Speaker 1: How we're doing eighties Joel?
Speaker 2: Now, Eighties Joel, shout out, Horatio Sands, step brothers. We
Speaker 2: only exclusively do eighties Joel. Sir, that's all right, it's
Speaker 2: all right. You know you can only rely on the
Speaker 2: old school Billy Joel so much. Voice of the Ute
Speaker 2: time Bill Riley Wednesday Afternoon, Ryle's Happy Wednesday?
Speaker 3: Sir?
Speaker 1: How are you?
Speaker 3: Is this the fen Catalina Wine?
Speaker 1: I love that they had an eighties Joel cover band.
Speaker 2: It is so perfect because look, I like Billy Joel,
Speaker 2: but the eighties I think it's safe to say got loose.
Speaker 1: For our guy.
Speaker 3: Glasshouses is his peak, probably peak Joel. But yeah, the
Speaker 3: later stuff hit here, hit there, But yeah, you're right,
Speaker 3: it's you know, and Horatio Sands could have been any better.
Speaker 2: I tried to watch Happy Gilmore Too last night. Lasted
Speaker 2: fifteen minutes, so I dug into the Billy Joel documentary
Speaker 2: on HBO.
Speaker 1: Have you tried to watch?
Speaker 3: Yeah? I did watch Happy Gilmore Too. I didn't go
Speaker 3: in with high expectations. I found it amusing. It was fine,
Speaker 3: But for you I have I've heard great things about
Speaker 3: the Joel documentary. Is it good?
Speaker 2: Highly recommend I watched. I watched the first part. It's
Speaker 2: a two parters, so highly recommend excellent.
Speaker 3: They'll dial it up.
Speaker 2: You're watching anything else these days on what's on the
Speaker 2: Bill Riley TV show List?
Speaker 3: Not a whole lot going on right now, Spence. To
Speaker 3: be fair, I got into Handmaid's Tale, the Hulu show
Speaker 3: with Elizabeth Moss, The Seed. The last season just came out,
Speaker 3: and I've been watching the w I never watched it
Speaker 3: when it came out initially and went into that. It's
Speaker 3: got a lot of HBO show vibes where you've got
Speaker 3: to kind of let the characters develop. But outside of that,
Speaker 3: not much. Just doing a lot of reading, a lot
Speaker 3: of football reading and studying right now for the fall
Speaker 3: from the fall season coming up.
Speaker 2: Well, in that case, we should start with a comprehensive
Speaker 2: breakdown of how George and Yang fits in with the
Speaker 2: Jazz roster.
Speaker 3: Oh my gosh, the minivan is back. He is? What
Speaker 3: was what was the I mean, they just trying to
Speaker 3: get to the floor of what they have to spend.
Speaker 3: What's the thought process behind bringing George back?
Speaker 2: You get two second round picks for a salary Boston
Speaker 2: didn't want, and I think that's it. I wouldn't be
Speaker 2: stunned if they actually bought them out. But that was
Speaker 2: a question tongue in cheek. No one gives a rip.
Speaker 2: They're not going to be good this year, so let's
Speaker 2: stop football, Bill.
Speaker 3: The Hut will be good this year. Yeah, I'm betting
Speaker 3: on so we talk about that.
Speaker 2: So the question I've been asking everybody today is what
Speaker 2: does success look like year two? In the Big twelve?
Speaker 2: The Vegas over under seven point five wins. If I
Speaker 2: gave you eight, Bill, would you take that out of
Speaker 2: the gates?
Speaker 3: Yes, I would. I saw that line, you know, not
Speaker 3: for entertainment purposes only, but I like the over on
Speaker 3: that bet. I'm not predicting an eleven and one season
Speaker 3: or anything like that, but I think this team was
Speaker 3: average quarterback play away from being eight or nine wins
Speaker 3: last year. I think to have more than that this year. Now.
Speaker 3: The schedule's tough, I mean Texas Tech and BYU in
Speaker 3: Arizona State, and the finishing up with the Kansas schools
Speaker 3: is not going to be easy. But I know if
Speaker 3: I were gambling and allowed to gamble, I would I
Speaker 3: would look at that and say I'm with you on
Speaker 3: that spence. I think over seven and a half is
Speaker 3: a is a pretty fair thought on this Utah football team.
Speaker 2: We were discussing the dynamic of pressure and when it
Speaker 2: comes to what Utah football found themselves in last year,
Speaker 2: the pressure was pretty simple to explain. Everybody thought that
Speaker 2: we're going to win the thing, and so you enter
Speaker 2: other stadiums with the proverbial favorite bullseye on your back.
Speaker 2: You welcome teams into your stadium that are motivated to
Speaker 2: come in and beat the team that everyone thinks he
Speaker 2: is going to win it. That pressure is not there
Speaker 2: this year. Is that something you think can be beneficial
Speaker 2: for the coaching staff to utilize the whole us against
Speaker 2: the world mentality.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think so, and I think you can provide
Speaker 3: that little chip on the show. Older though, I will
Speaker 3: say I think a lot of people and you and
Speaker 3: I've talked about this ever since Big twelve media days,
Speaker 3: I think the tide is shifted a little bit. Not
Speaker 3: that Utah is some sort of overwhelming favorite like they
Speaker 3: were a year ago, but I think more people are
Speaker 3: jumping on the Utah bandwagon. But it's not unanimous, and
Speaker 3: there's a case to be made for ASU or Kansas
Speaker 3: State or Baylor or whomever. So I think they can
Speaker 3: use that a little bit, though not too much. It's
Speaker 3: not as if people expect them to finish near the
Speaker 3: bottom of the league. So I think it's a little
Speaker 3: bit of one. But I think more than anything else,
Speaker 3: I think this team's just hungry. And again, it's not
Speaker 3: the same team that was here two or three years ago.
Speaker 3: But there's a lot of guys in the coaching staff,
Speaker 3: and I think there's a lot of people that are
Speaker 3: eager to restore Utah football to what it's been the
Speaker 3: last decade or so. And I think they've got a
Speaker 3: chance to do that if they stay healthy. Obviously everything's
Speaker 3: predicated on the quarterback position, So if Devin dan Pierre
Speaker 3: stays upright this year behind that outstanding offensive line, I
Speaker 3: think they've got a great chance to do it.
Speaker 2: It is there a and you can only experience this,
Speaker 2: experience this if you're in the building like you are.
Speaker 2: It's always hard to ascertain what's real or what's not
Speaker 2: on social or just on TV on video. Is there
Speaker 2: a more loose feel with the group this year? You know,
Speaker 2: preseason last year. I think all those expectations and then
Speaker 2: the ambiguity about the health of not just Cameron but
Speaker 2: the other players probably premeated throughout the entire thing. I
Speaker 2: felt like there was kind of like an uptight feel
Speaker 2: in the building last year. Does it feel like it's
Speaker 2: a little more loose so far this year?
Speaker 3: I wouldn't say loose, Spence, I would say very dialed in.
Speaker 3: I think that these guys, especially on the offensive side
Speaker 3: of the football, where they've brought in a new scheme,
Speaker 3: they really got these coaches or really locked into the
Speaker 3: details and coaching the details. I've been out to a
Speaker 3: number of practices and being able to watch a lot
Speaker 3: of practice, what I see is a lot of detail
Speaker 3: oriented coaching and these guys really being locked in on,
Speaker 3: you know, the little things. And I wouldn't say it's
Speaker 3: tense or I wouldn't say it's loose. What I'd say is
Speaker 3: it's very locked in and focused on what they have
Speaker 3: to do. You're installing a new offense, you know, sure
Speaker 3: the quarterback knows it, one of the receivers, one of
Speaker 3: the quarterback and the running backs know it, but everybody
Speaker 3: else doesn't. So even through spring till now, there's a
Speaker 3: lot of really refinement and attention to detail. That again,
Speaker 3: maybe I didn't pay as much attention last year to it,
Speaker 3: but this year I can really see these coaches focused
Speaker 3: in on the little things and making sure the little
Speaker 3: things are taken care of, because you know that old adage,
Speaker 3: if you let the little things go, then they snowball
Speaker 3: into big things, and they're not doing that right now.
Speaker 3: So not loose, not tight, I would say focused when.
Speaker 2: It comes to you know, it's nice to know who
Speaker 2: the starter is under center, and of course it's Devin,
Speaker 2: And it seems like there's a lot of praise for
Speaker 2: bird flick Fickland, the new kid that we need to
Speaker 2: get to know about a little bit.
Speaker 1: Does it feel like that quarterback.
Speaker 2: Room is still a battle behind Devon or do you
Speaker 2: think it's I think it's settled one two three.
Speaker 3: No, no, no, I still think it's a battle. I
Speaker 3: think they're going to want to look at both scrimmages before.
Speaker 3: I mean, obviously, if you were if you were battling
Speaker 3: for a number one quarterback, you want to get that
Speaker 3: thing settled as soon as humanly possible. I think with
Speaker 3: the backup quarterback thing, you're right, bird Fickland has looked
Speaker 3: for a guy that's a true freshman, and he looks
Speaker 3: sharp in the spring, but Isaac has looked good at
Speaker 3: times this fall too. I think both those guys have
Speaker 3: had their moments. Isaac's got the experience factor, bird Fickland's
Speaker 3: a little bit more athletics, got a little bit more
Speaker 3: of a live arm. So I don't think they're going
Speaker 3: to set out again. This is just me hypothesizing, but
Speaker 3: I don't think that they're going to settle that backup
Speaker 3: quarterback thing till probably later in camp. I think they
Speaker 3: want to give both those guys as many reps as
Speaker 3: they possibly can to figure out who that backup quarterback is.
Speaker 2: What do you think the Nate Johnson experience this year
Speaker 2: looks like? Obviously we know Nate, he was here before
Speaker 2: trans three to transfer's back in not in the mix
Speaker 2: to start, and that's fine, But what sort of Nate
Speaker 2: Johnson experience you think we're in for it for you
Speaker 2: Tah this year?
Speaker 3: I think, and again this bear with me here. I
Speaker 3: think you know how the forty nine ers used Deebo Samuel,
Speaker 3: How they lined him up all over the field. They
Speaker 3: put him in the slot, they'd line him up in
Speaker 3: the backfield, they bring him in motion they'd line him
Speaker 3: up out. Why I think you're going to see them
Speaker 3: do something like that with Nate Johnson because he doesn't
Speaker 3: have a defined position. He was a quarterback his entire life.
Speaker 3: But what we know is he's a terrific athlete. So
Speaker 3: I think what Jason Beck and his staff are figuring
Speaker 3: out this fall camp, and I think they were doing
Speaker 3: a little bit in spring too, is you know where
Speaker 3: his absolute strengths are, where you're going to see him
Speaker 3: thrive the most. I don't think you're going to see
Speaker 3: Nate Johnson on the field for forty five or fifty snaps.
Speaker 3: Well maybe you. I don't know, but my guess is
Speaker 3: I think they're going to utilize him in situations that
Speaker 3: best fit his athleticism and his football mold right now,
Speaker 3: because again, yeah, I know we saw him do a
Speaker 3: lot of things when he was here a couple of
Speaker 3: years ago. He sat behind the pavi at at Vandy
Speaker 3: last year, so he's really learning to be a field
Speaker 3: player more than a quarterback right now. But I think
Speaker 3: that you're going to see his role probably evolve as
Speaker 3: the year goes along. It might be a small role
Speaker 3: as the season begins, but if he thrives in that
Speaker 3: small role. I could absolutely see him with an expanded
Speaker 3: role as the season goes along, just because he's such
Speaker 3: a phenomenal athlete. And when you see him even out
Speaker 3: of the practice field, his size, his speed, his kind
Speaker 3: of wiggle a little bit on the field, it stands out.
Speaker 3: So I think, you know, initially it'll probably be a
Speaker 3: little bit of a I don't even know if limited
Speaker 3: is right word, but a smaller package. And then I
Speaker 3: think as he as he gets more and more comfortable
Speaker 3: being a field player, I think that package evolves.
Speaker 2: I know I ask you every week, but it does
Speaker 2: seem to be by a coach WIT's own admission. The
Speaker 2: positional group on offense that has the most unknowns right now,
Speaker 2: and if Devin's numbers will improve through the air, juxtapose
Speaker 2: what he did year ago in New Mexico. He's got
Speaker 2: to find some receivers to catch the football. You know,
Speaker 2: when you look at just the measurements the Merriweather kids
Speaker 2: six five one ninety five, which certainly is the size
Speaker 2: you want at that position.
Speaker 1: But how is that group coming?
Speaker 3: Bill?
Speaker 1: Can you share any progress with us?
Speaker 3: Hey? I talked to Micah Simon, who's the wide receiver
Speaker 3: coach quite a bit after practices, and I think he
Speaker 3: likes what he's seeing. I don't know that they've got
Speaker 3: their locked in top six or seven yet, but I
Speaker 3: think they're beginning to get a feel for it. I've
Speaker 3: heard good things about Tobias Merriweather, as you mentioned Spence.
Speaker 3: He has those measurables six, five, one to ninety five,
Speaker 3: can run a four to four and get deep. He
Speaker 3: has it. I know Larry Simmons, the transfer from Southern Myths,
Speaker 3: has had some good days too. Creed Whittemore kid that's
Speaker 3: a transfer from Mississippi State, has had some good practices.
Speaker 3: Same thing with Ryan Davis who was in this offense
Speaker 3: last year, and Dadrin Zipperer, who was in this offense
Speaker 3: a year ago, has had some moments too. So I
Speaker 3: think the beginning to get a feel for it. You know. Again,
Speaker 3: it's a little bit like the backup quarterback spot. I
Speaker 3: don't know that you have to lock in your top
Speaker 3: six now in the second week of camp, but I
Speaker 3: think you probably want to have it locked up by
Speaker 3: the time camp kind of wraps up next week.
Speaker 2: Does it feel like Wasshan is RB one by far?
Speaker 2: And what else? Can you tell us about that that room?
Speaker 2: You know, was Shawn Parker good freshman year Wazoo five
Speaker 2: point four yards per carry, wasn't their primary. But at
Speaker 2: practice this last week he said he's looking to eclipse
Speaker 2: one thousand, wants to touch fifteen hundred. Utah has had
Speaker 2: seventeen one thousand yard running backs in its history. It's
Speaker 2: a position that has great history and pedigree. So does
Speaker 2: it feel like Wasshan has separated himself and who else
Speaker 2: is shining in that room?
Speaker 3: I think he would probably be RB one right now.
Speaker 3: I don't know that. I think the days of you know,
Speaker 3: remember when John White and Devontae Booker and guys like
Speaker 3: that would get thirty carries a game. I think those
Speaker 3: days have gone by the way. But remember was Shawan
Speaker 3: last year as a freshman, a true freshman at Washington
Speaker 3: State ran for seven hundred and fifty seven hundred and
Speaker 3: seventy yards. He didn't have an offensive line like he's
Speaker 3: got this year at Utah. So I would say he's
Speaker 3: probably the number one option. But Nickie Rodgers, who played
Speaker 3: at New Mexico a year ago, who was the backup
Speaker 3: there a year ago, He's in the mix as well.
Speaker 3: A green young man from UNLV's getting some touches. They
Speaker 3: really like this young kid from the Dallas area, Daniel Bray.
Speaker 3: It's a true freshman, not a real big running back yet,
Speaker 3: but he's super fast. So I think you're probably going
Speaker 3: to see a little bit of a mix. I don't
Speaker 3: think we see one guy getting twenty seven to thirty
Speaker 3: carries a game, but I think it's pretty fair to
Speaker 3: say right now that Wayshan would probably be that lead
Speaker 3: guy with Rogers, the guy who played in the offense
Speaker 3: a year ago right behind him.
Speaker 2: You know, you referenced the schedule, and I guess it
Speaker 2: depends on what you read and who you listen to.
Speaker 2: But I feel like Texas Tech, Arizona State, and Kansas
Speaker 2: State are three of what I would say six or
Speaker 2: seven teams that are mentioned. To win the Big twelve,
Speaker 2: you get all three of those teams at home. Seems
Speaker 2: like the road test will be Provo against BYU, then
Speaker 2: Waco against Baylor. But yeah, just kind of generally speaking,
Speaker 2: your thoughts on the schedule. How it starts out at
Speaker 2: the Rose Bowl against a UCLA team with a lot
Speaker 2: of new players. The non con includes cal Poly at home,
Speaker 2: then the Porter Larson Bowl and Laramie. But what do
Speaker 2: you what do you make of just the schedule both
Speaker 2: non conon conference and we'll sell you loose after this.
Speaker 3: I think it sets up pretty well spenced to be fair.
Speaker 3: I mean, you're playing two road games. I think UCLA,
Speaker 3: you know, I think they're going to be better on
Speaker 3: offense this year. They struggled last year early with did
Speaker 3: Deshaun Fosters there as their head coach, first SEMIT coach.
Speaker 3: Got a little bit better as a year went along,
Speaker 3: but defensively they have not been very good and they
Speaker 3: look pretty empty there. This year, maybe something changes. We'll
Speaker 3: get to see Nico Iamali. We'll see what he's able
Speaker 3: to do. I like Utah's chances there. Obviously cal Poly
Speaker 3: at home. Not sure what Yo's got just yet. They
Speaker 3: weren't picked super high on the Mount West Conference. But
Speaker 3: going to Laramie, and again that's a game right before
Speaker 3: you're coming home to play Texas Tech. You don't want
Speaker 3: to take anything for granted, but I think those three
Speaker 3: games are all very winnable for Utah. And then you
Speaker 3: get that first big test Texas Tech, who spent depending
Speaker 3: on the reports you here anywhere from twenty five to
Speaker 3: fifty five million dollars in the offseason on their roster.
Speaker 3: They're going to be good. They've got a regive, veteran
Speaker 3: quarterback coming back, They've got they loaded up on their
Speaker 3: offensive and defensive lines with transfers. Now the real question
Speaker 3: is can you make all those guys fit together quickly?
Speaker 3: We'll see. But I like the way the schedule plays
Speaker 3: out for them, and like you said, to have Tech,
Speaker 3: to have Arizona State, to have Kansas State at home.
Speaker 3: I think the two really tough road games are are
Speaker 3: them are the Baylor game in mid November and that
Speaker 3: game in Provo, which is always a tough game. Though
Speaker 3: I will say depending on Kansas's health, in Jalen Daniel's health,
Speaker 3: that could be a really big game at the end
Speaker 3: of the year. In fact, it might be a game
Speaker 3: that determines whether you go to the Big twelve championship game,
Speaker 3: because if that kid's healthy, he is dynamic. He is
Speaker 3: Devin Dampier like in his athleticism. He's just been beat
Speaker 3: up the last couple of years. So I think that
Speaker 3: could be a sneaky tough game, especially Thanksgiving weekend. But
Speaker 3: I do like the way the schedule sets up, especially
Speaker 3: having Tech in Arizona State and k State in Salt
Speaker 3: Lake City. But I agree with you. I think there's
Speaker 3: five or six teams that could make a real case
Speaker 3: for winning this league. And the good news for Utah
Speaker 3: is three of the five of them play a rice cycles.
Speaker 1: Is your handler giving us the high sign?
Speaker 3: Is that?
Speaker 1: What's happening now?
Speaker 3: He might be coming down the hall?
Speaker 1: All right, Bill, Well we'll set you there. Thanks for
Speaker 1: the time, buddy, Thanks benthel Thuk.
Speaker 3: You seeing Bill.
Speaker 2: Riley voice the you who now has a handler tell
Speaker 2: us when he has to get off the phone.
Speaker 4: It was just a short time ago, a co worker.
Speaker 1: What happens?
Speaker 2: Well, he's big time in us now have big twelve
Speaker 2: media day. He was the one you coach. Witt didn't
Speaker 2: even have a handler. Kyle sat down with us for
Speaker 2: twenty minutes.
Speaker 4: I know, I will say, I do know the issue.
Speaker 4: Today they're about to do interviews on the hill, So
Speaker 4: all right, practice just got.
Speaker 1: Over, okay.
Speaker 3: I was.
Speaker 2: I was surprised to hear Bill say if I gave
Speaker 2: him eight wins today, he takes that.
Speaker 4: I was a little too. Now he's up there every day.
Speaker 4: He may have a little closer I than we do. Right,
Speaker 4: We're not. We're not operating off of seeing these guys
Speaker 4: on the field. So hey, maybe this early in camp
Speaker 4: there's a little trepidation on you know, saying we're gonna
Speaker 4: win nine ten games. I'm okay with that. Let's revisit
Speaker 4: this exact conversation when I get Bill on final week
Speaker 4: of fall camp, right when we get those guys on
Speaker 4: in late August, That's when I feel like maybe we
Speaker 4: can put some stock into it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, a couple of scrimmages left between Now and UCLA
Speaker 2: coach Beck last week did say that this week they
Speaker 2: are starting their game specific planning for the Bruins. And
Speaker 2: I would imagine if you're starting to implement schemes and
Speaker 2: you're starting to really put a game plan together. And
Speaker 2: we talked about this earlier with BYU. I don't know
Speaker 2: who's starting a quarterback for BYU, but my guess is
Speaker 2: they know or they have a lean and I'm quite
Speaker 2: sure whether it's the backup quarterback job with Bird Ficklin
Speaker 2: and Isaac Wilson, or this wide receiver room that feels
Speaker 2: so full of unknowns. If they're putting in game plans
Speaker 2: this week, they certainly have an idea, if not knowing altogether,
Speaker 2: who's the backup for Devin and how that wide receiver
Speaker 2: room is going to look, what the defensive line rotation
Speaker 2: is going to look like. Because it's no longer like
Speaker 2: it is time man like we're there. We are basically
Speaker 2: three weeks in change away from game day. Interesting thing
Speaker 2: about UCLA is they're going to be a little bit
Speaker 2: better offensively, but they're among the lowest teams in the
Speaker 2: country in returning production, not just in the Big Ten.
Speaker 2: I think we've talked about this though. I do like
Speaker 2: that landing spot. I like game one. I like that
Speaker 2: it's a brand I like that it's the Rose Bowl,
Speaker 2: And I like you have a UCLA team where, even
Speaker 2: if they're not you know what they have been historically speaking,
Speaker 2: you get a win over UCLA at the Rose Bowl
Speaker 2: week one over a brand name team and a team
Speaker 2: that maybe isn't all that dominant that it feels like
Speaker 2: a nice landing spot for me.
Speaker 4: I think so too. Obviously, scheduling happens so far out
Speaker 4: that it's not like this is something you planned, you
Speaker 4: baked in, but getting an opponent that I you know,
Speaker 4: I think Utah can beat. Now, it's not a cakewalk.
Speaker 4: It's not an FCS school. It's not you know, opening
Speaker 4: up against a team that is paying their entire yearly
Speaker 4: budget just to come up here and get stomped. That's
Speaker 4: not what you have week one. It's a winnable football
Speaker 4: game against a school you have history against, against a
Speaker 4: school who Kyle Whittingham has historically dominated, and you know, worse,
Speaker 4: worst thing, it doesn't matter. It's a non conference game
Speaker 4: against a former Pac twelve foe. If you have to
Speaker 4: knock the rust off and go ohn one in week one,
Speaker 4: well at least you do it in Pasadena.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's fair.
Speaker 2: And you're not wrong, because the conference games are what matters.
Speaker 2: But with this non conference schedule, I do think the
Speaker 2: expectation should be the Utah Inters conference Play three and ZHO.
Speaker 1: I think they're going to be favorite at UCLA.
Speaker 2: We'll see what the game line looks like during game week,
Speaker 2: which again three weeks in change. There of course going
Speaker 2: to be a massive favorite. The cal Poly game is
Speaker 2: going to be one of those like seventy to three games,
Speaker 2: and then on the road at Layer. If this was
Speaker 2: nineteen ninety seven, maybe I'd say that's a little bit tricky.
Speaker 1: It shouldn't be this year. So the first conference.
Speaker 2: Game, Texas Tech at home, the expectation has to be
Speaker 2: you toass three to zero heading into that game, even
Speaker 2: though the non conference games don't carry the same type
Speaker 2: of weight that the conference games carry. Texas Tech, Arizona State,
Speaker 2: and k State at home. That's a big deal because
Speaker 2: I do think those are three and if you look
Speaker 2: at Bill Conley's S and P and then at Adam
Speaker 2: Rittenberg wrote a piece about the thirty two teams he
Speaker 2: thinks can actually win the national championship.
Speaker 1: He lists all three of those teams.
Speaker 2: He lists Texas Tech, he lists Arizona State, and he
Speaker 2: lists Case State. Three really good football teams out of
Speaker 2: this conference that will be playing here in Salt Lake City.
Speaker 2: Of course, the two biggest road tests by far at
Speaker 2: BYU down in Provo, then at Baylor in Wacom