News and Notes:
Criddle: “BYU Rugby is going for their 4th straight National Championship?”
Criddle: “Russell Tialavea hired as the Assistant Director of Football Operations?”
Criddle: “I saw Austin Collie this last week, he got another set of tri-zone knee sleeves. He’s in incredible shape right now.”
Criddle: “Vic So’oto said that he would be disappointed if Austin Collie didn’t break every single season CFL record.”
How We See It:
Criddle: “Russell has great relationships with both the players and the coaching staff.”
Criddle: “The cool thing about Russell is that all BYU student-athletes can relate to the ups and downs that he has experienced.”
Criddle: “Jordan Preator said that Russell is one of the best dudes at BYU, Dallin Leavitt responded and said he was happy for him.”
Wayne Tarawhiti Interview:
Tarawhiti: “We had the opportunity a few years ago to go and tour Cal’s facilities, their staff is full time, for a long time they have been the benchmark.”
Tarawhiti: “Cal might’ve lost one game against University of British Columbia, but have won all the others.”
Tarawhiti: “Kyle [Sumsion] didn’t play against Central Washington, but he will be back for the National Championship against Cal.”
Tarawhiti: “That’s the flip side to not being NCAA sanctioned, he can go and play professional games then come play for us.”
Dick Harmon Interview:
Harmon: “I’m doing a ranking of the top NFL prospects in the state. Skye PoVey and Eric Rowe have made the most improvement.”
Harmon: “It’ll be posted about 8:30 or 9:00 tonight, in print tomorrow.”
Harmon: “I think bringing in Russell is a great hire. It’s a way for them to further open their doors to the Polynesian community.”
Harmon: “He’s a deeply loyal and devoted person. He interrupted his football career to go on a mission.”
Harmon: “I think it’s BYU’s way of saying, ‘You’re a good guy, we need good guys on our team. Why don’t you join us.'”
Harmon: “You need to take care of your own, and this is BYU’s way of taking care of their own.”
Harmon: “I think this is a new spot at BYU. The job requires you to be organized to take care of travel, food, and on campus events.”
Harmon: “Andrew May being on the staff before helped him. Director of Basketball Operations is an entry-level job where you have to be willing to work until 2 in the morning.”
Harmon: “That job is one of thankless nuts and bolts. You have to take care of everything that the coaches don’t have time to do.”
Harmon: “I think that Rob Daniel is talented enough to be drafted. But over the last 12-18 months he’s put off a bit of a negative vibe.”
Harmon: “Devin Mahina has been spotty his entire career.”
Harmon: “There were scouts at Dres’ (Anderson’s) Pro Day that said if Christian came out he’d get a hard look and a chance to play in the NFL.”
Harmon: “I don’t know that Dallin Leavitt has the physical size or tools to go and play at the next level.”
Harmon: “If I was Bronco Mendenhall, I would recruit, evaluate, and handle DB’s better.”
Harmon: “They need to get the top JC prospects because it’s hard to find 4 year guys.”
Harmon: “BYU needs more players like Tim McTyer.”
5:30 Segment:
Gurney: “Russell caught the missionary wind after his JR year and it started when he would read the Book of Mormon with his Mom every night.”
Gurney: “He was THE guy at NT when he left on his mission. He really put everything on hold to go on his mission.”
Gurney: “I’m a big fan of his and am glad that he’s a part of the program.”
Criddle: “I want to know how technologically sound he is, or if he is just the fun loving guy everyone likes?”
Criddle: “Busby was a swiss army knife, not a dinky one, but a $100 compound one.”
Criddle: “Russell Tialavea can help student athletes keep their eye on the prize at all times.”
6:00 Segment:
Criddle: “Jan Jorgensen said that he would rather punch himself in the face, repeatedly, instead of being the DBO.”
Gurney: “I don’t know a thing about Andrew May.”
Criddle: “The two big names that have come up for the Asst Coach job are Quincy Lewis and Barret Peery.”
Gurney: “There are few coaches who can compete with what Quincy Lewis has done over his career.”
Criddle: “I had one guy who came to me and said, ‘Why don’t you get rid of Terry Nashif?’ And I said, ‘Are you kidding me? Look at what he’s done as an offensive coordinator.'”
Gurney: “You think of Lone Peak and you see all of these fabulous scorers, but their real driver is their defense.”
Gurney: “BYU needs to find a guy who can help them develop post players.”
Gurney: “I don’t know any criticism I could give BYU if they were to hire Quincy.”
Gurney: “Talking to Frank Jackson an hour ago he said that he really liked Coach Peery.”
Gurney: “Let’s be honest, Coach K is texting Frank Jackson. When he first got a text, he thought it was a joke.”
Gurney: “I’ve been told that North Carolina and Notre Dame are now on the table as well.”
Gurney: “I don’t know a school that he could go to and they wouldn’t offer him a spot.”
Gurney: “The Jackson’s are a BYU family, his sisters go to BYU.”
Gurney: “The deciding factor is that he went to the Chris Paul camp for the top guards in the country. Players would tell him they got offers from UNC, Duke etc.. and he’d be like, ‘I’m better than this guy.'”
Gurney: “BYU is still a very real option. He loves BYU. His family just didn’t realize just how talented he really was.”
Gurney: “Frank Jackson is definitely a mission kid. He’s graduating early and is going on a mission. No doubt about it.”
Gurney: “ASU is done because of the coaching change.”
Gurney: “Arizona and Duke are pretty high on his list right now. Utah is in the mix. He said that decommitting from BYU was the hardest thing he’s ever done.”
Criddle: “Frank averaged 23.5 points per game in the gauntlet series, Yoeli Childs averaged a double-double.”
Gurney: “Frank is 6’2″, maybe 6’3″.”
Gurney: “It’s not out of the realm of possibility for him to be a one-and-done player.”
Criddle: “Coaches know that he is going to go on a mission and they are willing to wait for him.”
Gurney: “There isn’t an option not to serve a mission. He has a great desire to do so.”
Scott Johnson Interview:
Johnson: “Games are won right now after Spring Ball when you learn who your leaders are.”
Johnson: “I remember watching hours and hours and hours of film between spring and fall. You get really excited to get out on the field.”
Johnson: “My job was getting us in the right spots and Andrew made an incredible number of plays.”
Johnson: “I think about Daniel Sorensen and Craig Bills or even Aaron Francisco and anyone else next to him as great safety tandems.”
Johnson: “Last years secondary is one of the best that they had athletically in a long time.”
Johnson: “They had to bring more guys to bring pressure and it makes it harder for the secondary to cover longer.”
Johnson: “After my senior year I had three surgeries to correct some injuries that I had been nursing the entire year.”
Johnson: “I used to have people help me around and off my bed due to my double groin surgery.”
Random Thoughts:
Gurney: “I hate the potential backlash that has already started coming in. He’s (Frank Jackson) a humble kid who wants the best for himself. I know that I’ll be cheering for him.”
Special thanks to Zak Hicken on his contribution to Cougar Cuts and Quotes
