Speaker 1: Is Cougar Sports with Ben Kretel, and it's time for
the Cougar Beat getting the dish from the local reporters
that cover Cougar athletics. Welcome back Cougar Sports. One of
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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 3: Ben. 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 1: 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 3: 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 1: 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 3: 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 1: Let's go Sean Walker casel dot com. What have you
been writing about recently?
Speaker 2: Sean?
Speaker 1: What can we find on the KSHL dot com webshite
with your authorship.
Speaker 3: 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 1: 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 2: PFF had him at ten.
Speaker 3: I think ESPN ten had them at like eight or nine,
and their way too early to twenty five.
Speaker 2: I have it right here.
Speaker 1: 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 2: Twoy Jack Kelly.
Speaker 1: We're still waiting to see if John to mcpeo hired
a lawyer and can get his eligibility back.
Speaker 2: We'll see how that plays out.
Speaker 1: Key additions Kadu ou Lave, Jay Clifton, zakiy Alamouchi, Pockey,
Fenout Walker, Lyons, Kyler, Casper Junior, Sia, et cetera.
Speaker 2: There's a number of guys there. This is what he says.
Speaker 1: 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 3: 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. LJ. 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 1: 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 2: Too, b Yu.
Speaker 1: 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 3: 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 1: 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 3: 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 1: Some great acquisitions. Uh any of the attricians keeping you
up at night?
Speaker 3: Oh you know, I hate losing anybody.
Speaker 1: 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 2: 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 3: 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 career, always a
cooiter is not what you'd like to say say. 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. I think
I think 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 1: 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 3: 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 2: Sean Walker. Best way to support you what you do,
how you do it for all of our listeners.
Speaker 3: 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 2: So yeah, he check it out today. D Shaun Walker,
thanks so much brother, great cougar beat.
Speaker 3: Appreciate you guys. Have a good one there.
Speaker 2: Go.
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Speaker 1: Let's Go to Break, Don't go anywhere More to get
to Tuesday, January twentieth edition. Our final segment will welcome
in to the show Jared Bledsoe, former BAU wide receiver
and talks some Cougar football.
Speaker 2: This is Cougar Sports one of three nine ninety eight
point three