1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:02,319 Speaker 1: Is Cougar Sports with Ben gredel At. 2 00:00:02,359 --> 00:00:03,879 Speaker 2: It's time for the Cougar Beat. 3 00:00:03,960 --> 00:00:07,759 Speaker 1: Getting the dish from the local reporters that cover Cougar athletics. 4 00:00:12,679 --> 00:00:16,120 Speaker 3: Rocking out here on a beautiful Wednesday edition of Cougar Sports. 5 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:18,719 I'm Bet Griddle broadcasting from our Bender Rold Studios band 6 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:20,440 over Wealth dot Comedy's time. 7 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:21,239 Speaker 2: For a little Cougar Beat. 8 00:00:21,239 --> 00:00:23,640 Speaker 3: Cougar Beats got to be brought to you by Dental 9 00:00:23,679 --> 00:00:27,640 Pros of Utah Dentalprosifutah dot com. 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Give them an opportunity to earn 22 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:57,399 your business today at Dental Pros of Utah. 23 00:00:57,479 --> 00:00:58,759 Speaker 2: Let's get out to the hotline. 24 00:00:58,759 --> 00:01:02,280 Speaker 3: Welcome in Double Day had and uh Darnell Dixon. 25 00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:03,320 Speaker 2: What's up, Double D? 26 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:04,599 Speaker 3: Well? 27 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:07,920 Speaker 1: I see you had Kilani and Kyle Collinsworth on before me, 28 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:10,840 so I'm honored actually be on the station after those guys. 29 00:01:11,079 --> 00:01:15,000 Speaker 3: Hey, look, we we love having Double D's voice to 30 00:01:15,159 --> 00:01:19,439 be on the show and promulgated throughout all of Cougarnation, 31 00:01:19,799 --> 00:01:23,159 Like there's you're right up there with Kilane quotes and 32 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:24,719 Kyle Collsworth quote quotes. 33 00:01:26,079 --> 00:01:29,040 Speaker 1: Yeah, I'll believe that when I see it. But that's 34 00:01:29,159 --> 00:01:29,959 nice of you to say that. 35 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:34,719 Speaker 3: Hey, you know, you know when I when I like fiery, 36 00:01:35,599 --> 00:01:39,519 you know, opinionated Darnell, because that's what really gets the 37 00:01:39,519 --> 00:01:43,560 coaches down at b YU fired up. Remember Mike Littlewood 38 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:46,359 getting after you on Twitter when you made some strong 39 00:01:46,439 --> 00:01:50,439 opinions on on the on the on the Twitter platform. 40 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:53,879 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, oh yeah. And we see him all the time. 41 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:57,200 He's he's officiating college basketball quite a bit, and I 42 00:01:57,200 --> 00:01:58,760 see him on there quite all the time. 43 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:01,439 Speaker 2: Yes, indeed, Double D. 44 00:02:01,760 --> 00:02:04,120 Speaker 3: Sometimes you poke the bear and let's see if you 45 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:07,400 can give us a hot quote today, controversial quote today. 46 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:12,560 Speaker 2: It is signing day, double D. You've evaluated, you've. 47 00:02:12,360 --> 00:02:18,080 Speaker 3: Weighed, have you found the prospects lacking, wanting or do 48 00:02:18,159 --> 00:02:20,840 you feel like this was a pretty good haul for 49 00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:22,719 the Cougar football team. 50 00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:26,800 Speaker 1: No, it's an excellent hall. And you know, they keep 51 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:30,479 increasing the number of staff and coaches, so they're going 52 00:02:30,560 --> 00:02:32,719 to have plenty of support these new guys coming into 53 00:02:32,759 --> 00:02:36,240 the program. And there is a lot of talent. It's 54 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:39,120 obviously a highly rated class. It's spread out. It's not 55 00:02:39,159 --> 00:02:40,879 quite as special it used to be, where we just 56 00:02:40,919 --> 00:02:44,080 had the one day in February or one day in 57 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:47,840 December or whatever. We only have two days, and BYU 58 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:49,960 is a program. It retained a lot of its talent 59 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:52,360 from last year, so not a lot of new stuff 60 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:54,199 coming out this year. They did list some of the 61 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:58,159 guys returning from missions with midyear enrollies. A lot of 62 00:02:58,199 --> 00:03:01,000 athletes now are taking advantage of graduating from high school 63 00:03:01,039 --> 00:03:03,000 or at least so they can join the program in 64 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:07,719 January and get into offseason workouts and springball. So those 65 00:03:07,759 --> 00:03:10,759 things lead you to look at this group and say 66 00:03:10,759 --> 00:03:14,120 they've filled some nice gap that they had, and they 67 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:17,400 brought back a lot of players that they think they 68 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:19,879 can help them. And when you do that, you believe 69 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:23,319 in your ability as a coaching staff to evaluate talent 70 00:03:23,479 --> 00:03:26,199 and to develop talent. And if they continue to do that, 71 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:30,199 we'll see them putting on similar seasons as we've seen 72 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:32,199 the last two where they've put themselves in a position 73 00:03:32,599 --> 00:03:34,199 to be in the college football playoffs. 74 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 2: The talent is impressive. 75 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:42,240 Speaker 3: I believe there was some return missionaries as well that 76 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:46,919 came back from their respective missions. Are you most excited 77 00:03:46,919 --> 00:03:50,280 about the transfers? Are you most excited about the true 78 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:53,280 freshmen that aren't going on missions or are you more 79 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:55,159 excited about the return missionaries? 80 00:03:56,960 --> 00:03:59,960 Speaker 1: Well, some of the true freshmen I've actually seen play 81 00:04:00,039 --> 00:04:04,120 a you know, spend a lot of time watching Devonica 82 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:07,759 and a legend Glasgar at Lehigh. Those are two very 83 00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:10,400 talented offensive players I think are going to have a 84 00:04:10,439 --> 00:04:13,919 great career at b YU and could have the opportunity 85 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:17,800 to make an impact early on. But it is really 86 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:21,079 intriguing to look at players from other schools who have 87 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:24,839 decided to utilize the transfer portal and come to BYU. 88 00:04:25,279 --> 00:04:28,279 You see what their production was like like Catu lave 89 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:32,240 that a linebacker was an All Conference at Cal and 90 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:35,800 I was at b YU and the offensive lineman they 91 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:39,000 brought in to bolster that attack, and the prospects of 92 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:42,399 keeping Kyle Kasper healthy so he can live up to 93 00:04:42,439 --> 00:04:45,240 his potential. So those kind of things intrigued me quite 94 00:04:45,279 --> 00:04:47,519 a bit. And then the other thing that in intrigues 95 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:50,279 me is you know who is going to step up 96 00:04:50,319 --> 00:04:54,000 from being third fourth string to being a contributor on 97 00:04:54,120 --> 00:04:58,199 defense or even a starter for the Cougars. So there's 98 00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:00,120 lots of that that gets developed over the course the 99 00:05:00,199 --> 00:05:03,399 next several months, including springball, and then we get the 100 00:05:03,439 --> 00:05:06,680 fall camp and see them for real. So that's that's 101 00:05:06,759 --> 00:05:10,079 and and what we're seeing now with college basketball or 102 00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:13,240 college football rather is in the off season. It's not 103 00:05:13,279 --> 00:05:15,879 really an off season. There's all all the transfer portal 104 00:05:15,959 --> 00:05:19,720 news and and the free kind of free agency attack. 105 00:05:19,920 --> 00:05:23,240 As we're listening to an interview today with former BA 106 00:05:23,279 --> 00:05:27,839 YOU coach Bronco Mendenhall about why he continues to coach 107 00:05:27,920 --> 00:05:30,240 when others are getting out of coaching because they just 108 00:05:30,279 --> 00:05:32,839 don't like this particular grind the way it's become. And 109 00:05:33,439 --> 00:05:37,439 he said his opportunity to help develop and have relationships 110 00:05:37,439 --> 00:05:40,639 with the young men in his program, helped them to 111 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:44,680 get better as not just football players, but as human beings, 112 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:47,279 and to set their life in motion for things they 113 00:05:47,319 --> 00:05:49,800 want to do. That keeps him coming back. But he 114 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:53,639 definitely understands when there are coaches that decide, this isn't 115 00:05:53,639 --> 00:05:55,480 what I signed up for, and I don't really like 116 00:05:56,040 --> 00:06:01,839 this whole landscape of college football anymore. So it does 117 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:06,639 obviously peak the interest of fans that it's college sports 118 00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:10,360 is more popular, especially football and men's basketball, than it's 119 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:13,480 ever been, and so people are interested to see what 120 00:06:13,720 --> 00:06:16,800 comes of all these off seas and moves. 121 00:06:17,759 --> 00:06:22,079 Speaker 3: Yeah, there's a few missionaries I want to talk about here. 122 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:27,000 Bilia's added eight players from previously signed classes returning home 123 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:32,600 from missions. Mid your enrolledees owen Borg linebacker, Matthew Frederick 124 00:06:32,720 --> 00:06:37,040 tight end, Blake Low linebacker, Jet Nelson wide receiver, two 125 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:42,519 Wee Pututao offensive line, Adney Ree defensive end, David Tungi 126 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:48,759 Lanu defensive tackling, and Enick Watson quarterback. Out of those editions, 127 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:50,079 who stands. 128 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:50,199 Speaker 2: Out to you? 129 00:06:52,040 --> 00:06:54,120 Speaker 1: One name that stands out to me is Jet Nelson 130 00:06:54,199 --> 00:06:56,720 he's a wide receiver out of American fork lot because 131 00:06:56,720 --> 00:06:59,519 I saw him play in high school in a very 132 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:03,399 good you know, he has has the size and the 133 00:07:03,439 --> 00:07:06,240 ability to to be successful at this next level, and 134 00:07:06,279 --> 00:07:09,399 America works put out some good wide receivers. Adney Reid 135 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:13,800 is really interesting because of his situation where he was in. 136 00:07:14,519 --> 00:07:16,639 It wasn't the only he only played like one or 137 00:07:16,639 --> 00:07:20,199 two years in Utah. And I believe his parent, his 138 00:07:20,319 --> 00:07:22,680 dad was a mission president, was up the story with 139 00:07:22,759 --> 00:07:27,120 him and and and he ended up over in Samoa. 140 00:07:26,519 --> 00:07:28,120 Speaker 2: Yeah. 141 00:07:28,199 --> 00:07:30,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, so that's an interesting thing. He's a great athlete, 142 00:07:30,959 --> 00:07:33,399 but I just haven't seen a lot of him playing football. 143 00:07:33,920 --> 00:07:36,399 Owen Borg is a is a corner Canyon kid who 144 00:07:36,600 --> 00:07:39,480 put up pretty good numbers in high school. Uh. And 145 00:07:39,480 --> 00:07:42,639 then Enick Watson who played down at American Leadership Academy 146 00:07:42,639 --> 00:07:46,000 in Arizona, if I'm correct, And and so there's there's 147 00:07:46,040 --> 00:07:48,240 a few of those guys that I'm familiar with, and 148 00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:51,160 their journey is always interesting because if they do get 149 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:54,720 and they signed mid year, there's a specific program available 150 00:07:54,720 --> 00:07:57,000 to them to get them back into shape. And you 151 00:07:57,079 --> 00:07:59,680 don't expect guys like that to contribute in their first year, 152 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:02,759 but it's possible, but they grind, you know, they put 153 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:05,160 put it in the work and then give themselves an 154 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:07,519 opportunity down the road to play. 155 00:08:07,920 --> 00:08:12,199 Speaker 3: Darnell Dixon double Deed the Daily heraldon Daily heralding talking 156 00:08:12,199 --> 00:08:15,759 to some Cougar football, some Cougar football recruiting here on 157 00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:22,040 your Utah ESPN radio network. As far as the transferportal, 158 00:08:23,279 --> 00:08:26,759 I guess acquisitions. Which of these players do you feel 159 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:29,519 is going to be most impactful in twenty twenty six 160 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:30,360 and why. 161 00:08:32,039 --> 00:08:34,240 Speaker 1: I would look at Walker Lyons the tight end from 162 00:08:34,360 --> 00:08:38,960 usc because BYU does have a need there with Ryan 163 00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:43,240 graduating and probably getting a chance at the NFL. Carson Ryan, 164 00:08:43,279 --> 00:08:46,440 who was rated as one of the top tight ends 165 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:49,120 in the country, I mean the top for into Pro 166 00:08:49,159 --> 00:08:53,039 Football Focus as I was reading today, and so also 167 00:08:53,200 --> 00:08:56,240 Roger Salipogo. I've seen him play. He was an ORMI kid, 168 00:08:56,559 --> 00:08:59,720 went to Oregon, so I got some playmakers, and I 169 00:08:59,759 --> 00:09:04,440 think even b Way's coaches Aaron Rodgers day was talking 170 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:07,120 about how the tight end position it had some issues 171 00:09:07,159 --> 00:09:09,399 in the past several years, but they really like what 172 00:09:09,480 --> 00:09:12,759 happened was last year with Carson Ryan, so they want 173 00:09:12,759 --> 00:09:15,120 to keep that going and make the tight end a 174 00:09:15,159 --> 00:09:18,639 really big weapon in the offense. And those are two 175 00:09:18,679 --> 00:09:20,679 guys that I think that can make an impact there 176 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:24,080 because they are big and strong and playmakers, and you 177 00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:24,759 want to have that. 178 00:09:26,720 --> 00:09:31,559 Speaker 3: Walker Lions tight end? Is it back at Brigham Darnol? 179 00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:35,679 I know you've been a vocal criticizer of the lack 180 00:09:35,720 --> 00:09:36,919 of tight end utilization. 181 00:09:37,799 --> 00:09:38,080 Speaker 2: Are you? 182 00:09:38,679 --> 00:09:41,720 Speaker 3: Are you a believer now that a Rod has got 183 00:09:41,720 --> 00:09:43,879 the tight end owed with Carson Ryan being the highest 184 00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:49,039 rated PFF tight ending college football and over six hundred 185 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:51,960 yards of receiving, three touchdowns and forty five receptions. 186 00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:56,440 Speaker 1: Yeah, I think they've They've made some good strides there. 187 00:09:56,519 --> 00:09:59,960 You know, some of it depends sometimes on who you're 188 00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:03,759 quarterback feels comfortable with, so it depends on what you're 189 00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:05,879 running games like. I think they had a good mixture 190 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:08,519 last year having a great running game that utilized the 191 00:10:08,559 --> 00:10:11,559 tight end and then made him a very effective receiver. 192 00:10:11,679 --> 00:10:14,120 I think that the way they used Carson Ryan was 193 00:10:14,240 --> 00:10:18,440 terrific and he made some big plays for them, and 194 00:10:18,759 --> 00:10:21,120 also that puts him in a great position coming up 195 00:10:21,159 --> 00:10:24,639 with his professional opportunities. So I think the combination of 196 00:10:24,679 --> 00:10:29,440 all of that kind of led them to maybe rediscover 197 00:10:29,519 --> 00:10:33,360 that tight end spot, and I think we'll continue to 198 00:10:33,399 --> 00:10:37,120 see that activity from that spot as we get into 199 00:10:37,159 --> 00:10:41,879 the season with Walker Lyons and Roger Taliapaga and then 200 00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:44,200 the guys coming back. I think Noah Mouyaki has some 201 00:10:44,279 --> 00:10:49,120 good ability over there. Kean Reid has been a real 202 00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:51,279 big blocker for them. He might get a little bit 203 00:10:51,320 --> 00:10:53,679 of action. So yeah, they've they've done some good things 204 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:56,639 there and put themselves in a position to make that 205 00:10:56,720 --> 00:10:59,879 spot really effective against their opponents. 206 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:03,399 Speaker 3: Your reaction, Now we have it, We've got a roster, right, 207 00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:06,039 it seems like the rosters settled. There may be an 208 00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:10,360 addition or subtraction along the way, but it's probably it's 209 00:11:10,399 --> 00:11:13,240 probably is what it is. B Way also solidified their 210 00:11:13,279 --> 00:11:16,919 coaching staff. You got Lewis Clark as your cornerbacks coach, 211 00:11:17,159 --> 00:11:19,720 DA Mario Warren safety's coach, passing game coordinator. On the 212 00:11:19,720 --> 00:11:23,120 defense side, the thing inside linebackers, you have Sony Puoat 213 00:11:23,159 --> 00:11:26,559 defensive line Chad k kahahah as the outside edge and 214 00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:30,240 outside linebackers coach Justin Ena moves over to special teams 215 00:11:30,279 --> 00:11:34,799 coordinator full time, not taking a position, and then you 216 00:11:34,840 --> 00:11:36,759 have the offense side of the ball. That's pretty much 217 00:11:37,120 --> 00:11:41,559 retained in its entirety. But they did acquire Tyler Hughes, 218 00:11:42,279 --> 00:11:45,840 a individual as a as an assistant quarterbacks coach, an 219 00:11:45,840 --> 00:11:50,159 individual that's coached at Alabama in the NFL with the 220 00:11:50,159 --> 00:11:53,879 new Patriots. He's been at Ohio State with her and Meyer. 221 00:11:54,360 --> 00:11:56,840 Pretty robust resume. He was a head coach at Snow 222 00:11:56,879 --> 00:11:59,799 College for a time and an offense coordinator for a time, 223 00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:02,519 so know college. He comes from the state of Utah. 224 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:05,320 How would you evaluate the how would you grade out 225 00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:08,679 the coaching staff right now? With everything that's occurred. You 226 00:12:08,759 --> 00:12:13,279 lost Jay Hill and Gennaro, but you gained some suitable replacements. 227 00:12:13,279 --> 00:12:16,879 Speaker 1: It looks like, yeah, I'm going to be interested and 228 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:19,519 really paying close attention to how Kellor Goopinger runs to 229 00:12:19,559 --> 00:12:22,960 this defense. If it's any different than Jay Hill. You know, 230 00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:26,480 what are his personality quirts that things that he likes 231 00:12:26,519 --> 00:12:30,279 to do. An A couple of things that occurred to 232 00:12:30,279 --> 00:12:32,799 me though while going through all this, going back to 233 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:36,240 two thousand during the pandemic, I was trying to look 234 00:12:36,279 --> 00:12:38,759 for some topics to kind of write about during that time, 235 00:12:38,799 --> 00:12:42,000 and I saw I believe it was Nebraska was letting 236 00:12:42,039 --> 00:12:44,120 go of a lot of their not a lot, but 237 00:12:44,240 --> 00:12:49,240 some of their employees in this the athletic department. And 238 00:12:49,279 --> 00:12:53,840 so I started looking at how many employees do schools have? 239 00:12:53,879 --> 00:12:56,679 And at that point, if I recalled I don't know 240 00:12:56,720 --> 00:12:58,519 if I called my numbers correctly, but it seems like 241 00:12:58,559 --> 00:13:03,960 BYU was around maybe two hundred or so, and other 242 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:07,799 schools like Alabama Nebraska were three even four hundred employees 243 00:13:08,080 --> 00:13:10,879 in their athletic department and that was two thousand. So 244 00:13:11,399 --> 00:13:14,600 fast forward six years, by using the Big twelve, they're 245 00:13:14,639 --> 00:13:19,879 starting to increase the number of staff and coaches, especially 246 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:23,159 in the football program. And I think one thing that's 247 00:13:23,159 --> 00:13:24,799 supportant and you and I, Ben I have talked about 248 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:28,000 this a lot. How BYU is very serious about stewardship 249 00:13:28,120 --> 00:13:31,080 of making sure they're doing that the right way and 250 00:13:31,120 --> 00:13:33,759 not getting over their skis, so to speak, like a 251 00:13:33,799 --> 00:13:36,039 lot of schools are. What do we see today Florida 252 00:13:36,039 --> 00:13:38,639 States almost five hundred million dollars in debt in their 253 00:13:38,679 --> 00:13:43,159 athletic department. BYU is not doing that. They're taking their time, 254 00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:46,240 They're making sure they can afford whatever changes they're making. 255 00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:50,159 It's in the budget projecting what they need and so 256 00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:52,600 that's a couple of things that occurred to me, is 257 00:13:52,639 --> 00:13:56,039 that BYU is increasing the number of staff. And it 258 00:13:56,159 --> 00:13:57,919 used to being you go, well, we got the head coach, 259 00:13:58,279 --> 00:14:01,080 the coordinators, so the position coach is a couple of 260 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:04,080 gas and the wait, guys, that's kind of what it 261 00:14:04,159 --> 00:14:07,080 was for a long time. And now you've got performance 262 00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:12,440 coaches and you've got nutritionists, and you've got more analysis 263 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:14,519 that are going on, more analysts that are stepping up 264 00:14:14,559 --> 00:14:18,519 and doing things. So b YU is approaching and I've 265 00:14:18,639 --> 00:14:20,559 asked BYU to give me the numbers. We'll see if 266 00:14:20,559 --> 00:14:23,159 they help out. But trying to figure out how much 267 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:26,240 BYU was grown in that area, especially in football, and 268 00:14:26,279 --> 00:14:28,279 so because they've done it the right way and they're 269 00:14:28,320 --> 00:14:33,399 still operating their athletic department to make money and they're 270 00:14:33,399 --> 00:14:35,440 not like these other programs who spend it and then 271 00:14:36,240 --> 00:14:38,159 look at the bottom line later and go, oops, looks 272 00:14:38,200 --> 00:14:40,440 like we spent too much. That's not BYU. And I 273 00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:43,960 think they've done a great job of incorporating these new 274 00:14:44,039 --> 00:14:48,480 positions and you know, chief of staff and the performance 275 00:14:48,559 --> 00:14:53,080 coaches and the mental strength situations there. So that's what 276 00:14:53,120 --> 00:14:54,799 occurs to me. They look at that. You know, it's 277 00:14:55,039 --> 00:14:57,279 what we'll find out. If these are good coaches, they're 278 00:14:57,320 --> 00:15:00,720 going to have a lot of responsibilities step and do 279 00:15:00,799 --> 00:15:04,000 things the way that Kelly wants on defense because there's 280 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:05,480 so many changes on that side of the ball, and 281 00:15:05,480 --> 00:15:08,000 we'll see what effect that has on the team. But 282 00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:09,679 like I said, the main thing that occurs to me 283 00:15:09,759 --> 00:15:11,600 is that b why he's doing this the right way 284 00:15:12,080 --> 00:15:14,960 and building their football program. This has been a huge 285 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:17,399 part of it in the staff and the coaches. 286 00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:24,120 Speaker 3: Yeah, great points here with with Darnell Dixon, the Daily 287 00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:28,279 Kraality in talking of some BYU football recruiting as well 288 00:15:28,320 --> 00:15:31,960 as coaching on the grid. Ard, Let's take a little 289 00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:37,360 let's pivot b YU basketball. What are you optimistic about? 290 00:15:37,559 --> 00:15:40,080 What are you concerned about regarding this Boa basketball team. 291 00:15:41,519 --> 00:15:44,320 Speaker 1: I'm optimistic because I believe that Kevin Young is a 292 00:15:44,399 --> 00:15:48,559 really good basketball coach, and I think it's taking some 293 00:15:48,720 --> 00:15:50,919 time for him to get the feel of this particular 294 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:54,240 team as opposed to what he had last year. I 295 00:15:54,279 --> 00:15:57,320 still feel like there's some maybe some changes that he's 296 00:15:57,360 --> 00:15:59,320 going to make, maybe not in the starting lineup, but 297 00:15:59,840 --> 00:16:02,399 in the approach for things. I know they spent a 298 00:16:02,440 --> 00:16:05,600 lot of time in the summer working on defense, specifically 299 00:16:05,639 --> 00:16:09,440 three point defense, and whatever they're doing isn't working particularly 300 00:16:09,519 --> 00:16:12,559 well in the Big Twelve. They're fifteenth right now out 301 00:16:12,600 --> 00:16:15,639 of sixteen teams and opponent's field goal percentage from three 302 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:21,399 and they're eleventh in defense in the Big twelfth play 303 00:16:21,919 --> 00:16:24,799 at eighty one points a game. So I think, according 304 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:27,240 to what we when we're spoke speaking to Kevin earlier 305 00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:30,159 this week, that he wanted to simplify things a little bit. 306 00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:34,240 He said he watched every defensive possession that BYU has 307 00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:37,879 had in the Big Twelve this season, and he knows 308 00:16:37,919 --> 00:16:39,919 what needs to be fixed, what needs to be changed, 309 00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:42,759 And I think the key area was he wanted to 310 00:16:42,759 --> 00:16:45,720 simplify things a little bit defensively, and he feels like, 311 00:16:45,759 --> 00:16:47,600 you know, he doesn't want to hear people talk about 312 00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:49,159 how great there in the second half, because he wants 313 00:16:49,159 --> 00:16:52,399 them to be good in the first half. And so 314 00:16:52,519 --> 00:16:55,840 what he's looking at is a better defensive effort early 315 00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:57,559 might put them in a position where they have a 316 00:16:57,559 --> 00:17:01,519 better first half and were consists. Now they've had starts 317 00:17:01,519 --> 00:17:03,840 to good first halfs, and part of the first halfs 318 00:17:03,840 --> 00:17:05,960 have been good. They just haven't been able to sustain it, 319 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:07,680 and they put themselves in a hole against some of 320 00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:10,559 these better teams. So the optimism, as I said, is 321 00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:12,440 Kevin Young's a good coach. I think we'll get this 322 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:15,599 figured out. And the things, maybe you know, I'm not 323 00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:19,599 so optimistic about, is the continued struggles of anybody other 324 00:17:19,640 --> 00:17:22,680 than the big three. And you know, Kavakata has had 325 00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:25,480 his struggles as well. Some of it's been I think injuries. 326 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:26,960 I think it's slowed him down just a little bit. 327 00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:30,880 But Cannard Davis has been a huge disappointment in my mind. 328 00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:35,200 And inconsistency as that starter, the fifth guy. And then 329 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:38,079 they've not had really anybody come off the bench consistently either. 330 00:17:38,079 --> 00:17:40,880 They've had a few things here and there where players 331 00:17:40,880 --> 00:17:43,039 stepped up and shot well or done some good things, 332 00:17:43,359 --> 00:17:46,039 but not consistently. And I think until they get that 333 00:17:46,519 --> 00:17:49,200 squared away, they're going to continue to kind of go 334 00:17:49,319 --> 00:17:52,319 up and down and struggle against elite teams in this league. 335 00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:55,119 Speaker 2: Yeah, the first half woes. 336 00:17:55,960 --> 00:17:57,839 Speaker 3: Kay, Why said I'm gonna throw up the next time 337 00:17:57,880 --> 00:18:00,400 someone mentions that, were like the best I can have 338 00:18:00,440 --> 00:18:03,480 team at college basketball. We suck in the first half 339 00:18:03,559 --> 00:18:07,559 or whatever he said, But can you diagnose and treat 340 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:10,759 why they are They're they're not horrible in the first half. 341 00:18:10,799 --> 00:18:12,279 Speaker 2: There's not good in the first half. 342 00:18:13,759 --> 00:18:15,880 Speaker 1: Well, like I said, it's been a consistency issue. If 343 00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:18,039 you look at that Eragona game and Arizona's the number 344 00:18:18,039 --> 00:18:20,119 one team in the country and they're really good, I mean, 345 00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:23,599 I don't think there's any question. Maybe you could say 346 00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:25,359 you come to the number one team in the country 347 00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:29,400 because Ukon has been destroying fools, but Arizona's really good. 348 00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:34,039 And for thirteen minutes of that first half, the Uyu 349 00:18:34,279 --> 00:18:37,160 was right right with them. They were nine lead changes 350 00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:39,680 and six ties in that first thirteen minutes. They're playing 351 00:18:39,759 --> 00:18:42,319 right with them. And then the last seven minutes they 352 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:45,279 kind of unraveled and Arizona took off and got the lead, 353 00:18:45,319 --> 00:18:47,039 and then that put them, you know, behind the eight 354 00:18:47,079 --> 00:18:48,920 ball in the second half when they made them some 355 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:51,079 strikees to get back in it. So it's just a 356 00:18:51,119 --> 00:18:54,480 matter I think consistent, and part of that consistency is 357 00:18:54,480 --> 00:18:56,160 is not being able to get the lift off the 358 00:18:56,160 --> 00:18:58,319 bench that they need. They got to arrest the big 359 00:18:58,359 --> 00:19:01,960 three occasionally, they got arrest k that occasionally, and guys 360 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:04,119 have to come in and not necessarily score a lot 361 00:19:04,119 --> 00:19:06,200 of points, but not hurt the team. And you know, 362 00:19:06,240 --> 00:19:08,880 it's different for starters than it is for guys coming 363 00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:13,240 off the bench. You're expected to come in and maintain 364 00:19:13,319 --> 00:19:18,400 a level that the starters have established. But if things 365 00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:20,599 go badly and you can't make shots and you're getting 366 00:19:20,640 --> 00:19:25,559 beat on defense and turn your turnovers, then that's what happened. 367 00:19:25,559 --> 00:19:27,240 Then they got to get the starters back in and 368 00:19:27,279 --> 00:19:28,720 they're not as fresh at the end of the game, 369 00:19:28,759 --> 00:19:32,400 and the rotations change. So that's what I look at 370 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:35,640 with this team in this first half is as Kevin 371 00:19:35,680 --> 00:19:38,680 Young was saying, play better defense, be more consistent, so 372 00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:41,519 that you go into halftime, if you're within a few points, 373 00:19:41,519 --> 00:19:44,359 that's cool. You're leading by a few points, that's cool. 374 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:47,759 That way, you don't feel so much the pressure for someone. 375 00:19:47,880 --> 00:19:50,000 And you know, when you think about how Byu has 376 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:52,440 come back in the second half, it's been one of 377 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:54,519 the big three just kind of going off like Richie 378 00:19:54,559 --> 00:19:59,160 did in the second half last week, and how Aj 379 00:19:59,319 --> 00:20:01,119 went off in the second half against Yukon when they 380 00:20:01,160 --> 00:20:04,000 fell behind big They need the team to pull them 381 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:07,000 out of that, not just one guy and that'll increase 382 00:20:07,079 --> 00:20:10,079 and help I think their consistency and doing that more often. 383 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:14,240 Speaker 3: Great breakdown from Double D the Daily Heraldy and darn 384 00:20:14,240 --> 00:20:16,680 Al Dixon Double The best way to support you? 385 00:20:16,759 --> 00:20:17,880 Speaker 2: What you do, how you do it? 386 00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:19,759 Speaker 3: Actually, I got one more question for you as well, 387 00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:21,759 hope questions by that, what's the best way to support you? 388 00:20:21,799 --> 00:20:22,519 Speaker 2: What you do, how you do it? 389 00:20:22,519 --> 00:20:26,720 Speaker 1: Brother Well, Harold extra dot com. You can follow me 390 00:20:26,759 --> 00:20:31,480 on x if you like Darnell Wrights and and just 391 00:20:31,480 --> 00:20:34,720 just enjoy this time of year. I was just typing 392 00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:38,200 in by U baseball and softball schedules the other day 393 00:20:38,240 --> 00:20:40,319 and to our budget and realizing, man, it's going to 394 00:20:40,359 --> 00:20:43,200 get super busy once we get to We've got state 395 00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:46,920 tournaments coming out for high school basketball and wrestling and 396 00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:50,240 all those sports, and it's it's a busy time of year. 397 00:20:50,359 --> 00:20:53,000 And just enjoy it, love it. 398 00:20:53,599 --> 00:20:55,480 Speaker 3: Kyle Collins were taught on and he said, I think 399 00:20:55,519 --> 00:20:58,440 there's going to be a surprise step up that hasn't 400 00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:00,799 got a lot of minutes lately coming in. I'll let 401 00:21:00,839 --> 00:21:02,680 you guys figure out who I'm talking about, but someone 402 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:04,640 who's barely played this year is going to step up 403 00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:06,920 coming down the stretch. Who do you think it is 404 00:21:06,960 --> 00:21:10,079 and why is it that Alexakostik, Tyler Morross, Dominique Dimande 405 00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:11,039 or Jared McGregor. 406 00:21:11,119 --> 00:21:12,839 Speaker 2: Those are my top four picks. 407 00:21:13,400 --> 00:21:15,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, Tyler was in the rotation to start 408 00:21:15,920 --> 00:21:19,240 the season, but he's fallen out. I would think it 409 00:21:19,319 --> 00:21:22,799 might be Dominique, just because he's willing to spend a 410 00:21:22,799 --> 00:21:25,160 lot of energy playing defense and not worry about his 411 00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:27,960 offensive production and if they need a lift on that 412 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:30,359 perimeter or he's big enough, we can guard it forward. 413 00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:33,359 Even I think that he's a guy that maybe could 414 00:21:33,359 --> 00:21:35,400 step up and do some of that and bring them 415 00:21:35,440 --> 00:21:39,279 some good energy, kind of like Hadem Boop does coming 416 00:21:39,319 --> 00:21:41,640 off the bench. Just the guy that's going to get 417 00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:43,920 after it on the boards and get after it defensively 418 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:46,279 and if any offense comes his way. And by the way, 419 00:21:46,319 --> 00:21:49,000 he hit his first three pointer of the year in 420 00:21:49,079 --> 00:21:53,039 that game last week, so maybe Boop, but he's been 421 00:21:53,079 --> 00:21:55,319 getting some plain time, so I would say Diamandi, I 422 00:21:55,319 --> 00:21:56,720 think we might see a little more of him if 423 00:21:57,240 --> 00:21:58,480 Kyle is being predictive. 424 00:22:00,079 --> 00:22:05,480 Speaker 3: Prognosticators of Prognosticators, the college football college basketball seer of Sears, 425 00:22:05,799 --> 00:22:08,519 Darnell Dixon gives you the prediction. 426 00:22:09,079 --> 00:22:12,880 Speaker 2: There you go. Appreciate you at Darnell great stuff as always. 427 00:22:13,480 --> 00:22:14,960 Speaker 1: All right, Ben, thanks every good week. 428 00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:17,119 Speaker 2: I like that. We should do it. Darnell Dixon gives 429 00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:20,599 you the prediction segment every week. 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