Speaker 1: Is Cougar Sports with Ben Kretel, and it's time for
the Cougar Beat getting the dish from the local reporters
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Let's get out to the hot line. Welcome in d
Shawn WALKERKSL dot com. Sewn Walker, How that care you man?
Thanks for joining us.
Speaker 1: Ben.
Speaker 4: It's great to join you because, as you're well aware,
there's something in the air tonight. The stars are bright
shining there for you and me for liberty. So we
never thought that we could lose. There's no regret. If
I had to do the same again, I would my friend. Nothing, nothing,
I I is this.
Speaker 2: Oh I have a friend, and yet you know the
entire lyrics of that song. Oh my goodness, I had
no idea. I didn't know he recommended it.
Speaker 4: This has been has has Let me let me start
this interview with the question for you, my good friend,
Benjamin Crittle, has this been the best college football season?
For the resurgence of Abba Classic.
Speaker 2: Look, I don't know about that, but I will say this,
it's been arguably one of the best college football seasons ever.
In my opinion, it just has been between the expanded playoff,
Indiana taking it all, undefeated, Kirk Sinnetti, Fernando Mendosa right,
and the Abba song. It is what it is, all
of it combined. To me, it's one of the best
seasons all time.
Speaker 4: No, I totally agree. I mean this, this college football
season was awesome, capped by the fact that we're talking
about Indiana in the Freakingana as you're twenty twenty five,
I guess twenty twenty six now twenty twenty five season
national champions like, it's amazing, like Indiana. Do you realize then,
Indiana was the losingest top level football program up until
I think earlier this year, or maybe it was late
last year. It was one of the two sometime during
this Kurt signety era. It was very very late last year,
or like one of the first weeks of this year,
they were the losingest top division college football program of
all time. I believe they're number two now, so they're
they're officially kind of out of that spot. It's a
MAC team that's actually number one. I can't even remember
who it is anymore. But like the fact that we're
talking about the powerhouse that is Kurt Signety in Indiana
in the year where there were no SEC teams in
the National Championship Game for the second straight season that
there were, that the last SECS team standing was like
the fourth best team in the league in all miss
Like we're talking about two group of five programs that
made the college football Playoff. Like it's just I don't
I don't understand why anybody in this sport wants to
go beyond the current twelve team playoffs that we currently
that that we're currently in because we just played an
absolute banger of a season kept by a banger of
a postseason, and for some reason we want to go
and do something and screw it all up again. Like
this sport it confounds me sometimes then it really does.
It absolutely confounds me. But let's celebrate what we had
for a little bit, Kelly.
Speaker 2: Let's go Sean Walker casel dot com. What have you
been writing about recently?
Speaker 3: Sean?
Speaker 2: What can we find on the KSHL dot com webshite
with your authorship.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, do you do you want to celebrate
last season and you want to look ahead to next year,
because I think most people ufens right now are trying
to look at to next year. We're all over the
transfer portal, we're talking, we're talking about the end of
the year. This was here's a good one for you.
So BYU number eleven, I think you guys probably I'm
assuming you guys probably talked about it a little bit earlier.
Should we get into the top top twelve postseason Cougar's
twelve and two for the first time, and what's it
been twenty four years? I think it's been twelve one
campaign for the first time in twenty four years. I
mean a program that is getting stronger under Kline Sataki,
who's locked up for the long term. Boy, a couple
of weeks ago, that would have been a sentence to say,
wasn't it. I mean this, like we talked about the
strength of college football, BYU's adapting to the new era
of college football, I think, very very well and setting
itself up for really good success potentially as soon as
next year. Like I really like with this team is
that I really like where the state of the game
is at oh, we'll all we can talk about whether
or not the current state of college football is sustainable.
There are programs right now that are sustaining themselves very
well in college football, and I think YU is trying
to prove it's darnedas that it is one of those
programs that wants to sit towards or near the top
of the sport and kind of be in that that
upper class.
Speaker 2: If you will look, way too early top twenty five
season is here right after the national championship game. It
all settles right, and every it's talking about the way
too early top twenty five BYU is hovering in that
thirteen twelve, eleven ten range.
Speaker 3: PFF had him at ten.
Speaker 4: I think ESPN ten had them at like eight or nine,
and their way too early to twenty five.
Speaker 3: I have it right here.
Speaker 2: Well, Mark Slabuk has him at number eleven. He states this,
do you agree or disagree with the spot? Eleventh? Okay,
obviously they're twelve and two eight won a big twelve
play Key starters expected to leave Isaiah Johda, Waitland Lapuaho, Carson,
Ryan Chase Roberts, Tanderwall, John To mcpeo Logan with.
Speaker 3: Twoy Jack Kelly.
Speaker 2: We're still waiting to see if John to mcpeo hired
a lawyer and can get his eligibility back.
Speaker 3: We'll see how that plays out.
Speaker 2: Key additions Kadu ou Lave, Jay Clifton, zakiy Alamouchi, Pockey,
Fenout Walker, Lyons, Kyler, Casper Junior, Sia, et cetera.
Speaker 3: There's a number of guys there. This is what he says.
Speaker 2: Twenty twenty six outlook, the Cougar's won eleven games or
more for the second straight season. Their biggest victory might
have been locking up coach Kalani Satake, who turned down
the Penn State job to manage his alma mater. The
Cougars have a good core of star players. Quarterback Bear Blockmeer,
tail back L. J. Martin leading the way on offense.
By you signed a trio of experience transfers to shore
up its offensive line, and they look to help open
holes for Martin, obviously, who led the Big twelve with
one thousand and three out of five rushing yards in
twenty twenty five. Two of the top three receivers must
be replaced. Defense coordinator J hill In quarnerbacks coach jan
Or Guildford left to join Kyle Witningham staff at Michigan.
Sataki promoted special teams coordinator and defense end coach Kevin
Pingatt the defense at Boise States. Tomorrow, Warren was hired
as cornerbacks coach. So number eleven, do you think that's
an accurate depiction of who b YU is headed into
twenty twenty six?
Speaker 4: I mean, I think, if anything, it's maybe underrating BYU,
but b YU it's nothing if not a team that
kind of likes to be a little of aner rated
right like this. This is a team that looked like
a top ten team down the stretch with a lot
of questions. I mean, this was a team that went
into the highest rated by the Way non playoff bowl
game of the postseason, and the Pop Tarts Bowl, one
of the few postseason games that included two top twenty
five bonents win number twenty two Georgia Tech and BYU.
Won that game and won that game pretty not handily.
They didn't went going away by any means. It was
very tight down the stretch, but they won it very physically,
and they won it physically without that aforementioned LJ. Martin
without Jack Kelly and the defense without some of their
top defenders being out for a neard of reasons. Now,
they did still have bear Blockmeyer and he's resigned. Rey
up for another year.
Speaker 1: LJ.
Speaker 4: Martin's coming back for his senior season. He's passing on,
in my opinion, a jury. He's an NFL draft pick
right now. Uh, he probably would get selected. I don't
know around. I don't want to protect too much because
he's not going to be out of any of these
monks because he's coming back. But this is a guy
who would probably find a spot in the NFL this
year right now, and he's coming back for another year.
And then all of that talent on the offensive line.
They're still bringing back Andrew Entry at left tackle. That's
kind of important, right They're still bringing back Bruce Mitchell
their starting center. They added a plethora of offensive linemen
and then guys like Pocky s Now from Washington, Junior
Siah from Utah State, Zakia Maluchi from Stanford, former Bischem
Corman product. There remember a couple of years I remember
a couple of years ago, we were talking about a
certain four star recruit that BYU was giving a kind
of a second crack ad in some ways because he
was coming home from a mission to offload Norway. You
remember remember for that guy ended up signing with USC
had a pretty nice couple of seasons there. He's now
coming over via the transfer portal. You want to talk
about replacing reliable white wide receiver in uh in Chase Roberts, Well,
they just where. They got a kid from Oregon and
Kyler Casper who's coming back over. They got another pretty
good line uh uh pass catcher, tight end and Roger
Chalie Aponda from Orum who's coming home like this. Oh
and by the way, arguably the best linebacker in the portal,
Calcado Luise, a local kid from Mountain Ridge High School
out in Harriman, also coming back to b Y. So
this is this is a team I think that has
everything set, including its head coach, offensive coordinator, and the
entire offense staff that's been doing what they've been doing
for the last year with Bear Bodmeyer, for the year
before that with Jaquila, with all of the quarterbacks before that.
They're all coming back as well. I see no reason
why this can't be a top ten team going into
the preseason. Now top ten teams in the preseason. We
talked about it every year, what do they actually mean?
They're worth about as much as the paper. They're way
mon right, They don't actually mean anything until you go
out and you prove it and now be why. You
also have the schedule I think where they can prove
that they're a top ten team a couple of weeks
ago when they brought when they added a home game
against Notre's game to beef up some of that schedule.
They also go tow Color out of state, which I
think will be a pretty decent contender or could be
a kind of a middle mid range contender in their
first year in the new Pac twelve, I mean, plus
that Big twelve schedule as well. So like this, this
is a team that I think should be hovering right
around the top ten to start the year, and they've
got everything in front of them to prove that they're
one of those top ten teams and could pretend when
they could earn a spot in the cost of a playoffs.
In twenty twenty.
Speaker 2: Six, you mentioned a few of these tight ends. It
looks like that's been a priority of the transfer portal.
With four star tight end Walker lines four star tight
end Roger Sally Pocket coming.
Speaker 3: Too, b Yu.
Speaker 2: It begs the question how much twelve personal do we
foresee being showcased on the Great Iron at Lavell Edwards
Stadium this year? With Walker, Roger and of course Kean
Needs still on the roster too, and a couple other
guys that could make their way into the competition.
Speaker 4: Yeah, and there could be a lot, right, I mean,
I think the short answer is as much as offensive
coordinator Aaron Roder wants to run or run game coordinator
and offensive line coach TJ. Woods wants to run, right,
I mean the strength of this BYU often hopefully you know,
you hope to see another year of progression in bear Backmeyer.
He was able to show that he could make a
lot of really good throws, I think, especially in the
back half of his freshman year, and even in that
that pop Tart full game where he very clearly wasn't
his usual self into football, whether that was by scheme,
by injury, maybe a little bit of both, he showed
that he can make a lot of pretty good growth,
but he still got making it before bent that all
Big Twelve, that Big Twelve Offensive Player of the Year,
the Big twelve rushing yardage when they're in LJ. Martin
coming back, Like, this is going to be a team
that wants to run the ball, and they're gonna run
the ball, and then they're gonna run it some more,
and then when they're tired of running it, they're probably
gonna run out a little bit more than that. Like
they're gonna want to run the ball a lot. I
could see a lot of twelve, maybe even thirteen personnel
out there, like I mean this, Yeah, I think I
think the short answer is as much as Aaron Rodger
kN Kolin Ezac want to run like this is going
to be a very one heavy run oriented team that,
by the way, also happens to have a couple of
nice quarterbacks as well, like Perkarten Sindo the Phillips coming back,
Kyler Kasper coming in from Oregon, and Walker Lyons by
the way, breaking pass catchers when he was a USC
as well, caught a couple of toutsound last year. So
I think I think they're I think they're on the
up and up.
Speaker 2: Love the breakdown and yes, I'm excited too about these acquisitions.
Is there is there a specific acquisition that that cochrenations
should be most excited about in your opinion?
Speaker 4: Uh, can I give you two? But it's in one
position because I mentioned a little bit of Kadu Luave.
I had a chance to cover kid when he was
in high school at Mountains, which this kid is a baller,
six foot one, two hundred thirty five pounds played. He's
a little bit of an inside linebacker who's not afraid
to rush the passer as well. He's a two way
star at mallen Ridge though a thousand yard rusher at
running backs. I mean I thought when he In fact,
I remember talking to him why around signing game when
he committed to cow I asked him if there was
any chance of him playing two ways for playing a
little bit of offense. He said, well, whatever coach Willcox
wants me to play, I'll play. But I'm not he said,
I'm not opposed to it. So he's not opposed to
playing two ways. I think if Lani or a Rod
or new defensive coordinate Kelly Pabing to want to work
something out there, maybe there's some possibility right there, like
this is an absolute athlete, a stud, a baller. But
I don't think anybody's talking enough about the other linebacker
transfer that EYU added as well in Kansas State, Jake Cliff,
And now he's he's coming home from a church mission
in Nicolagua. I'm sure that's the big reason why he's
offing to transfer to BYU from Kansas State. That in
the fact that his former head coach has retired and
there's going to be a whole bunch of changes out
there in Manhattan. But I think day Cliff and Clifton
is very quietly a nice pick up for a team
that that yes, they're losing Jack Kelly, but they're bringing
back the other two pieces of kind of their three
headed linebacker monster and Isaiah Glaska and Sarah Like, the
strength of this team is still probably going to be linebackers.
Kelly Lavinia has a very good track record of developing linebackers,
by the way, you know, the guys who whose protegees
include guys like Kyle that nooy and talk to talk.
You know, there's uh So I think this linebacker group
could be as good on the whole as it was
last year, even losing a guy like the generational player
and Jack Kelly, Like, I think they they're they're at
least as good and probably even a little bit better
with the Luve and Jay Clifton.
Speaker 2: Some great acquisitions. Uh any of the attricians keeping you
up at night?
Speaker 4: Oh you know, I hate losing anybody.
Speaker 2: Ben, Come on now, you know I'm just saying, you know,
if you're if you're a b YU fan, b a
you coach?
Speaker 3: Are you looking at that like a man? Why? Like
is GMT like to stay shot through the heart? You
know that one hurt?
Speaker 4: Yeah? No, I mean I think I think there are
a couple, uh several of these several of these players,
like you understand why they're leaving. I think they're mostly
looking at playing time or a lack of playing time
in their current position. I'm thinking of guys like McKay
Hill said, the quarterback from Skyridge High School who's going
back to Utah State. He probably just wasn't saying he
playing time behind bear Backmeyer, who's younger than him going
into the sophomore season. So I don't blame McKay for leaving,
although that one urns. I really like McKay, like him
as a person, like him as an individual, also like
him as a football player. So I'm a little bit
saddened to see him go, but I think it's probably
for the best of him. Davian Beasley I kind of
feel the same way. I feel like tavie On Beasley
was the guy who was just starting to scratch the
surface a little bit midway through the year that Nickel
spot at cornerback. Now he's headed east to go play
at South Florida, And you know what, you wish these
guys all the best, right once a.
Speaker 1: Career, always a cooiter is not what you'd like to
say say.
Speaker 4: I think that I think there are two players that
would have seen significant time next year, and they're both
going to be playing in power force systems that I
don't know what YU fans are like hurt or being
kept up at night with these guys, because again, you
probably understand some of why they're transferring out. But one
of them is offensive tackled Jake Griffin. He was a
rotational piece last year and I thought he was going
to be even more in the rotations this year. He
just signed with Arizona, going back home so to speak.
He's from the Mesa area, so he's just one hundred
miles down the road in Tucson, gonna be gonna be playing,
It's gonna be staying in the big twelve.
Speaker 1: I think I think.
Speaker 4: Jake's a guy who who probably would have seen decent time,
maybe not starting next year, but certainly as a as
a very high rotational piece on that offensive line. And
then the other one's pretty obvious. It's Mac Golford, the
fifth year senior out of Park City, former Utah State transfer.
Now he's headed over to Michigan joining Jay Hill. So
j Hill didn't completely leave Yu's roster free from transfer,
as he is bringing along Max s Afford with Max
also has a very close relationship with Kyle Wadingham through
his late father who coached under Kyle up at the
U as well. So those those are probably two of
the bigger ones. I mean, I think Dom and Mark
and McKenzie are really nice pieces that are maybe a
little bit unfortunate Marcus in particular as a gunner as
well as the cornerback. But again that's I mean, that's
the two way shreated the transfer portal, Right, Like, if
you're going to use it and try to acquire new
talent and then see where you can get better, you
also have to be willing to take the risk that
you might lose somebody that you respect or that you need.
And I think there are a couple of guys like that,
Schaber and Strauthers, another kind of late one to the portals.
That's that's still floating around out there. Really going to
miss that guy personally, But that's I mean, that's that's
just the risk of the transfer portal. But you kind
of have to accept, like, if you want to use
the portal, then you need to be you need to
be cognizant of the fact that it's probably gonna be
used against you as well. So do I think b
YU lost absolutely nothing to the portal. No, I don't
think that's true at all. I think they lost some
absolute talent. But I also think they gained enough talent
to make up for what they lost and probably then
thumb out to make up for some of what they
lost to graduation.
Speaker 2: You know which one I hate, like you know, I wish.
I think he could have been very very good for
BYU this year and even next year. If you're looking
at wants needs on the roster, I think Polka Hungah,
you know, leaving and granted, there's some things that are
extenuating circumstances. He's gonna have to leave right and he's
got to take his talents elsewhere. But that one, to
me hurts man that he's not able to play, not
eligible to play at b YU. We need running backs, baby,
LJ is a dude. We need a little lightning to
the thunder though, you know what I.
Speaker 4: Mean, Oh, Poke would have been an absolutely huge need.
And I guess it's hard for me to consider Poke
as like this transfer portal when those decisions is because
of when he left right there in fall camp and everything, Like,
can you imagine that Poke I had been that backup,
that RB two behind LJ this past year, Like, I
think that would have been absolutely massive. So, you know,
there was I think initially I think I'm okay to
say this now at this point because he's he's not
coming back, he's officially important on all that, But there
was initially maybe a little bit of hope that he
could figure out some things and work out some things
to be able to come back and rejoin BYU. But
that's obviously not going to be the case anymore. I think, boy,
you could use a guy like him, But I you know,
if you also want to talk about the next man
of mentality. I think you know, he found a pretty
good next man up and Joe that sit the mooney
in particular in that Bowl game, So maybe things end
up kind of riding themselves out in a little bit
of ways. I also want to be shocked. Remember the
transfer portal is closed, but players that are in the
portal still you know, they've all got to find somewhere
to go as well. So I want to be shocked
and maybe be why you kind of kick the tires
at some of those running backs that are still floating
around the portal, especially to see if there's somebody who's
okay maybe taking a little bit of that lightning to
LJ Marns thunder that RB two goal to him as well,
because LG can tote the rock a lot, but maybe
he doesn't want to carry the ball thirty times a
game this year, and I think you'd probably be okay
with that going to his going into the senior tear
in as well. So don't be shocked to bey you
maybe pick some tires around a little bit through the
rest of this offseason.
Speaker 3: Sean Walker. Best way to support you what you do,
how you do it for all of our listeners.
Speaker 4: Brother KSL dot com. You can go check it out
sports dot KSL dot com if you want a direct
link to the sports page. It's all free. Won't even
ask you for a subscription, at least not yet. Maybe
we'll get to back down the road. Just kidding out
and think we're going to get to that.
Speaker 3: So yeah, he check it out today. D Shaun Walker,
thanks so much brother, great cougar beat.
Speaker 4: Appreciate you guys.
Speaker 1: Have a good one there. Go.
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Speaker 2: Let's go to Break, Don't go Anywhere More to get
You Tuesday, January twentieth edition. Our final segment will welcome
in to the show Jared Bledsoe, former BAI wide receiver
and talks some Cougar football.
Speaker 3: This is Cougar Sports.
Speaker 2: One of three nine ninety eight point three eat institution,
former BLI widest Jared Bledshow on the line Detection of
college football with me, Jared, how thatck are you?
Speaker 3: Buddy?
Speaker 1: I'm doing well man, Thank you, hey.
Speaker 2: I appreciate you hopping on man number one college football
playoff college football Championship game. Many people said that college
football was broken, that it was this nil transporportal era
is ruining the sport. I just saw the losingest college
football program in history win a national championship. To me,
that's a sign that all is well in college football.
Speaker 1: Zion, Yeah, I would agree with that. I think that
we're in a really good spot right now for college
so I did. I still think that the nil and
the transfer port on things need to be regulated in
a little bit more consistent year to year, you know,
And but I think that there needs to be some
changes to that playoff system, and I think that they're
going to make some really good changes. You know, when
you watch some of these games, all the playoff games
tend to be almost sellouts, you know, But then you
watch most of the ball games, and the Billiams tend
to not be you know, there's not some of those
games where you know, it was players, families and friends
and that was about it, you know. And so it
would be fun to see a bigger playoff where there's
a lot more home games involved, you know, there's incentives
for fan bases to come and show up, and and
I think that'd be a lot of fun if we
had a few more weeks of potentially home games moving forward.
But yeah, I think it's great. It's great that you
can take a program like Indiana and do what you
did in such a short period of time. But the
best part about that story to me is not that
they weren't winning just a few years ago. It's just
the fact that how they did it this year and
the players they have on their roster right now, the
three Stars, the two stars to no stars, and all
these guys that come together and just battle it out
and become the best team in the country. When you know,
it's everyone's fighting for the five star, the four star
and expecting these guys to come in and change their program.
And they're willing to pay millions of dollars before they
take a single snap, catch a single pass, you know.
So it's fun to see the competitive nature out there.
That's not one bot, you know.
Speaker 3: Yep, no doubt about it. It was. It was a magical.
Speaker 2: Season for the the fighting Kurt Signetti's the huge Hoosiers
of the Indiana.
Speaker 1: Uh.
Speaker 2: Pretty remarkable to watch it all play out before our eyes.
A story book ending, a Disney type of ending.
Speaker 1: Uh.
Speaker 2: I hate to give credit to the mouse, but that
should be a Hollywood film, right.
Speaker 1: Oh, just with Mendoz's mom and her situation and and
just growing up a mile from the stadium, I mean,
you can't paint a better picture of that, and then
and then winning the national championship in your backyard, you know.
I mean, it's that doesn't doesn't get cooler than that
for that family and for that team, so very cool.
Speaker 2: There's losers in every battle and every single competition.
Speaker 3: Miami lost.
Speaker 2: And with that, a good friend of ours, Keelan Marrion,
he had a great season fantastic gear for the Hurricanes,
but just came short. I don't know if you were
to text him communicate with him, but what a great
season it was, and uh, you know, and and unfortunately, uh,
they just fell short versus the storybook ending Hoosiers.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, and I hope he's done enough.
Speaker 5: You know.
Speaker 1: I remember a.
Speaker 5: Couple of years ago in a conversation that he and
I had here at at the shop and just discussing
how how to become the guy and get noticed and
make people believe.
Speaker 1: In him if they aren't believing, force him to believe,
you know. And he did that, you know, he made
people believe in him. And then he and then when
people put their money in for him, he backed at
you know, so super proud of what he's been able
to do. I hope he gets some shots at the
next level, you know. And that kind of slot position guy,
I think is a really can be a real valuable receiver.
But it's tough, man, and it sounds tough, you know,
it's a tough. It's a factory. And these guys, you know,
they I hope they all take advantage of the opportunity
to play college football, you know, And maximize their time.
Speaker 2: Last year, we lost twenty I think twenty six guys
to the portal. The ones that hurt the most obviously Keelan,
Josh Singh, Harrison Taggart hurt. I want to say, I'm
trying to think of what other guys kind of kind
of hurt, but those are like the tother crew Wakely
to maybe Purdue.
Speaker 3: That one kind of hurt a little bit.
Speaker 2: We saw Michael Harper go to the grizz and Cody
EPs go to Western Kentucky, Miles Davis to Utah State.
We could have used Miles Davis this last season, I'll
be honest like that, like looking back at it like that,
that one kind of hurt the Miles Davis because Miles
Miles had a decent season for Utah State. So we're
kind of rehashing it here. Let me look at his
stats real quick for Utah State. I thought he had
a pretty gosh dang good season all things considered. Yeah,
one hundred and thirty one carries, seven and thirty one yards,
eight touchdowns, five point six yards per carry, and then
he had twenty eight receptions two hundre one yards seven
point two yards per reception and three touchdowns.
Speaker 3: Man, I'm looking back at this.
Speaker 2: Obviously Keelan hurt like and maybe he hurt the most,
but but maybe a close second was Miles Davis here.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean if you could have predicted and been
able to see what the opportunities would have been for
him at the YU moving forward, I mean, real, real
tough position to be in, knowing that he's got all
those guys in front of him. You know, he might
might have had some other guys coming back as well,
and so you know, he made a good decision for
himself at the time with the information that he had
for sure. But yeah, I think he was you know,
he was a he's a really really fast athlete, and
then he put on some weight and got bigger and stronger.
I don't know how much that affected his speed, but
he's just a real quick guy. So I always thought
he was going to be a star here at b YU, man.
Speaker 2: And so this year not as impactful as you're looking
at those players that have entered the portal.
Speaker 3: We've discussed this with you.
Speaker 2: We've got thirteen right now, Shay Bryant, Strawther Polka Jung,
Max Alferd, Tavian Beasley, Cioni, can Gato, Sonny Twala, Tucker
kellerher Icanassio Tupo, le Mason Waller, the Third, McKay, Hillstead,
Marcus Mackenzie, Jay Griffin and Tom mackenzie. Out of those guys,
who do you think is going to be the most
impactful leaving BYU.
Speaker 1: That's a good question, man, I mean most of those guys.
I think kay On Biz would be your most productive
player in that group right for this last season.
Speaker 3: Yeah, he played a lot.
Speaker 1: I mean other than that, I mean it's it's hard
to say. It's hard to say who's going to be
the if there's even a que and Marian in that
group that's going to go to that next team and
just you know, or Josh Seeing or somebody you know,
or if you're going to deal with you know, issues
like Crew Wakeley's had to face, you know. So grasses
are always greener. I think that opportunity comes sometimes to
those who stick it out and fight through it instead
of chasing the opportunity. I think that that's kind of
what football has become a little bit, is chasing the
opportunity versus becoming getting the opportunity and becoming that guy
you know. So I don't know. I think we've got
a lot to figure out with MCAA and and but
I would love to see something that showed these where
these kids had some kind of commitment to the colleges
that they signed with to where there's a consequence for
leaving per se, you know, not maybe not like we
had where you had to sit out a year, but
maybe if it's just second or third transfer that have
some consequence like that, you know, that may force some
of these guys to tough it out and go earn
your spots.
Speaker 2: Jared Bledshoe here on your Utah ESPN Radio Network one
of three nine ninety eight point three look you own
operate Utah Protective Films. I always want to give a
highlight and shout out what products and services do you
provide and why should Cougarnation sign up with you?
Speaker 1: Yeah. So, our main products that we offer our paint
protection film. That's our number one, you know, So we
can take your paint and keep it pristine and keep
it looking brand new. With paint protection film. We can
also change it to a map, finish your paint, and
then we've got about one hundred and fifty different color options.
With colored paint protection film windows, HNT ceriamic codings. Yeah.
So if you have a project that you're working on
or something that we can help you with, I would
love to have you come by and so we can
take a look at it and give me a quote
and make sure you get our ben print discount as well.
Speaker 2: Heck yeah, when last time we chatted with you, we
discussed wide receivers and if we had a wide receiver one,
can Parker Kingston become wide receiver one? I mean he
was flirtatious with almost almost a thousand yards receiving this year.
He was just a hair under it, maybe by about
eighty yards or so. Well, looked really good in the
return game.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 2: One of the things is like with Keelan leaving, it
allowed Parker to kind of step up and have a
great season as a punt returner. As a wide receiver,
I wonder if he can be that guy, if he
can be that dude, that wide receiver one.
Speaker 1: I think he definitely can. He has the ability to
do it. I mean, what he had a great year
where I don't think dance vacation was quite what he did.
I think he really proves a lot of us that
he was. He's a lot more than just a speedy
athlete that can return a punt, you know, so very
smart in the game. I mean, he was a quarterback
in high school, right, so he understands the defense a
little bit more, understands kind of where to sit down,
where the holes are because he was thrown to those right.
So it's a great great to see him there. I
think he can be that guy. Yeah, it's going to
be an exciting room and an exciting group to see
how the receivers all come out and battle this spring.
I'm excited for screen ball, man. You know it's I
keep saying it. It's the most competitive, most fun football
I think I've ever played in my life, because you've
got everybody either wants to prove they should be there
and in that number one spot, or they're trying to
take out that number one guy. So it's a lot
of fun.
Speaker 2: Do you think a rod in the offense you're going
to acquire any more portal talent? Do you think they
they'll get an RB two Do you think they'll I mean,
there's only nine guys. They went out and got three
offensive linemen, they got two tight ends, they got one
wide wide receiver, and so a lot of these guys
are all offensive unit players. Do you think they add
any more on the offensive side.
Speaker 1: I'm sure that they have some other guys who they
have their eyes on. And and I think at this point
it gets real strategic with who you bring in and
how you you know, the guys that aren't signed now
there there, you know, I wonder, you know, maybe add
some players that have been through this. But when does
the panic sit in? Right? When does when do you go, Dude,
I've better get on a team now or I'm not
going to go into spring and I'm not going to
be on a team. Right, So I feel like there's
going to be some panic that sits in with with players.
There has to be at some point. There's just too
many of them in the portal. And but yeah, I
wonder if that's when the strategy is to come in
and grab a few of the guys at a much
better deal at that point, right, Because there's money involved now, right,
So everyone's trying to find the most strategic way to
get the best deal for the best player at the
best time. And and it's such a new market that
every every detail is important and to figure out when
those times are and how to how to kind of
run that cycle.
Speaker 2: Well, yeah, you look at the Troy Taylor firing and
how end opportune it was for Stanford, like not the
best timing and b YU benefited from that greatly, right Like.
Speaker 3: The black Myers came to b YU.
Speaker 2: He was fired in March, I think towards the end
of springball. Right after springball. It's like, oh my gosh,
like and by passed.
Speaker 1: They thought they should have done it and they didn't
do it, and then they were not doing it and
they had to just get it done, you know that?
But yeah, so that there's yeah, you never know, yeah,
you never I mean that's when we lost Qielan. It
was after springball, you know, So there are there are
there's going to be more movement and uh but I
don't they limited now though that it has to be
at this point you can't go in the portal unless
it's a coaching change. Am I Am I wrong on that?
Or is that? Yeah?
Speaker 3: Now it's closed?
Speaker 2: But like technically, I mean they could they could probably
submit a waiver and threatened to sue and I mean
sure they could totally do that and maybe they get
a waiver for whatever reason, but I'm sure the NCAA
will try to fight it a little bit or at
least delay the decision, et cetera.
Speaker 1: Right, Yeah, well, yeah, it'll be interesting to see what
what kind of regulation they get put in there. And
and but yeah, I think I think that the buy
is in a good spot. It'll be fun to see
these receivers compete. I think we have a lot of
talent in the room still, and then we've got some
new freshman talent coming in and a couple of transfers,
so let's see what they can do. I'm excited for
him to compete the.
Speaker 2: Jared bledsos and gentlemen U tap Protective Films once again,
let's highlight what you offered there at Utah Protective Films
and how Kugarnation can get a hold of you.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so you can.
Speaker 6: You can call her Texas at eight oh one eight
hundred ninety seven six seven and definitely let me know
that you've heard us on the radio or you know
Ben or any of that works. And in fact, I
had a lady last week that we just did work
on their yukon that she was.
Speaker 1: Reading your review online. She goes, Yeah, I read this
review online and so I can get fifteen percent of
if I mentioned him. Does that still work? That's all
I said. I'll make sure that it works. But you've
got to listen to him on the radio a little.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you got to listen to the show, not just
read the reviews. Oh my gosh, that's funny. Man's well, Jared.
Speaker 2: We appreciate you man, thanks for hopping on for a
little college football seconds.
Speaker 3: We appreciate our time. Man.
Speaker 1: Yeah, have a great day, I think, Ben.
Speaker 3: There you go.
Speaker 2: That's Jared Bledshoe, former BAU wide receiver and that's our show.
We're sticking to a download the podcast iTunes, Sprinko, Google
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Speaker 3: We appreciate it when you do, Bigger Grow.
Speaker 2: And everyone that joined us, including Jared Bledshoe, Sean Walker,
Logan Magnuson, Robbie Bosco, and a slew of other great
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Shelter starts Jason Statham. All right, guys, that's our show, Ronald,
the Three Men Weave or any other final thoughts as
we wrap up this January twenty twentieth edition of Cougar Sports.
Speaker 7: Nope, just gotta keep going and QUI a week for
BAU basketball. Something tells me that a blowout is bruin
because they have a week off until Saturday against the Utes.
Speaker 2: Hopefully they bounce back with fire and fervor and can
take down the Utes in a convincing fashion this go around. Kugarnation,
we appreciate you, We love you. We can't do our
show without you. Thanks for supporting us. From all of
us here at ESPN the Fan, we show. A good night,
have a safe night.
Speaker 3: You've been listening to Google