Speaker 1: Is Cougar Sports with Ben Krettle at its time for
the Cougar be getting the dish.
Speaker 2: From the local reporters that cover Cougar athletics.
Speaker 3: Welcome back to Cougar Sports here on one O, three
nine and ninety eight three ESP and the fan Ronal
the three mail weaver here holding it down for Ben
Crittle Brad always bringing the hammers with me for the
first little bit. Now it's just me. Just got off
the line with Bryce Larson, the host of Bryce W
and being NEWTI. You can catch him every morning on
the station to kick it off here on this very
radio network. We appreciate Bryce probably does a wonderful job,
and congrats to him on being our new program director
and everything. Gonna keep it going here a New Year's
Eve edition of Cougar Sports.
Speaker 2: Love it.
Speaker 3: Hope you all being safe and that you celebrate whether
you're gonna be with family, or whether you are gonna
be going dancing, clubbing, if you're gonna take a partaking
adult beverage, whoever, whatever you're doing.
Speaker 2: I just want you guys all to be safe.
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we will see, but without further to do, let's welcome
in Darnell Dixon to the Daily World. Double d How
are you doing today and it's not officially New Year,
the New Year yet, but happy New Year's Eve to you.
Speaker 4: Happy New Year's Eve to you as well.
Speaker 1: We're headed tonight to Thanksgiving, point to the Luminaria as
a family and catch some fireworks and try to stay warm.
Speaker 4: So that's our activity.
Speaker 1: And it'll hit twelve o'clock, will blow our uh uh
you know, the center, our own little fireworks and blow
some warns and then they probably go right to bed.
Speaker 3: Hey that's still lit, o kid. It's different once you know,
the kids have grown up and get out the house.
But I love that you're still trying to partake and
get tell me this, Darnielle. I don't I don't know
if this is a Utah thing, you know, little convert
to the church. But I remember growing up with the
family and after we got baptized, banging pots and pans.
That's something that people have done.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, we did that when I was a kid
and we lived out in the country, so I'm not
even sure anybody heard us.
Speaker 4: We did do it. We did get our pans out
and bang them.
Speaker 3: You get your pants out and bang them, bang bang
bang bang. Well no, butdy, let's get right into it.
There's a lot going on in Cougar Country right now.
Jay Hill is he going to Michigan? Jason Beck is
he going to Michigan? Who is wit taking with his
robust network. Everybody's waiting for decisions to be made. I've
heard rubblings that, oh, you know, By's trying to retain
Jay Hill as hard as possible.
Speaker 2: Decisions might not be made.
Speaker 3: I just got off the line with Bryce and Bryce
said that maybe they're waiting into this Utah Nebraska game
is over to announce both if that be the case,
or maybe BYU is waiting. What are your thoughts on
just all of this going on in the college landscape?
By you might get hit hard. It's already been confirmed
that Gavin Fowler is going to be the defensive coordinator
Weber State. Weber State is also trying to take Eddie
Hecker as the cornerbacks coach.
Speaker 2: He was helping out man. The BYU staff might get
depleted by the time all of this is over.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and it's it's one of the things that we've
not really thought or talked too much about. As things
change with NIL and with the transferred portal, we talk
about the players and how they're moving and freedom of movement.
But you know, coaches have always had more freedom of movement,
but it just seems to be accentuated now. And as
we look at you know J Hill, oh to b
J Hill, I mean, it's not as if he's got
a bad choice here. Whatever decision he makes is going
to get paid a ton of money to do what
he loves, which is coach football. So you know, he
can decide to go to the Big Ten, you can
decide to stay with Kilani and and he's still going
to be really rich and and doing what he loves.
Speaker 4: So I mean, there's really not a bad decision for him.
Speaker 1: But there is quite a bit of a domino effect
that's taking place, and and specifically here in Utah because
of the changes at the U and and uh, you
know all that's a domino effect, but it really affects
the teams in Utah.
Speaker 4: We're seeing that already.
Speaker 1: Congratulations the Gavin fowlery is a great guy and getting
an opportunity to step up and be a defensive coordinator.
Speaker 4: There a Weaver State that's terrific.
Speaker 1: There are guys at b YU that you know, could
find themselves in Michigan they're there. Uh guys in Salt Lake,
they can find. It's just it's a crazy right now.
And I think you're right. I think after this game
tonight in the Las Vegas Bowl between Utah and Nebraska,
that will hear some things being done. And I've also
heard that Ronnie that b Yu is not going to
give up Jay Hill without a fight, and so so
that that's pulling Jay Hill in a couple of different ways,
because he's obviously indebted to Kyle winning him.
Speaker 4: For starting his career and a real mentor for him.
Speaker 1: And he also, you know, I think likes the way
that Klanie Sataki has built the culture here at BUYU,
and he's had a lot of second success. You know,
I mentioned in my column of the day that you know,
if if Jay Hill coaches the defense at Michigan and
Michigan goes eleven and one, they're in the college football playoffs,
no questions asked. And so that might be a consideration.
Is Bay usually is not quite there yet in terms
of being able to impress the playoff committee enough to
get into the playoffs despite an eleven to one record
in the regular season. So there's a lot to consider
and and you know we're going to be watching tomorrow.
Speaker 4: Let's see.
Speaker 1: I think I think the first is when they open
up the transfer portal for people to declare, and they
have two weeks to do that, so we'll see what
BYU players decide to leave and where be why you
sets up and tries to bring in new guys. So
it's it's a lot of a lot of process and
there will be changes on this team. Despite the twelve
and two season, It's gonna be a pretty crazy offseason
as we had to that part of the winter.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you bring up a good point.
Speaker 3: Transport opens January second, I believe Friday from what Max
Olson said, and then it closes to the sixteenth, So
after today, once An announcements their mates, we'll find out.
Speaker 2: I have to think that at the top of the list.
Speaker 3: If Jay Hill warre go to Michigan, volatile Satuala, I mean,
I know he's talked about people said ron I said.
He said it was a coin flip, but it's like, yeah,
but he likes Jay Hills and it doesn't matter if
Jay was that Utah gonna leave for Michigan to be
the same thing. I don't think voleattele will go straight
up north to Morgan's galley. I think he follow Jail
and go to Michigan. And I think Folatyle is a
Big Ten safety. I think he can play in the
way Jay Hill likes to rotate and having coach, I
think you can see folata I think you could also
see Isaiah Glasker. People could say what they want Darnell,
but I think a healthy Isaiah Glaska can play in
the Big Ten. Now, I don't think all of the
b YU roster would be depleted. I think some guys
you'll be able to retain. A new sya down up Baya.
I think to SI the Economie State, Evan Johnson would.
But now you get into position coaches that plays the factor.
Would Jannar Guildford follow Jay Hill? And that leads me
to this next point of who are the replacements of
j Hill Goes. I would have to think Jennaro internally,
Kelly Papinga. But if he takes coach g and if
Galvin Fowler, who now was gone, and if Weaber State
is going to bring in Eddie Hecker, if that does happen,
that just starts to make Kilane's choices.
Speaker 2: I think tough for Darnell.
Speaker 4: It does.
Speaker 1: But Colon has been doing this for a long time
and he has connections through Utah, through Oregon State, now
through b YU. He'll be able to find guys vic
Soto as a player, that a former player that's that's
coaching and doing a nice job. You know that there
are plenty of guys for him to choose from. They're
just not all gonna have the kind of experience maybe
that you want. And certainly to find someone in the
caliber of J Hill is going to be difficult, and
so you would expect there to be some sort of
a learning curve maybe maybe you know, a drop off
in production until things get where they need to be.
That's why BYU is spending so much time and effort
to retain j. Hill because they know he is terrific
and has done a great job and belongs in the
Cougar program.
Speaker 4: If they want to continue to be successful.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you got to keep them to be successful. But
let's let's try to tize back to the positives. Darnaut
does a good job. I love reading inside Darnail's head.
It's one of my favorite things to read. And he
made a declaration he said this b did you did
this BYU's best team since the fourteen to one Cotton
Bowl season, and you said you would argue this team
is even better simply because the level of competition is higher.
Speaker 2: I want you to, you know, tell me about that.
Speaker 3: You can find the piece atharrowex dot com slash Sports
slash BYU if you if you if you're looking for it.
Speaker 2: But I love that that take, Darnelle.
Speaker 3: Tell me more about why you made that that take,
because I think some people might get pushback on that.
Speaker 1: I think you can. And it really depends on your
definition of best. If you take a look at you know,
everyone would say, well the nineteen eighty fourteen is the
best because they won the national championship. You can't go
a plus BQ will see in that situation comparatively to
BYU today because I think BYU is more talented.
Speaker 4: I think they're deeper, and they're.
Speaker 1: Playing a completely, without question, a much harder schedule and
and so you know, we made a big deal. You know,
when b Y's first year in the Big Twelve, where
they're playing like, you know, eight straight games against Power
conference opponents, which they'd never done before.
Speaker 4: That's the norm.
Speaker 1: And when you're doing that and being successful and not
only this year twelve and two, but finishing you know,
in the last couple years AWIG twenty three and four,
in the past two years. That shows that this program
is good enough to compete. And that's the thing I
was thinking too about the playoffs situation. Is it's easy
to say, well, Team A made it to the playoffs
and they lost, therefore they're not worthy, or Team B
made it to the playoffs and one, therefore they are
where they think. That's too very much, too simplistic by
you definitely could have gone to the playoffs, and Notre
Dame as well, if you want to go that far
in one games. There are plenty of teams that could
have and then you just look at the results and
you take what you want from that. But I think
this BYU team, and especially because of the coaching staff, which,
as we just talked about, is in danger of being
blown up because Kyle Winningham decided he wasn't done coaching,
I think this is a really good football team that
competes weekly with really good football teams. And I guess
what ultimately leads me to believe that is it's maybe
the best team that be what you's ever put on
the field in terms of talent and in terms of
the program as a whole.
Speaker 3: You speak of talent, this basketball team, there's a lot
of talent. We'll finish up and get you out of
here on this This this basketball team is something else.
Speaker 2: They just bons is special.
Speaker 3: He a special player and fans should enjoy because it's
going to be leaving at the end of March.
Speaker 2: It's not coming back. It won't.
Speaker 3: It won't come back until it gets drafted and it
has maybe the bye weeks or whatever. The NBA looks
like it's not playing another year in the Provom. I
don't think it's going to happen. There's nothing you can
do unless you're gonna have a aj De Bonster type
version of an All Star Game in the Mariatta, which
even then it probably wouldn't go it. Probably the market
at the Delta Center with how everything in ticket prices
and college athletics is doing that.
Speaker 2: That's me being tongue in cheek. Double D.
Speaker 3: They open up conference play in a couple of days
on the road against Kansas State. You think with the
time off that Kevin Young would have a perfect game plan,
But this team has started slowing games. What needs to
happen on Saturday? And do they get the dub the
beginning conference player? Remember last year they didn't open up
conference to play too well. But then they ended the
season on that miraculous winning streak.
Speaker 1: Yeah, b where you started one in three last year
the Big Twelve, and there were questions, you know, how
are they going to handle the rest of this schedule,
and they ended up doing very well and winning nine
in a row, including the first I think it was
the quarterfinals of the Big Twelve tournament.
Speaker 4: But I don't know.
Speaker 1: I think it's hard to explain why this team struggles
to get to a good start.
Speaker 4: I think one of the things.
Speaker 1: That is very apparent as well is that this is
a really good coaching staff and making adjustments and pushing
the right buttons in the second half.
Speaker 4: And part of that, I think is this.
Speaker 1: Is a team that returned couple of guys really that
played a lot of minutes last year, and they're still
kind of figuring out, especially the bench situation.
Speaker 4: You know, who comes off the bench, what's the rotation like?
Speaker 1: And I think that during the course of a game,
Kevin Young and his staff figure out, Okay, this is
how we need to do things in terms of personnel
and matchups and adjustments that need to be made.
Speaker 4: I think they're doing a really good job of that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it'd be great if they could start off every
game and jump out to a twenty point lead, but
that's not going to happen, and they've been able to
come back. I just like the football team, you know,
came back five times from double digits. I think coaching matters,
and I think in this situation, Kevin Young has created
a really good coaching staff and they make good adjustments
and the players buy in and believe the system, and
that's why they were able to play a lot better
in the second half.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that and definitely buy into the system. They definitely
play better. So we will find out. I'm excited to
see Kansas State. I know you're probably excited for the
next couple of games, especially this month you get to
see Tuley come back. Tanner Toulson will be coming back
to the Marriott with the TCU hornfak. It's crazy to
think that started it started his career by you, ended
up at Utah Valley and now is at t c U,
and that will be a good homecoming.
Speaker 2: From him.
Speaker 3: I'm excited to cover that. That's just crazy double d.
That's a I looked it up the other day. The average,
I think, Tom, I'm an athlete transfers these days like
one point seven one point eight, so two times. It's
pretty much what an athlete is transferring before they find
their home or where they're in in their college career.
You look at Kilan Maryon, you look at Darius last year,
you look at Harrison Taggart, you're looking now Tanner Tilson.
That is adding up in the landscape of college athletics.
Is athletes transfer twice before they finish their college career.
Speaker 4: Why you're playing against Kansas State?
Speaker 1: As you mentioned on Saturday, PJ Haggerty there leading scorer,
this is his for school goodness, pricious, good coat. And
I still have a hard time getting my mind around
athletes that have transferred three or four times already, because
you know, I hate to use the term because we
roll our eyes when universities use it and then the
NCAA uses it. But student athlete is taking on a
very different tone right now, and I can't imagine anyone
who's transferring three times is making progress towards graduation.
Speaker 4: That would be very difficult to do. And and you
know that.
Speaker 1: I mean, we know what it's about. It's about money.
It's about being able to put yourself in the best situation.
But they are still going to school and they are
taking up scholarships, so you know, you wonder how that
will happen. The other discussion that's been happening, Ronnie, is
the eligibility of athletes who have been drafted in the NBA.
I mean, Baylor just signed the guy that's drafted in
point three. B Yu signed Vito Ahmed, who has been
playing in the G League. And I plan on tomorrow
when we have access to Kevin Young through the Zoom
conference call, to ask him, you know, what do you
think about This conversation is taking place because there are
a number of coaches who are saying, you know, we've
got to draw the line here somewhere. We can't be
recruiting guys who have played in professional in sports. Of course,
they've been doing that for years with athletes out of Europe.
So there's a lot of discussion about what should be done,
and I'm curious to hear what Kevin Young would have
to say about that.
Speaker 2: I'm very curious as well.
Speaker 3: This is gonna be very interesting to find out because
I'm with you. Beido is one thing because he played
in the G League, but he's a professional. But talking
about guys getting drafted in twenty twenty three, this is it.
I think this is getting out of hand. I do
think there needs to be regulations put. It's not that
I don't want to see Boa succeed and not win,
but these other programs people are starting to I think,
even a bit more past Rose. They might even be
breaking them. But I guess you're not breaking if there's
nothing in place. But there's gonna be regulations. I think
at the end of the season, once this is over,
they can't do anything right now, I think they'll continue
to grant. But going into the off season, Double D
definitely they're gonna do something different. But before I let
you go, what's the best way we can follow you
on X and find all of your work at Darnell.
Speaker 1: Earldextra dot com is where you can find the work
I am at Darnell Rights. I try to make good,
interesting comments, but sometimes I fail.
Speaker 4: That's how we all are on X, aren't we.
Speaker 3: It's true I've failed on next two but that's why
you need to stay off X. But we have to
do it. That's where our job is. Job is at.
Our job is there, Our job is there? Well, double D,
Happy New York. You and the family go ahead, you know,
shot some things off and then you get that good
that good rest too, and then we'll catch up with
you next week.
Speaker 4: For sure, bang those pans, for sure.
Speaker 2: I'll bang those pans with my daughter. You bet.
Speaker 3: That was Darnel Dixon of the Daily Hero and a
little Cougar Beat. And I was brought to you by
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three at zero eight zero eight seven. That's eight zero
one three to zero eight zero eight seven for a quote.
And when you mentioned critical or ESPN, you're gonna get
seventy dollars off that first cleaning. The quickest way to
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way to a woman's heart is having her house clean.
Do it for the new year, and then you can
multiply and replenish. We'll go to break, don't go anywhere.
Still a lot more to get to, one more hour.
We still got John Beck who WHI join us? Will
being cred I'm gonna be taken off to get to
the festivities a little early, so Ben will close out
the show with you guys. And we still got some
basketball talk. Don't go anywhere? Still want a more hour
to get to? On a new year's edition of Cougar
Sports here on one of three nine and ninety eight
three