I admit, I was a Mark Pope skeptic when he was the leading candidate to replace Rose. I didn’t think he was proven even with his BYU asst and UVU experience. Well, I’m here to eat crow.

Pope started proving me wrong when he worked the analytics, managed a short-handed team early on with Yoeli out, and beat Houston on the road, beat UCLA, and smashed Gonzaga at home. There were a few heartbreaking losses to Utah and Boise but Pope’s coaching demanded and earned the respect of peers and experts alike. BYU was set to be a darling of the NCAAs before COVID ended the season.

Now here we are in what could be argued as one of the most difficult off season recruiting periods in recent memory with travel restrictions, stay at home orders, etc and Pope is unfazed. He’s putting in more work recruiting this summer than I can remember any previous coaching staff... and he’s winning some big transfers.

So I’ll eat my crow and gladly eat some more. Mark Pope you’ve won over this fanatic! Go Cougs!