News and Notes:
Tavernari: “I’m 6’5″, 6’9″ with the afro.”
Criddle: “BYU will be paying their athletes an extra $4,500 per year, $500 per month that they’re in school.”
Tavernari: “I wanna know if I can call up Tom Holmoe and collect my check, I was there for 4 years so that’s what, $20,000?”
Criddle: “Solo Kafu was moved to NT from OL. He should show pretty well.”
Tavernari: “There was not one player taken this year, not even a Mr. Irrelevant.”
Criddle: “The Pro Day or the Combine is just a catalyst for scouts to go back and look for things on tape.”
Criddle: “Skye wasn’t going to get a free agent opportunity until he performed well on Pro Day so reams have given him a chance .”
Criddle: “BYU Rugby players pay their way, while Cal players are on scholarship.”
How We See It:
Tavernari: “Up until the time that I got married, I bought a lot of stupid stuff. I had a custom license plate that said For3JT.”
Criddle: “Yeah that’s an extra $200 a year for the license plate.”
Tavernari: “I got away with a ticket for it once. The officer pulls me over and says, ‘Dude, are you really Jonathan Tavernari? Just make sure you stop next time.'”
Criddle: “Poly’s are gonna get more tats, Brother’s are going to get more jewelry, and White dudes are gonna go and blow it in Wendover.”
Criddle: “The stupidest thing I did down at BYU was pay WAY too much for other people’s wives.”
Tavernari: “When you’re a freshman you take a class that introduces you to college life, what you might be interested in taking.”
Seki Kofi Interview:
Criddle: “I asked Wayne Tarawhiti who was the MVP of the title game, he said the Inside Center, Seki Kofi, our next guest on the show.”
Kofi: “With Coach Tarawhiti if you pay him with food, he’ll say anything you want him to.”
Kofi: “Cal is the benchmark of rugby in the United States.”
Kofi: “We practiced really hard and dedicated ourselves to the work to accomplish the goals we set this season.”
Kofi: “One thing that motivated me was that this was the first championship that my whole family was able to come and see.”
Tavernari: “Did you feel like you guys had a little bit of an edge because you don’t have scholarships while they do?”
Kofi: “It may have a bit of a reason but it’s not one thing we focus on during training. Everyone on the team is really good friends off of the pitch.”
Kofi: “We don’t really have a chip on our shoulder, we just go out and play for each other cause we care for each other.”
Kofi: “We knew we had to stick to our tackles to make sure that we didn’t let Cal back into the game.”
Kofi: “For MVP, I’d have to say Kyle Sumsion and Dan Hubert were those guys on our squad.”
Kofi: “Kyle told us that he was joining the national team but we didn’t dwell on whether or not he would be out there with us.”
Kofi: “We were fortunate to have him out there with us.”
Cougar Insider Report:
Tavernari: “My eternal companion had never been to a basketball game before we met.”
Criddle: “According to CBS Sports, NFLDraftScout, and nfl.com there are a number of BYU players who are considered top free agents.”
Criddle: “Alani was ranked number 6 by CBS Sports as far as best undrafted agents, up there with Dres Anderson from Utah.”
Criddle: “Gil Brandt named Devin Mahina and Alania Fua as top undrafted free agent signings”.
Tavernari: “There are a lot of guys who dream of playing professional football and there gets to a point where you realize you can’t play with these guys anymore.”
Tavernari: “These mini-camps are going to separate the boys from the men.”
Criddle: “There have been players who have performed on special teams or as a backup and they get passed over next year.”
Andrew May Interview:
May: “Once I got word that Coach Pope was leaving and Coach Fueger was going with him I did what I could to get into that position.”
May: “My job is to be in charge of the logistical aspects of the program from scheduling, to travel, to academics.”
May: “This job is the best of both worlds, you have to be both highly organized and have the experience to know what you’re doing.”
May: “Coach Rose is about as consistent as they can be in traveling well.”
May: “I feel that my experience as the manager helped me so I can perform well.”
May: “I also have to be able to understand basketball so if Coach Rose is upset about something I know how to help him out.”
May: “It’s an important job because I make it so Coach Rose can focus on the most important things.”
May: “I remember meeting JT and he was talking to everyone on campus, I heard that he was doing radio and I thought it was perfect for him.”
May: “Coach Lewis has done well wherever he’s gone and won with everyone he’s had.”
May: “I’m excited to work with this staff, it is a fantastic staff. Out of 351 D1 coaches, Coach Rose is #8 in winning %.”
Tavernari: “How excited are you to go back to Spain?”
May: “That was one of the first questions they asked me. They asked how my Spanish was and I told them that it was a little rusty but I’d be okay.”
May: “I would say Logan Magnusson and Skylar Halford are a couple of guys who have come from the JC ranks and was able to help out the team.”
May: “I feel that Coach Rose does a great job getting the best talent and fit regardless of where they come from.”
May: “You have to be an astrophysicist to know who’s coming in and leaving the program with missions and graduations.”
May: The thing I’m most excited about is the competition, being able to figure out things and give the team an edge over our opponents.”
5:30 Segment:
Tavernari: “I can ask anything I want, I’m alumni, I put up banners, I got rings, I won championships.”
Criddle: “People don’t quite realize how crazy this whole NFL Draft thing is.”
Criddle: “One article that’s been floating around has been on Evan Brennan who represents a number of players from BYU.”
Criddle: “Jordan Leslie feels that he should’ve been drafted because of his stats at UTEP and his Pro Day numbers.”
Criddle: “Jordan Leslie said he didn’t want to go to the Vikings, he wanted to sign with the Chiefs.”
Criddle: “Would Jordan Leslie have better options if he had stayed at UTEP?”
Tavernari: “As a player, this kind of PR is the last thing you want. You don’t want fans from your new team having this as your first impression.”
Tavernari: “My agent also represents Steph Curry so when he’s calling teams overseas to take care of his clients he has some trust built up.”
Tavernari: “When you have a big time agent there may be some favors that are due which helps out some clients.”
Criddle: “When you’re new, no one owes you nothing.”
Tavernari: “Having the right agent really helps.”
6:00 Segment:
Tavernari: “I was the last BYU player to get MWC Freshman of the Year. I thought Ty would get it but they gave it to a guy named Leonard.”
Criddle: “We were talking earlier and you said that the game plan was to let Kawhi shoot.”
Tavernari: “Yeah, as long as he wasn’t in the paint then he couldn’t hurt us.”
Criddle: “Does BYU get a guy like Damien Mama who’s teetering back and forth between two schools just based off of COA?”
Tavernari: “The biggest schools I could’ve gone to were Pitt, UCLA, or Va Tech. The most important thing is playing time.”
Tavernari: “If you can go in and fight for playing time, play against top 25 teams, go to big bowl games that’s what’s important.”
Criddle: “Right, but 90% of young men are going to see that they get $500/mo opposed to just over $100/mo and they’ll be sold.”
Criddle: “I guarantee that this will give BYU a competitive advantage because of the instant gratification.”
Criddle: “There are three groups of successful people 1. Those who feel they are chosen. 2. Those who have a chip on their shoulder or feel they are never good enough. 3. Those who can sacrifice now for success later.”
Criddle: “Extra $500/mo takes care of utilites, cell phone bills, gas too and from work. Families will want that money to be sent home.”
Tavernari: “Being independent and having the ESPN contract is a big deal. BYU has a lot of opportunity to be successful.”
Tavernari: “There are schools like Stanford and Ohio State who have all of their scholarships endowed.”
Tavernari: “This will help BYU as a recruiting tool and maybe bring in some guys who are a little more talented.”
Tavernari: “It’s a good recruiting tool, but won’t be the tipping point to change someone’s decision to come to BYU.”
Tavernari: “A guy like Frank Jackson goes to Duke because they put out a ton of players that make 6 figure checks to play basketball.”
Tavernari: “BYU Football recruits a certain type of player, those who live by the standards that Bronco has set forth.”
Tavernari: “I chose BYU over Pitt because of the opportunity I’d be able to come into BYU and showcase my talent right away.”
Jay Drew Interview:
Drew: “This all started out when I heard that schools were reporting the COA. I got close to what I thought it was and went to BYU and asked what it was they said they weren’t ready to release it so I talked to some recruits and they told me a number which was close to mine, I went to BYU and they confirmed it.”
Drew: “You have to look at things like room and board which are already incorporated into the scholarship, and now they’re getting paid for this.”
Drew: “I think this may affect recruits. Some hadn’t heard of it, like Zac Seljaas.”
Drew: “One BYU recruit told me that Texas was telling recruits that their stipend would be $10,000 and it turned out to not be true.”
Drew: “When you’re on a full scholarship you get the full amount. In the equivalency sports when you don’t have a full scholarship there’s more leeway for the money to be split up among athletes.”
Drew: “You would have to figure out all the number of scholarships and multiply by $4,500.”
Drew: “BYU has 21 sports so they have more sports they have to give scholarships for.”
Drew: “There isn’t really a cap for these schools on how much they’re going to pay for COA.”
Random Thoughts:
Criddle: “JT didn’t like my thoughts on the benefits. He disagrees with me but I like it because he’s passionate about it.”
Criddle: “I have a random thought that was supposed to be read by Darnell on Thursday, but apparently he didn’t.”
Tavernari: “Baseball is the greatest sport in the world.”
Tavernari: “I contradict myself a lot.”
Tavernari: “If this is the kind of stuff you concern yourself about, no wonder your not married. It’s all about the BYU creamery.”
Tavernari: “Baseball is not a sport, but I’m the biggest Braves fan out there.”
