at best. Does Nagurski tell his kid all the time that if they have a scholarship to play sports at a D1 school the quality of BYU, they should instead go to the best academic school possible because they can’t handle both academics and sports?

They just seem like bad comparison points to me. His decision doesn’t affect what school he goes to at alll. It’s a completely different set of facts in all the most relevant parts of the decision process. It comes across a little like an excuse to interject a humble brag.