Speaker 1: Is this, my guys, Jericho Roade? Oh yeah, oh nice.
Speaker 2: Of course we've resurrected them once a big piece of
Speaker 2: the Bill and Spence Show. Back in the day, our
Speaker 2: producer was a young man named Jason Sheppard who wore
Speaker 2: Gene shorts and loved LDS boy bands. Shef is now
Speaker 2: with our friends at BYU TV, as is our next
Speaker 2: guest friend of the program, Spencer Linton, on a Wednesday afternoon.
Speaker 2: I know at some point you may have tried out
Speaker 2: for Jericho Roade, because I know you have an excellent voice.
Speaker 2: At some point, I know you were rocking a little
Speaker 2: Jay Road. Yeah.
Speaker 3: Truth be told, Spence. That's the first time I've ever
Speaker 3: heard that song, and I've never been more pleased to
Speaker 3: announce something in my life.
Speaker 2: Okay, all right, fair enough, Look, I know we gotta
Speaker 2: be quick with you today, so let's dig into it.
Speaker 1: I have a macro question for Spencer.
Speaker 2: Then we'll dig into some topics in a vacuum. You know,
Speaker 2: six years ago, and my old producer actually sent out
Speaker 2: a tweet because I'd forgotten I've made this comment. But
Speaker 2: six years ago, when the rumors of nil started a
Speaker 2: surface and the potential of deep pocketed donors to make
Speaker 2: a difference in athletic departments became somewhat of a reality.
Speaker 2: I said, this is a massive, massive piece of potential
Speaker 2: advantage for BYU. This is something they can utilize and
Speaker 2: capitalize on in addition all the other things that BYU
Speaker 2: brings to be able to kind of get an edge
Speaker 2: that they haven't had for quite some time. So for
Speaker 2: a long time, about a decade or so, there was
Speaker 2: an innate advantage for Utah over BYU simply because of
Speaker 2: P five inclusion with PAC twelve versus independence, and now
Speaker 2: the playing field is not just even. It feels like
Speaker 2: the momentum is shifted down south. Why do you think
Speaker 2: BYU has been able to capitalize on this era to
Speaker 2: add so many talented players both basketball and football.
Speaker 3: Yeah, getting the right coaches in place and on the
Speaker 3: heels of Kevin Young and a winning season with Kolonie
Speaker 3: Sataki and Kevin Young taking the basketball team to the
Speaker 3: Sweet sixteam that first and foremost to me, it has
Speaker 3: to be stated like you have to win for your
Speaker 3: boosters to consistently get behind you and say, okay, there
Speaker 3: are results, this is fun.
Speaker 1: We like what is happening.
Speaker 3: Also, the momentum of BYU finally being invited into a
Speaker 3: Power for conference naturally had the fan base very excited
Speaker 3: and exuberant to want to get involved in any way
Speaker 3: that they can. So those two things, being involved and
Speaker 3: invited finally after so many years to the big boy table.
Speaker 3: Granted you're not in a prime spot at that table yet,
Speaker 3: but you're still at the Powerplour table. And then winning
Speaker 3: that breeds naturally a lot of excitement. And then you
Speaker 3: have boosters that believe and went and fought for Kevin
Speaker 3: Young to get him from the Phoenix Suns as an
Speaker 3: assistant to BYU and then to keep him at BYU
Speaker 3: just a few months ago when things really ramped up,
Speaker 3: or I should say a few weeks ago when it
Speaker 3: kind of got strange because the Sun's job opened up
Speaker 3: and there were NBA opportunities. Again, like these these boosters,
Speaker 3: they know a winner when they see one. Kevin Young
Speaker 3: is clearly that. And what Kalani Satake is doing in
Speaker 3: building his culture and trying to find guys that are
Speaker 3: the right fit, but trying to get the top tier
Speaker 3: members of the Church of Jesus Christ, the Latter day
Speaker 3: Saints and Yesterday's Five star quarterback signing is a huge
Speaker 3: boost in that direction. Like all these things combining have
Speaker 3: created this this really really big wave of momentum. And
Speaker 3: so but it starts with winning and finally being at
Speaker 3: a power for a level because there's just so much
Speaker 3: excitement and there's a real passion. Brian Santiago the athletic
Speaker 3: area to keep saying, it's never been better, never been
Speaker 3: a better time to be involved.
Speaker 4: In this athletic department and with this.
Speaker 3: Team, and with the momentum that's happening, Like there's just
Speaker 3: so much juice and passion and excitement, and and that
Speaker 3: starts with being at the big boy table and then
Speaker 3: delivering some really fun winning seasons.
Speaker 2: And also being able to pay these players on par
Speaker 2: or if not more than other schools via n I L. Spencer,
Speaker 2: it is okay that we say that out loud, no,
Speaker 2: no question, I'm.
Speaker 3: With you, and it's legal rights there. The network, the
Speaker 3: network at BYU to your point, has always been there.
Speaker 3: It's been fantastic. Mark Pope has has set a couple
Speaker 3: times like hey, we need more. When he was at BA,
Speaker 3: He's like, we need more support, we need more time. Spence,
Speaker 3: I don't know that the boosters believed in Mark the
Speaker 3: way that they do in Kevin Young and connected with him.
Speaker 3: It just there was a little bit of a disconnect somewhere.
Speaker 3: So Kevin Young, to his credit, has helped bridge that
Speaker 3: gap and make it more likely for the big money
Speaker 3: boosters to get behind him to an even greater capacity.
Speaker 3: But yes, it's always been there. Now that it's legal,
Speaker 3: they're saying, well, why wouldn't we. We love the school,
Speaker 3: we love the program they're winning, We like these coaches
Speaker 3: and players that they're bringing in. Yeah, sign me up.
Speaker 3: So if it's legal, do it. That's fine. Like now
Speaker 3: it becomes an arms race in that capacity, and it's
Speaker 3: totally okay. So yes, nil is a huge part of
Speaker 3: it as well.
Speaker 2: Well, look man, like I was raised by a Mormon capitalist,
Speaker 2: I was raised by an LDS capitalist. Okay, Like, it
Speaker 2: is a religion and a culture that understands the power
Speaker 2: of the purse. Tell me, help me understand where the
Speaker 2: messaging comes from, where there's from my prism and my perspective. Spencer,
Speaker 2: a certain faction of people that work for the school
Speaker 2: or love the school that simply refuse to say out loud, yes,
Speaker 2: it's about winning. Yes, it's about P four. Yes, it's
Speaker 2: about the BYU experience. Yes, Kevin and Klonie are elite,
Speaker 2: but it's also about the ability to be very competitive
Speaker 2: and yes sometimes the higher bidder to be able to
Speaker 2: attract these players to come play basketball and football at BYU.
Speaker 2: What help me understand the deal where there's messages in
Speaker 2: certain circles that from my prison seem to be very
Speaker 2: reluctant to just even say that out loud.
Speaker 3: Yes, great question. I think there is such a negative
Speaker 3: connotation associated with well BYUS just buying the players. That's
Speaker 3: the only reason that they're choosing BYU. Why would you
Speaker 3: ever go to BYU? Clearly they're chasing a bag. I
Speaker 3: think people are so hesitant to admit that they do
Speaker 3: have competitive, if not elite NIL and boosters behind this,
Speaker 3: because there is this faction of social media that says, well,
Speaker 3: nobody would pick BYU if it weren't for the money,
Speaker 3: And so I guess that's why I throw in the
Speaker 3: other things. It is a it's a package deal. The
Speaker 3: nil and money is a big part of that and
Speaker 3: a huge arm of that in making that wheel spin.
Speaker 3: If you take it away, it wouldn't go. But I
Speaker 3: think that people are hesitant and the faction you reference
Speaker 3: are hesitant to talk about money because they don't want
Speaker 3: to somehow minimize.
Speaker 4: How important the coaching arm is.
Speaker 3: The winning arm, the experience, the transformative experience they're promising
Speaker 3: athletes that byu to become greater men and greater women,
Speaker 3: and the education. They want all of the arms to get.
Speaker 4: Their equal due.
Speaker 3: And so with this negative connotation around, well, it's only
Speaker 3: because of the money that's probably why they shift away
Speaker 3: from that. I'm here to tell you that it's just
Speaker 3: one incredibly important arm in this wield that makes the
Speaker 3: whole thing push forward.
Speaker 1: You know what's interesting.
Speaker 2: First of all, the good news is social media isn't real,
Speaker 2: so we can just put that aside. Do you know
Speaker 2: if Sam Harris is the podcast sam Ayris? Have you
Speaker 2: heard of him? Yes, Okay, I'm a big fan. I
Speaker 2: like the way he thinks, I like the way he communicates.
Speaker 2: And a couple of years ago, after mister Musk's takeover
Speaker 2: of X, he elected to exit stage left, and he
Speaker 2: did this hour and a half podcast and why it
Speaker 2: was the best decision he ever made, and look, I
Speaker 2: check it. You know, that's where we got the draft tonight.
Speaker 2: I'm waiting for news on the Jazz maybe doing something.
Speaker 2: But I'll tell you what, man. Ever, since I pretty
Speaker 2: much left the platform, you realize how small it is.
Speaker 2: You realize how irrelevant it is, you know what I mean?
Speaker 2: So like the people that are dragging BYU for adding
Speaker 2: talent online, I just.
Speaker 1: Don't give them any credence.
Speaker 3: Man.
Speaker 1: Maybe it's just me.
Speaker 3: Well, man, I wish more people thought like you, Spence.
Speaker 3: And this is not a joke. Literally, I was sitting
Speaker 3: in my car about thirty minutes ago, and it's because
Speaker 3: I had been chided by some friends about kind of
Speaker 3: disappearing on social media, like hey, how come you're not
Speaker 3: posting as much? Like where'd you go? Like are you
Speaker 3: on summer vacation? And it's a purposeful move by me
Speaker 3: to just take a break, take a breath, like I'm
Speaker 3: with you. I still check it, but I don't feel
Speaker 3: like I need to constantly post stuff. I'm involved with
Speaker 3: shows that post content with me involved all the time.
Speaker 3: That's good enough for me for in large part. But
Speaker 3: I was literally being chided and kind of ribbed for disappearing.
Speaker 3: But I feel free to a degree, So I'm going
Speaker 3: to join you in line there. I think there is
Speaker 3: there's real power in that. And I'm not saying that
Speaker 3: I feel the negativity from social media per se, but
Speaker 3: it is a very real element, and I wish I
Speaker 3: wish more people could see a big picture like you
Speaker 3: are presenting where it's you can you can talk about
Speaker 3: this nil just because there are fans from angry opposing
Speaker 3: fan bases around the conference and around the country, whether
Speaker 3: it's Oregon who's in the battle for this right Lions
Speaker 3: movement he goes to b YU, or it's other big
Speaker 3: twelve schools who are saying, oh, see by just because
Speaker 3: of the money, Like you're right, it is a very
Speaker 3: very loud and obnoxious vocal minority and the grand scheme
Speaker 3: of things. And so I'm gonna try and be better
Speaker 3: at that and not give the type of credence that
Speaker 3: a lot of people do to this social media wave
Speaker 3: because it's okay. It's okay for BYU to have incredible
Speaker 3: boosters and support and money and the backing that they
Speaker 3: do all under a legal scope. Now where this is
Speaker 3: within the rules. So let's go ahead and flex where
Speaker 3: we have never been able to flex and do this thing.
Speaker 2: You know, the other gift you give yourself before you
Speaker 2: move off of this, because only you have a couple
Speaker 2: of minutes left. I did a podcast last week and
Speaker 2: the guy was like, Hey, you're getting killed online. How
Speaker 2: does that make you feel. I'm like, didn't see it?
Speaker 2: No idea or you get aggregated, no clue, Like you
Speaker 2: just him is the biggest, the best term, Like, when
Speaker 2: you're getting attacked online, if you don't see it, it doesn't
Speaker 2: really happen, doesn't It doesn't even exist?
Speaker 3: Yes, yes, if the tree falls in the forest and
Speaker 3: no one's around to hear it.
Speaker 4: Or see it, does it actually fall?
Speaker 1: Exactly?
Speaker 3: Yeah? Great point, great point.
Speaker 1: All right, a couple things here.
Speaker 2: We'll end with the Lions kid, but before we get there,
Speaker 2: the only local player that is kind of surrounding with
Speaker 2: some intrigue during the draft process is Yegor. We've had
Speaker 2: a couple of draft experts on the show today.
Speaker 1: What are you hearing about?
Speaker 2: You know, the feedback he's received during this process and
Speaker 2: potentially where we could hear his name called tonight.
Speaker 3: So I've spent significant time communicating with Yegor's camp and
Speaker 3: Travis Hanson and others. Travis is with Yegor and Brooklyn
Speaker 3: tonight and has been a huge part of why Yegor
Speaker 3: is at BYU and his whole experience there, and from
Speaker 3: what I have gathered from the combine and from interviews
Speaker 3: and everything that Yegor has done in this really just
Speaker 3: this process to get ready. It feels like there are
Speaker 3: five teams that are the most interested, and I'll list
Speaker 3: them in order of where they pick first to last,
Speaker 3: Starting with the Houston Rockets. They were at number ten,
Speaker 3: but they obviously traded that pick to the Phoenix Suns
Speaker 3: with the Kevin Durant exchange, so the Yegor to Houston
Speaker 3: feels less likely now that they don't have that tenth pick.
Speaker 3: The Portland Trailblazers are a team that's been very interested
Speaker 3: in him. The Chicago Bulls at twelve, the Atlanta Hawks
Speaker 3: at thirteen, and the Brooklyn Nets, who have five first
Speaker 3: round picks. I believe they pick what eighth and nineteenth.
Speaker 3: The Wizards are in there too. I don't think they
Speaker 3: would take Jegor as early as six. I know they
Speaker 3: pick eighteenth. I don't think he's gonna slip to eighteen.
Speaker 3: Would be a surprise to see him there, but those
Speaker 3: are the team so it feels like he's gonna go
Speaker 3: somewhere between eleven and maybe seventeen. I think most likely
Speaker 3: looking at the teams and the conversations that have happened,
Speaker 3: his skill set, the need for a point guard to
Speaker 3: help out. Right now, I'm looking at twelve with the
Speaker 3: Chicago Bulls for Yagwar to join a guy like Josh
Speaker 3: Diddy and help out that point guard line and the
Speaker 3: combo guard and his distribution and passing ability. Or the
Speaker 3: Atlanta Hawks with Trey Young like Atlantic could really use
Speaker 3: a big guard with Yegwar's skill set. I've heard that
Speaker 3: scouts have been very impressed in his individual workouts with
Speaker 3: his shot and the progress that he has made his
Speaker 3: higher release point. He's worked relentlessly to prove to people
Speaker 3: that he is a better shooter than we saw, especially
Speaker 3: early in his campaign at BYU. He got better later
Speaker 3: in the season, but they don't talk about that. They
Speaker 3: just think, ah, you know, twenty nine percent or twenty
Speaker 3: seven percent Rebot sugar, yikes. He has worked so hard, tirelessly. Really,
Speaker 3: that's where the Travis Anton youth to get better at
Speaker 3: his shot, and he has impressed some people. So my
Speaker 3: best guess Chicago twelve, Atlanta at thirteen, because both of
Speaker 3: those teams really like Diegor, has invested a lot of
Speaker 3: time into him and he can immediately fit into their
Speaker 3: specific rosters.
Speaker 2: All right, before I said you lose, because I know
Speaker 2: you got to run, so be as short as you want,
Speaker 2: tell me about the process. The landed Rider lions in
Speaker 2: Provo to play for Byu. And look, I mean, we
Speaker 2: won't see him for a few years. There's a mission thing.
Speaker 2: But what sort of a quarterback prospect is he? And
Speaker 2: what's the buzz down there in Provo?
Speaker 3: Gosh, you know what's crazy? Is He referenced on the
Speaker 3: Pat McAfee show that he got his first scholarship offer
Speaker 3: in eighth grade and that was from BYU. He got
Speaker 3: a scholarship off from the Coops when he was thirteen,
Speaker 3: and I remember vaguely hearing about that and thinking, wow,
Speaker 3: are we really starting this early? But clearly they saw
Speaker 3: something in him that was special, and Biu was paying
Speaker 3: attention to his older brother, and there was connections to
Speaker 3: the family, and obviously he's a member of the Church
Speaker 3: of Jesus Christ the Latter day Saints, And there's been
Speaker 3: a huge emphasis from Kilani and his staff to be
Speaker 3: way more competitive in going and getting the best members
Speaker 3: of the faith because they have lost out in recent
Speaker 3: years to the likes of Utah and Oregon and USC
Speaker 3: and Power five schools on the West coast, and then
Speaker 3: it's slipping into sec territory with Alabama and Ole miss.
Speaker 3: So the emphasis has been we have to figure out
Speaker 3: a way to go and get the best guys that
Speaker 3: fit our culture, that grew up in the religion and
Speaker 3: make this a place for them to want to be.
Speaker 3: So there was a huge push there to accommodate his
Speaker 3: desire to serve a mission for however long that mission
Speaker 3: is going to be. Ever everything from a year to
Speaker 3: fourteen months to a year and a half to a
Speaker 3: fall two years, we don't know, but he does want
Speaker 3: to serve a mission for at least some length of time.
Speaker 3: BYU is clearly a place that can help him do that,
Speaker 3: and they had enough of a number financially. Oregon came
Speaker 3: in at the last minute and offered more money. I
Speaker 3: don't know what the figure was. All I was told
Speaker 3: was in that realm Oregon offered more money than BYU,
Speaker 3: but it was not just about a strict dollar sign
Speaker 3: and about getting the most money, way bigger for somebody
Speaker 3: who is a member of the faith and has a
Speaker 3: long history with BYU, going back to his first scholarship
Speaker 3: offer in eighth grade. They love what he can do
Speaker 3: on the field. I hear a lot of Zach Wilson comparisons,
Speaker 3: and I hate to even say this one because people
Speaker 3: are be like, oh my gosh, Spencer, stop it, stop
Speaker 3: the hyperbole.
Speaker 4: But he's a.
Speaker 3: Bigger kid, six two and twenty pounds, and he's a
Speaker 3: physical runner, so I heard in a slight way like
Speaker 3: Jalen Hurts. So Zach Wilson a little bit of Jalen Hurts.
Speaker 4: In the way he plays, but very confident.
Speaker 3: He has got a rocket arm, and he's a really,
Speaker 3: really capable runner. In fact, I watched this tape and
Speaker 3: I thought there were flashes a little bit of a
Speaker 3: guy like Jackson Dart, especially with him being a bigger frame.
Speaker 3: So that's the type of player he is. BAA worked relentlessly,
Speaker 3: Chad Lewis told me, I mean probably four years ago
Speaker 3: when he was a freshman. I don't know what it's
Speaker 3: going to take, but we have to get that guy
Speaker 3: at BYU. We have to get that guy to BYU,
Speaker 3: and he wasn't really looking at BYU seriously at the
Speaker 3: time after his sophomore year in high school. Like BYU
Speaker 3: wasn't in his top five, they probably weren't even in
Speaker 3: his top ten. But the shift to power for conference boosters,
Speaker 3: nil money, the right culture, the right connection with his
Speaker 3: family and faith, it all kind of came together, and
Speaker 3: now Ryder Lyons is a five star quarterback at BA.
Speaker 1: All right, buddy, well, good perspective.
Speaker 2: It is an exciting time down there, a lot of
Speaker 2: momentum in the positive direction, so I appreciate the color
Speaker 2: and context.
Speaker 1: Have a great week, man, We'll chat soon, Okay.
Speaker 4: Always good to talk to you.
Speaker 3: Thank you for freeing my mind in the social media
Speaker 3: around my friend.
Speaker 2: I am here for you, Spencer Lynton, to be your
Speaker 2: north Star, to be your Lea, to be your Leahhna
Speaker 2: in life.
Speaker 1: Anything you need, you let me know.
Speaker 4: Okay, let's go Jericho Road, Let's go.
Speaker 2: Love it, Spencer Lynton, our buddy from BYU TV.
Speaker 1: BYU dialing in the.
Speaker 2: Highest rated prospect they've had since two thousand and two
Speaker 2: at the quarterback position.
Speaker 1: That player Ben Olsen, who didn't work out at b
Speaker 1: YU