Latest / The Sean O'Connell Show / James Westling gives his thoughts on the Utes as they open Camp Scalley, Kelvin Obot a week 1 starter as a freshman (?) + more

Transcript

James Westling gives his thoughts on the Utes as they open Camp Scalley, Kelvin Obot a week 1 starter as a freshman (?) + more · The Sean O'Connell Show

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Speaker 4: All right, you tugh football back in camp today.
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Speaker 1: There are a couple of days before a lot of
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Speaker 1: teams because of course they open their season on a
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Speaker 1: Thursday night. Where are they going to fit in to
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Speaker 1: the Big twelve conference. Well, the schedule be as friendly
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Speaker 1: as we think it is. James Westling of Big twelve
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Speaker 1: Radio kind of enough to join us to talk about
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Speaker 1: that and much more.
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Speaker 4: James, Welcome to the show.
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Speaker 2: How are you guys. I'm fantastic. Thank you so much
1:14
Speaker 2: for allowing me to be a part of what you
1:17
Speaker 2: guys do on a daily basis. Super pumped for the season.
1:20
Speaker 2: We are officially in the month of August and week
1:23
Speaker 2: zero is hearing about twenty six days. So I am
1:27
Speaker 2: fired up for some college football. I'm so over talking
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Speaker 2: about bills and court cases. I'm ready for these teams
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Speaker 2: to finally take the field.
1:37
Speaker 1: We've learned this in the last several years, like going
1:39
Speaker 1: all the way back to really kind of the COVID mess,
1:42
Speaker 1: when you're just you're speculating, you're wondering, you're talking about
1:47
Speaker 1: all these weird motions and courts and contact tracing and
1:53
Speaker 1: all that stuff back in those days at least, and
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Speaker 1: then football shows up and you're like, ah, this is
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Speaker 1: why we love it. This is the reason that we
2:00
Speaker 1: got into this in the first place. And I'm I'm
2:03
Speaker 1: eager for the same thing, James, because right now, the
2:06
Speaker 1: off season there is no off season really in college
2:08
Speaker 1: sports anymore. But the off season is dominated by those
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Speaker 1: things you're talking about, by the changes that are happening,
2:14
Speaker 1: or the changes that are being prevented from happening, or
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Speaker 1: the you know, the nil stuff, or hey, does this
2:19
Speaker 1: guy have another year of eligibility and it really pulls
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Speaker 1: away from our love of the sport. But then we
2:26
Speaker 1: get to fall and we get to football and it
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Speaker 1: is football again, and it's just like, oh, yeah, these
2:31
Speaker 1: kids are paid, but they're still playing like they played
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Speaker 1: when they were you know, not when they were.
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Speaker 4: Just getting scholarships.
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Speaker 1: And it's I think for me, it's a meaningful reminder
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Speaker 1: that it's still the sport that we want it to be,
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Speaker 1: even if all the stuff around it gets pretty ugly.
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Speaker 2: Totally agree, and I think that that narrative can be
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Speaker 2: pushed even stronger than some of the television partners. And
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Speaker 2: I think in this age of social media, everything's just
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Speaker 2: clickabit for lack of a better term. Like I remember
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Speaker 2: when I was growing up, the off season meant list season,
3:08
Speaker 2: it meant potential depth chart, position battles, it meant injury updates,
3:14
Speaker 2: and it meant recruiting. And then it was always the
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Speaker 2: hypothetical what if game, And I loved that game. I
3:23
Speaker 2: loved looking at an upcoming schedule and thinking about the
3:27
Speaker 2: floor and the ceiling and the backup quarterback or the
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Speaker 2: highly touted running back that didn't get on the field
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Speaker 2: much as a freshman but has four or four speed
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Speaker 2: and all the things that you'd hear through the grapevine
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Speaker 2: like that is what used to drive the college football offseason,
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Speaker 2: and now it's all that other stuff you were talking about.
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Speaker 2: So once the games kick off, I do think that
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Speaker 2: fans will will kind of reignite that passion. And that's
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Speaker 2: what excites me. It's what excites me about all sixteen
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Speaker 2: member institutions in the Big Twelve. It's what excites me
4:00
Speaker 2: about all the high profile non conference matchups for the
4:03
Speaker 2: Big Twelve, because that's going to be huge in terms
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Speaker 2: of the big picture, the narrative, the league pedigree. Ultimately,
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Speaker 2: this is only year three of this sixteen member institution conference,
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Speaker 2: and two years ago the Big Twelve was horrendous in
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Speaker 2: the non conference. Last year, the league was slightly better
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Speaker 2: and it jumped the ACC as being the third best
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Speaker 2: conference in college football. All the data, all the non
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Speaker 2: conference games when these leagues are actually playing one another
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Speaker 2: versus when they're in league action, says a lot to
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Speaker 2: me about just how dominant each conference is. And the
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Speaker 2: Big Twelve held its own last year, So I'm excited
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Speaker 2: to see what year three brings for the league as
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Speaker 2: a whole. When you have teams like Utah playing Arkansas,
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Speaker 2: and you have other high profile matchups like in Arizona
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Speaker 2: State and A Texas A and m A BYU Notre Dame.
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Speaker 2: Like that, to me is what will move the needle
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Speaker 2: for the Big Twelve as a whole.
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Speaker 1: Well, you, like all of us, probably had to do
5:03
Speaker 1: a little bit more work on Utah football as in
5:06
Speaker 1: terms of developing expectations, because for twenty one years we
5:10
Speaker 1: got to kind of be like, all right, we know
5:12
Speaker 1: what to expect. Solid defense, going to run the ball
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Speaker 1: a bunch, this is what Kyle Whittingham does. Let's see
5:17
Speaker 1: who's got a quarterback, Let's see who his coordinator is.
5:20
Speaker 1: But you know, there were fewer questions to answer, seemingly
5:23
Speaker 1: for two decades at Utah football than there are heading
5:26
Speaker 1: into this year Morgan Scalley's first year, as you're well aware,
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Speaker 1: got some continuity back at the most important position and quarterback,
5:33
Speaker 1: but a lot of changes everywhere else. So as you
5:36
Speaker 1: take a look outside in at this Utah football program,
5:40
Speaker 1: knowing that the schedule is as soft as you could
5:42
Speaker 1: ask for in this Big Twelve conference, what are your expectations?
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Speaker 1: What do you think is the storyline for the Utah
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Speaker 1: football season.
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Speaker 2: Yeah. Utah is really a fascinating case study for me
5:54
Speaker 2: in comparison to everybody in this league because they're unique
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Speaker 2: in that they have a first year head coach, but
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Speaker 2: he's a guy that's been on staff for nearly two decades.
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Speaker 2: You have to replace two NFL offensive linemen, they're the
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Speaker 2: only school in the Big twelve that has had two
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Speaker 2: first round offensive linemen drafted since the early twenty tens.
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Speaker 2: And you have to replace five starters up front. So
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Speaker 2: I would say it's different in that last season Devin
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Speaker 2: dan Pierre is walking in is like the missing puzzle piece, Right.
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Speaker 2: You have this dominant offensive line, you have a whole
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Speaker 2: plethora of running backs. You have this hidden weapon in
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Speaker 2: Bird Fickland, who's a lightning rod and I think one
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Speaker 2: of the best backup quarterbacks in the country. And you
6:40
Speaker 2: have some receivers who are solidified, albeit probably not elite.
6:45
Speaker 2: Then you have a dominant defense. Like that was the
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Speaker 2: the Utah summary going into last season. Now it's completely flipped.
6:53
Speaker 2: You have a bunch of really exciting, prolific receivers that
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Speaker 2: are unproven at this level. Then you have five new
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Speaker 2: offensive lineman with tremendous upside, including the highest rated recruits
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Speaker 2: in Utah history and obot so you have a lot
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Speaker 2: of question marks there, but your quarterback and your running
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Speaker 2: back combo is as good as anybody in the conference.
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Speaker 2: And then defensively, I'm sure there's a lot of guys
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Speaker 2: that have been in the program that in the past
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Speaker 2: you just kind of knew would take the next step forward,
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Speaker 2: but they haven't done it under Morgan scouting, and a
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Speaker 2: lot of guys transferred out, which is very un Utah like.
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Speaker 2: So I think in terms of the friendliness of the schedule,
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Speaker 2: as you alluded to, which to me is the number
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Speaker 2: one strength that Utah has going for it, I could
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Speaker 2: see Utah being a double digit win football team and
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Speaker 2: competing for a Big twelve championship. I could also if
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Speaker 2: the offensive line doesn't gel, if the defense takes a
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Speaker 2: step back, if Devin dan Pierre regresses because he doesn't
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Speaker 2: have all that time to drop back in the pocket
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Speaker 2: behind two NFL offensive cackles and he kind of gets
8:01
Speaker 2: a little turnover prone at least compared to how elite
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Speaker 2: he was last year with his efficiency, then I could
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Speaker 2: see Utah dropping down to a six seven, eight win
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Speaker 2: football team. So they're interesting to me because I think
8:13
Speaker 2: they have a really high ceiling. They don't have a
8:16
Speaker 2: lower floor than a lot of other teams in the league,
8:19
Speaker 2: but they do have on Utah like a lot of
8:21
Speaker 2: question marks. I would say coming into this year.
8:25
Speaker 1: You alluded to one of them, and I started the
8:27
Speaker 1: show today saying, because as camp begins, I want to
8:29
Speaker 1: know what the listeners with the fans are, like, Okay,
8:32
Speaker 1: what position battle most intrigues these people in a new era?
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Speaker 1: And you mentioned Kelvin Obot and my big question is
8:41
Speaker 1: can he crack the starting lineup? Because he should right
8:46
Speaker 1: highest rate to recruit in program history. As you already mentioned,
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Speaker 1: he got a nice nil package, which while it maybe
8:54
Speaker 1: shouldn't matter, it does. And you're replacing five starters. So
8:59
Speaker 1: even if he's not going to be your left tackle,
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Speaker 1: which I think is his eventual future in this program
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Speaker 1: as a true freshman, he seems like the kind of
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Speaker 1: body that you have to get out there.
9:10
Speaker 4: What's your thinking on that?
9:11
Speaker 1: And look, I know that you know a first year
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Speaker 1: head coach in that position in Jordan Gross, who knows
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Speaker 1: the kid very well.
9:17
Speaker 4: That might affect things one way or another.
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Speaker 1: But I look at this and I see what other
9:22
Speaker 1: schools do with their five stars, and what schools in
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Speaker 1: Utah's position who doesn't get five stars very often do
9:28
Speaker 1: with their five stars, and you try to get them
9:30
Speaker 1: on the field as much as you can do you
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Speaker 1: think we see Kelvin Obot in the starting lineup even
9:35
Speaker 1: week one.
9:37
Speaker 2: I don't know that I project him as a week
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Speaker 2: one starter, but I do think he will be a
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Speaker 2: heavy part of the rotation. And part of that is
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Speaker 2: the fact that, just a personal preference of mine, I
9:49
Speaker 2: am very hesitant to lock in eighteen year old offensive
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Speaker 2: tackles or even offensive linemen. I think is a position
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Speaker 2: that you have to develop into, and it does happen occasionally,
10:02
Speaker 2: but it happens at programs that don't have the success
10:05
Speaker 2: and the pedigree of a Utah when it comes to
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Speaker 2: offensive line play. Jordan Seaton stepped in and started day
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Speaker 2: one at Colorado. Well, Colorado was mess offensively. They couldn't
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Speaker 2: run the ball. They haven't been able to run the
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Speaker 2: ball for back to back seasons. And while Seaton individually
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Speaker 2: graded out very well as an eighteen year old, he
10:24
Speaker 2: was kind of an outlier. You look at other programs
10:27
Speaker 2: around the country that don't necessarily land five star prospects
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Speaker 2: on a regular basis. Others in this league. I would
10:35
Speaker 2: look at Kansas State, who had a five star tight
10:37
Speaker 2: end that everybody thought would start day one last year
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Speaker 2: and he barely cracked the rotation. I would lean on
10:44
Speaker 2: like Zaraway Williams. I think is a guy with a
10:46
Speaker 2: tremendous upside, even though he hasn't been on the field
10:49
Speaker 2: a ton. He's a former basketball player, so you know
10:51
Speaker 2: he's incredibly athletic and has good footwork. I look at
10:55
Speaker 2: Cedric Jefferson on the other side of that tackle position,
10:59
Speaker 2: a trans that I really like for the utes. So
11:03
Speaker 2: do I think an eighteen year old could be ready
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Speaker 2: to go day one? I mean I never thought we'd
11:08
Speaker 2: see like true freshman wide receivers do what they've done
11:11
Speaker 2: on the national level, like Jeremiah Smith and Ryan Williams.
11:14
Speaker 2: Like that was so foreign to me to see Alabama's
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Speaker 2: leading receiver a seventeen year old kid who's barely six foot,
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Speaker 2: like one hundred and sixty pounds, soaking wet so the game.
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Speaker 2: My point in saying that is college football's kind of
11:29
Speaker 2: entered into this expect the unexpected era, So I shouldn't
11:33
Speaker 2: be shocked if he's starting Day one, but just historically,
11:37
Speaker 2: it's pretty rare. It's rare all over the country for
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Speaker 2: these true freshman offensive linemen to be plug and play
11:44
Speaker 2: starters and ready in their initial season week one.
11:51
Speaker 1: The Utah listener is probably not gonna like this next part,
11:55
Speaker 1: even though we're the home of the Utes, because I
11:58
Speaker 1: think BYU is in a really really.
12:01
Speaker 4: Interesting position this year. They also have a friendly schedule.
12:05
Speaker 1: They bring back a lot more of their production than
12:08
Speaker 1: Utah does from last year. They lost their defensive coordinator
12:11
Speaker 1: who was massively important to that team, but they replace
12:15
Speaker 1: him with a guy who's been in the fold for
12:17
Speaker 1: a long time in Provo.
12:20
Speaker 4: And you know your.
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Speaker 1: Quarterbacks back offensive player the year running back is back.
12:24
Speaker 1: You have multiple starters on both sides of the ball returning,
12:28
Speaker 1: and you were really really good last year. I have
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Speaker 1: said it, and BYU fans don't like to hear me
12:33
Speaker 1: say this. I've said, if you're not going to win
12:35
Speaker 1: it this year, when are you going to win it?
12:36
Speaker 1: Because man, it's really shaping up pretty nicely for you.
12:40
Speaker 1: How do you feel about the koops?
12:43
Speaker 4: So?
12:44
Speaker 2: I like Eyu a lot. When we did our preseason
12:48
Speaker 2: Big twelve Radio consensus poll, I did not have BYU
12:53
Speaker 2: as the preseason favorite in the league. I still think
12:56
Speaker 2: that title belongs to Texas Tech. My co host and
13:00
Speaker 2: I felt like put together a strong case for BYU.
13:04
Speaker 2: But I do have some concerns. I don't think that
13:06
Speaker 2: they're bulletproof by any means. They've got a really sneaky
13:09
Speaker 2: game October third at TCU. They have to play Notre Dame.
13:13
Speaker 2: We know how good Notre Dame is going to be.
13:16
Speaker 2: And then they play Utah on the road in Salt
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Speaker 2: Lake City. Like there hasn't been a team win four
13:22
Speaker 2: in a row in this series since what the early
13:25
Speaker 2: to mid eighties, and that is a total coin flip
13:29
Speaker 2: game for me, just like it's then the last two
13:32
Speaker 2: or three years. So BYU I think has the more
13:34
Speaker 2: difficult schedule if I'm even comparing, just BYU had to
13:37
Speaker 2: head with Utah, and then I'm concerned about the long
13:42
Speaker 2: term durability of LJ. Martin.
13:44
Speaker 4: LJ.
13:45
Speaker 2: Martin, remember he got knocked out last year in the
13:47
Speaker 2: Iowa State Game. He wasn't the same after that. He
13:50
Speaker 2: had offseason shoulder surgery. Like that is an injury that
13:52
Speaker 2: it just takes one pop on that shoulder and it
13:55
Speaker 2: can be a major setback. And then who are going
13:58
Speaker 2: to be the playmakers at widersceiver Jojo Phillips. I know
14:01
Speaker 2: they're really high on Klaani Sataki told us at media
14:04
Speaker 2: day that he's not concerned at all about the wide
14:07
Speaker 2: receiver position. But again, they have a unique dynamic this
14:10
Speaker 2: year because last year it was those receivers in that
14:14
Speaker 2: ground game that was kind of helping bear Bachmeyer along.
14:18
Speaker 2: This year it's the total inverse. This year, it's going
14:20
Speaker 2: to be bear Bachmeyer, who's now the season's veteran, even
14:23
Speaker 2: though he's only in year two, trying to bring along
14:26
Speaker 2: those wide receivers to get on his level. I think
14:29
Speaker 2: defensively they're going to be rock solid, but offensively, I
14:33
Speaker 2: do still think that for them to take the next step,
14:35
Speaker 2: they need more explosive plays. Bear Backmeyer's passing numbers, like
14:39
Speaker 2: all of his metrics on throws beyond ten or fifteen
14:42
Speaker 2: yards were very mediocre at best, So he needs to
14:49
Speaker 2: improve in that aspect of his game. So there are
14:52
Speaker 2: question marks for them as well that I do think
14:56
Speaker 2: are maybe being a little bit overlooked at this stage.
15:00
Speaker 4: The end of the season, there's BYU Texas Tech.
15:07
Speaker 1: I think is like you said, the kind of consensus
15:09
Speaker 1: for most people is the preseason favorite. Some folks have
15:12
Speaker 1: Utah on that same tier, a lot have Utah maybe
15:15
Speaker 1: one tier below. And if it's for the purpose of
15:19
Speaker 1: this conversation, if it's those top three definitively around the
15:24
Speaker 1: top of the power pol who else deserves to be mentioned?
15:27
Speaker 1: Who else deserves to be in this conversation, because I
15:30
Speaker 1: don't think there's a big fall off really to even
15:33
Speaker 1: the middle of the league. But is it Arizona that
15:36
Speaker 1: can actually threaten TCU can hang around? Is it Houston
15:40
Speaker 1: like a lot of people think it might be. Who
15:42
Speaker 1: is the other team or teams that belong in the
15:45
Speaker 1: conversation for potential conference title challengers?
15:50
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think after Texas Tech it's more open than
15:57
Speaker 2: people anticipate or they're putting their preseason list together. From
16:02
Speaker 2: everything I've seen, I think there's a wide range of
16:06
Speaker 2: teams that could compete for a top three finish or
16:09
Speaker 2: even a top two finish. The more I dive into TCU,
16:13
Speaker 2: the more I really like what TCU has done bringing
16:17
Speaker 2: in a new offensive coordinator that Sunny Dikes is you know,
16:21
Speaker 2: running around telling people the offense won't look that much different.
16:24
Speaker 2: It will look very different. They're very much going to
16:27
Speaker 2: lean on their ground game, and Jaden Craig is a
16:32
Speaker 2: guy that just I think fits that system really well,
16:35
Speaker 2: which is why he ultimately landed at TCU. He had
16:39
Speaker 2: a lot of very very lucrative offers from Power Conference
16:43
Speaker 2: schools and it was ultimately the system this sold him
16:47
Speaker 2: on TCU. And then outside of them, I do like Houston.
16:51
Speaker 2: With Houston, they have some really tough games right out
16:55
Speaker 2: of the gate. They played Texas Tech, you know, early September.
16:59
Speaker 2: They've got one other tough game that eludes me at
17:02
Speaker 2: the moment before they even get into the month of October.
17:05
Speaker 2: And then the thing with Houston their schedule, like from
17:08
Speaker 2: Halloween on, they have some gnarly road games and some
17:12
Speaker 2: really cold weather climates that I think could potentially trip
17:15
Speaker 2: them up that they didn't have a season to go.
17:18
Speaker 2: The Confines were much more friendly last year for Houston
17:22
Speaker 2: late in the year. And then the other team I'd
17:24
Speaker 2: throw into the mix, Arizona. Yes, Arizona State I think
17:27
Speaker 2: deserves a mention, but also Kansas State, Kansas State and
17:30
Speaker 2: Utah to me had the easiest schedules of the contenders
17:33
Speaker 2: that we're talking about. I'm a big fan of book
17:36
Speaker 2: callin Kline brings to the table and how he plans
17:39
Speaker 2: to unlock Avery Johnson. Case State had five of their
17:42
Speaker 2: six losses, they had a lead in the fourth quarter
17:45
Speaker 2: and really in most of those gave away. So I
17:49
Speaker 2: think we would look at case State in a much
17:51
Speaker 2: different light if they'd even won half of those games
17:53
Speaker 2: and been a ninety and three football team coming into
17:56
Speaker 2: this year versus six and six. So I would throw
17:58
Speaker 2: them into the conversation as this leaper team. But I
18:01
Speaker 2: do think it's wide open after what I think Texas
18:06
Speaker 2: Tech is going to be at the top.
18:09
Speaker 1: How are we going to be talking about Colorado midway
18:12
Speaker 1: through this season?
18:13
Speaker 4: End of this season?
18:14
Speaker 1: You know, Deon Sanders is this cult of personality and
18:18
Speaker 1: got a lot of eyeballs on things when he had
18:20
Speaker 1: his own son and when he had a heismand Trophy winner.
18:23
Speaker 1: And I don't like that roster necessarily, but he's still
18:27
Speaker 1: saying some of the right things.
18:28
Speaker 4: How do you think we end up talking about Colorado?
18:33
Speaker 2: If Colorado plays in a bowl game, it's a huge
18:37
Speaker 2: success for what they're up against. They're the only team
18:41
Speaker 2: in the Big Twelve that plays two Power Conference opponents
18:44
Speaker 2: on the road in the non conference. Three of their
18:47
Speaker 2: first four games right out of the gate are on
18:50
Speaker 2: the road this season at Georgia Tech, then they get
18:53
Speaker 2: Weaver State, and then they're at Northwestern and at Baylor,
18:55
Speaker 2: oh And then after that they come home for Texas
18:58
Speaker 2: Tech and Utah. It is a brutal schedule for Colorado
19:02
Speaker 2: and Dion's kind of going through an entire reset. You
19:06
Speaker 2: He's got Julian Lewis at quarterback, so they won't have
19:09
Speaker 2: four or five different quarterbacks this season. He's going to
19:11
Speaker 2: be their guy. But he's putting a much stronger emphasis
19:14
Speaker 2: on high school recruiting. He's putting a much stronger emphasis
19:18
Speaker 2: on character guys. When it comes to transfers. He's no
19:21
Speaker 2: longer chasing the former four star and five star transfers.
19:25
Speaker 2: He's going after the guys that were more productive at
19:30
Speaker 2: lower level schools, like Danny Scadero, who led the nation
19:34
Speaker 2: in receiving last year. But he did it at San
19:36
Speaker 2: Jose State and he's only about five foot eight tall,
19:39
Speaker 2: So to me, that's going to take some time. In
19:44
Speaker 2: Boulder I don't know that year one they're a seven
19:47
Speaker 2: or an eight win football team, but I think with
19:50
Speaker 2: the way last year finished, even snipping a bowl game
19:53
Speaker 2: and competing late in the season against the Arizona States
19:57
Speaker 2: and the Houstons, two of their November opponents, would be
20:02
Speaker 2: a step in the right direction for what is almost
20:04
Speaker 2: in a lot of ways a complete like reset in in.
20:08
Speaker 1: Bolder is a big twelve, a one bid league in
20:12
Speaker 1: the upcoming College Football Playoff.
20:16
Speaker 2: Depends how that BYU Notre Dame game goes. If BYU
20:21
Speaker 2: can upset Notre Dame, if BYU can hang with Notre Dame,
20:27
Speaker 2: like all eyes are going to be on that contest.
20:31
Speaker 2: In the College Football Playoff Committee and the television partners
20:37
Speaker 2: ESPN included at the top of that list. What I
20:41
Speaker 2: have seen the last two years has been so much,
20:45
Speaker 2: for lack of a better term, propaganda and narrative surrounding
20:50
Speaker 2: these teams that get selected. I think that is a
20:53
Speaker 2: monster game for the league to show that it belongs
20:57
Speaker 2: on that stage against that level of competition. So it's huge,
21:02
Speaker 2: and I'm not saying that's even the game that swings
21:04
Speaker 2: BYU one way or the other necessarily, but these non conference,
21:08
Speaker 2: high profile matchups do make a difference, and so if
21:11
Speaker 2: that game goes in favor of that particular Big Twelve school,
21:16
Speaker 2: I think it helps everybody in this conference. But to
21:19
Speaker 2: get two teams in, if there's a ten and two
21:22
Speaker 2: team with a loss in the Big Twelve championship game,
21:24
Speaker 2: they won't be in the College Football Playoff because that's
21:26
Speaker 2: what we had last year. And until I see something different,
21:30
Speaker 2: I lean towards no. But if Texas text undefeated, or
21:35
Speaker 2: if there's two teams that in the regular season at
21:40
Speaker 2: eleven and one, then potentially we could see two bids.
21:47
Speaker 2: Eleven would be the number for me. A ten and
21:49
Speaker 2: two team, an eleven and two team that has two
21:53
Speaker 2: losses to the same opponent like BYU did last year.
21:57
Speaker 2: I don't think the Big twelve gets two in.
22:00
Speaker 1: Are you going to Texas take? You think Will Hammond's
22:01
Speaker 1: going to be ready to go Week one? Like coach
22:04
Speaker 1: keeps alluding to.
22:06
Speaker 2: Yes, full stop, There's no doubt in my mind. We
22:10
Speaker 2: talked to Will Hammond one on one a week before last.
22:15
Speaker 2: He was very direct in saying that he will be
22:19
Speaker 2: the week one starter. Joey Maguire has said he will
22:22
Speaker 2: be the Week one starter. He's coming off to torn
22:25
Speaker 2: acl and he has already set a personal best top
22:29
Speaker 2: speed in just his preseason drills and everything that he's
22:34
Speaker 2: going through. He's got like a private quarterbacks coach and
22:36
Speaker 2: trainer that he's working with on a regular basis. That kid,
22:40
Speaker 2: there's no doubt in my mind he'll be on the field.
22:43
Speaker 2: I don't know how many snaps, I don't know how
22:44
Speaker 2: many quarters, but I do strongly believe Will Hammond will
22:50
Speaker 2: be on the field Week one against Abeline Christian love it.
22:55
Speaker 4: James, thanks for your time today. Tell Aaru said, Hi, all.
22:58
Speaker 2: Right, I will thank you guys man. This was fun.
23:01
Speaker 4: We'll do it again, hopefully we will.
23:03
Speaker 1: That's James Westling Big twelve today on tuned in Radio,
23:07
Speaker 1: and yes he does get to hang out with our
23:08
Speaker 1: guy Ari Timkin and talk a little Big twelve football,
23:12
Speaker 1: which is right around the corner now less than a
23:14
Speaker 1: month away from the week zero games, and we are
23:17
Speaker 1: a month away from Utah opening its season against Idaho
23:21
Speaker 1: on a Thursday night.