Speaker 1: Take it down of Ted Colson play action from his
Speaker 1: own two yard line over the middle, picked off head
Speaker 1: into the end.
Speaker 2: Zue, it's a pick six for smith Stote. It's smith
Speaker 2: Stote with a big six.
Speaker 3: He read it.
Speaker 2: It took it to the house. Hello sports fans, welcome back.
Speaker 4: It is to drive with Spence check ads here on
Speaker 4: ESPN seven hundred and ninety two one FM. Of course,
Speaker 4: I'm not Spence. I do know Spence. I've met his
Speaker 4: dog before. We crossed paths. From time to time. I
Speaker 4: have some rather compelling conversations. I'm Scott Mitchell filling in
Speaker 4: for Spence today and tomorrow. I guess PAC twelve or
Speaker 4: Big twelve media days were just too much. It was
Speaker 4: just too much, and Spence need a couple of days off.
Speaker 4: And I understand that it's all good. And I'm happy
Speaker 4: to be here, happy to know that Spence believes in me,
Speaker 4: he loves me, he trusts me enough to drive the
Speaker 4: bus for a couple of days.
Speaker 2: We have a special.
Speaker 4: Guest joining us on the program right now, none other
Speaker 4: than the voice of the Utes and director of Broadcasting
Speaker 4: at the University of Utah and my friend mister Bill Riley.
Speaker 2: Welcome to the program. How are you.
Speaker 3: I'm good. I missed you in Frisco.
Speaker 4: Yes, yes, I'm not sure why I wasn't there, but
Speaker 4: I wasn't. I was there in spirit and quite an
Speaker 4: interesting an interesting There's a lot that went on there.
Speaker 2: I'm assuming that you were there since you missed me.
Speaker 4: Was just some general impressions and feelings and thoughts you
Speaker 4: have from Big twelve media days.
Speaker 1: Well, I think the number one football thought is nobody
Speaker 1: knows who the best team in a Big twelve day.
Speaker 1: Right when you talk to the coaches and the media,
Speaker 1: the players, it ranges anywhere from about five to eight
Speaker 1: teams they think could win the league this year. Now
Speaker 1: that won't be the case in October or November, but
Speaker 1: right now I think it's the case. There's a lot
Speaker 1: of parody, there's a lot of balance, there's a lot
Speaker 1: of everything in this league.
Speaker 3: Well there is. There's a lot of good football.
Speaker 1: There'll be a couple of bottom feeders this year, Scott
Speaker 1: but there's a lot of really good teams, which is
Speaker 1: good for competition, which is good for fans. It may
Speaker 1: not be overall good for the league when it comes
Speaker 1: to maybe cannibalizing itself, right if that makes sense, Because
Speaker 1: you might have the team that wins the league this
Speaker 1: year might have nine regular season wins. You might have
Speaker 1: a regular season sham for the top two teams to
Speaker 1: get into the conference championship game.
Speaker 3: They might both be nine and three, and then.
Speaker 1: You've got a four loss team that comes out of
Speaker 1: that in a three loss team that wins it. It
Speaker 1: might be tough to get multiple teams. I don't know
Speaker 1: what you do about that when you've got a league
Speaker 1: that's so good and so balanced. But it's going to
Speaker 1: make for good and interesting football this year, that's for sure.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And I agree with that.
Speaker 4: I you know, it's interesting that they decided not to
Speaker 4: pick a you know who they thought was going to
Speaker 4: be the team to win it. And I think it's
Speaker 4: a wise decision actually, because I don't think anyone really knows,
Speaker 4: uh And like I said, you'll know in October.
Speaker 2: What do you think?
Speaker 4: Because the balance is so close with the talent right,
Speaker 4: And I like personally, I like it. I like that
Speaker 4: there's a lot of teams that feel like they have
Speaker 4: a chance. I I like that the league, you know,
Speaker 4: really almost from top to bottom is competitive that you're
Speaker 4: gonna get tough, good games weekend and week out.
Speaker 2: And I like that and uh that that excites me
Speaker 2: about the conference.
Speaker 4: But what do you what do you think it would take,
Speaker 4: you know, maybe for a team like Utah or a
Speaker 4: team to really rise above all of this in the conference?
Speaker 4: What is the team going to have to do, uh
Speaker 4: to be better than you know, kind of middle of
Speaker 4: the pack.
Speaker 1: Well, I think you're gonna have It's it's the same
Speaker 1: you know formula.
Speaker 3: Every year.
Speaker 1: You've got to protect your home field and then you've
Speaker 1: got to win two or three games on the road.
Speaker 1: That's just how it is. You can lose a game
Speaker 1: somewhere along the line. You can lose too, but if
Speaker 1: you can, if you can sneak some roads in and
Speaker 1: protect your home field, that's.
Speaker 3: Going to give you an advantage.
Speaker 1: And you know, if you're looking at Utah's road games
Speaker 1: this year that you want to circle. Obviously the BYU
Speaker 1: game in mid October, the Kansas game to end the season,
Speaker 1: that's another big game there as well.
Speaker 3: Home games.
Speaker 1: Texas Tech's gonna be a lot of fun in the opener,
Speaker 1: Arizona State coming here. So it's a good schedule. Everybody's
Speaker 1: playing a good sched nobody has a break because the
Speaker 1: league is so deep, and you know, the top eight
Speaker 1: or nine teams, I think they can win it. But
Speaker 1: if you're going to separate yourself, you've got to steal
Speaker 1: some wins on the road. Great teams, you know this, Scott.
Speaker 1: If you're a great team, you protect your home field,
Speaker 1: but you win games on the road.
Speaker 3: So if the Big.
Speaker 1: Twelve wants to have a good team, whether it's Utah
Speaker 1: or anybody else, you're going to have to go out
Speaker 1: and do a lot of damage on the road as well.
Speaker 1: If you're just five hundred on the road, there's nothing
Speaker 1: wrong with that might put you in contention, but you
Speaker 1: might not be one of those teams that everybody's talking
Speaker 1: about nationally.
Speaker 2: If that makes sense, Yeah, it does.
Speaker 4: You know, getting back to the conference in general, and
Speaker 4: like having you mentioned about having your your conference champion
Speaker 4: might have three losses and it's really hard to get
Speaker 4: multiple teams in the.
Speaker 2: College football playoffs. Where do you think.
Speaker 4: The conferences RTT your Mark, as you know, he's been
Speaker 4: a guy that's been very aggressive. He talks that the
Speaker 4: Big Twelve is open for business. Do you get a
Speaker 4: sense that some of the moves that the conference has
Speaker 4: made and continues to make and and I'm sure that
Speaker 4: you heard him speak in in the Big Twelve media days,
Speaker 4: but you get a sense that the conference is in
Speaker 4: a position to be competitive on a national stage and
Speaker 4: has put itself in a position to to be relevant
Speaker 4: and to kind of fight for, you know, its place
Speaker 4: in the world of college football.
Speaker 1: Well, I think it's the third best conference in college football,
Speaker 1: in college basketball. I think it's the head of the
Speaker 1: ACC I do. I just think it is. I think
Speaker 1: the overall depth of talent the thing that separates the
Speaker 1: Big Twelve right now, and again, this can change once
Speaker 1: you start playing games. Because everything's on paper. You know
Speaker 1: the SEC and the Big Ten are east going to
Speaker 1: have a couple of dominant teams. Does the Big Twelve
Speaker 1: develop a dominant team? Do they have a team that
Speaker 1: goes eleven and one or twelve and zero, because you
Speaker 1: know the SEC and the Big Ten are probably going
Speaker 1: to have each of them probably have at least one
Speaker 1: one lost team. Can the Big Twelve do that? I
Speaker 1: think if the league itselfs in good shape, I think
Speaker 1: Brett Yourmark and his staff and the ads and everything
Speaker 1: like that have done a really good job positioning the league,
Speaker 1: but it's a third, and it's a distant third behind
Speaker 1: the SEC and the Big Ten from a financial standpoint,
Speaker 1: from a television deal, all of that stuff. But they're
Speaker 1: firmly third. But if you want to compete with the
Speaker 1: big boys, you've got to you've got to establish a
Speaker 1: couple of dominant teams, and really and truly, now that
Speaker 1: there is a playoff, you've got to make your hay
Speaker 1: in the postseason. And if you want to make hay
Speaker 1: in the postseason, you probably should have more than one team,
Speaker 1: because you know the SEC and the Big Ten are
Speaker 1: going to have at least two, probably three. So the
Speaker 1: Big twelve, to me, if they want to compete and
Speaker 1: be a player, you've got to get multiple teams in
Speaker 1: that postseason.
Speaker 3: So they're talking about you more than just one or two.
Speaker 2: Nice.
Speaker 4: Is that something that's kind of on the colleges the schools, like,
Speaker 4: you know, make your program better or are there are
Speaker 4: there things that the conference can say, hey, let's work
Speaker 4: together collectively and make, you know, make our programs as
Speaker 4: strong as they possibly can be.
Speaker 1: Well, you can try to schedule better, that's usually a
Speaker 1: conference initiative. You can find more ways to generate money
Speaker 1: as a conference for your individual schools, but ultimately it's
Speaker 1: up to the school and up to the program itself.
Speaker 1: And as Kyle Whittingham and Rich Rod, a bunch of
Speaker 1: the coaches said it, and Dion and some said at
Speaker 1: the media days, it's a financial component now. And we
Speaker 1: know that the SEC and the Big ten are are
Speaker 1: financially very solvent, and the Big twelve if they want
Speaker 1: to get there, obviously Texas Tech is they've invested. Now
Speaker 1: let's see if they get it on the field. They've
Speaker 1: invested for a couple of years now, they haven't had
Speaker 1: those results. Are other schools going to step up and
Speaker 1: do that same thing? Because Kyle Whittingham's told me on
Speaker 1: a number of occasions, best best players come where there's
Speaker 1: the best money. You can develop to a point, but
Speaker 1: you've got to have the financial wherewithal to be able
Speaker 1: to get those players. Today, that's just where the game
Speaker 1: of college football and really, you know, big time college
Speaker 1: athletics is gone.
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's it's it's going to be an interesting dynamic
Speaker 4: because you know, these the people who are investing, are
Speaker 4: the are the big time donors, and you know, do
Speaker 4: they get fatigue, do they say, hey, I need a
Speaker 4: return on my investment or you know, I don't know
Speaker 4: how you know I can continue to do this, and
Speaker 4: so it's gonna be fascinating. Do you think do you
Speaker 4: think college football is broken? Do you think that's the model?
Speaker 4: You know, you say, these coaches say, hey, it's a
Speaker 4: it's a financial situation. I hear some people that are
Speaker 4: kind of disenfranchised with the game.
Speaker 2: Do you do you think college football is broken?
Speaker 1: Or broken is the right word. It's different, Scott. It's
Speaker 1: a new reality, right. I mean, it's still the game,
Speaker 1: it's still there, it's still Saturdays in the fall, but
Speaker 1: it's a different reality now. It's not the game you played. Shoot,
Speaker 1: it's not the game that you know Tyler Huntley played.
Speaker 3: Six years ago in Utah.
Speaker 1: It's a different game. Broken is a word that people
Speaker 1: want to use. I'm not going to use broken because
Speaker 1: it's the same for everybody. You just have a new
Speaker 1: reality that you have to adjust to and deal with,
Speaker 1: and it's the same reality for everybody. How you deal
Speaker 1: within that reality is up to individual schools and programs.
Speaker 1: So I wouldn't say the game is broken. I would
Speaker 1: just say the rules and the landscape have changed, and
Speaker 1: now it's going to the teams that are going to
Speaker 1: survive and thrive. Are the teams the best adjust to
Speaker 1: these changes.
Speaker 4: The quarterback position, of course, has a huge impact on
Speaker 4: the success of teams, and we've kind of seen that
Speaker 4: at Utah both both ways. We've seen the good side
Speaker 4: of it and the bad side of it, and a
Speaker 4: lot of a lot of folks. They voted Devon Dampier
Speaker 4: as the Newcomer of the Year, so he's got a
Speaker 4: lot of hype.
Speaker 2: He's got a lot of public going into all this.
Speaker 4: Where where do you think this year turns out for
Speaker 4: Devon Dampier And does he live up to this and
Speaker 4: what does it mean?
Speaker 1: Well, I don't know if he's going to live up
Speaker 1: to it, but he checks the boxes. He was an
Speaker 1: elite athlete and the player of the Year of the
Speaker 1: Mountain West Conference a year ago. And I've talked to
Speaker 1: lots of people, not just within the Utah program but
Speaker 1: other places that have said his skill set translates and
Speaker 1: you and I saw him play in spring football practice
Speaker 1: against a very good Utah defense. So he got my vote.
Speaker 1: I had a preseason ballot.
Speaker 3: He got my vote.
Speaker 1: His preseason Newcomer of the Year, and with the offensive
Speaker 1: line that he's got and the running backs that he's got,
Speaker 1: I think there's no reason to expect that he doesn't
Speaker 1: adjust well to the big twelve. Does that mean he's
Speaker 1: going to be the player of the year.
Speaker 3: I don't know.
Speaker 1: There's a lot of good quarterbacks and some of that
Speaker 1: has to do with how the rest of your team does.
Speaker 1: But I think Devon's going to translate just fine. And
Speaker 1: I think if he stays healthy, and we know that's
Speaker 1: the big if because we've seen that reality the last
Speaker 1: two years, if he stays healthy, this Utah football team
Speaker 1: is going to be very good this year.
Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, I'm excited about Devon. I'm excited about
Speaker 4: You mentioned the offensive line, and it probably as good
Speaker 4: as Kyle Whitningham's had since he's been at Utah. I
Speaker 4: mean it's on paper, boy, it's super impressive. And you
Speaker 4: get a sense with Jason Beck that he's kind of,
Speaker 4: you know, I don't want to say, draw stuff up
Speaker 4: in the dirt, but certainly get a little bit creative
Speaker 4: on how to create production. And when you have a
Speaker 4: quarterback who's multi dimensional and he truly is Devin Dan
Speaker 4: Pierre is a really good runner. And I like that
Speaker 4: he's actually a good runner because I think he can
Speaker 4: protect himself better than maybe Cam did at times, and
Speaker 4: so because I think he's less susceptible to being injured
Speaker 4: because he's he's just a more efficient runner in what
Speaker 4: he does. But it feels like you know that there's
Speaker 4: there's an ability to create offense and kind of in
Speaker 4: unconventional ways. And coach Whittingham actually brought up the potential
Speaker 4: of Lander, Barton and smith Notden taking reps offensively. Is
Speaker 4: that something you might see this season and does that
Speaker 4: make sense?
Speaker 3: Well, Kyle Whittingham said it.
Speaker 1: I know, so I don't think he's going to say
Speaker 1: it publicly at Big twelve media days if it's not
Speaker 1: a possibility. Lander was a heck of a pass catcher
Speaker 1: at Brighton High School and he's worked at tight end
Speaker 1: and practiced some during his career. I think the smith
Speaker 1: Snoton component is go back to si Oni Vaki two
Speaker 1: years ago. When you have an elite athlete who can
Speaker 1: do things with the ball in his hand, I think
Speaker 1: you figure out ways to get them involved. That doesn't
Speaker 1: mean smith Snowden is going to be playing forty snaps
Speaker 1: on offense a game because he's going to be your
Speaker 1: slot in nickel corner, which we know is a very
Speaker 1: important position, and probably returning some kicks too. But I
Speaker 1: think they're going to be very creative with how they
Speaker 1: use those guys' skill sets. I mean, it just makes
Speaker 1: sense if you've got elite athletes that can help you
Speaker 1: use them, whether they're offense or defense or whatever it
Speaker 1: might happen to be.
Speaker 2: Where do you think this comes from?
Speaker 4: Do you think it's Hunter in Travis Hunter at Colorado
Speaker 4: in the success he had being a two way player.
Speaker 2: Do you think it's because the program? You know, you're
Speaker 2: kind of limited.
Speaker 4: In the number of players that you haven't you don't
Speaker 4: have the luxury of, you know, developing the depth you've
Speaker 4: had in the pass. Coach winning Ham's referred to kind
Speaker 4: of changing some of their schemes, simplifizing things a little
Speaker 4: bit more. Is it kind of one of those hey,
Speaker 4: we need all hands on deck?
Speaker 2: You know what? Where do you think this is?
Speaker 4: This is out of or did these players just go
Speaker 4: to coach and bug him to that and say, man,
Speaker 4: you gotta put me in a tight end.
Speaker 2: Coach, you know where, Well, why do you think this
Speaker 2: is happening?
Speaker 1: Your elite athletes, you find ways to get them the ball.
Speaker 1: You're silly if you don't use their skill set. That's
Speaker 1: why I said Sioni Vaki two years ago, what happened
Speaker 1: when they started handing him the football? Good things happened.
Speaker 1: He made plays. I just think when you have elite
Speaker 1: athletes who are playmakers, you utilize those guys.
Speaker 3: You don't put them in a.
Speaker 1: Box and say you're only you're only a corner, you're
Speaker 1: only a safety, you're only a linebacker. You utilize those
Speaker 1: guys where you can. I don't think it's Travis Hunter.
Speaker 1: I think you look within the program two years ago
Speaker 1: and you had a guy that was able to help you. Now,
Speaker 1: they were short handed when they used him. Futah's not
Speaker 1: necessarily shorthanded. But if you've got a guy that can help,
Speaker 1: even if it's only for ten plays a game, utilize them.
Speaker 4: What you Orlander, we kind of looked at him a
Speaker 4: year ago and wasn't healthy. It feels like he's healthy now.
Speaker 4: Looks like he's going to be a most tied dimensional
Speaker 4: player here. What's the ceiling for Orlander?
Speaker 2: Barton? What are your expectations for him if he's healthy.
Speaker 1: I voted in my defensive player of the Year in
Speaker 1: the Big twelve.
Speaker 2: Oh wow, okay, so there you go. So you have
Speaker 2: high expectations, is what you're saying.
Speaker 1: Well, why shouldn't we. We saw him before his injury.
Speaker 1: He was playing at an all Pac twelve level two
Speaker 1: years ago. We didn't see him back at one hundred
Speaker 1: percent till the last handful of games last year, and
Speaker 1: then he was dominant again.
Speaker 3: We've seen it.
Speaker 1: He also now is playing for a pro contract. He
Speaker 1: wants to play where his brothers had played. I just
Speaker 1: think he's healthy. We've seen him play. He was a
Speaker 1: defensive Freshman of the Year in the Pac twelve. He
Speaker 1: played at all Pac twelve levels a sophomore than got hurt.
Speaker 1: So I think my expectations are that if he stays healthy,
Speaker 1: he could be as good a defensive player as there
Speaker 1: is in this league.
Speaker 4: A lot of good things on offense. You talked about
Speaker 4: the quarterback. The running back situation seems to be pretty good.
Speaker 4: You know, I wonder if maybe Lander playing tight end
Speaker 4: is partly because there's maybe there aren't quite as many there,
Speaker 4: but there you know, there there are a few good options.
Speaker 1: Uh.
Speaker 2: Uh.
Speaker 4: The wide receiver position really makes me nervous. Is there
Speaker 4: is there a way to generate enough offense being creative?
Speaker 2: Are there enough bodies there? Uh? Is there? You know?
Speaker 4: Is it a complete detriment the offensive wide receiver position
Speaker 4: or is there is there somewhere, somehow, some way an
Speaker 4: option to get some kind of offense in that in
Speaker 4: that position group.
Speaker 1: Well, we haven't seen him on the field in a game,
Speaker 1: so I think for us to feel doom and gloom
Speaker 1: yet is is a little premature. They also added two
Speaker 1: receivers in the spring window. One guy who's giving great
Speaker 1: effort right now, Larry Simmons. The Merriweather kids good too.
Speaker 1: And we didn't even talk about a guy that played
Speaker 1: in this offense a year ago.
Speaker 3: That was Ryan Davis, who caught.
Speaker 1: Fifty balls from from from Devon damp here at New Mexico.
Speaker 1: So I'm not ready to scream the sky is falling
Speaker 1: till we actually see what's on the field in fall camp.
Speaker 1: And even if it's not all inspiring eight deep, if
Speaker 1: you've got a handful of guys that can do it,
Speaker 1: you know you've got a running game that you can
Speaker 1: lean on and a quarterback.
Speaker 3: That can make plays.
Speaker 1: So if this was an air raid offense and you
Speaker 1: were worried about your receivers, I'd be concerned. But this
Speaker 1: is a pretty balanced offense, so I'm not Again I
Speaker 1: think there's question mark. Don't get me wrong, I'm not
Speaker 1: you know this. I'm not selling this as this is
Speaker 1: Colorado or something where you've got seven NFL guys, But
Speaker 1: I just want to see them out on the field
Speaker 1: and see what some of those spring portal additions can
Speaker 1: do as well in this Jason Beck offense.
Speaker 2: What are you looking most forward to this year?
Speaker 4: You know, it's a fun it gets exciting when you
Speaker 4: talk about you know, it's the countdown to all of it,
Speaker 4: and it really is exciting to of course from our
Speaker 4: perspective to broadcast the games.
Speaker 2: But what are you looking forward to the most this year?
Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to what a healthy Utah football team
Speaker 1: will look like because I think the last two years
Speaker 1: they had championship caliber talent and they were let down
Speaker 1: by injuries at key positions, obviously quarterback, but there were
Speaker 1: some others last year too. I just want to see
Speaker 1: what a healthy Utah offense and healthy Utah football team
Speaker 1: looks like in this new league, because I think it
Speaker 1: can be pretty good coach winningham.
Speaker 4: You know he's not going to go forever. Do you
Speaker 4: think this is the last go or do you think
Speaker 4: there's more there where? Do you think his mindset is?
Speaker 1: I have no clue, I really I don't. I think
Speaker 1: Kyle's a guy that's got a well oiled machine and
Speaker 1: a really good program and enjoys coaching football and if
Speaker 1: they can have success, win a league, get to the playoffs.
Speaker 3: Who knows. But I stopped.
Speaker 1: People have been asking this for four or five years,
Speaker 1: and I think I don't even know that Kyle knows.
Speaker 1: I think it's really played. Depends on you know, where
Speaker 1: a program it is, and how he's feeling at.
Speaker 3: The end of the year.
Speaker 2: I would imagine, well, I know how it is as
Speaker 2: a former player.
Speaker 4: You know, it's hard to let it go, and it's
Speaker 4: hard when it's over, and when it's over, it's over.
Speaker 2: And I'm just sure that's a that's a question, a
Speaker 2: decision that he's.
Speaker 4: Probably thought a lot about and probably had times when
Speaker 4: he goes, Yep, I'm ready to go. Another time he
Speaker 4: said Nope, like I'm not ready to go. So I'm
Speaker 4: sure I'm sure it's difficult for him. Uh, it'll be
Speaker 4: fascinating to kind of see how this year plays out
Speaker 4: and if if this, you know, if if this is
Speaker 4: his last year, if there if it, if there isn't
Speaker 4: a different I don't know, maybe a different mindset and
Speaker 4: maybe maybe he knows it no one else will, and
Speaker 4: so maybe he changes some things that he does.
Speaker 2: Who knows, I don't know.
Speaker 1: Uh.
Speaker 4: On a on another note, really quick, I'm sure you
Speaker 4: had interactions with Frank Layden throughout your time in the
Speaker 4: in the broadcasting world here in Utah. Just just some
Speaker 4: thoughts on coach Layden, and of course he passed away
Speaker 4: yesterday at ninety three.
Speaker 3: He was a friend.
Speaker 1: I'm sure a lot of people will be saying that
Speaker 1: because Frank made everybody feel like a friend. But I
Speaker 1: met him twenty four years ago when I moved here.
Speaker 1: One of my favorite Frank's stories is I was getting
Speaker 1: on a football football charter and he was at the
Speaker 1: back of the plane and I sat down and he
Speaker 1: was in the road behind me, and he tapped me
Speaker 1: on the shoulder and I turned around.
Speaker 3: He said, Riley, you need to know this. Nobody listens.
Speaker 1: He said, what goes nobody listens to your broadcasts. Just
Speaker 1: learn that now and you'll live a better life. And he,
Speaker 1: of course was joking because he would listen. He would
Speaker 1: occasionally send me a message and go that way. And
Speaker 1: he once gave me a great compliment. He said to me, Bill,
Speaker 1: you know how I know you're a good broadcaster. You
Speaker 1: make soccer sound interesting. He goes, I've never been a
Speaker 1: soccer fan, but when I listened to you do a
Speaker 1: soccer broadcast, you make it sound interesting. So that's how
Speaker 1: I know you're a good broadcaster. I've got dozens of
Speaker 1: those stories, Scott.
Speaker 3: But he was he was. He was great.
Speaker 1: He was self deprecating, he was kind to everyone. I
Speaker 1: called him the ambassador of sport in Utah. He was
Speaker 1: just great and I loved him, and he great, was
Speaker 1: great to me, and I'll miss him, but I'm just
Speaker 1: happy I got to know him for twenty four years.
Speaker 4: You know, that's a true statement. You you really do
Speaker 4: make soccer sound interesting. So uh and that might be
Speaker 4: the best compliment someone could give you, by the way,
Speaker 4: So I love that. I think that's a wonderful thing.
Speaker 4: You know, I've I don't know that The Utah Jazzer
Speaker 4: in Utah right now, if there wasn't a Frank Layton,
Speaker 4: I you know I was, I was here when it
Speaker 4: all started, and and what he was and what he did,
Speaker 4: and you know, his just to share personality and presence
Speaker 4: that he was. I think, I think really did a
Speaker 4: lot of interest in and uh and excitement in the
Speaker 4: Utah jazz.
Speaker 1: And uh, Larry Miller and Frank Layton are the two
Speaker 1: most important figures in jazz history. There's no jazz if
Speaker 1: Larry doesn't buy them from San Mattistone. But Frank was
Speaker 1: the ambassador that connected with the community and was a
Speaker 1: good coach too. I know people you saw him as
Speaker 1: kind of the clown prince of basketball. Frank Layton was
Speaker 1: a heck of a basketball coach too, and and he
Speaker 1: you know, he along with Dave Checketts and and others
Speaker 1: in the front office, helped put together the Stockton Malone era.
Speaker 1: So he's Utah sports fans oh him a dead too.
Speaker 4: I love Frank Clayton. I'm really glad. I appreciate your
Speaker 4: comments on him, and so it's good to hear. All right,
Speaker 4: appreciate you time.
Speaker 2: Bill.
Speaker 4: I guess we're going to start here in a pretty
Speaker 4: I don't know. I'm sure you'd know more of the
Speaker 4: countdown than I do.
Speaker 2: But fist day one day.
Speaker 4: Uh are you looking forward to that first game in
Speaker 4: the Rose Bowl? Think that's a good one to start
Speaker 4: off this this new season.
Speaker 1: I'll look forward to every game, yes, but I think
Speaker 1: that's a good starting spot.
Speaker 2: All right. There you have it, folks.
Speaker 4: Thanks Bill, none other than Yeah, none other than the
Speaker 4: voice of the Utes, Bill Riley, and the director of broadcasting.
Speaker 4: So Bill and I have a good time broadcasting games
Speaker 4: and this will be a fun year.
Speaker 2: Uh.
Speaker 4: Lot to look forward to during this season and of
Speaker 4: course every season.