News and Notes:
Sheide: “I spent less than 2 minutes with Coach Edwards when he first approached me in ’71. I told him thanks for contacting me but I had never even heard of BYU so I wasn’t interested.”
Sheide: “I went out for my JC team but laid down some conditions, I don’t want to run a mile, there’s no reason to do so. I don’t want to get hit in practice, so I wore the red jersey.”
Sheide: “Coach Edwards then came back to recruit me out of JC and he did it right the 2nd time. He came to my house and gave us the pitch. My mom said that she really liked him and I needed to go to BYU.”
Sheide: “I was being recruited by a few schools so I was familiar with the whole routine where they set you up with girls. I went to BYU and of course, they set me up with girls and took me to a house and I thought, ‘Here we go!’ We went to a house and one of the girls said, ‘Alright, who has the opening song?’ It turns out we had FHE!”
Sheide: “I enjoyed my time on campus during my trip, I got along with all the guys on the team, there were beautiful girls, and the fishing was great!”
Sheide: “I tried to set Ben up with a beautiful girl a few years back. The first thing he asked, ‘What is her 40 time?'”
Criddle: “Whatever! I would’ve asked for her pro agility!”
Hicken: “Well, do you know your current girlfriend’s 40 time.”
Criddle: “I do, and it’s faster than Spencer Linton’s!”
How We See It:
Twestion: Does it make sense for BYU to begin the offseason Heisman Hype Train for “Taysman”?
Sheide: “When you look at what he did the last couple of seasons then you think he should. Just go watch the Texas film where he jumps over and around people.”
Sheide: “If you don’t get the hype going now then it’s too late.”
Criddle: “I loved that they made a site last year, taysom4.com. Have a BYUTV special on Taysom, even get him on Studio C.”
Sheide: “Steve Young said that Taysom is a better version of him. I know that a lot of the former BYU QB’s including myself were impressed by him”
Sheide: “We knew he could run, we knew he has a strong arm, we weren’t sure about his accuracy and he really improved.”
Sheide: “We worked on repetition, repetition, repetition with footwork and his fundamentals. I did this with Chase Hansen at LP.”
Sheide: “I think that Taysom needs to work on his footwork and his pocket presence.”
Sheide: “Quick decision making is so important. He has the best instincts when a play breaks down over any QB tat BYU.”
4:30 Segment:
Criddle: “It seems like when things aren’t going right, people start pointing fingers without having all the facts.”
Criddle: “When Utah has a ‘successful’ season by going to 8-4 in the Pac-12 then BYU fans start panicking. If they went 5-7 BYU fans wouldn’t care.”
Sheide: “BYU needs to keep scheduling the tough teams so they can be considered a good team and build their reputation.”
Sheide: “Don’t be surprised if these conferences realign in the next 3, 4, 5 years.”
Sheide: “Jared Goff will probably be a first round draft pick and BYU beat that Cal team who has some real talent.”
Sheide: “Fans are concerned about Nebraska winning 29 straight home openers but they were playing teams like Wagner.”
Sheide: “If you show really well against teams like UCLA and Mizzou and go in and beat Michigan then you really make a name for yourself.”
Cougar Insider Report:
Criddle: “BYU picked up a commitment from DE Freddy Livai out of Fontana. He’s 6’3″ 250 lbs and is a 3* recruit.”
Criddle: “I want to talk to you about the golden days, Gary, who was your go-to-receiver? Back when I played, Beck went to Harline and Hall went to Collie.”
Sheide: “My go-to-guy was Jay Miller. He had 100 receptions in a season which was a BYU record and he had 22 in one game against New Mexico.”
Sheide: “We did a lot of things under center and the reason was that when you’re under center, you are making a read during your first step. When you’re in shotgun, you’re watching yourself catch the ball on your first step.”
Greg Wrubell and Jen Rockwood Interview:
Criddle: “I am surrounded by greatness, Chad Lewis would be proud of me. I have Greg Wrubell, Jen Rockwood, and Elena Medeiros in studio with me.”
Criddle: “This is the 2nd year that Greg and the team at Cougar IMG Sports Network has done this.”
Wrubell: “I’ve been on ESPN 960 as a guest and now I’m excited to be more involved. But more than anything this is about the girls and getting it out for there fans. It’s natural that there should be more coverage for this program.”
Rockwood: “I couldn’t be more excited to start this partnership with ESPN 960. Utah has really embraced the sport of soccer and we feel really fortunate for the support that we have.”
Criddle: “Did you imagine the way that soccer would grow here at BYU when you first started?”
Rockwood: “It really has come a long way and we’re really excited about this partnership going forward.”
Medeiros: “I’m really excited for the schedule this year. I can’t wait to get out on the field and go for that national championship again.”
Wrubell: “We plan on broadcasting as many games as we can as long as there isn’t a conflict. There may be a time that I have football but as of now we plan to have 18 of 21 games on the schedule.”
Wrubell: “This is a championship program. They have won 3 WCC championships and are going to the NCAA tournament.”
Wrubell: “Out of the last 21 years that Coach Rockwood has been at BYU, they have ended in the NCAA tournament 16 times.”
Rockwood: “I have a great staff around me. We are one of the only D1 teams in the country where the entire staff is alumni of the university.”
Rockwood: “We work hard and try to show our love for the game and our love for the team.”
Rockwood: “We are in a tough program, between Portland and Santa Clara they have been to the Final Four 16 times and 3 national championships between the two.”
Medeiros: I’m so excited to play Colorado, they beat us out of the tournament this last year.”
Rockwood: “We were told that we have one of the best places in the country to play soccer. We have teams that come in all the time and tell us that.”
Rockwood: “We have a number of players who can really score. Ashley Hatch, Elena is one of the quickest, most technical players I’ve ever coached.”
Rockwood: “We had two young freshman who broke onto the scene in Nadia and Maddie Lyons and they both played very well in the spring.”
Rockwood: “Recruiting has been very good for us. We only have a few girls coming in and our roster will be a little smaller because we have 5 girls still out on missions.”
Wrubell: “Working with such an awesome coach like Jen has been so great, we had a blast last year and I’m excited for it next year.”
Wrubell: “The WCC really shows it how it’s down when it comes to drawing fans. Portland and BYU really do it right.”
Criddle: “It sounds like we may be doing a coaches show once every 2 weeks with you Greg, Jen, and a player from the team.”
Medeiros: “My favorite food is rice.”
Wrubell: “There are a lot of great reasons to go to South Field and we’re now looking for a 4-peat in the WCC.”
5:30 Segment:
Criddle: “At least 18 of the 21 games will be broadcast on our airwaves and we’re really excited about this going forward.”
Criddle: “Sometimes magic happens when ESPN 960 is involved.”
Sheide: “I think that Christian Stewart was a savior for BYU football last year. If we didn’t have him, what would we do?”
Sheide: “I was a little concerned about his arm strength but he saw the field so well and it made a huge difference.”
Sheide: “If you see the box score after the game and 7, 8, 9 guys have touches, that means he’s going through his reads.”
Sheide: “BYU’s offense is so intricate that you can run the same play 5 times in a row and the result could be different every time.”
6:00 Segment:
Sheide: “If you haven’t heard it, go on youtube and type ‘Ode to the Scout Team’.”
Criddle: “Bronco was mad that I probably ever brought it up, but one person that loved it was LaVell Edwards.”
Sheide: “I remember playing against Ok St. and their DE separated my right shoulder and I found out later that their coach Buddy Ryan put a bounty on my head.”
Criddle: “I don’t see a benefit for Taysom lifting weights. While everyone is lifting, he should be out doing a yoga session.”
Sheide: “I would lock Taysom out of the weight room, he needs to work on repetition.”
Sheide: “Taysom is plenty strong, I think he needs to work on his fundamentals.”
Sheide: “I would simulate pressure and standing in the pocket and repeat, repeat, repeat.”
Criddle: “The legend has spoken, he needs to work on his throwing motion because that is where he’ll make his money.”
Sheide: “I would have him work on his 3-step drop and work on an out, a slant, an a hitch.”
Sheide: “Have a QB go under center and take a 5-step drop, bring your hands forward he shuffles toward you, push them away he shuffles away. Work on that footwork so it is perfect in the pocket.”
Sheide: “When I was coaching at LP I asked Chase what he was weak at and he said it was his slant pass.”
Criddle: “Somehow Bill Walsh convinced Doug Scovill to come to BYU.”
Sheide: “I talked to a few QB’s who played in the game and they said it made a world of difference.”
Sheide: “Coach Edwards was the OC for the E-W Shrine Game and he called Marc Wilson and told him to show the team the plays they ran and to call the plays.”
Sheide: “I would tell Taysom, 10 runs a game maximum.”
Criddle: “I think one thing that Taysom could do is to find a way to extend plays by keeping his eyes downfield.”
Sheide: “How many times do you think that Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers get hit hard in a game? It’s rarely ever, they get done or run out of bounds to avoid hits.”
Sheide: “I saw a picture of Chase in the paper the other day and I could tell that he was over striding so I found a way to get a hold of his Dad to let him know he was.”
Sheide: “Chase is such a great kid, I remember one game we were playing Bingham and the whole locker room was empty except for Chase, he was down on his knees saying a prayer.”
Sheide: “Dave Rose may not admit it, but he wants Talon to play basketball as well. He is such a talented athlete.”
Bill Connelley Interview:
Connelley: “BYU is a team that has been good in the last few years, they have finished in the top 40 more often than not and they deserve to start being recognized as a P5 team.”
Connelley: “I think that UCLA and Mizzou will obviously be good games. Boise St is usually right there and I like Utah St a little more than the numbers do.”
Connelly: “UCLA returns all of their starters except for the one you can name off the top of your head.”
Connelly: “BYU is always good against the run but they struggled against the pass. They had a poor pass rush where it is usually pretty good.”
Connelly: “If you can figure out how to get pressure while rushing 4 guys, the team will do anything they can to avoid 2nd and 9 or 3rd and 7.”
Connelly: “We know what a BYU defense wants to do but they really struggled getting to the QB outside of one guy.”
Connelly: “They will be very aggressive to make it easier for their DB’s to make plays.”
Connelly: “In 2012 that was a really good team that lost by 3, by 1, by 3, by 6. They had a couple breaks that just didn’t go their way.”
Random Thoughts:
Criddle: “How far could throw the ball in your hay-day?”
Sheide: “I could throw it about 80 yards with a crow hop. But there was a QB from Cal who could throw it 100 yards end zone to end zone.”
Sheide: “I think all punters and kickers should have to wear three digit numbers so you can separate them from the rest of the team.”
Criddle: “Stuff like this is why kickers are terrorized to go out on the field.”
Sheide: “We love kickers, the real question is whether they are really football players.”