Opening Segment:
Criddle: “I went to lunch with the ‘Cougar Quorum’ today. We had a good lunch, talked about BYU sports and I have some insider information on Frank Jackson. He’s not necessarily leaning towards BYU, but Utah is in his ear, Stanford is interested.”
Criddle: “I know that U of A and Duke are interested but they probably won’t pursue hard.”
Dickson: “One thing that I want him to do is work on his shot. Obviously he’s there as athletically, he’s so much more athletic than other kids that he plays against he doesn’t need to work hard on getting his shot off.”
Dickson: “At 6’3″ and with his athleticism, BYU would be a great fit for him.”
How We See It:
Criddle: “The Big 12 was pining to try and get a conference championship game without adding 2 teams.”
Criddle: “Does the Big 12 still get into the CFP if TCU and Baylor play in a CCG last year?”
Dickson: “I don’t think so, those numbers learn towards no.”
Dickson: “The Big 12 is doing this for money. Having a CCG without having to split the pot gives them more money.”
Criddle: “What happens if an undefeated Baylor and a 2-loss TCU play in the “Big 12 CCG” and TCU wins? Then there’s another eye test.”
Criddle: “I like CBB more because it’s a true champion, CFB is more about the have’s and have not’s.”
Criddle: “Baylor plays LaMar, SMU, and Rice.”
Criddle: “Tom Holmoe said that BYU has exhausted their contacts about joining the Big 12 as a full-member and a football-only member but no one is interested.”
4:30 Segment:
Criddle: “We want to extend our condolences to Blair Reynolds, a member of the Band of Brothers who passed away this week. His funeral services will be held this Saturday.”
Criddle: “We also want to give a shout out to Paul Allen. Pleasant Grove grad, former BYU return man who ran a 9.8 100 yard dash.”
Criddle: “Paul was given the legacy “Jet Award” for his accomplishments in 1961. What’s amazing is the lengths Brett Pyne went to to find him. Paul was sitting at home one day and got a knock on the door and found out he won this award.”
Criddle: “I remember Fui Vakapuna getting off of his mission and he was just trucking guys.”
Criddle: “I wonder how Jamaal will react when people go towards his legs.”
Criddle: “I think they need to move Riley Burt to running back.”
Criddle: “It’s hard to gauge how good a player is when they’re going against inferior competition.”
Dickson: “One thing I’m concerned about is how many players are going to be disciplined for the first game? We don’t know who or what positions, but some guys that are back ups need to step up.”
Dickson: “I think it hurts relationships with the fans and the media because they aren’t telling us who will be playing and who is suspended.”
Dickson: “It creates an interesting dynamic with the guys who played that first game and won’t be going forward.”
Criddle: “I understand why they are doing this, this isn’t the fan’s team, this isn’t the media’s team.”
Criddle: “I think it also gives them a competitive advantage and people don’t need to know the privacy of these people’s lives.”
Dickson: “But people can help them if they own up to their mistakes and they become better men.”
Dickson: “With how public the brawl was, it needs to be announced, opposed to the other private, honor code issues.”
Criddle: “What if Bronco has favorites and he wants to hold some players accountable and he won’t hold others to that same level?”
Cougar Insider Report:
Criddle: “Let’s talk about the starting secondary. We asked Brandon Bradley who he would pick, he said Kai Nacua, Eric Takenaka, Jordan Preator, and Micah Hannemann or Michael Shelton.”
Criddle: “Even though Preator was held out of Spring Ball, Preston Hadley told us that Preator was meeting with Nick Howell throughout camp with 5:30 am film sessions and work outs.”
Terrance Alletto Interview:
Alletto: “Coming into BYU and playing for the Cougars was a goal I had growing up.”
Alletto: “Football was really a means to an end to get an education for me.”
Alletto: “I am graduating in the spring, with having to get surgery and it taking 6 months to rehab I decided to step away from the team.”
Alletto: “About a year ago in January was when I started thinking about it. I talked to Coach Mendenhall and told him that I had a desire to leave and go on with my career.”
Alletto: “Bronco was very supportive of the decision, he wished me luck in the future as did all the other coaches.”
Criddle: “What do you think of the current OL and how they performed in spring ball?”
Alletto: “Coach Tujague came to me and said, ‘Terrance I was cursing your name yesterday when you weren’t out there. He said it out of respect because he wanted me to come back.'”
Alletto: “We have two great guards in Tuni and Kyle who have some good experience.”
Alletto: “At center we have Tejan who is a stud and his back up, Parker Dawe doesn’t get enough credit but was able to make a name for himself during spring.”
Alletto: “At tackle we have Ului, Brad, and now Austin Hoyt coming back from his mission. We should be very talented there.”
Alletto: “Tejan has earned every bit of respect that he’s gotten this last year. He came in with the determination and strength to play at this level.”
Alletto: “I don’t think it will take long for Austin Hoyt to get rid of his mission legs and get his strength back.”
Alletto: “Ului did a good job being able to play with us. He was strong enough to hang but his problem was that he was learning a new offense.”
Alletto: “Gulley was a NT on our scout team last year and man he is a load. He reminds me of Tuni with how hard he is to move.”
Alletto: “I see Gulley being similar to Tuni since they have been in similar positions, moving from NT to Guard.”
Criddle: “What is the difference blocking for Christian Stewart and blocking for Taysom Hill?”
Alletto: “With Taysom you didn’t know if he was going to pass or run. You had to stay light on your feet. With Christian you knew that the plays would be run as they were designed.”
Criddle: “Perhaps your saying the best duo would be Christian Stewart at QB and Taysom Hill at RB.”
Alletto: “One memory that sticks out to me was going to Texas and we got off the bus, everyone is in their sweats on the field taking pictures. We were thinking, I wish we could have fans on the sideline.”
Alletto: “We went to midfield and took a picture where some guys were doing a hook-em-horns sign downwards. We got a lot of heckling from Texas fans and were able to back up the picture.”
Jim Hermann Interview:
Criddle: “Kaminsky wasn’t a highly recruited kid, maybe a 2 or 3* but he came in and developed into an incredible player and is going to make some money.”
Hermann: “I was a four-sport guy in high school. I could do baseball, football, track, and basketball.”
Hermann: “There was a little bit of an overlap between track and baseball depending on how well you did in track.”
Hermann: “I read somewhere that Urban Meyer said that a higher percentage of multi-sport athletes are successful at the next level.”
Criddle: “I agree. I think a problem is that parents try to focus too much on one sport trying to get the Tiger Woods type of story.”
Hermann: “I walked out of that alumni Q&A more fired up than I had ever been about the program.”
Hermann: “I thought that Bronco did a phenomenal job. He was entertaining, informative, direct, and critical of what he’s done wrong.”
Hermann: “BYU is a different team and it’s no excuse, the dynamic of the school is different than any other in the nation.”
Hermann: “Bronco said that he sleeps well at night knowing that he recruited those kids the best he could. Things may be heard from the grapevine but he said that he gave it all he could.”
Hermann: “I don’t think we’re going to get the national rankings every year but we’re a team that’s going to go and compete every week and be successful. You just can’t go out and lay an egg like they did against Utah State.”
Hermann: “The last few years, I don’t know if Utah was as bad as 5-7, or if they were as good as 9-4.”
Hermann: “I think there’s a lot more parity in college football. Obviously the best programs get the most elite kids but it’s more even now.”
6:00 Segment:
Criddle: “I want to get to some quotes that I used earlier in the show. They were from the media roundtable in February.”
Criddle: “The quote that I mentioned was that the Big 12 was not interested in expansion. Tom Holmoe has exhausted his contacts. No one is interested in a part-time or a full-time member.”
Holmoe: “It’s not something that’s of any interest at this time. But in the future it’s something that we’re willing to look at. We’re one of a handful of teams that is an independent in the nation. That’s where we’re at, that’s where we are. We aren’t looking back, but we are looking forward if any opportunities come up in the future.”
Criddle: “Holmoe has tried to make it work out. He wants the relationship to benefit both parties. He tried to making something work but there were no takers.”
Dickson: “What I took out of that meeting was that Tom is still trying to build these relationships but at this time independence is where BYU is staying.”
Dickson: “It’s disappointing that there’s nothing right now and that BYU didn’t pursue the opportunity to move as hard as they could have.”
Criddle: “If there was a move to be made, Tom Holmoe doesn’t have the final say. That’s the BoT.”
Dickson: “I’ve always taken away that the BoT loves being independent. They are different and they stick out.”
Criddle: “When you’re looking at what the church has done, spending billions on building a mall, or billions on a movie that only Mormons see.”
Criddle: “I believe in the missionary effort that is BYU sports. I think it could have a huge impact if there was more effort into it.”
Criddle: “You look at what BYU has done with the investment that they get and they are running in the black there is no better investment.”
Dickson: “Ohio State closed the season on a win, a huge win in the Big 10 championship.”
Dickson: “It doesn’t where you make the cut off. Whether it’s 4 or 8 teams there’s always someone who’s close that doesn’t make it.”
Holmoe: “We have a good relationship with the Pac-12. There’s a lot of dynamics that go into scheduling, TV rights, we want a pre-game show on BYUTV and they have been great to us.”
Holmoe: “We don’t get to play games with an individual team without the blessing of their conference. We have a great relationship with the Pac-12.”
Holmoe: “Having Jamie in the Pac-12 helps us. He’s a great administrator.”
Dickson: “I think that Tom misunderstands their relationship with the Pac-12. If it was great, they’d be in the conference.”
Dickson: “It was beneficial to the Pac-12 to line up some regional games but it’s just that, beneficial.”
Dickson: “I think some schools and administrators still have problems with BYU.”
Holmoe: “We’ve done what we can to help our student-athletes off the field. It’s an ongoing process of going forward.”
Criddle: “I think that Bronco wants more academic resources with the student-athletes so they don’t have to sit out for spring ball.”
Fred Warner Sr. Interview:
Warner: “It’s a blessing to be able to have two sons go and receive an education while playing a sport that they love.”
Warner: “The kids Mom and I have been trying to do this together because we’re divorced. Their Mom has done a great job raising them and taking them to these meetings.”
Warner: “Baseball was actually my sport, I was drafted in the 20th round by the Mariners out of HS.”
Warner: “They got their brains from Mom, she went to and graduated from BYU.”
Warner: “I totally agree. BYU throughout the years has put a lot of great linebackers into the NFL and that’s why Fred chose BYU.”
Warner: “As much as their Mother and I wanted them to play together, Oregon has done a great job developing DB’s and putting them into the NFL.”
Warner: “There’s always a chance that he could be swayed. Troy’s Mom and I have tried to put in his head that we want them to play together.”
Warner: “Oregon is a great school. He went to the campus with his mother and had a great trip.”
Warner: “Right now, I’d say that it’s 50/50 on if he ends up at Oregon.”
Warner: “If it was up to their Mom, Troy would be going to BYU but it’s his decision in the end.”
Warner: “I knew Fred was a good athlete. He really came on his senior year of HS but I’m grateful that BYU gave him the chance to play and start as a freshman.”
Warner: “Once Fred went to BYU, Troy had to make a few flights to go down there. They are connected and love each other very much.”
Warner: “Fred is hoping he changes his mind so they can play together. We don’t want to push him but he has to just stay healthy through the season.”
Warner: “They’ve done a good job recruiting Troy, they’ve been in contact with him and letting him know they want him but Oregon has been one of his favorite schools since he was young.”
Criddle: “I don’t know if you know this but last time we played Oregon, we beat them 38-8.”
Warner: “It’s hard to say no to all that swag and they did make it to the National Championship last year.”
Random Thoughts:
Dickson: “The women’s basketball championship is on tonight. I have to admit that sometimes, it’s more pure basketball because guys aren’t just chucking up the ball and jumping over each other.”
