Speaker 1: Is Cougar Sports with Ben Krettle at its time for
the Cougar be getting the dish from the local reporters
that cover Cougar athletics.
Speaker 2: Welcome back to Cougar Sports here on one O, three
nine and ninety eight three ESP and the fan Ronal
the three mail weaver here holding it down for Ben
Crittle Brad always bringing the hammers with me for the
first little bit. Now it's just me. Just got off
the line with Bryce Larson, the host of Bryce W
and being NEWTI. You can catch him every morning on
the station to kick it off here on this very
radio network. We appreciate Bryce probably does a wonderful job,
and congrats to him on being our new program director
and everything. Gonna keep it going here a New Year's
Eve edition of Cougar Sports.
Speaker 3: Love it.
Speaker 2: Hope you all being safe and that you celebrate whether
you're gonna be with family, or whether you are gonna
be going dancing, clubbing, if you're gonna take a partaking
adult beverage, whoever, whatever you're doing.
Speaker 3: I just want you guys all to be safe.
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guy wait anymore. I know the quickest way to his
heart is through food. I know he likes to die
divulges in the food. But maybe the quickest way to
his wife's heart is by getting the house cleaned. So
we will see, but without further to do, let's welcome
in Darnell Dixon to the Daily World. Double d How
are you doing today and it's not officially New Year,
the New Year yet, but happy New Year's Eve to you.
Speaker 4: Happy New Year's Eve to you as well.
Speaker 5: We're headed tonight to Thanksgiving, point to the Luminaria as
a family and catch some fireworks and try to stay warm.
Speaker 4: So that's our activity.
Speaker 5: And it'll hit twelve o'clock, will blow our uh uh
you know, the center, our own little fireworks and blow
some warns and then they probably go right to bed.
Speaker 2: Hey that's still lit, o kid. It's different once you know,
the kids have grown up and get out the house.
But I love that you're still trying to partake and
get tell me this, Darnielle. I don't I don't know
if this is a Utah thing, you know, little convert
to the church. But I remember growing up with the
family and after we got baptized, banging pots and pans.
That's something that people have done.
Speaker 5: Oh yeah, we did that when I was a kid
and we lived out in the country, so I'm not
even sure anybody heard us.
Speaker 4: We did do it. We did get our pans out
and bang them.
Speaker 2: You get your pants out and bang them, bang bang
bang bang. Well no, butdy, let's get right into it.
There's a lot going on in Cougar Country right now.
Jay Hill is he going to Michigan? Jason Beck is
he going to Michigan? Who is wit taking with his
robust network. Everybody's waiting for decisions to be made. I've
heard rubblings that, oh, you know, By's trying to retain
Jay Hill as hard as possible.
Speaker 3: Decisions might not be made.
Speaker 2: I just got off the line with Bryce and Bryce
said that maybe they're waiting into this Utah Nebraska game
is over to announce both if that be the case,
or maybe BYU is waiting. What are your thoughts on
just all of this going on in the college landscape?
By you might get hit hard. It's already been confirmed
that Gavin Fowler is going to be the defensive coordinator
Weber State. Weber State is also trying to take Eddie
Hecker as the cornerbacks coach. He was helping out man.
The BYU staff might get depleted by the time all.
Speaker 3: Of this is over.
Speaker 5: Yeah, and it's it's one of the things that we've
not really thought or talked too much about. As things
change with NIL and with the transferred portal, we talk
about the players and how they're moving and freedom of movement.
But you know, coaches have always had more freedom of movement,
but it just seems to be accentuated now. And as
we look at you know J Hill, oh to b
J Hill, I mean, it's not as if he's got
a bad choice here. Whatever decision he makes is going
to get paid a ton of money to do what
he loves, which is coach football. So you know, he
can decide to go to the Big Ten, you can
decide to stay with Kilani and and he's still going
to be really rich and and doing what he loves.
Speaker 4: So I mean, there's really not a bad decision for him.
Speaker 5: But there is quite a bit of a domino effect
that's taking place, and and specifically here in Utah because
of the changes at the U and and uh, you
know all that's a domino effect, but it really affects
the teams in Utah.
Speaker 4: We're seeing that already.
Speaker 5: Congratulations the Gavin fowlery is a great guy and getting
an opportunity to step up and be a defensive coordinator.
Speaker 4: There a Weaver State that's terrific.
Speaker 5: There are guys at b YU that you know, could
find themselves in Michigan they're there. Uh guys in Salt Lake,
they can find. It's just it's a crazy right now.
And I think you're right. I think after this game
tonight in the Las Vegas Bowl between Utah and Nebraska,
that will hear some things being done. And I've also
heard that Ronnie that b Yu is not going to
give up Jay Hill without a fight, and so so
that that's pulling Jay Hill in a couple of different ways,
because he's obviously indebted to Kyle winning him.
Speaker 4: For starting his career and a real mentor for him.
Speaker 5: And he also, you know, I think likes the way
that Klanie Sataki has built the culture here at BUYU,
and he's had a lot of second success. You know,
I mentioned in my column of the day that you know,
if if Jay Hill coaches the defense at Michigan and
Michigan goes eleven and one, they're in the college football playoffs,
no questions asked. And so that might be a consideration.
Is Bay usually is not quite there yet in terms
of being able to impress the playoff committee enough to
get into the playoffs despite an eleven to one record
in the regular season. So there's a lot to consider
and and you know we're going to be watching tomorrow.
Speaker 4: Let's see.
Speaker 5: I think I think the first is when they open
up the transfer portal for people to declare, and they
have two weeks to do that, so we'll see what
BYU players decide to leave and where be why you
sets up and tries to bring in new guys. So
it's it's a lot of a lot of process and
there will be changes on this team. Despite the twelve
and two season, It's gonna be a pretty crazy offseason
as we had to that part of the winter.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you bring up a good point.
Speaker 2: Transport opens January second, I believe Friday from what Max
Olson said, and then it closes to the sixteenth, So
after today, once An announcements their mates, we'll find out.
Speaker 3: I have to think that at the top of the list.
Speaker 2: If Jay Hill warre go to Michigan, volatile Satuala, I mean,
I know he's talked about people said ron I said.
He said it was a coin flip, but it's like, yeah,
but he likes Jay Hills and it doesn't matter if
Jay was that Utah gonna leave for Michigan to be
the same thing. I don't think voleattele will go straight
up north to Morgan's galley. I think he follow Jail
and go to Michigan. And I think Folatyle is a
Big Ten safety. I think he can play in the
way Jay Hill likes to rotate and having coach, I
think you can see folata I think you could also
see Isaiah Glasker. People could say what they want Darnell,
but I think a healthy Isaiah Glaska can play in
the Big Ten. Now, I don't think all of the
b YU roster would be depleted. I think some guys
you'll be able to retain. A new sya down up Baya.
I think to SI the Economie State, Evan Johnson would.
But now you get into position coaches that plays the factor.
Would Jannar Guildford follow Jay Hill? And that leads me
to this next point of who are the replacements of
j Hill Goes. I would have to think Jennaro internally,
Kelly Papinga. But if he takes coach g and if
Galvin Fowler, who now was gone, and if Weaber State
is going to bring in Eddie Hecker, if that does happen,
that just starts to make Kilane's choices.
Speaker 3: I think tough for Darnell.
Speaker 6: It does.
Speaker 5: But Colon has been doing this for a long time
and he has connections through Utah, through Oregon State, now
through b YU. He'll be able to find guys vic
Soto as a player, that a former player that's that's
coaching and doing a nice job. You know that there
are plenty of guys for him to choose from. They're
just not all gonna have the kind of experience maybe
that you want. And certainly to find someone in the
caliber of J Hill is going to be difficult, and
so you would expect there to be some sort of
a learning curve maybe maybe you know, a drop off
in production until things get where they need to be.
That's why BYU is spending so much time and effort
to retain j. Hill because they know he is terrific
and has done a great job and belongs in the
Cougar program.
Speaker 4: If they want to continue to be successful.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you got to keep them to be successful. But
let's let's try to tize back to the positives. Darnaut
does a good job. I love reading inside Darnail's head.
It's one of my favorite things to read. And he
made a declaration he said this b did you did
this BYU's best team since the fourteen to one Cotton
Bowl season, and you said you would argue this team
is even better simply because the level of competition is higher.
Speaker 3: I want you to, you know, tell me about that.
Speaker 2: You can find the piece atharrowex dot com slash Sports
slash BYU if you if you if you're looking for it.
Speaker 3: But I love that that take, Darnelle.
Speaker 2: Tell me more about why you made that that take,
because I think some people might get pushback on that.
Speaker 5: I think you can. And it really depends on your
definition of best. If you take a look at you know,
everyone would say, well the nineteen eighty fourteen is the
best because they won the national championship. You can't go
a plus BQ will see in that situation comparatively to
BYU today because I think BYU is more talented.
Speaker 4: I think they're deeper, and they're.
Speaker 5: Playing a completely, without question, a much harder schedule and
and so you know, we made a big deal. You know,
when b Y's first year in the Big Twelve, where
they're playing like, you know, eight straight games against Power
conference opponents, which they'd never done before.
Speaker 4: That's the norm.
Speaker 5: And when you're doing that and being successful and not
only this year twelve and two, but finishing you know,
in the last couple years AWIG twenty three and four,
in the past two years. That shows that this program
is good enough to compete. And that's the thing I
was thinking too about the playoffs situation. Is it's easy
to say, well, Team A made it to the playoffs
and they lost, therefore they're not worthy, or Team B
made it to the playoffs and one, therefore they are
where they think. That's too very much, too simplistic by
you definitely could have gone to the playoffs, and Notre
Dame as well, if you want to go that far
in one games. There are plenty of teams that could
have and then you just look at the results and
you take what you want from that. But I think
this BYU team, and especially because of the coaching staff, which,
as we just talked about, is in danger of being
blown up because Kyle Winningham decided he wasn't done coaching,
I think this is a really good football team that
competes weekly with really good football teams. And I guess
what ultimately leads me to believe that is it's maybe
the best team that be what you's ever put on
the field in terms of talent and in terms of
the program as a whole.
Speaker 2: You speak of talent, this basketball team, there's a lot
of talent. We'll finish up and get you out of
here on this This this basketball team is something else.
Speaker 3: They just bons is special.
Speaker 2: He a special player and fans should enjoy because it's
going to be leaving at the end of March.
Speaker 3: It's not coming back. It won't.
Speaker 2: It won't come back until it gets drafted and it
has maybe the bye weeks or whatever. The NBA looks
like it's not playing another year in the Provom. I
don't think it's going to happen. There's nothing you can
do unless you're gonna have a aj De Bonster type
version of an All Star Game in the Mariatta, which
even then it probably wouldn't go it. Probably the market
at the Delta Center with how everything in ticket prices
and college athletics is doing that.
Speaker 3: That's me being tongue in cheek. Double D.
Speaker 2: They open up conference play in a couple of days
on the road against Kansas State. You think with the
time off that Kevin Young would have a perfect game plan,
But this team has started slowing games. What needs to
happen on Saturday? And do they get the dub the
beginning conference player? Remember last year they didn't open up
conference to play too well. But then they ended the
season on that miraculous winning streak.
Speaker 5: Yeah, b where you started one in three last year
the Big Twelve, and there were questions, you know, how
are they going to handle the rest of this schedule,
and they ended up doing very well and winning nine
in a row, including the first I think it was
the quarterfinals of the Big Twelve tournament.
Speaker 4: But I don't know.
Speaker 5: I think it's hard to explain why this team struggles
to get to a good start.
Speaker 4: I think one of the things.
Speaker 5: That is very apparent as well is that this is
a really good coaching staff and making adjustments and pushing
the right buttons in the second half.
Speaker 4: And part of that, I think is this.
Speaker 5: Is a team that returned couple of guys really that
played a lot of minutes last year, and they're still
kind of figuring out, especially the bench situation.
Speaker 4: You know, who comes off the bench, what's the rotation like?
Speaker 5: And I think that during the course of a game,
Kevin Young and his staff figure out, Okay, this is
how we need to do things in terms of personnel
and matchups and adjustments that need to be made.
Speaker 4: I think they're doing a really good job of that.
Speaker 5: Yeah, it'd be great if they could start off every
game and jump out to a twenty point lead, but
that's not going to happen, and they've been able to
come back. I just like the football team, you know,
came back five times from double digits. I think coaching matters,
and I think in this situation, Kevin Young has created
a really good coaching staff and they make good adjustments
and the players buy in and believe the system, and
that's why they were able to play a lot better
in the second half.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that and definitely buy into the system. They definitely
play better. So we will find out. I'm excited to
see Kansas State. I know you're probably excited for the
next couple of games, especially this month you get to
see Tuley come back. Tanner Toulson will be coming back
to the Marriott with the TCU hornfak. It's crazy to
think that started it started his career by you, ended
up at Utah Valley and now is at t c U,
and that will be a good homecoming.
Speaker 3: From him.
Speaker 2: I'm excited to cover that. That's just crazy double d.
That's a I looked it up the other day. The average,
I think, Tom, I'm an athlete transfers these days like
one point seven one point eight, so two times. It's
pretty much what an athlete is transferring before they find
their home or where they're in in their college career.
You look at Kilan Maryon, you look at Darius last year,
you look at Harrison Taggart, you're looking now Tanner Tilson.
That is adding up in the landscape of college athletics.
Is athletes transfer twice before they finish their college career.
Speaker 4: Why you're playing against Kansas State?
Speaker 5: As you mentioned on Saturday, PJ Haggerty there leading scorer,
this is his for school goodness, pricious, good coat. And
I still have a hard time getting my mind around
athletes that have transferred three or four times already, because
you know, I hate to use the term because we
roll our eyes when universities use it and then the
NCAA uses it. But student athlete is taking on a
very different tone right now, and I can't imagine anyone
who's transferring three times is making progress towards graduation.
Speaker 4: That would be very difficult to do. And and you
know that.
Speaker 5: I mean, we know what it's about. It's about money.
It's about being able to put yourself in the best situation.
But they are still going to school and they are
taking up scholarships, so you know, you wonder how that
will happen. The other discussion that's been happening, Ronnie, is
the eligibility of athletes who have been drafted in the NBA.
I mean, Baylor just signed the guy that's drafted in
point three. B Yu signed Vito Ahmed, who has been
playing in the G League. And I plan on tomorrow
when we have access to Kevin Young through the Zoom
conference call, to ask him, you know, what do you
think about This conversation is taking place because there are
a number of coaches who are saying, you know, we've
got to draw the line here somewhere. We can't be
recruiting guys who have played in professional in sports. Of course,
they've been doing that for years with athletes out of Europe.
So there's a lot of discussion about what should be done,
and I'm curious to hear what Kevin Young would have
to say about that.
Speaker 3: I'm very curious as well.
Speaker 2: This is gonna be very interesting to find out because
I'm with you. Beido is one thing because he played
in the G League, but he's a professional. But talking
about guys getting drafted in twenty twenty three, this is it.
I think this is getting out of hand. I do
think there needs to be regulations put. It's not that
I don't want to see Boa succeed and not win,
but these other programs people are starting to I think,
even a bit more past Rose. They might even be
breaking them. But I guess you're not breaking if there's
nothing in place. But there's gonna be regulations. I think
at the end of the season, once this is over,
they can't do anything right now, I think they'll continue
to grant. But going into the off season, Double D
definitely they're gonna do something different. But before I let
you go, what's the best way we can follow you
on X and find all of your work at Darnell.
Speaker 5: Earldextra dot com is where you can find the work
I am at Darnell Rights. I try to make good,
interesting comments, but sometimes I fail.
Speaker 4: That's how we all are on X, aren't we.
Speaker 2: It's true I've failed on next two but that's why
you need to stay off X. But we have to
do it. That's where our job is. Job is at.
Our job is there, Our job is there? Well, double D,
Happy New York. You and the family go ahead, you know,
shot some things off and then you get that good
that good rest too, and then we'll catch up with
you next week.
Speaker 4: For sure, bang those pans, for sure.
Speaker 3: I'll bang those pans with my daughter. You bet.
Speaker 2: That was Darnel Dixon of the Daily Hero and a
little Cougar Beat. And I was brought to you by
a Recent cleaning Services. BRISA makes it a breeze, reliable,
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Gabby and a cruver in the job of earning cleaning
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Speaker 3: Excuse me, for the last two years.
Speaker 2: They show up with a full squad that start in
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And when you mentioned critical or ESPN, you're gonna get
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a man's heart mine is through my stomach. The quickest
way to a woman's heart is having her house clean.
Do it for the new year, and then you can
multiply and replenish. We'll go to break, don't go anywhere.
Still a lot more to get to, one more hour.
We still got John Beck who WHI join us, will
being cred I'm gonna be taken off to get to
the festivities a little early, so Ben will close out
the show with you guys. And we still got some
basketball talk. Don't go anywhere? Still want a more hour
to get to? On a new year's edition of Cougar
Sports here on one to three nine and ninety eight three.
Speaker 3: Time for keeping up with the Cougars.
Speaker 1: Brought to you by Odion Men's Wear, proudly outfitting young professionals,
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Speaker 2: Welcome back to Cougar Sports here on one of three
nine and ninety eight three ESP and the fan Ronald
the three man Weaver here gonna finish up and close
out the show for you guys. We just finished up
in the last segment replaying that interview with Kibaketa and
Blaye Anderson. If you missed that interview that we had
from yesterday with them discussing everything related to basketball, we
need to have you go to the podcast a la carte.
You could download it as well. Gonna get into more
college football talking. This segment got to discuss all manner
everything related around coaching staff changes, other stuff. Bear Backmeier
had a phenomenal performance in a bowl game to play
that tough with the ankle. Remember guys, he tried to
push off on that second and five for Mabel's first
down to try to extend and it just gave out.
And then to get the two point conversion. Man, that's
a tough kid. That's a tough kid. And I'm gonna
ask the guy on the line, who is a quarterback guru,
he is a scientist, about what is the backup position?
Speaker 3: Because McKay hill stut's in the portal.
Speaker 2: How do you convince a guy to come to your
university when he's not gonna play.
Speaker 3: It's gonna be very difficult.
Speaker 2: But the guy on the line has plenty of knowledge
is rely from our Bandwelfth Studios, Bandwealth All. He asked,
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Speaker 3: This crew can help aid and support you.
Speaker 2: This segment is gonna be this keeping up with the
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Speaker 3: Without further ado, I don't want to keep the man waiting.
Speaker 2: Let's welcome in the former bou quarterback Great the quarterback
coach at three DQB.
Speaker 3: We got John back online.
Speaker 2: John, Happy Belady Christmas to you and a happy New
Year as well.
Speaker 4: Thanks.
Speaker 6: I appreciate that. I hope it's been a good holiday
season for you guys as well.
Speaker 3: Definitely has been a good holiday season. Just give me
a quick recap.
Speaker 2: How is Christmas for the Beck family and the festivites
that you've been doing over the holidays.
Speaker 4: It is good.
Speaker 6: We always celebrate Christmas here at home in California, and
then we run up and visit family. My wife's family's
up in southern Utah. So I was actually just up
in the Richfield, Salina area, spending time with family and friends,
taking the kids in the outdoors, getting some getting that
pheasant hunting, and having some fun. And now back home.
The draft process of our pre draft guys has already started.
We already got college you guys that have wrapped up
their college careers starting the prep for this incoming or
upcoming draft. It's already happening. So I'm back at home
already working. Was out at the field this morning today
with guys just working to get better.
Speaker 2: Yep, that's how it goes. You get a one or
two days off, you got to enjoy with the family.
Sounds like the Hunter trip was a success, and then
right back to business. As you mentioned, that's just how
it goes in the nature of It's crazy to think
that the football season is already over and we're in
the transfer reporter Arrow, Let's start there before we get
into you know, the more the positive of Bear and
what he did in the pop Tarts boul Michael's dead
hits the portal. You heard me talk about it before
I welcome you in. How do you go get another
backup guy that the room is stint. I think Enick
Watson's coming in, but you got Bear, maybe Enich if
I'm correct, and then Trayson Boorgay in that quarterback room
because Emerson's going on a mission.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean I know Enich when he got off
his mission. I got to spend little time with him
right when he got back training, so I know he's
up there. I think. You know, look, McKay is a
great kid, hard worker. You know. The tough part is
is when you're a competitive person and you can kind
of see the riding on the wall, you don't just
want to sit around hoping that your opportunity comes via
an injury because a you don't want that to happen
to somebody that you know, you're a friend of that,
like you've been in the quarterback room with him for
a long time. That's just not the way you want
to live your life hoping somebody gets hurt. You know,
does that happen in football? Absolutely happens in all sports.
That opportunities come by way of injuries. But you know
the tough part for Byu is yes, everybody's going to know,
you know, for the next however many years. Bar Bachmeyer
is the guy who came out and took advantage of
a great situation. You know, the team played played really well.
He played well, he was able to grow and develop.
I love this lost game for him. You know, I
think for a for a young player to start, I
think that was his fourteenth start. You know, you look
around the country. A lot of players don't get their
fourteenth start sometimes until they're like junior year, and that
that's even if they play some their sophomore year. You know,
for some people back in the day, you only played
eleven game regular seasons, and the twelfth game was a
bowl game. So even if you started every single game,
your entire sophomore year. Your fourteenth game was not even
until your junior year. So to see a guy that's
a true freshman fourteen games under his belt, that's going
to be a tough spot for a player, especially any
veteran player to want to go. They'll still steer clear
of that. Wherever you I use gonna look for backup
depth is going to be all young, young players, young
players that are willing to use time to develop and
to learn and to trust. Oh hey, this is great.
I get to be behind bear watch and learn and
then if something happens, I'll get my opportunity. But I
have time. I don't have to feel that pressure that
I got to be playing. Now.
Speaker 2: That's good in that freshman you know, maybe red shirt
freshman type era. That's a guy that's going to be
coming into develop Okay, yeah, okay, that makes complete And
that's tough.
Speaker 3: It's tough.
Speaker 2: Like you said, like McKay, he's a competitor and you're
going to be sitting around and waiting. I mean, the
last true freshman john to throw for three thousand yards
in the season was manned by the name of Trevor Lawrence.
And if you know college football. I think he did
pretty well and Bears in that great company and a
phenomenal season. Just what he was able to accomplish.
Speaker 3: How does a quarterback do that?
Speaker 2: Coming in in June, you win the starting job and
then by the end of the season you give Byu
their twelfth win. That was the first time that that's
happened since two thousand and one.
Speaker 6: Well, you have to look at the team's situation. There's
there's no way, regardless of how talented a player is,
that if you drop them in a situation without a
good team, that those type of things still happen. I
can't remember how long ago it was, but I saw
this little statistic of the players that have started so
many games, won so many games, and had certain statistics
the freshman year. If you look at all of those teams,
those teams were all playing in either National championship games
major college bowl games. Like it's an all round good
football team. And I know that at the beginning of
the year when there were discussions about, you know, do
we play Bear, it depended on the football team around him.
It depended on how good of a team it was.
Because freshman players in bad situations, It just is so rough,
like I said, regardless of the talent. So when I
look at this year, it was so great to have
a BYU team that was so good around him that
he was able to go out and be utilized in
a way that they could use his strengths. They could
use him in the run game, they could set up
passing plays where it was very clean with what needed
to be done. He didn't have to play outside of himself,
he didn't have to try to do too much. It
was basically play within the system. This jubut the football,
be smart, not turn the ball over, use your legs
when you can. And YU was able to win twelve
games and be a team that again not to you know,
be a dead horse, but it should be in the
calle much football playoff with a freshman playing at quarterback.
That's how good the football team was around the quarterback position.
Speaker 2: I don't want to be a dead horse either, John,
But the big twelve I think is three and oh
or six and oh right now, and how they played
in the SEC is zero and four. I'm told all
the time by these these national guys that they got depth.
It's hands down the best, and it doesn't seem like
that's the case, Miami beat Texas A and M and
it just seems like the Big Twelve Conference is a
better conference, and there's other conferences not just named the
SEC and Big Ten that can play college football.
Speaker 6: Well, I think that what's going to start happening is
because of how now the money has evened out. You know,
there was a lot of schools back in the day
that were getting players to certain schools with giving things
and different variations of what they would be giving, whether
it was cash or different things. And I do know
that that happened in the SEC. I do know that
happened in the Big Ten because I had teammates that
would tell me about it and they would ask me,
what did you get, And well, I didn't get anything,
you know. And so I think that now that it's
a little bit more of an even playing field, and
you look at a school like Texas Tech, who would
have guessed it an era of you know, money being involved,
that Texas Tech would be the one having the most
to be able to give to players, And so, you know,
I just think that things are balancing out and it's
great to see a conference that BYU is in be
doing so well again. I love the move to the
Big Twelve. I think it's a great conference for BYU.
I think it's an amazing schedule that they get to
put together every year, and so for BYU to have
the success that they've had over the last two years,
that also speaks volumes for where BYU is at To
be in a solid conference like the Big Twelve and
to be as successful as BYU has been, it just
speaks to really the culture, the people, the team, the players,
everything that is BOU football.
Speaker 2: Right now, you mentioned culture, Let's get right into it, John,
I'm going to rip off the band aid. You know
how this works in college athletics. Coaches go sometimes and
you know it sounds like that. Yet Morgan Scalley's interested
in a rod. That thought of the if Aer were
to leave as crazy to me. Of just everything he's built,
I think he's the greatest oc at BYU in program
history from what I've seen and how he's developed talent
and put it in the NFL. And then Jay Hill
in the talks to Michigan, what do you make of
all of this? Fans are kind of getting sad towards
the end of the year, But to me, I look
at this as a positive of the Klonie Sataki coaching tree.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean if you look at like, let's jump
back to the Lavelle Edwards era and let's look at
the coaches that were a part of his staffs and
how they went places. There is a list of coaches,
especially on the offensive side of the football, where they
they were part of the BYU success and then they
went on to have great careers other places. And I'm
sure in those eras it would be really tough for
the fan base to feel like, wait, we're losing a
coordinator again. Wait we've had this type of success and
now our guy's going like yeah, it's always tough, but
like coaches want to be able to progress, whether it's
to be a you know, an offensive coordinator or a
head coach. So like I look at it as you know, hey,
it would be awesome to keep j it'd be awesome
to keep a Rod. I don't I don't want any
of those guys going anywhere. But at the same time,
you know, opportunities come up. It doesn't mean that they're
like no longer a BYU person. You know, there's just
there's more things than just one team. One football program.
There's life aspects to it. There's aspects for what it
can do for a person's future, for what it can
provide for not just their family, but also extended family.
And so I think, like, look the success of BYU
right now, those guys are hot, hot items, especially Jay
with what he's been able to do with the defense
over the last couple of years. I think it would
be really tough for a program to lose both coordinators
in the same year. I do think that would be tough.
I think it would be tough on Kilane to in
the same year have to replace both. I'm hoping that
that's not the case. I am, you know, but again,
if those guys choose to take that path, congratulations to them,
and you know, an awesome opportunity at b YU had
to have them as their coordinators. And then it's just
kind of a you know, come with may like like,
if that's the course that they take, then BYU has
to move on and those assistants that have been there,
they might be the ones that get the opportunities to
take over as the coordinators. And again that's what happened
at BYU for a long time when certain offensive coordinators
would come in for a little bit, then they would
be out, or they would be an assistant underneath the
offensive cornor that would take an opportunity somewhere else. It's
just it's the way things go at successful places. People
are always wanting to pick the tree of the successful places.
I've watched it happen too. I mean I stay in
contact with Kyle Shanahan at the Niners and I know
him and his staff and the GM and the assistant
GM that was there, And that's a phrase that they
would always say to me. You know, John, it's just tough.
Like we've had some really good years, but it makes
it tough because the tree just keeps getting picked and BYU.
That's yeah, teams are going to come and try to
pick from this tree because of the success.
Speaker 2: That's just how those people take from the tree. And
you know it goes in at some point every every
coordinator or position coach is going to get elevated, wants
to be a head coach on their own. They're in
it for that reason, so you you never know. I
do have to ask you this, if j Hill were
to leave to go to Michigan, who do you're well connected?
Who do you think the replacements are obviously, I think
they look internally, but you got some good external candadates
as well.
Speaker 6: Yeah, well, I mean, look that's tough. I mean I have,
you know, teammates of mine that I played with at BYU,
guys like Kelly Papinga, you know, Gennaro Guildford. There's guys
that are on that stet. There's also by US guys
floating around. I mean, I just saw a thing. I
was texting Vic Soco because he just took a job
at UCLA. But I know Sean Knua, a former teammate
of mine, he's at USC right now, is a defensive
line coach. Like there's just there's BYU guys around. There's
b YU guys internally. I think that. You know, again,
I'm not on the defensive side of the ball, but
I just there's a lot of guys that are around.
And you know, there is one thing I would say,
when you keep things internal, you get to keep the
consistency the calls, the scheme, the teaching methods, there's so
many things. You just have to be so careful with
too much change. I tell people all the time, like,
if you want a successful place, consistency is one of
the things you have to build, whether it's for the
quarterback position or the defensive side of the ball. Like
being able to maintain that and build with the same
players and the same scheme, it just helps so much.
Constantly switching a scheme, like it doesn't matter the talent
level of the players. If you're switching schemes, there's an
adjustment period. There's a learning period, not just the verbal
like the language side of it, but the teaching side
of it, the skill side of it, Like you have
to learn what you have. I mean, I remembered this
lesson forever, Like when I was at UYU and we
brought in coach and I from Texas Tech. He brought
with him an offense that really truly was built a
little different than the players that BYU had, And so
when we first started running that offense, we had to
go through a learning period of Okay, well that's that offense,
but here's what BYU has, here's the type of players
that BYU gets, and you have to adapt and you
kind of have to shape it to what fits you it.
And it took really truly a half a season to
three quarters of a season before you start to feel
like you hit a little bit of a group, you know,
like hit your stride. And that's why I say also,
it would be really tough for BYU to lose both
unless you were able to, you know, bring from within
two guys that get to keep that same consistent thing
on both sides of the football.
Speaker 3: Yeah, let's just hope that isn't the case.
Speaker 2: Look, my worst case scenario, these are just my thoughts
in the pain, is you retain a Rod and you
lose Jay Hill. I'm hoping that's, you know, the worst
case scenario. Best case scenario, you keep both. I know
bau is trying to maybe push to to get him.
I think the best thing about Utah playing our bowl
game right now as we speak, is that it's given
maybe Budeo an opportunity to maybe pitch j Hill on
last time. But these guys have to make decisions at
the end of the day that is best for themselves.
So I am I'm gonna be happy wherever they go,
because at the end of the day, when a guy
moves on or if he gets you know, a pay
raise somewhere else. I always tell people, Look, you're working
as hard on your job that you're currently in, you
get a better opportunity, or you're gonna get a pay race,
You're gonna take a look at that, and you have
to look at everything as a whole. And at the
end of today, Jay Hill Aaron, I think they want
to be head coaches, super competitive and they've done on
a phenomenal job. So I love and support and and
hold the best for him. Love to still see him
in BUYU Blue. But if not totally understand that's the
nature of the of the business. But I think a
guy that has excelled so much this season that will
be in blue next year is Bear Bachmeyer. The performance
in the Pop Tarts Bowl, John, your reaction to it,
he was not one hundred percent. I don't even know
if he was eighty. I'm not gonna really speak too
much to that. But to be that dinged up, to
get hurt on the first play and then sling the
ball all over the place and basically destroy that to
Tech defense, which is a good football team, I want
anybody to take that away from Georgia Tech was remarkable.
Speaker 3: What do you make a Bear's performance over Saturday?
Speaker 6: Yeah, I thought he did a great job. That's why
I was mentioning, like, you know that was his fourteenth game. Yeah,
and all the experience, all of the practices, all of
the games. Like when you play injured and you played limited,
you have to be able to overcome those limitations because
of understanding, because of seeing the field clearly, because of
having experience of running certain plays, you can at times
progress through them quickly like you're able to play at
a more veteran level. That's how you overcome sometimes playing injured.
Like take a freshman in his fifth, fourth or fifth
game and you injure that guy, it is so much
tougher for that person to play at a high level
because they're still in those learning phases, those growing phases.
They're still gonna make mistakes. They're gonna compound mistakes because
they're gonna do something and to try to avoid a mistake,
they accidentally fall in to another one. That's a very
youthful maneuver. At quarterback, you know, you sometimes aren't always
smart with the football. You try to make too many plays,
you try to do too much well. When a guy's
playing injured, boom, he's instantly limited. One of the first
things he's limited in is athleticism. The ability to make
a play when either they mess up on the read
or nothing's there. When you take that ability away, now
you have to see the field more clear, you have
to be more decisive, you have to be smarter because
you've taken a part of you away. And so I
thought Bear, it really showed in that game that he had,
you know, fourteen games, like beyond a full season, you
could say, underneath his belt of experience, and it showed,
and I thought it was one of his best games
of the year.
Speaker 4: From an efficiency.
Speaker 6: Standpoint, from a decision making standpoint, it was. You know,
it was a great way to cap off a really
cool year for Bear because he was brought along at
the beginning of the season at the right pace, like
they didn't ask too much of him in the first
few games, and then they asked a little bit more
of him, and then progressively you could see it build,
and then really truly they just started treating him like
a veteran player in what he was being asked to do,
and he did so many good things throughout and I
thought that this game definitely showed all of that coming together,
and it was really cool for all the guys around
him as well. Like BYU has done a great job
of shaping the supporting cast and the people around Bear,
and they all had really solid games. And I mean,
I can't even imagine what had been like to have
LG back there. But I'm kind of going to answer
like I answered that, But I thought of one more
thing right before you asked me that question about Bear,
I was thinking about the coaching staff. I hope it's
a cam going back to the situation. But here's one
of the things. Like BYU had to extend Kalani, They
had to renegotiate and give him a new deal just
a few weeks ago, and so one of the toughest
things for BYU right now is it would.
Speaker 7: My guess is it would be impossible to resign and
restructure and give bigger, better deals to three coaches in
the same year like you had.
Speaker 6: They like they had to do a lot to get Kalie,
which everybody knows it had to come from outside of BYU, Right,
they found a way to add to the pot to
keep that coach. Well, Now, if you truly do have
two coordinators that are both sitting there with opportunities to leave,
my guess is both of the opportunities to leave are
for more money. So somewhere there's going to be negotiations
with those coaches of well, guys, there's probably not a
way for us to keep both of them and pay
both of them more. So what fits us in terms
of who we really truly believe we can get, Like
that's one of the things that nobody accept their agents
and that coach and whoever's doing the dealings at the
UYU probably know what these other schools are offering, because
it would be very hard to have both coordinators being
being told well, you'll make one and a half to
two million more at these other school and then you
be able to come back and say, well that's okay, we.
Speaker 4: Can match that.
Speaker 6: That's now four million more on the table after you
just went how many million more on the table for
the head coach. And so that's where I think it
could be tough. As much as we would love to,
you know, keep both of them, I think when you know, I,
if it does come to negotiations and the school has
to step up and pay more than what they've paid
for one of them, it might be only possible to
keep one of them because of that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you bring up a good point about that. Kalie
just got his deal.
Speaker 6: Yeah, that's the hard part. I just don't know how
any school across the country can do all three, both
coordinators and a head coach, you know, within a month.
That's just that. I think that would be so hard.
Speaker 2: I've never seen it before. And next week's to your
point of it being hard. So that's just the reality
of the nature of any job, you know, with everything,
you can't retain everybody. And look, I think Colonie understands
and knows that. So we'll see what happens.
Speaker 6: But look, if YU does keep them, it's so I
was gonna say, if Yu does keep them, sorry to
interrupt right there, if they do. If they do keep them,
that just goes to show how important it is for
them to be at Uyu. And it could be because
what they think they can accomplish next year. It could
be because of like I said, there's always more than
just football. There's family, there's life, there's all these things.
Like you look at some of those other schools, Like
you know, when there was talks about Penn State, I've
worked a ton at Penn State. Like it's a very
different area of the United States. And there is nothing
around that town that houses Penn State. You know, you
got Harrisburg out halfway Pittsburgh a couple hours away. Like
that also plays into it. How great of an area
the Provo Orum loss that's front Like I mean, it's
a great area of the United States. And so that's
another thing that comes into play of when these people
choose to leave, they leave the byu Utah County atmosphere,
and for families, that's a great place to be and
sometimes it's just unmatched what other places can provide for
your family. And that's another thing where maybe we got
a chance to keep both those guys because of the
community and what it means to their families.
Speaker 2: Yeah, the community means a lot, and I know that
family is a big part of it. J Hill being
from you to all of that plays a factor. So
we'll we'll find out. I think we will find out
sooner rather than later, once this Utah game is over
here and the next little bit. I a deal could
be announced tomorrow the day after, especially with the transfer
portal opening in a few days. We're gonna find out everything.
But regardless, Kilani will rebuild if that's the case. But
I think b why you will be just fine, But
you gotta celebrate why you have it. You got to
cherish the moments that were good and for the fact
that this team accomplished twelve wins John for the first
time since two thousand and one with this staff together.
Whether they stay or not, I think is something that
goes down and B WHYU history. So it's one of
the top five teams, top five seasons. I think can
be why you history, you know looking at it. So
I'm going to celebrate it and not try to think
too much about, you know, the negatives of what could occur.
Speaker 6: Regardless of that, absolutely, I'm there with you as well.
I think to do what they did in the third
year in the Big twelve and arguably the toughest conference
that Yu's played in in its history, I think that
speaks volumes to the type of season that they had
and how it should be remembered. And again, a great team,
great accomplishment. The other thing I love is how many
times this team showed resilience and grit and fought from
behind to win football games. I always say the mark
of a really good football team is the ability to
come from behind, be down, to keep your wits about
you to keep calm and to just have that belief
that we're good, we can find a way to win.
And Dyu did that so many times throughout this year,
where they just they found a way and it was
different ways also. Sometimes it was the run game, sometimes
it was the past game, sometimes it was special teams.
There were just so many ways that this team together
in all three phases, found ways to make plays and
to win those those games at some point in the
game they were down. And I think that that's also
another trademark of a really good football team.
Speaker 2: Definitely a good football team. But you know, John, you
also have some pretty good services as well that people
can be a part of. You know, how can people
is now that the college season is in into two,
you know, high school football is over, get a hold
of you if they want to get trained up.
Speaker 6: The right way, Yeah, same way, Just jump on the
website infoot I'm sorry, Train three dqb dot com info
at training three dq dot com.
Speaker 4: Just hop on out.
Speaker 6: We've already had a number of people from the city
of Utah and outside of Utah come on down. We
got a lot of people that are just finding ways
to get some training in before the school year starts
up again. And you know it's crazy, it's already that
time of year of where teams are looking forward to springball,
preparing for springball, and before we know it, we're going
to be in the NFL draft time of year. And
you know, it's just there's always opportunities to get better
and we're always here for those that are wanting to work.
Speaker 2: You guys can go on today, go to the website.
Please sign up today training three DQB. John Beck is
one of the greats. I mean, it's there's no doubt
when you look at Keayden, when you look at Jared,
when you look at Zach, you look at even Jake,
the guys that have performed, everybody that's gone over there.
You know, all of the quarterbacks that they've trained. You
see the development Bear Bakamarshow give them a chance today?
Go to three DQB dot com. John, Happy New Year
to you and the family. I know these will slow
down a little bit now that you get in the
draft season everything, but as the big news occurs, I
will try to still be able to We'll make sure
that we still reach out to you and stay connected.
Speaker 3: But happy New Year to you.
Speaker 4: In the family.
Speaker 6: Sounds great to you as well. We'll see it.
Speaker 2: Okay. That was John becken to keeping up with the
Cougar segment, and that's the rest of our show.
Speaker 3: Guys.
Speaker 2: Happy New Year to everybody going into twenty twenty six.
We hope that all of you will celebrate the right way.
Please do things the right way. Stay safe out there
wherever you're at. I know Bryce Larson is down. They're
in in Las Vegas doing the Las Vegas Boat with
the Utah Nebraska. But wherever you guys are celebrating from,
please be safe. I don't want you guys to Andrew tonight,
you know.
Speaker 3: Just yeah, yeah, yeah, celebration.
Speaker 2: Look, we're gonna close out the two twenty twenty five
season and years strong, and I.
Speaker 3: Said twenty twenty five season. Basketball is still going on.
Speaker 2: But it's been a great year for BYU Athletic Trader,
for BYU football. Thank you for everybody that's joined me today.
John Beck we appreciate Kate Bacator joining us yesterday.
Speaker 3: Replayed that for you guys.
Speaker 2: Darnelle Dixon O the day, the hero, Bryce Larson as well,
Brett always bringing the hammer, showing up and showing out
appreciate vit Cramlin data aggregation. Thank you again to everybody
follow the birthday wishes. Please everybody travel safe from all
of us, our entire team at ESPN, the fan Bryson
being NEWCI Cougar Sports have been critical to Down and
Dirty with Scott Mitchell. We all wish you a happy
new year. Have a good night, have a safe night.
We will catch you in twenty twenty six. On the
flip you been listening to Cougar Sports.
Speaker 4: Come on now, that's break