Latest / The Sean O'Connell Show / Steve Tate on No. 3 Utah hosting No. 9 BYU Saturday in the rivalry game, Morgan more Urban Meyer than Coach Whitt (?), This year's safety...

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Steve Tate on No. 3 Utah hosting No. 9 BYU Saturday in the rivalry game, Morgan more Urban Meyer than Coach Whitt (?), This year's safety... · The Sean O'Connell Show

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  Speaker 1: You're tuned to the Sean O'Connell Show from the Murdoch
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Chevrolet studio of ESPN 700 and 92.1 FM. Welcome back
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: to the Sean O'Connell Show coming at you from All
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  Speaker 1: at All Trade Staffing, 801-313-1234. If you're a worker, if
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  Speaker 1: little extra money because you've got too many kids, make.
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  Speaker 2: A phone call, and they'll get you on the job
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: and earning.
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: Our next guest is a former all-conference safety. He is
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: currently a temporary, I hope, Stanford fan because his son
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  Speaker 1: plays there. He is my friend Steve Tate, joining us
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  Speaker 1: on the show to talk a little Holy War.
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  Speaker 2: Tate, what's up, man?
• 1:01
  Speaker 3: Speaking of too many kids.
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: You can say it. I'm never going to say it.
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: There's no such thing. You know what I mean?
• 1:11
  Speaker 3: That's right. Sean, what's up, man? How are you?
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: Man, it's good to hear your voice. Hopefully you're doing well.
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  Speaker 1: This is my favorite week of the year. It's the
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  Speaker 1: greatest sports day on the calendar here in Utah every
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  Speaker 1: single year. I will not hear any other opinions on
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  Speaker 1: the matter. Utah-BYU in 2026, arguably the biggest it's ever been.
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  Speaker 1: You go back to your playing days and you think
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  Speaker 1: about the BYU-Utah games that you played in. There were
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  Speaker 1: some big ones, but this one is for inside track
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  Speaker 1: to a conference championship appearance. It's for inside track to
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  Speaker 1: a college football playoff. It's the first time ever they've
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  Speaker 1: both been ranked inside the top ten. I mean, go
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  Speaker 1: back to your days. Did you ever see it getting
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  Speaker 1: this big?
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  Speaker 2: No, not at all.
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  Speaker 3: I mean, I think it was always big for us
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  Speaker 3: regionally and, of course, locally, but never did it get
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  Speaker 3: the national attention that this one will have. I mean,
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  Speaker 3: the one that I would think kind of got– The
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  Speaker 3: world introduced to the rivalry was when we were fighting
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  Speaker 3: for that first BCTS Buster appearance in 2004. Obviously, we
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  Speaker 3: had to beat BYU in order to qualify and get
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  Speaker 3: to the festival. I think that introduced it, of course.
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  Speaker 3: I think it was the first time game day came
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  Speaker 3: to Utah, so they got a little piece, a little
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  Speaker 3: idea of what this game's all about. But no, this
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  Speaker 3: is by far the biggest one. on record for sure
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  Speaker 3: with all that lies ahead and the meaning of what
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  Speaker 3: this game, you know, amplifies. It's going to be huge. Yeah,
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  Speaker 3: goes unsaid.
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  Speaker 1: So this team, I mean, you were part of that
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  Speaker 1: undefeated team in 2004. And one thing that even, you know,
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  Speaker 1: the lowly walk-ons, the scout teamers of that day like myself,
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  Speaker 1: one thing that was so noticeable about that team was
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  Speaker 1: the attention to detail, everybody knowing their exact role, you know,
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  Speaker 1: handle your real estate in the games, handle your real
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  Speaker 1: estate in the practice week. Don't be the guy that
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  Speaker 1: colors outside the lines and causes issues.
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  Speaker 2: And obviously the results ended up speaking for themselves.
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  Speaker 1: We're eight games into it, and this is Morgan Scali's
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  Speaker 1: first year as a head coach. And he's already got
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  Speaker 1: kind of that same thing going on, at least from
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  Speaker 1: the outside looking in, Steve.
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  Speaker 2: You know Morgan better than I do.
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  Speaker 1: The fact that he has it dialed in the way
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  Speaker 1: he does in his first year as a head coach.
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  Speaker 2: What are your thoughts?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I think that was the... When people
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  Speaker 3: asked me how I think Morgan would do, I had
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  Speaker 3: zero doubts he'd be successful and be where he's at today. Because,
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  Speaker 3: you know, I think what's interesting with Morgan is he
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  Speaker 3: was a player during Urban's year. You know, Urban's two years,
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  Speaker 3: I guess. But more importantly, that fiestable year. So he
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  Speaker 3: got to experience what it took to get to that
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  Speaker 3: level as a player. But also, you know, Morgan was.
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  Speaker 3: That class, speaking of which, that class was extremely talented,
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  Speaker 3: but the leadership that that team had was unlike any
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  Speaker 3: we've had at Utah before. Morgan, of course, was with
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  Speaker 3: the leader of that pack. um, he saw what it took.
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  Speaker 3: He obviously saw what, what football was like before urban
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  Speaker 3: got there. So, you know, Morgan had a contrast in, um,
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  Speaker 3: you know, coaching philosophies and, and obviously saw what it
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  Speaker 3: took to get to the next level. So I think
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  Speaker 3: Morgan has a unique experience in that becoming a head coach.
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  Speaker 3: He knows not only what it took, you know, as
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  Speaker 3: a player, but now of course, now the coach and
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  Speaker 3: putting his spin on it, but that's why it doesn't
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  Speaker 3: surprise me where he's at. I think he really has
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  Speaker 3: that unique perspective of before and after Utah football from
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  Speaker 3: regionally being every once in a while being nationally ranked
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  Speaker 3: to now here they are routinely top 25 team.
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  Speaker 1: Obviously Morgan moving into the head coaching position meant that
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  Speaker 1: somebody else was going to have to elevate into that
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  Speaker 1: defensive coordinator role and Colton Swann gets that call up,
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  Speaker 1: and he's been excellent so far as a guy who
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  Speaker 1: played in a defense that was, I mean, pretty nearly identical.
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  Speaker 2: To the way they still run things up there.
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  Speaker 1: Your thoughts on his little twists and flavor on it,
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  Speaker 1: and we'll get to the safety play specifically here in
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  Speaker 1: a second, but just Colton Swann as the D.C., what
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  Speaker 1: have you liked.
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  Speaker 2: And what do you notice?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, again, consistency. You look at Utah, and
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  Speaker 3: BYU's learned that now, of course, with Papinga, Jay Hill, Papinga,
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  Speaker 3: but Coach Anderson, who's there, that's been able to mentor
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  Speaker 3: Kelly Papinga in that role. But consistency and consistency. What's
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  Speaker 3: unique about Utah is that it's a system that provides
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  Speaker 3: success and builds you to be successful as a player.
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  Speaker 3: I was talking to my son who's at Stanford, and
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  Speaker 3: I transferred from Utah State to Utah, and I was
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  Speaker 3: looking at my staff at Utah State compared to my
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  Speaker 3: staff at Utah, and it's drastically different. Did I change
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  Speaker 3: as a player? No. Same athleticism, same speed, same attributes
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  Speaker 3: I had. Utah was able to take that, put me
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  Speaker 3: into a system and maximize, obviously, my abilities and develop.
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  Speaker 3: And I think that's what's. Sometimes that goes overlooked in
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  Speaker 3: college football, but Utah has a system that develops kids,
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  Speaker 3: so it's plug and play every year. It's no wonder
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  Speaker 3: why every year they're going to have a top 25
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  Speaker 3: defense is because they've got that system in place. They
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  Speaker 3: know how to develop. They look for that type of athlete.
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  Speaker 3: Colton Swann is just another kind of D.C. falling in
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  Speaker 3: line with what has worked in the past and not
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  Speaker 3: necessarily– Not necessarily staying with what's old, but always finding
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  Speaker 3: ways to tweak it, but not changing true identity of
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  Speaker 3: the defense. That's bringing pressure. That's playing man coverage. It's
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  Speaker 3: creating zone pressures as well. No drop-off with Colton Swan.
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  Speaker 3: He's been everything that Morgan was before, and obviously Whittingham
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  Speaker 3: before that.
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  Speaker 1: I know you watch safety play closely, and I imagine
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  Speaker 1: there's a certain affection for guys like Nate Ritchie and
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  Speaker 1: Jackson Benny, who are, you know, local products. But Rabbit
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  Speaker 1: Evans has been a revelation for this team as well.
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  Speaker 1: What do you think of the safety group? And Benny
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  Speaker 1: has done a little bit of everything, so I'll put
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  Speaker 1: him in that mix for you.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah, Benny, you know, reminds me of Weddle. I
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  Speaker 3: know that's high praise, but as far as being able
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  Speaker 3: to do everything, you know... Most people remember Weddle as
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  Speaker 3: a safety, but Weddle played the majority of his time
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  Speaker 3: at Utah at that corner. Very similar to Benny. Credit
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  Speaker 3: Evans and Richie because without those two, it's allowed Benny
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  Speaker 3: to go play that nickel. uh, player and, and obviously
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  Speaker 3: bring one more talent to that defense. And, and those
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  Speaker 3: three are, are dynamic. Uh, you know, Richie's a guy
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  Speaker 3: who's experienced all, all three are experienced players and that's unique.
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  Speaker 3: You don't, you don't get that very often guys who
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  Speaker 3: have been in the system and, you know, credit Utah
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  Speaker 3: for keeping, keeping their players, you know, in this day
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  Speaker 3: and age right now with, uh, the transfer portal and
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  Speaker 3: everything like that. It's, it's, It's very unique to have
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  Speaker 3: the guys that they have with the experience they have
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  Speaker 3: at one school. I think that's really telling for both
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  Speaker 3: BYU and Utah. It's unlike what's going on right now
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  Speaker 3: in college football, but Utah's been able to do that
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  Speaker 3: and develop their guys. Credit to the guys as well
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  Speaker 3: for trusting their coaches. It takes a consistent coaching staff
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  Speaker 3: like Utah's had to get them to this point and
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  Speaker 3: to be successful. Those guys take you pride. They are
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  Speaker 3: representing for sure.
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  Speaker 1: You've done a little coaching yourself. How would you contain
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  Speaker 1: Bear Bachmeier?
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  Speaker 2: He's a problem.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I know Bear. I watched him. He played a
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  Speaker 3: spring ball with my son at Stanford. The one thing
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  Speaker 3: about Bear that you may or may not see from TV,
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  Speaker 3: but in person up close, he is thick. The guy
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  Speaker 3: is really a fullback type player playing that quarterback role.
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  Speaker 3: So What's unique is that he's hard to bring down.
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  Speaker 3: I don't know his measurables as compared to Tim Tebow,
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  Speaker 3: but I'd say he's every bit as strong as Tim
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  Speaker 3: Tebow was, but they're very similar in how they play.
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  Speaker 3: They're gritty. Nothing seems to really razzle him. I think
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  Speaker 3: that's what's been unique with Barrett, to be able to
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  Speaker 3: start as a true freshman. And he hasn't been able to...
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  Speaker 3: No one's really been able to rattle the cage and
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  Speaker 3: get to him. He's mentally strong now. He comes from
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  Speaker 3: a family who's– all of them have played that. So
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  Speaker 3: it's a guy who– it's in his DNA. I don't
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  Speaker 3: know how you can– I mean, I think he's a
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  Speaker 3: guy that's not going to outrun you. But what's unique
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  Speaker 3: is his vertical run game is as good as any
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  Speaker 3: quarterback right now in college football. Now, he won't get
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  Speaker 3: around the edges. That's not what he's designed for. But,
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  Speaker 3: you know– it's hard because if you've got a, you know,
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  Speaker 3: typically when you got a fast athletic quarterback, you want
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  Speaker 3: to make sure you keep it in pocket, right? You
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  Speaker 3: don't want them to bounce. And he's different. It's like,
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  Speaker 3: You almost want him to bounce because he's not as
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  Speaker 3: good bouncing off the edges as he is interiorly going
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  Speaker 3: lateral in the run game. Hard to contain. Certainly, it's
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  Speaker 3: going to put a lot of pressure on the linebackers.
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  Speaker 3: I'm sure they'll be creative. Colton Swan will be creative
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  Speaker 3: on how to contain him and keep him in check.
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  Speaker 3: He's more dangerous, I think, when he starts to get
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  Speaker 3: the run game going.
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  Speaker 1: This is the first year I can remember where Utah's
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  Speaker 1: defensive end room is just– they're very solid against the run,
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  Speaker 1: but they're not creating the havoc in the backfield.
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  Speaker 2: They're not creating the sacks.
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  Speaker 1: It's an identity position at the University of Utah, and
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  Speaker 1: the defense is still performing– very well despite that so
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  Speaker 1: when you watch that and if there is a bone
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  Speaker 1: to pick i think that's it about this utah defense
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  Speaker 1: and you know obviously what those guys are able to
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  Speaker 1: do or not do affects what you guys would do
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  Speaker 1: in the back end so how do you how do
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  Speaker 1: you maximize what you're getting from the front when you're
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  Speaker 1: a safety who relies on those guys especially in those
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  Speaker 1: man coverage situations.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I think you're right. This year is
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  Speaker 3: probably unlike the years prior where it hasn't necessarily been
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  Speaker 3: their strong suit. But Utah's always done a good job
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  Speaker 3: of just being creative with with their defensive line stemming,
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  Speaker 3: running in and out and crossing and just creating a
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  Speaker 3: little havoc there for the offensive linemen. Make an offensive
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  Speaker 3: lineman stink, and the more those offensive linemen have to
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  Speaker 3: think of where they're going to be, that confuses them.
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  Speaker 3: But I think it's going to be a little bit
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  Speaker 3: of a chess match because, interesting enough, I think that's where,
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  Speaker 3: of all the places where I think Roderick I think
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  Speaker 3: he attacks the edges the best. He's a guy that
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  Speaker 3: still will go against a man coverage team. He'll run
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: the speed option, which is... It's kind of archaic now
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  Speaker 3: in college football, but Robert calls that quite often in
• 12:59
  Speaker 3: man-to-man coverage. He really attacks the edges. It's funny you
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  Speaker 3: bring that up. I think that's going to be the
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  Speaker 3: place where BYU tries to attack. I think that's going
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  Speaker 3: to put more pressure on the linebackers to scrape off
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  Speaker 3: the top and not get cut off by the interior linemen. Um, yeah,
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  Speaker 3: I think that's, that's, that's going to be, that's going
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  Speaker 3: to be the matchup to watch in my opinion.
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  Speaker 2: How does it go? Who wins? How do they win?
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  Speaker 3: I mean, I like the favorite team in this. I
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  Speaker 3: like Utah. Um, I just think Utah has been so
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  Speaker 3: dynamic on both sides. Um, You know, it's probably a
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  Speaker 3: boring answer, but it's going to come down to some
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  Speaker 3: sort of special team play, I think. Oddly enough, I
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  Speaker 3: think that third team will probably be the highlight. Something
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  Speaker 3: will happen there, either gain advantage somehow in the special
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  Speaker 3: teams game. But, you know, I think Utah wins in
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  Speaker 3: this one. I think BYU at home is clearly– I mean,
• 14:04
  Speaker 3: that's probably the case for everyone, so not a great
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  Speaker 3: analysis on my part. But I think playing at BYU
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  Speaker 3: is extremely difficult. It's really hard to play there. So
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  Speaker 3: I think they're a little– but then again, when you're
• 14:18
  Speaker 3: playing a rivalry game– I look back at my rivalry
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  Speaker 3: games and we were almost more successful at BYU than
• 14:23
  Speaker 3: we were at home. Cause it's just the, the atmosphere. And,
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  Speaker 3: and so I think, you know, this is unique, but you,
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  Speaker 3: BYU on the road hasn't been as, you know, potent
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  Speaker 3: as they have been at home. But, um, yeah, I think,
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  Speaker 3: I think Utah comes away with, with this one and
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  Speaker 3: Scali gets his first, his first win against BYU as
• 14:45
  Speaker 3: a head coach.
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: Is it hard, uh, now that your son, like he's,
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: the boy has become a warrior and he's at Stanford
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  Speaker 1: and you were at Utah. So it was like, does
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  Speaker 1: he listen to you? Because you know, he gets to,
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  Speaker 1: he gets to say I'm smarter than you.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, no, that, that he's, he's definitely smarter. He's definitely bigger.
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  Speaker 3: I can't outrun him, so there are very few things
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  Speaker 3: that I've got right now on him. I might have
• 15:12
  Speaker 3: a little more money than he does, so I have
• 15:14
  Speaker 3: him in that right now at this point.
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  Speaker 2: In my life.
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  Speaker 1: He probably still depends on that a little too much
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: to talk too much trash.
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  Speaker 2: Exactly.
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  Speaker 3: I mean, his NIL only goes so far before he
• 15:25
  Speaker 3: still has to rely on me for a meal.
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: Oh, that's fantastic.
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: Well, are you going to be able to make it
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: up to the game, or do you have like– Little League.
• 15:35
  Speaker 3: And other stuff. Of all the weeks, this happens to
• 15:40
  Speaker 3: be the week that Stanford's on a bye. But I
• 15:47
  Speaker 3: gave up, obviously, my season tickets because I clearly have
• 15:50
  Speaker 3: season tickets at Stanford and don't have a reason for
• 15:53
  Speaker 3: them at Utah anymore. But of all the times I
• 15:56
  Speaker 3: wish I had, it would have been this week. So
• 15:57
  Speaker 3: I'll be... I'll be watching in person, although I've got
• 16:01
  Speaker 3: a soccer game and two basketball games, so I'll be
• 16:04
  Speaker 3: watching it remotely on the phone, trying to keep up
• 16:08
  Speaker 3: with everything.
• 16:09
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's that dad life. Too many kids. That's right.
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: Somebody should explain to you how that happens, Stephen.
• 16:16
  Speaker 3: You can avoid it in the future. Off air.
• 16:20
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Thanks for your time, dude. Good talking to you.
• 16:22
  Speaker 2: Appreciate you.
• 16:23
  Speaker 3: Great talking to you. Thanks, man. We'll be in touch.
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: Steve Tate, all-conference safety in his days at the University
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: of Utah.
• 16:31
  Speaker 2: Father of six.
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: And, yeah, his son, Bo, is playing for that Stanford
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: football team. Pretty great stuff from the Utah football legend,
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: Steve Tate.