 1: in state and I said, off the record, how many
Speaker 1: times have you done this exercise? He said zero, Now
Speaker 1: one time, I've never done it. I was delegated. It's
Speaker 1: an exercise in futility. However, it's early August and we're
Speaker 1: inching closer and closer to game, so it is topical.
Speaker 1: Were you surprised that, despite breaking in a new quarterback,
Speaker 1: BYU still broke the top twenty five, coming in at
Speaker 1: number twenty three.
Speaker 3: Absolutely, I did not expect BAU to be in any
Speaker 3: top twenty five, whether it be a notable presea magazines
Speaker 3: like Phil Steel and Lindy's and afon. Certainly not after
Speaker 3: the Jake Retslock news broke that he was leaving, It's like, okay,
Speaker 3: now BYU is not in that top twenty five category.
Speaker 3: I think the closest I have seen BYU other than
Speaker 3: the coach's pool you're referencing now, was something that came
Speaker 3: out from CBS Sports yesterday or maybe this morning, which
Speaker 3: was they ranked all one hundred and thirty six FBS
Speaker 3: teams and BYA was at number thirty six, which I
Speaker 3: thought was a fair number because I do believe that
Speaker 3: they're a good team, and there's a lot of faith
Speaker 3: and trust in Kilani and the culture that he's built.
Speaker 3: But everyone's in the holding pattern, understandably because of the
Speaker 3: quarterback situation. So when I saw the coaches pool number
Speaker 3: twenty three, that WHOA, Okay, the sports information directors you're
Speaker 3: talking about clearly did not set the memo about what's
Speaker 3: happening with BYU's offense right now, because you're right, it's
Speaker 3: it's whatever. A person in the athletic department has been
Speaker 3: delegated the responsibility to submit said ballot for the coach's poll,
Speaker 3: and it all gets tabulated, and I'm sure that some
Speaker 3: of them are like, well, B why you beat up
Speaker 3: on Colorado on the Alima Bowl and one eleven and
Speaker 3: two and finished number thirteen. Yeah, I'll throw them in
Speaker 3: the top twenty five. So probably some lazy research there
Speaker 3: are just like, hey, this is get it done. When
Speaker 3: the media poll and the eight piece side comes out,
Speaker 3: I believe on Monday, I don't think we're going to
Speaker 3: see B only in the top twenty five. I think
Speaker 3: there will be a few that might put them at
Speaker 3: the very back of the pole, so they'll be receiving
Speaker 3: votes in some small capacity, but I think they probably
Speaker 3: deserve to be somewhere between eight to twelve spots out
Speaker 3: of the top twenty five, because twenty three straight up
Speaker 3: shocked me. And I think BYU they revel in the
Speaker 3: idea of being the underappreciated, over delivering team, and so
Speaker 3: I think you ask a typical fan or even a
Speaker 3: player on the team, it's like, no, don't rank us, Like,
Speaker 3: just just let us start unranked and work our way up,
Speaker 3: and we'll have that proverbial chip on the shoulder and
Speaker 3: we'll use that as an advantage if they can channel
Speaker 3: that energy in the right direction completely.
Speaker 1: Iypathetical, no way of knowing. But if Jake stays and
Speaker 1: is not facing a suspension, none of that goes down.
Speaker 1: Where do you think they land?
Speaker 3: I would put them probably between sixteen and eighteen in
Speaker 3: the media poll if Jake Retzloff is still the quarterback.
Speaker 3: Now you've got like a real case for a team
Speaker 3: that has some continuity. Right, they still have continuity, But
Speaker 3: when you bring back your returning starting quarterback and a
Speaker 3: team that feels like their defense is not going to
Speaker 3: have a lapse, or at least not a significant lapse,
Speaker 3: and you have key playmakers like Chase Roberts and LJ.
Speaker 3: Martin and you have enough of a contingentry offensive lineback.
Speaker 3: Now there's a case, at least in your typical media
Speaker 3: member's mind that BYU is the top twenty teen. So
Speaker 3: I would I had inflated somewhere between sixteen and eighteen
Speaker 3: to start the season with Retsloff in the mix. Now
Speaker 3: that he's gone, then I think, yeah, eight to twelve
Speaker 3: spots outside, And I think that's totally fair. And if
Speaker 3: the YU wants to try and rally around the idea
Speaker 3: that they don't know but they about to find out
Speaker 3: that whole thing, then great, you know, more power to them.
Speaker 3: But there is I don't know why it is down here,
Speaker 3: but they the fans just they love the idea of
Speaker 3: being undervalued and then trying to make something more and
Speaker 3: they see, we told you. But we'll see if they
Speaker 3: can do it again, because this time around with a
Speaker 3: full on quarterback battle, like the question marks are totally
Speaker 3: fair and I have no idea what to expect in
Speaker 3: that first game on August thirtieth.
Speaker 1: I do think if you're a b YU fan, you
Speaker 1: take a little comfort knowing that a Rod and Kolani
Speaker 1: have traversed the quarterback battle space for what three straight
Speaker 1: years maybe, and they've made the right call every single time.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, yeah, no at fair point, Like last year
Speaker 3: with Jake Rethloft and Gary Bohannon, it was like, man,
Speaker 3: it literally came down to the last week and they're like, hey,
Speaker 3: we're gonna We're gonna make Jake the guy. But Gary,
Speaker 3: you're you're right there, and so that was a tough
Speaker 3: one and they I mean, there was a lot of
Speaker 3: back and forth there because Gary shoulder was better and
Speaker 3: he looked really good, and I don't know that they
Speaker 3: were anticipating that happening. So that was a really tough
Speaker 3: decision there. And even going back to twenty eighteen, I
Speaker 3: think that was the last time but a Rod wasn't
Speaker 3: the offensive coordinator. That was Jeff Grimes, and it was
Speaker 3: Tanner Mangum versus Dak Wilson, and they opted for Tanner
Speaker 3: Mangum and his experience for the first six games. Then
Speaker 3: he got benched and then comes Zack Wilson and he
Speaker 3: starts his career. So that was really the last time
Speaker 3: I was like, oh, man, I have no idea what
Speaker 3: be what he's going to do at quarterback, and I
Speaker 3: don't envy the offensive coordinator that has to make that decision.
Speaker 3: Didn't in twenty eighteen, don't this year because that's really tough.
Speaker 3: But yes, to your point, like, this is not something
Speaker 3: that is brand new and they're like, oh, what do
Speaker 3: we do? Like they have traversed this and if they
Speaker 3: can just name a guy internally at least a week out,
Speaker 3: then that's probably an okay scenario. But I don't think
Speaker 3: most of it in the media and in the public
Speaker 3: are going to know who the starting quarterback is until
Speaker 3: we see him run out with the offense in the
Speaker 3: first series of the season.
Speaker 1: Tell me about the on line. I mean, ultimately, that's
Speaker 1: where it starts. And Klannie, of course, you know, learned
Speaker 1: a lot of his trade under Kyle, and Kyle wants
Speaker 1: the trenches. Every coach wants the trenches dialed in and
Speaker 1: b Yu with some losses on that old line, how's
Speaker 1: it shape it up?
Speaker 3: Yeah, they are expecting a lot from a guy like
Speaker 3: Bruce Mitchell at center to take over for Connor pay
Speaker 3: and that he The good thing for Bruce is Connor
Speaker 3: got injured Vester and Bruce had to start at center
Speaker 3: in multiple important power forward games. So they feel like
Speaker 3: they for the most part, won't skip the beat with
Speaker 3: the guy who's ready and experienced it, and so they
Speaker 3: feel like they have their center and their captain on
Speaker 3: that line. The addition of Andrew Gentry the Michigan transfer
Speaker 3: is huge and the experience and perspective that he brings,
Speaker 3: he'll be the right tackle, so that that should really
Speaker 3: helped by you feel confident on that side. Isaiah Jada
Speaker 3: is going to be the blind side protector. I talked
Speaker 3: to TJ Woods offensive line coach, about Isaiah and he said, look,
Speaker 3: there are a few guys that have taken significant steps forward.
Speaker 3: Isaiah is one of those guys. I have a lot
Speaker 3: of trust in him. So I feel very good about
Speaker 3: the two tackle positions. And then Wayla la Blau might
Speaker 3: be the He's certainly the vocal leader on that offensive line,
Speaker 3: but he brings a ton of experience and he's gone
Speaker 3: through the rigors of a full power force schedule. So
Speaker 3: you have most of your key components. I think the
Speaker 3: biggest question mark about the offensive line is how deep
Speaker 3: are they? Like after the starting five, what do they have?
Speaker 3: And that's what TJ said, He's like camp for me
Speaker 3: is going to be figuring out who guys six through
Speaker 3: nine are so that we can know what happens if
Speaker 3: and when, inevitably there is an injury. You know, what
Speaker 3: can Austin Leusa do? And you know some of these
Speaker 3: other younger guys were developing, Like that's the biggest question
Speaker 3: mark is the starting five. Like the opening five to
Speaker 3: six guys very confident. The depth is where the concern
Speaker 3: lies with positions like six through nine when those injuries happen.
Speaker 1: Both Utah and BYU have a bit of a soft
Speaker 1: landing into the season with some non conference games. Portland
Speaker 1: State of the opener for BYU, then Stanford at home
Speaker 1: Stanford fied Troy Taylor. Frank Reich is in as an
Speaker 1: interim coach and it's an agreement from both sides that
Speaker 1: it's a one year deal, and then it's at East
Speaker 1: Carolina prior to launching into conference play. Do you like
Speaker 1: the soft landing just because BYU's breaking in a new quarterback,
Speaker 1: so you kind of can see what sort of hand
Speaker 1: you've been dealt before conference play.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's interesting that it worked out that way because
Speaker 3: at first I was like, man, I'd like to see
Speaker 3: BYU play kind of one of those banger non conference
Speaker 3: games with the experienced core returning. But when the redtslof
Speaker 3: situation went down, it's like, oh man, this is actually
Speaker 3: beneficial that BYU can ramp up, And frankly, the first
Speaker 3: six games of the season for BYU are a necessary
Speaker 3: ramp to the back six because beginning with Utah and
Speaker 3: game number seven, it just is a dauntlet for the
Speaker 3: for about four or five straight weeks because now you've
Speaker 3: got Utah and then ba's got to go to Ames
Speaker 3: and play at Iowa State, and then they have a
Speaker 3: bye week, and then they'll play in Lublick against Texas Tech, who's,
Speaker 3: you know, holding one of the most expensive and talented
Speaker 3: rosters they've ever had in program history. And then you've
Speaker 3: got to come home and play TCU. So it's just
Speaker 3: like whoa. In mid October to mid November, there's a
Speaker 3: lot there for BYU. So I do feel like the
Speaker 3: first six games in general are just a natural ramp
Speaker 3: up because BA is not going to figures a World
Speaker 3: Big or a non conference Portland State, Stanford or East Carolina.
Speaker 3: Colorado is an intriguing Big twelve opener, not sure what
Speaker 3: they're going to be. Deon Senners that they're a more
Speaker 3: talented team. They don't have as much individuals they had
Speaker 3: last year, but he believes they're a better team overall.
Speaker 3: So take that for what you will. And then Byu
Speaker 3: has got a couple of games that I feel like
Speaker 3: they should be okay in a home game against West Virginia,
Speaker 3: who has to travel along away on a Friday night,
Speaker 3: and then Arizona on the road, and we don't know
Speaker 3: what the heck they're going to be under Brent Brennan
Speaker 3: as he's trying to save his job. So it really
Speaker 3: is a great opportunity for be Aay to break in
Speaker 3: a guy. And I think that it's not outland just
Speaker 3: to think that the Cougars can go five and one,
Speaker 3: even with the brand new quarterback against those six opponents.
Speaker 3: If BA can be five and one going into the
Speaker 3: Utah game, then they should feel very very good about
Speaker 3: their chances, you know, to win eight games and try
Speaker 3: and go three and three in that back six and
Speaker 3: be going into a bowl game at eight and four.
Speaker 1: Talked about this earlier with the coaches poll released yesterday
Speaker 1: and the AP coming out on Monday. I need three
Speaker 1: or four I need three or four games games before
Speaker 1: I can I always say observation, not conclusion the first
Speaker 1: three or four games of the season. Now, the complication,
Speaker 1: UH with this dynamic when it comes to a conference
Speaker 1: is you could go zero to three in non con
Speaker 1: turn it around to do finding conference play. But how
Speaker 1: long do you need before you feel like you have
Speaker 1: an accurate read on exactly who b YU will be
Speaker 1: this year?
Speaker 2: How many games you need do you need on your belt?
Speaker 3: I'm not far off of what you're you're saying there, Spence.
Speaker 3: I I feel like I have a really good idea
Speaker 3: of what a team is probably four games into the season,
Speaker 3: because I think you've you've seen at least one conference game,
Speaker 3: and you've seen them work out some of the workoffs,
Speaker 3: some of the russ work at some of the kinks
Speaker 3: in things through those three non conference games. So if
Speaker 3: I saw the first poll like the first week of October,
Speaker 3: I think that would be awesome because then we then
Speaker 3: we I thought, we really know, like Okay, we have
Speaker 3: a way better idea of what these teams are and
Speaker 3: you can avoid a situation like we had a Florida
Speaker 3: State last year where they're a top ten team and
Speaker 3: they lose in the opener in Ireland at Georgia Tech,
Speaker 3: and we're like, oh, maybe it was a fluke, and
Speaker 3: then the wheels just absolutely fell off and they were
Speaker 3: an absolute dumpster fire a year after being a College
Speaker 3: Fool playoff contender. So yeah, I'm probably four games and
Speaker 3: then and then we're good. Give me the first pull
Speaker 3: on October. But I understand that we're in a business
Speaker 3: that drives advertisers and ratings, and we need contexts and
Speaker 3: we want people to watch games early, and that's why
Speaker 3: we have the preseason eight peopole and the coaches pulled
Speaker 3: because we want people to watch the product. We want
Speaker 3: people to pay attention to our shows, and it gives
Speaker 3: us spotder to talk about. So I trust me. I
Speaker 3: understand both dynamics. But if I had my way, first
Speaker 3: pull on the first week of October would be the
Speaker 3: way to go.
Speaker 1: I had a chance to catch up with Brian Santiago
Speaker 1: Big twelve Media Day. What's it been like? First couple? Well,
Speaker 1: I guess months now on the job. I mean, it's
Speaker 1: just it's tough to follow a guy like Tom with
Speaker 1: the job he did, and we know Brian was his
Speaker 1: right hand man, and you know it, it does feel
Speaker 1: like he has inherited a very advantageous situation for an
Speaker 1: AD because it just feels like things are ticking down there,
Speaker 1: honestly in a way that it hasn't felt like for
Speaker 1: quite some time on both the men's basketball and football side.
Speaker 1: And then you know, a lot of the Olympic sports
Speaker 1: high level as well, so fan interest, ticket sales, you know,
Speaker 1: business of sport at BYU seems good. What's it been
Speaker 1: like having that new AD for a little while.
Speaker 3: Now, Yeah, I joked to him. I actually spoke to
Speaker 3: them this morning and joke of them like, hey, you
Speaker 3: signed up at the perfect time, you know, nice easy
Speaker 3: transition into revenue share, your starting quarterback leaving the program
Speaker 3: and going through that craziness and then sold out arenas
Speaker 3: and students being mad because they're not enough rock passes
Speaker 3: and season ticket holders wondering if they're going to be
Speaker 3: able to be in the building, and you know, we
Speaker 3: kind of, you know, joked about a tongue in cheek,
Speaker 3: but I mean, ultimately he said, it's it's this is
Speaker 3: a first world problem, no doubt about it. Like it,
Speaker 3: I'm so grateful and I'm using his words to see
Speaker 3: the passion and the commitment for BYU athletics at an
Speaker 3: all time high, and I mean he keeps using the
Speaker 3: word just like unbelievable and unprecedented, But he's genuinely excited
Speaker 3: about what's going to happen. He did point out the
Speaker 3: biggest challenge ahead of by U is now that there
Speaker 3: are expectations out there, especially for the men's basketball program,
Speaker 3: like how do they rise to the occasion? Can they
Speaker 3: meet the expectations which really haven't been there certainly not
Speaker 3: like this, But that's the challenge now is can we
Speaker 3: can we rise to the occasion, meet the expectations. Can
Speaker 3: this basketballs and put it together and go to an
Speaker 3: elite AID or you know, be a legitimate national championship contender?
Speaker 3: And can football replicate what they did last year? Can
Speaker 3: they make it so last year wasn't a fluke and
Speaker 3: they can they go out and be a legitimate contender
Speaker 3: to get to a Big twelve championship game. So that
Speaker 3: that's the challenge. But I believe he is genuinely excited
Speaker 3: and thrilled and is aware of the concerns and complaints
Speaker 3: that happened when everyone wants to be in the building
Speaker 3: and can't. But you know, and I've got, he's open
Speaker 3: to admitting that he's he's learning as he goes. You know,
Speaker 3: he's like, man, I feel like I'm learning the lesson
Speaker 3: every day. Just you think you have an idea of
Speaker 3: if somebody's going to happen and how people are invested,
Speaker 3: and then it's just like whoa, the investment is even
Speaker 3: more and we're just trying to figure it out as
Speaker 3: we go. But a guy just getting through one day
Speaker 3: at a time when he says one day at a time,
Speaker 3: like he I believe he's living it and he means it,
Speaker 3: and he's exhausted, but he's really excited about just the
Speaker 3: general momentum of BYU Athletics and the even the Olympic
Speaker 3: sports you talked about with you know, my gosh sober
Speaker 3: medals in the Paris Olympics and and one of the
Speaker 3: runners being nominated for NT double Woman of the Year
Speaker 3: Lexi Halliday Lowry, and just national championships being won in
Speaker 3: track and field on top of a nice pedigree that
Speaker 3: you already have with women's volleyball and soccer, and so yeah,
Speaker 3: pretty pretty wild time, but can be what you prised
Speaker 3: the occasion. I think it's something that we're all very
Speaker 3: interesting to see.
Speaker 2: Before you say you lose.
Speaker 1: You probably can't talk about the Dean Rutger kid, right,
Speaker 1: the new the new prospect that's time for twenty six.
Speaker 3: Yeah, so it's funny like we can't talk about him
Speaker 3: on a university based program, like say his name officially,
Speaker 3: but on your show, I'm happy, it's happy to talk
Speaker 3: about him. Yet Dean's just another another big get, like
Speaker 3: another four star guy and another important in state win
Speaker 3: for Kevin Young. He uh, he kind of reminds me
Speaker 3: a little bit of Lee Kamard honestly, in in in
Speaker 3: what he does, and he's a little I think I
Speaker 3: don't think he'll be as skinny as Lee Lovely, but
Speaker 3: I really like what he what he brings to be
Speaker 3: with basketball, and you know, no question, it's it's hard
Speaker 3: for a young man like that not to notice what's
Speaker 3: been happening at the end and actually seeing the likes
Speaker 3: of AJ DeVonta and Rob right the third and Richie
Speaker 3: Saunders and these big time star guys and watching practice
Speaker 3: and like there's yeah, there's real energy there. So huge,
Speaker 3: huge good get for BYU. Really like his game and man,
Speaker 3: I think he's going to score a lot of points
Speaker 3: for BYU.
Speaker 1: To expand the question to more of a macro standpoint.
Speaker 1: I know you referenced that BYU fans would prefer to
Speaker 1: fly under the radar. Well, I don't know how many
Speaker 1: people really understand what this basketball team has. November fifteenth,
Speaker 1: Yukon in Boston, And look, it's it's really tough, Spencer,
Speaker 1: because you know me, I'm a basketball guy and I
Speaker 1: love college hoops. I know a lot of people around
Speaker 1: here don't and think it's changed in a way that
Speaker 1: you know, for people like us that grew up with
Speaker 1: Duke and UNLV and those great Utah teams in the
Speaker 1: nineties and some great BYU teams back in the day,
Speaker 1: maybe it doesn't land the way I once did. And
Speaker 1: because of the nature of the tournament, I always hesitate
Speaker 1: to say you should go to a final four, you
Speaker 1: should be a five fourteen, because every year there's a
Speaker 1: sprained ankle and then there's a random super senior that
Speaker 1: hits twelve threes and suddenly you're going home like crazy
Speaker 1: things happen in the tournament. Yeah, but I'm going to say,
Speaker 1: on paper, this should be a team that, if things
Speaker 1: go their way and they stay healthy, a final four
Speaker 1: is a legit possibility. It's not just AJ, it's the
Speaker 1: Rob Wright kid, Canard Davis comes in from Southern Illinois.
Speaker 1: They get Richie Back, top end NBA talent, depth, and
Speaker 1: a coach who's proven he could do it. Our BYU
Speaker 1: fans seeming in your mind to understand what they're in for.
Speaker 2: Even though everyone's.
Speaker 1: Excited about football, this is a basketball team. Unlike that,
Speaker 1: I think anyone's seen down there.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and come on, let's let's be real, Like as
Speaker 3: exciting as football is, I feel like there is a
Speaker 3: strong growing contingent of the fan base that is more
Speaker 3: excited about BA basketball because this is a brand new
Speaker 3: stratus here and this isn't just you know, going through
Speaker 3: another level. They taking this thing another ten levels up
Speaker 3: and that honestly, it's kind of hard for fans to
Speaker 3: not be a little scared and have some trepidation about,
Speaker 3: oh gosh, like do we really want to go all
Speaker 3: in on like this, this idea that BA could go
Speaker 3: to their second lead in and then maybe get to
Speaker 3: their first ever Final four. It's just like this this
Speaker 3: emotional disconnect because it hasn't ever legitimately since maybe when
Speaker 3: Jim or for Debt and Brandon Davies was still in
Speaker 3: the mix. Like that year, I was like, oh my gosh,
Speaker 3: b A really is good. But even then they had
Speaker 3: time to like kind of work into that. This is
Speaker 3: you're starting the season and you got you know, several
Speaker 3: local broadcasters yourself included, me included, and national guys and
Speaker 3: John Rothstein, fran Forschila are saying we BA is final
Speaker 3: four good. They are final four good. We've never experienced
Speaker 3: that in Happy Valley, like that's it hasn't ever been there.
Speaker 3: So I just feel like there's some hesitation to fully
Speaker 3: embrace it because the fear of maybe being disappointed. But
Speaker 3: come on, let's let's this is what sports are about,
Speaker 3: like is what being a fan is about. Just go
Speaker 3: all in. Understand that this that this talent level is
Speaker 3: unlike anything we've ever seen before, and and go with it.
Speaker 3: And if if health remains good, yeah, b y u
Speaker 3: is final four good. Which is a crazy thing for
Speaker 3: me to say, And even I am still trying to
Speaker 3: come around to like fully timing into that. But I've
Speaker 3: been in practice, I've seen them like they are. It's
Speaker 3: is just another level. They are absolutely good enough to
Speaker 3: get to an Elit day and and make history and
Speaker 3: get to a Final four.
Speaker 1: No doubt, I buddy appreciate the time. As one of
Speaker 1: the last Spencer standing. I always enjoy our conversations. Have
Speaker 1: a great week with chat to it.
Speaker 3: Okay, all right brother, good to talk to you.
Speaker 1: Spencer Lett and b Yu tv B why you still
Speaker 1: looking for a quarterback?
Speaker 2: Prior to their opener against poor State