I'm worried my Ute card is going to be taken away after this and I will have to pay full price when asking for a mullet at super cuts.

My confession: I don't hate Riley Nelson.

You have no idea how hard that is to say. Ever since I can remember, I've hated the QB at BYU. Once in a while there was a player who I didn't mind at BYU, like Fahu Tahi whom I met and seemed like a nice guy. There have been others.

But for the longest time, since I began following college football intimiately, I have never NOT hated the BYU QB. (Yes, I did a double negative there, but there is no other way to say it.)

First there was John Beck. The crying and stories about throwing passes 140 yards from his knees, plus he just looked too much like Scott Farkus with his yellow eyes. Then there was Max Hall. I hated him before the "utes are classless" thing, but that just clinched it. Then there was Jake Heaps. I was annoyed at his press conference at Iggy's, but I didn't truly hate him until his mom got on TV at the Under Armour AA game and when asked if her son was planning on serving a mission she said, "No, his mission is to play QB at BYU."

And then there is this Riley Nelson kid. I want to hate him so bad. But I just can't. Not because of his dreamy abs, but because he seems like a cool guy that I would want to drink a mountain dew with. He seems like a firey kid, and a good leader who inspires his teammates. First, he served a full mission different from many BYU QBs, (and 4 months in Iowa doesn't count.) And when he left it wasn't to improve his chances for playing time, but rather he gave up a starting gig. Also, he had long hair until someone told him to cut it. I like that. As a Ute, I like a little rebelliousness in my BYU QB. That's why at church I wear a purple shirt under my suit instead of white. He also never got caught up in the drama of the Jake Heaps thing, he just outplayed him. Plus I love the idea of a backup QB getting involved in Kick off and punt coverage just to get on the field and hit someone. I know how scared Heaps was of getting hit based on how he dove in the opposite direction of the football when Shelby had him in the end zone. Would Riley do that? No way.

In fact, when Riley was sacked and fumbled in mop up time against the Utes last year, he got up and chased down VJ Fehoko, never giving up on the play. Would Heaps have done that? Somehow I doubt it.

Best of luck to Riley in the upcoming season, except when he plays the Utes.



In fact