I finished a tour of the new athletic lobby/trophy room & athletic offices earlier this week. If you have an extra 30 minutes, ask for Don/Dan Howlett, he is very knowledgeable, nice, and is an excellent guide.

While we were walking through the first floor doors into the elevator up to the coaching offices, Riley Nelson walked right in front of us, leading what appeared to be his personal posse of fellow football players. I only saw him for about 3-5 seconds, but all of my questions about what happened between Heaps, Riley, and the rest of the team were IMMEDIATELY answered.

He holds himself like a leader. He has the mantle and aura of a true leader and appears unbelievably confident in himself and in the team. It immediately dawned on me exactly why there appeared to be enmity between Heaps and the team. Riley was, and always has been, the true leader of this team. He clearly is the person everyone looks up to on the team, he knows it, and holds himself in a way where he COMMANDS respect. I've never seen anything like it, I knew that all my questions were immediately answered about last years team, and why Heaps was so unhappy. Riley has the respect of the team, and somehow just looks like he is the absolute leader of this team.

I want to go on and on about what it felt like to see this, but all I can say is that there is no way, absolutely no way that Utah blows us out again. This team is focused, Riley is incredibly prepared and the team has rallied around him more than I could have ever imagined.