Cougar Insiders Dick Harmon, Jay Drew and Brandon Gurney look ahead to BYU’s bowl game against Hawaii, the challenges the Rainbow Warriors present, and, more importantly, the sense of urgency the team feels. They discuss the success Kalani Sitake’s team enjoyed at the quarterback position this year, where the next men up — Jaren Hall and Baylor Romney — performed admirably after starter Zach Wilson was sidelined with a thumb injury. They also talk BYU basketball, a team that has exceeded expectations despite its setback to Utah, and recruiting as the early signing period nears. That and more on this week’s episode.
Dick Harmon: In this edition of the Cougar Insiders podcast, we’re going to be breaking down the Hawaii bowl — BYU vs. Hawaii. We’ll also be talking about the quarterback situation at BYU and outlining the start of this basketball season. Has it been a disappointment? A rRegular expectation? Or has it been above what has been expected? This and much more in this edition of the Cougar Insiders podcast brought to you by Mr. Mac.
Welcome to this edition of the Cougar Insiders podcast. I’m Dick Harmon, along with Jay Drew and Brandon Gurney. We’re trying to give you the best that we can updated about Cougar sports. We appreciate you being with us. Well, Jay, the bowl invitations are out. There’s no surprises there. BYU is going to play the University of Hawaii in the SoFi Hawaii Bowl. It’s going to be great weather, it’s going to be a great place to be, it just happens to be on Christmas Eve. But this team is now in preparation for that. What can you update us on that situation?
Jay Drew: Well, they practiced three times last week, we got to talk to Kalani Sitake after the first practice, he said there’s a real sense of urgency to win this bowl game. And that was reiterated today in the press conference by Micah Simon and Isaiah Kaufusi and also Trajan Pili. I asked all three of them what the vibe has been and they’ve said, unequivocally, we got to win this game. That’s what the coaches are selling. They’re not developing players. They’re not selling that like maybe they have in the past. They’re literally laser-focused on winning this game and carrying that momentum into the next season.
DH: Brandon, there might be a little pressure in this situation with the way the season ended with a loss at San Diego State and not being able to score a touchdown. This is a season where BYU probably did something that I can’t remember any BYU team doing a long, long time — beating a ranked Boise State, beating a ranked Southern Cal, beating an SEC team in Tennessee on their own turf in their own stadium on the road. But there’s been other losses that have just kind of subtracted from that, and the one at the end of the season certainly put a little bit of a damper on that whole season. Is there more pressure this time around for this bowl game for them to come out and do something special?
Brandon Gurney: You hope there is. I think it might play to the advantage of just laying an egg against San Diego State for that offense to recharge and all that. But I kind of look at this game kind of the reverse of the San Diego State game. I’m interested to see how the defense responds. I’m interested to see where the defense is at. San Diego State not a great test for defense. Very lackluster offense. Hawaii is not that. Hawaii is a team that puts up a lot of points, especially in the Islands. So we’ll see where this BYU defense is at and whether they can hold a typically prolific Hawaii attack, which hasn’t been all that prolific during the stretch run of the season. So it’ll be interesting to see what they present and what BYU counteracts.
DH: Jay, you’ve got to give Hawaii respect. They did beat San Diego State, they did finish second in the league. They played for the Mountain West Conference championship and over there they play differently. They really do. I remember back in 1990 when Ty Detmer won the Heisman Trophy, and to cap the season they went over there and played and they just got it handed to them. It was a weird day. It was a day that just could not get over fast enough. And they just got it handed to them. And you know, you could see a scenario where Hawaii is very fired up to play this BYU team. How do you see the matchup?
JD: Yeah, Hawaii’s coach, Nick Rolovich, has already been quoted as saying, Hey, this is Christmas come early for Hawaii getting to play BYU, their longtime rival. A lot of people in the Islands have forgotten about what has mostly been BYU domination in the series. Obviously the game you mentioned, the other game in I think 2001, where BYU was having a great season and lost over there. I think it was Brandon Doman’s senior year. So yeah, I think Hawaii is going to be fired up because it’s BYU. For BYU it’s kind of like a road game. But Kalani Sitake said today in his press conference that they’re thrilled to see Hawaii. Maybe he was just painting that picture of optimism, but from all I can gather BYU is pretty excited about this matchup as well. And obviously, it’s a different time for fans to watch, maybe, Christmas Eve, but you know, the weather is going to be an awful lot better than it was last year up in Boise. That’s all I gotta say.
DH: And you’re going to have a great time out there. That’s going to be an interesting matchup. Over the weekend, Jaren Hall got married. A beautiful bride and we wish them all the luck in the world beginning this. But he’s going to use this bowl game as an opportunity to actually have his honeymoon. And you wrote a great piece earlier about the three-quarterback situation, about how challenging that is, and how everybody is kind of starting to pick their winners and losers in those three quarterbacks because they’ve all had their moments. And the two backups have actually played very, very well. How do you break that down now with these three quarterbacks, their health, their ability and that competition?
JD: Yeah, I was eager to talk to him because of Baylor Romney, obviously, revealed in that story to me that he’s on scholarship now, doesn’t sound like he plans on going anywhere. Jaren Hall, there was some question about his future playing football or baseball and he reiterated he wants to do both. And it seems like the odd man out is probably Joe Critchlow. I would be surprised if he’s back. I wouldn’t be surprised if he transfers and tries to play somewhere else. Or maybe he just concentrates on academics. And then obviously Zach Wilson reiterated that he didn’t get an offseason last year to prepare to do much as he rehabbed his shoulder and he predicts that he’s going to gain weight and be bigger, stronger and faster. So that’s kind of in a nutshell what I gathered from them.
DH: Brandon, it’s kind of hard to remember and there’s been some cases, but these three quarterbacks and throw Joe in there, too. He hasn’t seen that much time. But this has really been a key to this team this year is to be able to turn to one, then turn to another, and then turn to another and for them to come through. It’s been pretty impressive.
BG: It’s been a big thing. I think it’s been probably the best story of the season. When you break everything down is just how capable each of those three quarterbacks has proven. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that at BYU since I started covering the program. But I think it’s really remarkable and I think it speaks well to coach A-Rod (Aaron Roderick). I think he’s a very underrated coach, a guy that people were wondering how effective he’d be coaching quarterbacks. Well he looks pretty good. He’s had three different quarterbacks come in and perform very well. So BYU will be lucky to keep the all three of these guys. It’s going to be tough because all three of them know they can play, they’ve proven it, and opposing teams know they can play as well.
DH: I’ve got to say, and I don’t have any favorites here. I like all of them. And they’ve all been very good to interview and to cover. I gotta say that the Baylor Romney story has been pretty impressive. What he did coming in, a nonscholarship walk-on player, and to beat Boise State who’s a ranked team, ranked 14th at the time. We’ve seen quarterbacks like Taysom Hill and John Beck and a lot of others come into a game like that and not come out with a win. That’s pretty good for a backup.
JD: Right, first college start. And then you look what Boise has done. They haven’t lost since. At the time some people said, well, Boise may be overrated. They’ve ran the table with some quarterback issues of their own as well.
DH: BYU’s only beaten a 12-win team I think twice in their history.
JD: That’s amazing. And the thing that stood out about Baylor Romney is just his poise. For a freshman, just the poise he played with
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DH: BYU basketball took on UNLV up in Salt Lake City in the Vivint Arena and just destroyed them. But we’ve got to kind of review what happened before that, because BYU was on its way to a really convincing victory in the Jon Huntsman Center over rival Utah. Really, really playing well against them and doing well, and then it all fell apart. In the end you had Yoeli Child and his comeback, he’s laying on the court with five minutes to go with about a seven- or eight-point lead, he’s laying on the court, never returns again. Played sparingly in the second half, 29 points and 26 minutes.
And then TJ Haws, he’s nowhere to be found. He’s in foul trouble almost the whole game. And to credit Utah, they came back. They found a weakness and they attacked. They came back in a thrilling victory for Utah. But how disappointing was that that BYU couldn’t hold on to that win?
JD: Yeah, extremely. It’s extremely disappointing. And you could really make a case that that might be one of those tips the scales in the favor of them not getting an NCAA bid. But to be totally honest with you, I don’t get the Pac-12 Network. I wasn’t there, you and Jeff Call covered that game for the Deseret News. So I didn’t see much of the game. All I know is what I read. And what I read was basically BYU probably wins that game if Yoeli Childs stays on the floor.
DH: There’s no doubt about that. This is something that fans get into, Brandon Gurney, a lot and it means a lot to them, but if you look at the games that BYU had played up until that, nine or 10 games, their average fouls called on that team is 12, 13, 14, 15. Maybe a high of 17. There were 27 fouls called on BYU that night and there have been some former Utes that have talked to some some Cougars that I know of that have said you know, they kind of got hooked a little bit in that game. But we don’t like to make issue of officiating because it’s always kinda like those who get beat always holler cheat. But there was some interesting calls going on in that game.
BG: It wasn’t favorable toward BYU. I guess I can say that. Not very favorable officiating. And maybe just leave it. But it just kind of steamrolls them. But I think a lot of what happens with adverse officiating is just how you deal with it, how you roll with it and BYU didn’t do that well. Ultimately you have to do that. You have to adjust to those conditions. Sometimes they’re so adverse that it’s really hard to overcome. But you did see some questionable things. TJ Haws, two fouls in the second half, and that was a huge loss.
DH: It’s kind of typical of when you play at somebody’s home court. We’ve seen that in the Marriott Center when teams have come in and they haven’t shot a lot of free throws. They’ve got a lot of fouls called on them. It’s not out of the ordinary to see that happen on home courts, wherever you are in college basketball.
This question real quick for both of you, starting with Jay and then you Brandon. Has Mark Pope overachieved, underachieved, or just met expectations?
JD: I think given the circumstances, with no Gavin Baxter and Yoeli being out for nine games, I would say overachieved. They’re better, they’ve played better. They won those two games in Maui. I’d have to say overachieved.
BG: I agree. Absolutely. I did not think BYU would fare as well as it did without Yoeli Childs, and now that he’s back, you’ve seen a glimpse. This is a really good team. My expectations for this team is to go to the West Coast Conference and not lose those stupid games on the road that have just kind of defined BYU basketball in recent years. Don’t go to Pepperdine and lose. Don’t go to San Diego and lose. Be that consistent team, be that second team. BYU’s always been that third team. Most years it’s Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s and then BYU. BYU needs to be right up there with Gonzaga and I think they have that potential.
DH: In my opinion, the thing that has stood out to me is the 3-point shooting. BYU kind of struggled the last couple of years with some very good 3-point shooters, but this team is shooting over 50% from the 3-point line. They’ve got a guy like Dalton Nixon, who’s shooting over 50%. I think Jake Toolson has been a great addition. He’s inspired perhaps TJ and Zac (Seljaas) to shoot well and this team is doing something that a BYU team has to have, and that’s make that outside shot. If they do that they’ll be in a lot of games. If they don’t do that they don’t have the firepower underneath the rim protection and other situations to really get it done. But if you can hit 3-pointers you can be in every game.
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DH: Well Brandon Gurney, you’re kind of our expert here in recruiting. We’ve got the national letter of intent signing date coming up. How do you see this class shaping up?
BG: It’s a class has largely been formed for a while now. There’s a few guys that they’re waiting on, some guys they might may get. I don’t have a lot of confidence in the guys that they’re still holding out offers for. But it’s so interesting now because those same guys might be in play until February. We’ll see. It’s not just where kid will sign, it’s when that kid is going to sign. A lot of kids wait. So it’s going to be interesting. It’s kind of an unspectacular class in general, you’re maxed out at three stars. Not a highly ranked class, not a class where they beat a lot of schools.
Some of the more notables would be Isaiah Tupou, a legitimate Pac-12 caliber offensive lineman who had a lot of offers. A guy I like locally Boodie Schoonover, a guy that was hurt but a guy who has a lot of potential. Linebacker from American Fork, might play tight end. And a guy that I’ve liked consistently throughout the year, maybe it’s just because I’ve seen him so much, is Josh Wilson, Zach Wilson’s younger brother. I think he’s going to be a guy that’s going to be an immediate contributor. I hate to say that, I hate to put that on any kid, but seeing him play for Corner Canyon and knowing how (Ilaisa) Tuiaki plays his inside backers, I think it’s going to just fit him like a glove and I think he’s going to be able to come in and compete right away and really help out there. But as far as just frontline talent and just headline recruits, this class lacks that.
DH: Jay, they just got a commitment from Ace Kaufusi, who I think is from Kahuku High School over on the North Shore, Laie. And if we’ve learned anything in the past quarter of a century watching the Kaufusi family, their sons and then their sons, if you get a Kaufusi the chances are they’re going to be pretty good.
JD: Yeah, absolutely. That’s a good catch for BYU and they need to obviously keep that Kaufusi pipeline going for generations if they can, because they’ve been very good to BYU. No question about it.
DH: Let’s go around, gentlemen, Final word of the day. Starting with you, Brandon Gurney
BG: Real disappointing two weeks for the Olympic sports, that’s for sure. With the women’s volleyball and soccer.
DH: Swept on their home floor.
BG: That was a little shocking, but I tend to think that Heather Olmstead typically overachieves with her teams. Utah just had more experience and better all-around talent. And I think Heather consistently gets the most out of her teams and when they go against really good coaches that are on a roll you kind of see it expose the talent level. But I think overall, she’s built a heck of a program. It’s really young team and they’re probably going to have some growing pains next next year. But Wow, what a good product she’s putting out, year in and year out.
DH: And Jay, your final word?
JD: Yeah, I would just say it was really crucial for BYU to get to a bowl. I think these next few weeks are really important for them for gaining momentum. And they learned last year after they lost to Utah in the final. And they channeled that energy into beating Western Michigan. I think if they can replicate that same effort that they can take down Hawaii even if Hawaii is playing at home and garner some some real important momentum for the offseason.
DH: And my final word. This fall has been kind of devastating in a personal regard to some members of our Cougar Insiders team. Earlier this fall, Jeff Call lost his mother, she passed away. And then this past weekend, unfortunately, Jay Drew here lost his mother. Jay, our condolences go to you. I know losing a parent is very hard. I’ve lost both of mine and our hearts go out to you. You’ve been a great asset to this company, to the Deseret News, and we appreciate all you’ve done. And there you have it.
Thanks for joining us on this edition of the Cougar Insiders podcast. I’m Dick Harmon, along with Jay Drew and Brandon Gurney. We appreciate our sponsor, Mr. Mac, what great clothes what great opportunities. We appreciate you guys tuning in to us. Thank you.
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