How We See It:
Dickson: “I think that people need to hear the positive and the negative about their team and BYU fans don’t want to hear the negative.”
Criddle: “I didn’t become a BYU fan until my JR year of HS when I came to a BYU camp and was named Defensive MVP of the camp.”
Criddle: “I don’t care how pretty you try to make those mountains on your jerseys, they’re still Under Armour and they’re still disgusting.”
Criddle: “The only reason this is even in discussion is because Utah made a bowl game last year while BYU under achieved.”
Dickson: “If Taysom Hill has a Heisman Campaign this year that gives BYU more national recognition that Utah will have by going 8-4.”
Dickson: “I have a hard time answering this because I try to remove myself but what does fandom give you? Bragging rights? More worth your money?”
Criddle: “We are always comparing how BYU stands compared to Utah but it’s in a better place than it was in the MWC.”
Criddle: “If you win and have a Heisman Candidate, you will have more fans clamoring to be fans of BYU after this.”
Criddle: “The reason why is because Utah’s offense is still terrible. Who wants to watch a defensive struggle in CFB?”
Dustin Smith Interview:
Smith: “I grew up a BYU fan, I remember going to the airport and going to meet Robbie Boscoe and a few other guys.”
Smith: “I’ve become a fan of the players because of the relationships I’ve built.”
Smith: “The last event Jaren went to was where he was the MVP which was the Rivals camp in San Diego and then Las Vegas.”
Smith: “He’s as solid in all the areas you want a kid to be solid. BYU really scored by landing this kid.”
Smith: “Last year’s group of QB’s in Utah was as strong as it has ever been and Jaren was the best out of them as a Jr.”
Smith: “The guys who can run but only do it when they need to are successful. Russell Wilson, Alex Smith, Andrew Luck.”
Smith: “Jaren is smart because he runs to throw and make plays open up.”
Smith: “Jaren reminds me of Russell Wilson in terms of how he plays the game.”
Smith: “You had to go after Jake Heaps, he was the #1 rated QB in the nation. Same with Tanner Mangum.”
Smith: “Brett Barbon was all-state as a JR last year and he’s a kid that has potential to do well at the next level.”
Smith: “I’m going to see Chaz Ah-You next week and see where he’s at in his recruitment.”
Smith: “I think BYU is doing the right thing by going after the kids they are.”
Smith: “We have Ty coming into town and added Kurt Warner and Mark Brunell and next year Steve Mariucci.”
Smith: “Ty [Detmer] says that we have kids that if they were playing in Austin they would be getting recruited all over.”
Cougar Insider Report:
Criddle: “BYU fans are only 6 weeks away from Tanner Mangum returning from his mission.”
Criddle: “There were 12 position where BYU doesn’t have an entrenched started and was instead listed as or.”
Dickson: “Being a starter doesn’t matter because of the time that you’ll be coming in and how much you’ll be playing.”
Dickson: “You need to have a ton of guys that can play with the culture of CFB. I don’t know that it means a whole lot to the starters.”
Steven Sipple Interview:
Dickson: “What’s going on with Nebraska with Mike Riley taking over?”
Sipple: “As you know, Nebraska fans are fervent but they haven’t won a conference title since 1999. But he’s not walking into a train wreck because they did end up going 9-4.”
Sipple: “If Nebraska starts out the season 1-2, the heat won’t go to Riley, it will go to the AD.”
Criddle: “A lot of players were loyal to Bo Pelini, he won a lot of football games and was very successful as a coach what’s the buy-in been like?.”
Sipple: “It wasn’t a total buy-in from the start. Guys aren’t just going to throw their trust automatically into a staff. Honestly, it’s still going on.”
Sipple: “I think the players like the system on both sides of the ball and having a Special Teams Coordinator which is different.”
Dickson: “I know that Bronco and Mike Riley have a pretty good relationship, but what’s the feeling about playing BYU in the season opener?”
Sipple: “There’s a proper respect to play against BYU. Fans understand that game 1 is going to be a task.”
Sipple: “I know that they’re going to suspend some guys, but they will have an advantage because they won’t have any transition.”
Sipple: “Nebraska has had big numbers for Spring Game attendance every time there’s been a new coach hired.”
Sipple: “Nothing I saw in the Spring Game was surprising at all. Everything I learned was from Spring Practices.”
Sipple: “The focus was on the QB’s as they’ll be running a new pro-style offense opposed to a spread, shotgun, option.”
Sipple: “The defensive line created a lot of problems for the offensive line and was getting into the backfield.”
Sipple: “Nebraska is going to have a huge drop-off in the run game. It looks like they’ll have a committee. There’s no one guy that you can just give it to 20-25 times a game.”
Criddle: “I grew up with Richie Incognito and I’ve had to stand up for him for what he did, so my question is do Nebraska fans embrace him as one of their own?
Sipple: “It’s probably mixed. He left in bad circumstances and there are those in the program who were close to him. But personally, I’ve never seen a player as good as him. He was a sharp, intelligent guy. If he didn’t have all the off-field issues, he’s a guy that has Hall of Fame talent.”
Sipple: “There were losses when Bo was the head coach that were horrible. Look at the 2012 Championship game, they gave up 70 points. There were unsightly things that happened that you expect at Texas El Paso not at Nebraska.”
Sipple: “Bo wears people out. He told me that he wouldn’t be here longer than 4 years and he last 7.”
Sipple: “He’s abrasive, on-edge, he’s very intense and is kind of complicated in that he can be a good guy but you can’t tell him anything.”
5:30 Segment:
Dickson: “I think that Bronco would prefer to have less ‘ors’ but more Alpha Dogs who are going to be your starter.”
Criddle: “I don’t know why it is but this generation doesn’t want to work hard if they aren’t in the conversation.”
Criddle: “In the offseason you want leaders and competition in the PRP’s and in the weight room.”
Criddle: “Look at WLB and SLB all young guys: Sae Tautu or Fred Warner and Sione Takitaki or Troy Hinds or Tyler Cook.”
Criddle: “Sione Takitaki was by far the best pass rusher on the defense last year.”
Dickson: “I didn’t see enough of guys taking care of business at the linebacking position.”
Dickson: “I think that Warner has a lot of playmaking ability on the edge.”
Criddle: “We need a rock, an alpha dog, in the middle of the field making tackles.”
Random Thoughts:
Criddle: “The only issue I have with the Post Spring Depth Chart is that there’s no solidified starters at MLB or BLB.”
