I agree that it would have been better if he gave the mature, reasoned and diplomatic response you were looking for; or even better not commented at all.

But, here are 3 reasons why he would have responded this way and why he didn't mind sharing with Talo:

1. Josh has never lived in Utah. This is important because he has no personal experience with anyone who attends/attended the U and I'm pretty sure he's never set foot on campus or had any contact with any coaches prior to getting the 'mail'. This means he has no basis for any admiration/respect. His only understanding of the U has been as the despised rival of his favorite school. In this environment him responding the way you hoped would be akin to me saying "Lucifer, I respect you and appreciate your interest in my soul, but I'm going to keep the commandments." everytime I am tempted to sin.

2. He has been interviewed by Talo before and knows he is writing for a BYU fan subscription service. I think if it had been a general media outlet he might have been a little less forthcoming, but he probably thought the intended 'Audience' would appreciate the dig(as apparently Talo also did as he chose to include the quote in the article). Remember, the only reason you even knew about the quote was because someone shared it here on, oh, a BYU message board. It's not like this quote is in the Trib or something.

3. He is a teenager and hasn't learned the finer points of diplomacy yet