Speaker 1: Cheaping up with the Cougars. Brought to you by Odion Men'swear,
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Speaker 2: Welcome back Cougar Sports. One of three nine ninety eight
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meats of Myers here in Highland, Utah. We're gonna get
into a keeping up with the Cougar segment. Ronald the
three Man Weaver was able to catch up with the
Connor Pay yesterday at our Crumble event.
Speaker 3: And UH.
Speaker 2: Look, if you don't know Connor Pay, the former BYU Center,
he's been in camps, he's had some contracts with UH
with teams in the NFL as a center, but he's
also been coaching at BYU and he's been helping the
offensive line just become better each and every single week.
So this guy has inside knowledge of what's going on
at by especially along the offense on line. So stay tuned.
It's gonna be brought to you by Odeon Men'swear. Odeon
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Ronald and three Man, we were interviewing Connor.
Speaker 3: Pay, former b YU great in front of me. He's
on the don't know if he's officially on the staff.
Gonna have to find out what he's doing. I need
to know. But hey, look, anytime you can have a
legacy player play at b YU, come back to b Y.
You see him in the gear, you see him on
the sideline helping out. It's phenomenal, right, coaching up these boys,
a great center. Why he was here, command at the offense,
no doubt, enjoy covering him his time when he played here.
Now seeing him get back or be a part of
the staff, dropping knowledge. He knows a lot about the game.
On Saturday as well, we got Connor Pay on the
line with this se Pay. How we doing. I'm good, man,
I'm good. Let's start with that. You know, I've seen
you practice. You know, I don't know if you're helping out,
what's the official role with the team. Just kind of
want to get caught up.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I've gotten a lot of questions about that, Like, oh,
I thought he was in the NFL on the side,
I'm like, well, I got I got fired twice. Oh no, no,
but uh so yeah, after after the draft and stuff,
I went to the Seattle Seahawks, okay, and I was
cut from there, got picked up by the Raiders, and
then I was cut from there a few months ago,
and so I was just back at YU training for
my next team, and Klonne approached me and was just like, Hey,
you're here training every day anyways, do you want to
come help? And I was like, yeah, ive ay Rod
and Coach Woods are down, then I'd love to. And
they both were down and so and they were pretty
excited about it, so I was like, sure, I'll come help.
So I'm I'm kind of serving more like a consultant
role right now, is kind of how I would describe it,
just so I have the freedom that if I do
get picked up, I can leave. Okay, that's kind of
They didn't want to like lock me in as an
official staff member because then I'd have to go through
all that logistical time there of being hired and then
if I do get picked up by an NFL team,
having to figure that all out. So it was just
easier to make me kind of just like a volunteer
consultant right now, and then if I end up, if
I don't get picked up by the end of this
year and I end up retiring, then we'll TRANSI in
next year more of a full time role. Hopefully.
Speaker 3: Well thanks for getting update. Now we can officially know
what's going on because see with the team, I was like,
but I gotta I gotta go through the sid you never.
Speaker 4: Know, Yeah, technically I am on the staff helping with
the on line.
Speaker 3: Yeah that's I know that. Hey, that's just that's the
right where you're at. You know, you kill it, you
kill it there. What has it been like from the
coaching standpoint, I guess now hoping out then the player standpoint.
Speaker 4: It's interesting you look at the game differently, and I
think I always kind of viewed the game through a
coach's lens. I guess I didn't. I didn't realize in
the moment that that's what I was doing. But that's
kind of just the the analytics kind of all that stuff.
That's just the way I think. And so that's kind
of how I approach the game. I wanted to know, like, Okay,
I look at the call sheet. As a player, I
looked at all the formations we're doing our runs out of. Okay,
what are their top front stunts, pressures out of those formations.
That's kind of how I studied. And you do a
lot of that as a coach and and so and
you know, I get a breakdown a lot of film,
right kind of as as the gas and the other
analysts and stuff. That's kind of your role. You break
down film for the position coaches, and so I get
to watch a lot of defense, and so I've learned
a lot too, and it's been it's been really fun,
but to just kind of think of the game differently
where it's like, Okay, I'm not I'm not solely focused
on how to execute my job as a player. Now
it's okay, how can we put the offensive line specifically
in my case, but for the other coaches, how can
we put the offense in general in the best position
to succeed? And then once we do that, how do
we then go and teach the concepts we want to
run as clearly as possible so the players are confident
when they go in and because I mean, you can
never know for sure what a defense is going to
do to you, they got to be able to adjust
and do some things. And I think that's one of
the really strong skills that Coach Woods has is being
able to teach that way well.
Speaker 3: Coach would definitely been phenomenal. Has had to be Team
six and zero. Talk to Bruce, talk to eight Rod.
They've thrown besides to the Arizona game, five different things
that you guys. You guys studied something different and they
went into those games besides the Arizona game something completely different.
Take us through how you were able to adjust to that,
because I have to think that's difficult. We're studying this
and you're gonna make a game adjustments right as a
part of it. But then they throw something different at you,
maybe on the third or fourth play, that you weren't
necessarily prepared for.
Speaker 4: Right, Yeah, No, I think I think it makes it
a lot easier. When you teach, you don't teach plays,
you teach concepts. And that's that's how coach Woods teaches
is he teaches concepts because then it's just okay, how
does the con the overall concept apply to the defense
we're playing? Okay that week, and so we have our
base set of rules where it's like, look if it's
just base four to two defense or base three four defense,
these are our set rules, and everybody knows the set rules.
That's what you practice and train all off season, and
then you get into game week and it's like, okay,
here's what this defense does. So here's that set of
rules that you guys know, here's the tweaks for this week,
and then okay, here's this other play, here's this set
of rules that all the guys know, here's the tweaks
for that week, all right, And so when you teach
overall concepts like that, I think it makes it a
lot easier to adjust because it's not like you're learning
all new plays. The application of the play is just
a little bit different. And so I think Coach Woods
does a really good job of that. And so that's
I think that's kind of what's made our life a
little easier, being able to adjust week to week to
very different defenses.
Speaker 3: I appreciate you breaking it down and sit in the
life of the fans. The concept of it, you know,
takes me back to the mission of applying this concept
of the application. I think people can relate to that
as well, especially for the idiots like myself. You guys
don't know that inside Joe Connor knows it. It's for
me and Connon to know. For you to find out
if you go check tape. As he says, he's been
watching a lot of tip Former BYU Offensive Line Center
here on the line with me as we love from
the crumble here a great event that by the way,
that's being put on. Love you guys are giving back
an opportunity for fans this week. Let's get right into it.
There's no secret this game on Saturday, it's one of
the most it should be. It's a big one. It's
one of the most biggest, vile, vicious it should be
on football team, you know. But you want to love
your brother up game in the state, right This game
means so much when you played, it meant a lot.
Take us through that as a player, and now you're coaching,
you know to in trying to help the players get
a dub. What now is that on the coaching side,
I know you've been able to look at Jason's.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think as a player, my my second start
of my entire career at b YU was when we
beat Utah on twenty twenty one, Jared Hall. That was
my first experience with fans in Lavell Edwards Stadium, and
so it was kind of all these things I'd never
experienced before, all at once, and it was amazing. Especially
I remember that very last drive knowing we needed one
first down and we'd be able to take a knee
and end this thing. And they knew we were going
to run the ball three times. We knew we were
going to run the ball three times. They threw the
whole defense at us, and we were still able to
get that first down. And I remember that feeling and
just being so elated with my teammates and together as
an offensive line, knowing that on those three plays when
they relied on us, we got it done. That's a
very vivid memory. And then last year. Last year it
was a little bit harder for me. That was I
was very close to being back and I had tried
very hard to get cleared for that week and I
was just not quite close enough. They I was literally
forty eight hours off because the doctor. The doctor cleared
me to play on Monday, and so I did everything
I possibly could. I called the doctor. I was like, hey, like,
can I shoot this up or something? And can we play?
Like can I play? And all this stuff, and they
were like no, like you can't do it. And they
had my best interest heart, but I didn't see it
that way in the moment, right and the motions of fine,
And so that was hard to watch that one from
the sidelines, But also still just as exhilarating, right, And
so I'm imagining now in this position that it's probably
gonna feel similar to that. You know that I'm going
to be on the sidelines, and at least now I
don't have the heartache of knowing that I had an
option of playing. Right now, I know the sideline is
the only place I'll be, so that puts my mind
to ease a little bit there. But no, it's been
really fun. I think it's going to be fun to
because basically what I'm doing from the sideline during games
is I'm trying to read and pick defenses apart and
figuring out, Okay, we line up in this formation, what
are they doing blah blah blah, how are they attacking us?
And it's been pretty fun like that. The chess match
has always been a part of the game that I
loved as a player, and now that's all I get
to do as a coach is play the chess match, right,
and it's it's been fun, and so I'm looking forward
to doing that on Saturday.
Speaker 3: Thank you for being vulnerable and sharing that that's going
to and didn't know that you know, and that's why
I love being able to interview you guys, they didn't
know you were four d eight hours off. I know that
that must have been tough, so thank you for sharing that.
But like you said, just exhilarating what this game means
in that reguard. Now your heart rate gets up on
the sideline not being in the game in that reguard. Now,
I don't know, Connor. I know you want to play
in the NFL, and I want you to, and I
know you have a great career if you do. But man,
you got a future in this coaching thing. I can
tell you that. Man, that's for sure, we might see
a future offensive light coach and you never know offensive court.
Speaker 4: Now.
Speaker 3: I'm saying that because I really, truly do you know
believe that looking at you, your dad, your your brother's
in the program. Man, it's been awesome to could be
able to cover you guys in the in the In
that reguard, let's talk about Kilane. This is a guy
that if you hate him, I just think you're a
bad person. Or if you don't like him, I just
gotta say you all, I'm just gonna say I just
think because because this man walks back, Lebron dask me
up and like I need to know my name, you
need to like what, okay, what's it like? Jaywa he
knows the other media members names, like man, this guy
really goes out of his way. And I know for
you guys, you know that's something. But coming in every
day and someone like who always keeps the same energy, Like,
take me through what that's like? Because I'm like, this
is contagious. I'm like, I shouldn't have any emotion as
a media member, but I do, Like I feel so loved.
Speaker 4: It's hard. It's hard when someone's kind to you, right,
especially this week. No, it's uh, I think it's it's
funny because I get to see both sides of him.
I get to see the true Kilanie and then I
get to see head football coach Kilani come out on
occasion when we're not doing what we're supposed to be
doing right and and so it's fun because what you
what you experience, the kindness, knowing everybody's name. He just
loves people and that's his default, Like that's him, that's
his character at its core. And then we, uh, we
pull him out of that sometimes if he gets angry
enough and you know, you get the screaming matches getting
cussed out or something like that. Not many people get
to see that side of Kilane. But obviously Klanie and
I have grown very close over the years, and and
you know, I was I was his captain for three
of the five years that I was there, and so
we got to work closely together on a lot of things,
a lot of handling problems together and things like that.
So I got to see him in moments of crisis
and things like that and how he handled it. And man,
I just I hope to be half the man that
he is one day. To be able to be mentored
by him has been one of the great privileges of
my life and also one of the things I'll cherish
the most about my time at BYUS, my association with him,
and now to have him invite me back to stay
around that meant a lot to me. And we're doing
we're working on some nonprofit things together and stuff to
help the BYU Pathway program, something we're both passionate about,
and and things like that, and so now we're getting
to work together on things outside of football, and it's
just been so much fun. What a phenomenal leader, and
it's you know, I just feel blessed that I still
get to be around him and still be led by.
Speaker 3: Him, felt the spirit all while you said it, I'm
never going to shy away from that or to wear
it on my sleeve. That was very touch and especially
as you mentioned the BAU pathways. How can I guess
fans and how can we stay up to date about
those things?
Speaker 4: Yeah, So there's two main things that we're working on.
One is actually a placement business that myself and Isaiah
Kafusi are a part of, and I know Colone loves it.
He just can't work on a business. He's a full
time head coach, right, And so Isaiah and I have
been kind of working on it where we're basically helping
helping companies outsource to Pathway students because the challenge with
BYU Pathway is they get this great, super affordable education
from a university and they get these certificates in these
degrees in their home countries, but then they graduate and
there's no jobs for them in their countries and so
they go back to just doing whatever they were doing
before and they're not even using the degree. So what
they need are jobs, and so Isaiah and I have
been going out to businesses and seeing what opportunities they
have for positions in their company that they can outsource
to and whether that's three or five three to five
back office employees to help run the books or do
some management things, or you know, more front facing stuff
like call centers. You know, call centers have been very successful.
Obviously you can hire in larger numbers and they have
great English skills and all that stuff. And so that's
been very fun to be a part of because I'm
in the process. I've kind of been a Pathway student
mentor for the last four or five years now since
I got to BYU, mentoring some of these students, and
I'm in the process of becoming a BYU Pathway missionary
officially and just because I'm doing it anyway, so I
was like, why not just get the tag, you know
what I'm saying. But but for anyone listening, if you
have a company or you know some one who has
positions that they can outsource internationally, that's what we're trying
to help people do, and we'll make it extremely smooth
and easy for your company to not only bring greater
business value because it's cheaper to hire someone overseas, it
just is that's just the reality, and so it's better
for your business. And also you're changing the lives of
these Pathway students, these people who need help just because
the opportunities aren't there in their home countries. And for
those who are listening who are Latter Day Saints, this
is the gathering of Israel at its highest level. And
then right like there's economic success has always preceded someone's
true ability to serve and to gather Israel. There's a
reason that in foreign countries that there is a certain
amount of money that church leaders have to make in
order to qualify to be a bishop or something like that,
because they don't want to burden the family, right, Like
they're not going to put someone in a bishopric or
call someone as a bishop who is barely making ends
meet for their family, right, And so they call it
living wages, like you have to you have to have
a living wage in order to serve in leadership positions.
And so you know, getting these jobs for these people
all of a sudden, now they have a living wage,
and it opens up so many more opportunities for them
to serve. And it's a it's a physical gathering, a
spiritual gathering, but it's also an economic gathering of scattered
Israel because it's just the way our world is set
up that it takes economics a lot of times to
be able to move your life forward in ways you
want to, right, and that's what we're trying to bring
to these people all over the world. So please reach
out to me on any social media that I have
or or anything like that. If you know someone who
has a call center who's hiring lots of internationals, or
a company that needs some help in their back office work,
we can. We've got We've got literally tens of thousands
of Pathway students ready who will fit the job description
you need. So please reach out to me where we're
trying to help these people.
Speaker 3: Please reach out. Very touched about that, man, if you
want to talk about doing the work of Jesus Christ,
serving as he would, as it says in Matthew, you know,
putting off you know, and you know, not saving your life,
what you just mentioned just really touched my heart. I'm
not trying to get a most I just I think
that's powerful because I'm looking at my conversion story to
the Gospel and those regards someone giving my family an
opportunity in that regard to go to these e fys, right,
go to these things in that regard, like people helped
me get to BYU and I had to put it
in the work on my own, like I had to
go out. But then it's afforded me an opportunity to
get a degree and surround myself by wonderful people. So
I love that you guys are doing that to get
back and those are things they really do matter, especially
for church leadership spiritually, you know, financially does take economics
and really all this. So I echo that that same message.
We'll finish on this to get you out of here.
You said, you know the concepts. What do you see
on tape from Utah? Defensively, obviously you guys know a
guy former well you know the Fano and obviously no,
they're familiar with both the familiar with the whole team.
With the whole team, right right, that's just the nature
of the robbery. What do you see on tape for them?
What challenges could they implement, you know on Saturday to
the Kuks.
Speaker 4: Well, I mean the challenges that they face are the
the challenges they cause for us, are the same challenges
that a Utah defense causes every year. They're very disciplined
and how they play, they're they're very good on defense
because they're very disciplined in gap sound and they've got
everything covered, right, And then that's been a staple of
wits defenses and Morgan Scalley's for a long time, right,
And so obviously they're well coached. You know, I think
they're I think they're very skilled in the secondary, right,
And and you know, those edge players are good all right.
John Henry and and Logan are both really good football players,
both former teammates of mine, and uh, you know, we
respect them that way. And uh, you know, I think
it's gonna be a really good test because we've got
good players too. And I feel like, you know this
is probably on paper, I mean you probably know this
better than me, But on paper, this feels like one
of the more evenly matched rivalries we've had in a
long time. Because nobody was expecting us to win in
twenty one, yep, right, and then we didn't win for
a long time before that, and then last year was
almost the opposite. We were kind of more heavily favored,
and yeah, and uh, you know, but the I mean
everyone says this about rivalries, right, rivalries even the odds,
they regardless of rankings, teams, whatever, And so it's gonna
come down to who can execute, and that that's that
defense can execute really well, and that that's our challenge
is how how can we execute better than them? Right? Like,
they're they're gonna get their calls, they're gonna know what
they're doing. You know, they're not going to have missed assignments,
and so it's it's gonna be man on man who
can win, right, who can win in their one on
one match? And you know, those those are the games
that can be the most challenging. But in my experience
as a player too, especially, those are the games are
the most fun because it's it's me and you, Right,
it's mono a mono, absolutely, who's gonna win, who's gonna lose?
All right? And so, uh, I think that's what that's
what jumps out to me as you know, we get
ready to play him and stuff. But they're they're a
really good defense. We're looking forward to the challenge. It's
gonna be a challenge, indeed. But I mean, hey, look
like you said, you got pretty good players. I think
Isaiah john is pretty good. I think he's the next
level player. Andrew Gentry is pretty good. Last time I
checked Bruce E.
Speaker 3: Mitchell, I don't know who he is, but whoever decided
that he should make a switch and take over for
you after you left or stepping up like he looks
to be pretty dog good as well.
Speaker 4: The next level. Bruce is a very good players established
Austin Son. Goodness, we're blessed, man, We're blessed. We have
good players. And I'm glad that they've had this extra
year in coach Woods system because they've been able to there.
They've been able to take their skill sets so much
farther than we were able to push it last year,
you know, just because it was getting the bearings, learning
how he coached, how we taught. Now they've had a
whole full year in that system and it's it's paying off.
You know, they're doing a good job. I love those guys.
Speaker 3: You should that powerful. They do it year two. Always
tell people watch how athletes driving the system. You're two
compared to your one. I've noticed that my last five
to six years of covering be what you cause the
lineback of you. They call it qbu. I'm gonna call
it O line. A lot of old line out there
and maybe not get some love. Always say you want
to talk about offensive coordinate, it might be the most
you know, unforgiving or thank position the boys up for
some time. But shout at the bear Blackmeyer. Hope you
got the boys and you got some rest. Chris retreats
you guys definitely deserve it after the Arizona win. Tough
task on Saturday, but we wish you the best. There'll
be a great game, uh, no doubt and coming out
with the victory, opportunity to go one to no, seven
to no this week, well, we'll let you go to
Connor thank you of course. All right, there you go.
Speaker 2: That's Connor pay alongside Ronald the three man. We were
getting your prep. Get you if that Yu Utah rivalry game,
and if there's any way that's familiar with Utah football,
it's Connor Bay. He knows that roster. Pretty guys staying well,
having played in this rivalry recently and then knowing a
lot of the key players. One of some of the
best players that Utah is fielding on the grid Ion
we're a live for Myers meets and find foods, stop by,
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Let's take a brief time out. We'll be back. Don't
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one of three nine ninety eight point three es