Speaker 1: One of the best to ever do it. You know him,
Speaker 1: you love him.
Speaker 2: Scott Mitchell on a Tuesday afternoon. Scott, Happy Tuesday, buddy,
Speaker 2: How are we doing?
Speaker 3: Excuse me? Thanks, I'm doing wonderful, Spence. You know, I
Speaker 3: was up in Ogden last week. I drove through there
Speaker 3: on my way to Logan.
Speaker 2: All right, well, I wish you were back up here today,
Speaker 2: but we'll do it over the phone today, Scott, we'll
Speaker 2: do it over the phone. I want to start with
Speaker 2: a question about two before we get to the utes,
Speaker 2: which is where we'll spend most of our conversation. So
Speaker 2: news just came down, Scott. He's going to the IR
Speaker 2: so he's gonna miss four. And the conversation, of course,
Speaker 2: is should he just stop playing? Should he step away
Speaker 2: from the game as a father and as a husband
Speaker 2: who's already made generational wealth, is it something he should
Speaker 2: consider doing. I don't have the perspective you do, because
Speaker 2: you guys are unicorns. What do you make of the
Speaker 2: conversation right now surrounding Tua tonguava loa.
Speaker 3: Well, it's a history that you know. This isn't the
Speaker 3: first time, it's not even the second time. It's the
Speaker 3: third time, and you really start to have to ask
Speaker 3: yourself the question. There's a lot of history with guys
Speaker 3: who have had concussions. They they start to get them
Speaker 3: and then they just they don't go away and they
Speaker 3: come back more frequently. Steve Young had the Troy Aikman
Speaker 3: Chris Miller back in my time, and so it's it's
Speaker 3: something that more than likely is never going to go
Speaker 3: away in his career. And it's a real thing that
Speaker 3: the concussions, and you know, it's it's not about you know,
Speaker 3: your life, because your life in the NFL, even if
Speaker 3: it's a long time, it's really a short time in
Speaker 3: your life. There's a lot a lot to go, a
Speaker 3: lot of life to live after you're done, and you
Speaker 3: really have to ask you thisself a question. It's hard, though,
Speaker 3: to answer that question, because to get there, you put
Speaker 3: your you put your body through so much, you put
Speaker 3: your mind through so much. You've sacrificed so much, and
Speaker 3: in a lot of cases, you know, you've sacrificed a
Speaker 3: lot of having a normal body ever again. And that's
Speaker 3: just the reality of it. And so to get there,
Speaker 3: to have that drive, to have that competitive it's hard
Speaker 3: just to turn it off. I mean, you thought kind
Speaker 3: of dealing that with that with Cam Rising. You know,
Speaker 3: he's a guy that doesn't know half speed. He doesn't
Speaker 3: know when the runout of bounds, he doesn't know discretion.
Speaker 3: You know, He's just like full speed ahead, and I'm
Speaker 3: going to you know, and I'm gonna I'm just going
Speaker 3: to run into whatever I can and and you don't
Speaker 3: want to take that away, you know, from from a
Speaker 3: really good player, and I think it's hard to So
Speaker 3: it's a hard, a hard decision. On top of you know, Spence,
Speaker 3: it's really cool to go to go do that. Like
Speaker 3: I can't even describe to people what it felt like
Speaker 3: to play. It was incredible, It was amazing, and I
Speaker 3: loved it and I loved every minute of it. And
Speaker 3: when it's over, it's over and you don't go back
Speaker 3: to that. So it's a lot of conflicting emotions and
Speaker 3: feelings going through a decision to go, Hey, you know,
Speaker 3: I'm I'm going to pack it in. But you really,
Speaker 3: it's your health, your family, and your your life, your
Speaker 3: quality of life really should should win the day.
Speaker 1: I wonder some interesting stuff there.
Speaker 2: And I was talking about this earlier because ultimately you
Speaker 2: had an experience that most of the rest of us
Speaker 2: who played sports growing up dreamed of having but weren't
Speaker 2: able to get there. You were able to get there.
Speaker 2: And you know, I talked to a lot of X pros.
Speaker 2: I work with a lot of X pros on the
Speaker 2: media side. I was on the team side for a
Speaker 2: number of years. Do you ever come close to experiencing anything,
Speaker 2: anything at all like you did when you were a player?
Speaker 1: And attendant to the question, have you ever talked to a.
Speaker 2: Peer or a former teammate that has been able to
Speaker 2: find that thing that fills that board? It always is
Speaker 2: interesting to me to witness former longtime successful pro athletes
Speaker 2: try to figure out what to do next, and even
Speaker 2: if they're successful in those endeavors, which plenty of them are,
Speaker 2: they never seem to find that thing.
Speaker 1: Man, you know what I mean. So give me your
Speaker 1: thoughts on that.
Speaker 3: Well. The only thing that I've come close to feeling
Speaker 3: like when I played is some of the interviews I've
Speaker 3: had on your show. But they were close, they just
Speaker 3: weren't quite there.
Speaker 1: Okay, I'm glad I can help till the board.
Speaker 3: Actually one of the things that I really enjoy because
Speaker 3: you can't there's nothing. There's nothing that I've I've not
Speaker 3: found anything that that replaces it. But I'll tell you
Speaker 3: something that was close. And it was coaching and coaching
Speaker 3: high school football even And it's one thing to go
Speaker 3: out and do it yourself. And and the entery, you know,
Speaker 3: the excitement of a game. And and I don't care
Speaker 3: where you play, you know, or a coach or whatever.
Speaker 3: Going out and playing in the game, it's fun, it's exciting,
Speaker 3: and it's it's a great thing. But to see other
Speaker 3: people learn and have success from something you taught them
Speaker 3: that that was a that was a cool thing for me.
Speaker 3: And and to see them, uh progress and get better
Speaker 3: and win and succeed at it and and and really,
Speaker 3: you know, seeing you change lives, that that was extremely
Speaker 3: exciting for me. I had an opportunity to spend some
Speaker 3: time with Roger Staubach, who did an incredible transition from
Speaker 3: his playing career into very very successful commercial real estate endeavor.
Speaker 3: And I actually asked him, I said, you know, you
Speaker 3: impact the lives of so many people in your business,
Speaker 3: you know, I think he had fifteen hundred employees. And
Speaker 3: I said, that must be a really satisfying thing. And
Speaker 3: he says, It's the one thought I think about every
Speaker 3: day that my decisions and how I run my business,
Speaker 3: you know, impact the life of thousands of people every day,
Speaker 3: and it's really the driving force of what I'm doing.
Speaker 3: And so I think, you know, engaging in things that
Speaker 3: make a difference and impact people in a good way,
Speaker 3: that's kind of where I've found. It Certainly doesn't replace
Speaker 3: or feel the same as when you played football at
Speaker 3: its highest level, but it's it's a very rewarding thing
Speaker 3: to be a part of.
Speaker 2: Well said, all right, last pro football question that we'll
Speaker 2: move on to some mute stuff. Britain Covey Scott last night,
Speaker 2: I got six targets, six catches, which equals the targets
Speaker 2: and catches he had had prior to last night.
Speaker 1: Now, no Aj Brown, that's.
Speaker 2: Philly's wide receiver one, but that's still a crowded room.
Speaker 2: They got DeVante Smith some other good players. Do you
Speaker 2: think we're going to see this moving forward? Britain Covey
Speaker 2: being utilized not just as a punt or a kickoff returner,
Speaker 2: but actually getting wraps and getting looks from Jalen Hurts
Speaker 2: as a wide receiver.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, I've always loved Britain. I don't think
Speaker 3: they utilized him as effective as they could have. At Utah.
Speaker 3: I mean he's in that slot position where you're not
Speaker 3: going up against the team's you know, shut down corner.
Speaker 3: You're a little bit undersized, but amazing speed quickness. You know,
Speaker 3: he has that speed and quickness that translates to the NFL.
Speaker 3: He's a playmaker. He's a guy that can make plays
Speaker 3: and and he's got a you know, he's just a
Speaker 3: tremendous human being. I mean he's just a really good person.
Speaker 3: He understands, he gets it, he works hard at it
Speaker 3: and there and for guys like that, there's always a place.
Speaker 3: You know, Taysom Hill at Buyu, he was a quarterback,
Speaker 3: but he was a much greater athlete and they figured
Speaker 3: out how to utilize him. And the NFL is good
Speaker 3: at that. They just find they find places for people
Speaker 3: who have unique abilities and talents. And you see that
Speaker 3: Julian Edelman's and some of these undersized receivers have a
Speaker 3: ton of success in the NFL because they're they're quick,
Speaker 3: and they can get open and they can be productive
Speaker 3: and and uh, you know, I just see Britain being
Speaker 3: a guy like that, and he's he's done enough. He's
Speaker 3: found ways to keep himself there and relevant because there
Speaker 3: you know, your opportunity will come at some point if
Speaker 3: you stick around, you just have to be ready for
Speaker 3: it when it happens. And you're seeing a little bit
Speaker 3: of that with with Britain UH in Philadelphia.
Speaker 2: All Right, moving over the Utes, Let's go back to
Speaker 2: last Saturday, Maverick Stadium, first time up in Logan in
Speaker 2: twelve years.
Speaker 1: For the Utes started out a little Harry and a
Speaker 1: lot of people were nervous.
Speaker 2: You could definitely feel it, getting the text messages from
Speaker 2: buddies and family members like is this really going to
Speaker 2: go down? But Isaac answered some questions Scott, I mean,
Speaker 2: I was proud of the kid.
Speaker 1: It's weird to say, but youte fans.
Speaker 2: Of course, a little PTSD from a year ago when
Speaker 2: it you know, Cam goes down, then Brandon goes down,
Speaker 2: and it was Bryson, then it was Nate, then it
Speaker 2: was Bryson and Nate, and it just it never looked.
Speaker 1: It never looked the way it needed to to.
Speaker 2: Be prepared for an emergency if you lose a couple
Speaker 2: of quarterbacks, and I think at least for one day.
Speaker 2: Isaac answered some questions about what it does look like
Speaker 2: should Cameron have to miss time. So give me your
Speaker 2: thoughts on Isaac's performance against UTAs here.
Speaker 3: Well, we witnessed the Cam rising backup full on Saturday,
Speaker 3: you know, between Bryce and Barnes and Isaac Wilson and
Speaker 3: won the former and now the present, and you know
Speaker 3: that was that was the really big thing for me. Football.
Speaker 3: Football seasons are and games have emotional ebbs and flows
Speaker 3: and you know, the whole the whole tide of the
Speaker 3: game kind of you know, it just it just changes
Speaker 3: all the time, and good teams, mature teams and capable
Speaker 3: teams find a way to kind of change that momentum
Speaker 3: and answer to that momentum. I think Utah was down
Speaker 3: fourteen to three, and you know I was one of
Speaker 3: those nervous people as well, and that's when that's when
Speaker 3: it just clicked in and they went on a drive,
Speaker 3: went down and scored and it was really that moment
Speaker 3: of kind of changing that low point in the game
Speaker 3: into a really positive thing. And look, two things are happening. First,
Speaker 3: it's a road game, and road games are real regardless
Speaker 3: of the opponent. And you're in and Utah's in this
Speaker 3: new environment. It's tough. They came to play, they have
Speaker 3: they have some players, and then you're starting a true
Speaker 3: freshman quarterback, Isaac Wilson is it's I mean, he's fairly
Speaker 3: out of high school, barely looks like he's at a
Speaker 3: junior high school. And and it's and so he's, you know,
Speaker 3: he's dealing with that, and the whole team's dealing with that.
Speaker 3: You know, houses kid's gonna respond even though it's you
Speaker 3: know not they're not playing Texas, They're still playing a
Speaker 3: good football team. And and and you still get nervous
Speaker 3: before your first start. And so it took a minute
Speaker 3: and and and it and then when he started gaining confidence,
Speaker 3: it's when everyone else really started gaining confidence. But I
Speaker 3: appreciated coach Whittingham, coach Ludwig for saying, we're not going
Speaker 3: to abandon this kid, We're not going to stifle him.
Speaker 3: Where I mean, they started the third quarter, I think
Speaker 3: they threw the ball five or six straight times in
Speaker 3: a row. I don't know that. I don't know that's
Speaker 3: ever happened with Cam Rising in the game, and he
Speaker 3: and Isaac Wilson was way up to the challenge. I mean,
Speaker 3: he made some really really mature moves and throws in
Speaker 3: the location, and you know, he can throw the ball
Speaker 3: pretty much anywhere you need him to, and you can
Speaker 3: just see him getting more comfortable and more confident as
Speaker 3: the game went on, and I just I was just
Speaker 3: thoroughly impressed with the very beginning of Isaac Wilson.
Speaker 2: So let's move over now to what Utah State was
Speaker 2: able to do and what you think it means as
Speaker 2: far as what Utah has to improve upon moving forward,
Speaker 2: because look, there was soul Faizan kid is a good back.
Speaker 2: But they're about to see Ali Gordon, who won the
Speaker 2: dok Walker a year ago nineteen carries one point fifteen.
Speaker 2: Utah State goes for three eighty five in total. Oh,
Speaker 2: I would imagine that Morgan and Kyle aren't thrilled with that.
Speaker 2: And I think it's probably fair to say that if
Speaker 2: you're not better in those areas, Okay States can provide
Speaker 2: a really really stiff challenge on the road. So your
Speaker 2: thoughts on that dynamic and other dynamics you think Utah
Speaker 2: needs to improve upon this week to go get that
Speaker 2: win in Stillwater?
Speaker 3: Well, offensively, you know it's being able to consistently go
Speaker 3: down the field and score. You're just going to have
Speaker 3: to do that. You're gonna have to. You can't get
Speaker 3: shut down and go three and out four or five
Speaker 3: times in a game. You don't. They don't have very
Speaker 3: many possessions even anymore in college football with the change
Speaker 3: of time, you can't get your defense tired. So and
Speaker 3: that's what Cam Rising is really good at is he
Speaker 3: can consistently go down the field and score on teams.
Speaker 3: Oklahoma State has had some challenges defensively, but on the
Speaker 3: defensive side, you know, Utah decided to go after Bryce
Speaker 3: and Barnes put their dvs who really haven't been put
Speaker 3: in a lot of tests, you know, press man coverage,
Speaker 3: and bryceon took shots, I mean, and some of them
Speaker 3: he connected on amazing catches, but also some really good
Speaker 3: defensive plays. You know, you kind of throw those fifty
Speaker 3: to fifty balls and it was kind of fifty to
Speaker 3: fifty fifty percent of the time. They made great catches
Speaker 3: and we had two really really good interceptions smith Snowden
Speaker 3: and Cameron Calhoun. But you tak dna is to stop
Speaker 3: the run, Oklahoma States, dna is to run the football.
Speaker 3: And so it's a it's a it's a matchup of
Speaker 3: power versus power. What Oklahoma State has shown is that
Speaker 3: they're not afraid if you're gonna stack the box on them,
Speaker 3: which everyone has done. Everyone's just so far this season
Speaker 3: just said we're not going to let Olli Gordon beat us.
Speaker 3: You're gonna have to be to throwing the football and
Speaker 3: and Alan Bohannon has actually been able to do that
Speaker 3: so far. And that that's the thing I think that's
Speaker 3: really surprised me is Oklahoma State's willingness to throw the
Speaker 3: ball and throw it a lot early this year. I
Speaker 3: think I think that's going to be the challenge of
Speaker 3: the game is you know, you've got to be able
Speaker 3: to stop the run. I mean, if you don't stop
Speaker 3: the run, you're just not gonna win. So you've got
Speaker 3: to be able to stop the run. But you also
Speaker 3: have to minimize the success that Oklahoma State's going to
Speaker 3: have throwing the football.
Speaker 2: All right, Scott, before I set you, I mean, look,
Speaker 2: I hate to even say it this way, but if
Speaker 2: I told you that you had to place a sizeable
Speaker 2: bet with the Scott Mitchell quarterback NFL savings on whether
Speaker 2: or not Cameron Rising was going to play all season.
Speaker 2: My guess is you would say probably not. I don't
Speaker 2: know what the confidence level is around here that the
Speaker 2: kid can stay healthy.
Speaker 1: I want him to.
Speaker 2: We all want him to. So let's move over to
Speaker 2: Saturday and let's go under center with Cam. We all
Speaker 2: believe he is going to be the guy. What do
Speaker 2: you hope to see from him? Because the whole conversation
Speaker 2: I had it with you, I had it with other coaches,
Speaker 2: other people leading up to the season, is can you
Speaker 2: change the way that kid's mind is wired so that
Speaker 2: when he is in trouble he gets out of trouble
Speaker 2: as opposed to trying to make something happen. So from
Speaker 2: the standpoint of that, what are you hoping to see
Speaker 2: on Saturday? And then just from a big picture standpoint,
Speaker 2: what are we hoping to see from Cameron Rising in
Speaker 2: Stillwater against Okay State.
Speaker 3: Well, the thing I'm curious about is how much does
Speaker 3: this impact his ability to throw? I mean, he had
Speaker 3: a glove on last week. There's a lot of speculation
Speaker 3: that will wear a glove. Some quarterbacks have had a
Speaker 3: lot of success. Kurt Warner started wearing a glove all
Speaker 3: the time and really liked it. And I know, I
Speaker 3: know when you go from not wearing a glove to
Speaker 3: wearing a glove, there's just a time of getting comfortable
Speaker 3: and confident with that. And if it if it helps
Speaker 3: Cam to be successful, you know, maybe wearing a glove
Speaker 3: makes all the difference in the world. And he's totally
Speaker 3: fine throwing the ball, but if it's if it's awkward
Speaker 3: and it feels weird and he can't feel get comfortable
Speaker 3: with it, it's going to be an issue. But to me,
Speaker 3: can he throw effectively? And he's going to have to
Speaker 3: because they're going to stack the box against Utah because
Speaker 3: these two teams are mirror images of each other. They
Speaker 3: want to run, they're going to try to run against
Speaker 3: you know, an expanded front, but they're also going to
Speaker 3: throw the ball down the field when they have to.
Speaker 3: And I just to me, can he can he throw
Speaker 3: and not not have this be an issue. One of
Speaker 3: the good things Utah has this year is two bye weeks.
Speaker 3: Have a bye week it's the first of October in
Speaker 3: the first of November, and a lot of these kind
Speaker 3: of nagging injuries that some of these players are going
Speaker 3: to get, they're going to get some really good time
Speaker 3: to rest up and go through what I think is
Speaker 3: going to be a long season. And but Cam has
Speaker 3: got to be able to to throw the football. I'm
Speaker 3: not gonna at this point in Cam's career. I think
Speaker 3: Kyle's kind of come to this as well. He's not
Speaker 3: going to change who he is. He's going to go
Speaker 3: out there and he's gonna, you know, he's gonna storm
Speaker 3: the beaches and and do his thing and and I
Speaker 3: think you just have to roll with it. And but
Speaker 3: I think you can feel pretty comfortable with Isaac Wilson
Speaker 3: being a, you know, a solid backup and he'll probably
Speaker 3: end up playing some more this year.
Speaker 2: All right, Scott, thanks for the time, Buddy, travels safe
Speaker 2: and have a great call on Saturday.
Speaker 3: Okay, I appreciate it. Thanks