It's @TonyParks801 talking CFB Countdown, BYU QB Room, Utah @ UCLA, + more

All right, Matt Brown's five year old daughter has given us permission to interview him at four o'clock today, a little on the other side of four, So bring in Matt Pablo mash Drenni, the head coach of RSL. I would imagine he's still a little bit salty as a result of some calls that continue to go the wrong way against RSL. Will join us in about an hour from right now, get into the five o'clock hour of the show.

But let's welcome in a very special guest.

You know him as the voice of the Bees and longtime radio personality in our market, the great Tony Parks on a Wednesday TP, Happy Wednesday.

Ho are we doing?

I'm doing great man. Mike Toddler is never coming on this show. I become more and more afraid over time if you were to interview with her, you know what she might unveil?

Are the things that she might say.

So when I heard about this, I thought, you know what, I'm better keep my phone close to me at all times when I'm expected to be on the air, because I'm not quite sure what would happen.

I have a though tone. As the young lady grows and evolves. If she's anything like either her mother or her father, she'll be very willing to express anything that she wants to express.

Is that fair to say?

Yes? It is.

She talks with her hands, she loves pasta, and she's a fast talker too, very passionate. I don't know where she got all this from, but whatever, She's an Italian.

For sure, and she shows it all the time.

And she's absolutely wonderful and I couldn't be more in love with the experience of having her in our life.

Love it, buddy.

All right, Let's start actually with the announcement that was made by BYU that young Bear Bachmeyer has won the starting job as a freshman. As a true freshman. He will be the first true freshman in BYU history to start an opener, and he will be the seventh true freshman to see action under center for Brigham Young. He was with Stanford for springball, didn't land in Provo until late July. He's been there like four weeks, five weeks.

Yeah, I mean the question is always going to be who gives you the best chance to win going forward? Now, I think you make the best comment there. You know, everyone wants to say, well, this must be an indictment on you know what they really have, This must show a lack of depth or a lack of capability.

Well, we don't really know until live bullets get flying.

I mean, there was a season where Utah was battling back and forth between you know, did they go with Travis Wilson or do they go with the Kendall Thompson and oh my goodness, and each of them brought something, but neither of them was complete right. And then there was a season where this guy named Brett Elliott was a returning starter and was ready to take over and have a great season for Utah, and he was injured and everybody thought the season really.

Might be headed down a downward spiral.

And then some guy named Alex Smith came in took over, and they flourished and they would go on to win.

The conference and the rest is history.

So I do understand the true freshman's you neque come because it's the first time he's going to be out there, he's young, all of that.

It is not nineteen ninety two anymore.

We're having a freshman quarterback was just thought of as the worst possible situation you could be in. What I do know is that when it comes to the way that program's going to view it, look, if you're the best thing to help us win, you're going to be out there, and if you're not, you're not.

So when there's this.

Hey, we need patience and baby steps, and let's remember how young he is. Sure, if he's the best thing to help you win, then and you know what, you're going to have him out there and if he's not, you're not. So as long as that ends up being the case, and it is clear that that is the case, they'll continue to have the trust of that locker room.

And I will say that I believe Kelanie and a Rod have earned the benefit of the doubt. And when it comes to the quarterback battles that we've like, Zach Wilson didn't automatically have that job. He won the job. Jaron Hall won the job. Jake Reetzath a year ago won the job. Like they're pretty much three for three when it comes to picking the right QB, you know, as it pertains to the quarterback battle they found themselves in. So it does feel like those guys know what they're doing.

Yeah, I would, because the last time I saw a job given to someone who I thought had massive question marks as to whether or not he was capable and kept getting a longer and longer leash was Jay Keaps and we.

All saw how that turned out, and it wasn't good.

And then all of a sudden.

They were facing a situation where they had to turn.

Away from him before they lost the locker room, and they were able to salvage the end of the year. And by the way, Riley Nelson by no means was going to be a Heisman candidate, but they had to make that quick decision to go. So this is one

Move back upward.

I think it would be the same case here if they, let's say, missed on Bear as your starting line or starting quarterback.

The other piece of news that was announced yesterday and it's been it's been kind of interesting. We actually just played the sound from Jason Beck, offensive coordinator for the You. So Coach Wick comes out and announces that Isaac Wilson is QB two and then Jason is like.

Well, it's more like two A two B.

I don't know if that messaging is to You've got to be careful in this day and age with these athletes. If you you know, if a race is decided and a young man is not happy that he's suddenly QB three, maybe he's inclined to find somewhere else to play. So maybe that's making Bird feel better about it. But you know, according to coach wit and he's dead, coach, We'll go with him. Isaac Wilson will be the backup to Devin

Well, Isaac being the backup I don't think is a bad thing at all. The other part about that, as you talk about his experience and all of that, is when you go to a two B and.

People are like, wow, that's kind of interesting.

I actually think it's important to always keep as many people believing they are one play away as many as possible, because if you make them believe, well, you're so far down the depth chart that there's a real unlikelihood that this is going to happen, then not only could you lose them from the program, you could lose them from, let's say, just being as engaged as they need to be day to day, having some of the investment that you need from a guy.

That is very unlikely to play.

Clearly there's a two and a three, there is a two and a three, two a two B. I would I would bet my money that that is unlikely. But it's very important that a player believes that, understands and

And we are appreciative of.

What Alex has done, and it's not that we're lacking appreciation for that, but this guy can actually give us a better chance to do it. They played the odds, they were six yards away. So you'll get your chance with several reps. And this is going to continue to evall because you're dealing with young players and some that are unproven still and some that have shown some flashes and still have not been able to show that dynamic, high level consistently.

Well, this is your chance to continue to show us that each and every day.

So two A two B is you need to keep them hungry to believe each one of them that they are one play away from being.

On the field.

I've been asking all my guests this this week as We're ten days away from the first game for Utah. They're at the Rose Bowl against UCLA. They're six point five point favorite, and I kind of like this opener. I actually I like the opener for BYU in a different way. I think it's good that Bear will have a soft opponent to kind of land. I'm not a huge fan of the FBSFCS thing. I think at some

And I like that.

We'll see Devin on the road against a P four team and one of college football's most historic venues. But when they're on the plane flying home from LA after playing UCLA, what does success look like for you?

Game one for the Utes.

There's a clear indication this offense can work in sync and that it can be reliable over four quarters. Like, you can't just come in with a game plan that starts really well and then you're three and outing your way out and hoping your defense can save you and clinging to a seventeen fourteen win.

Now, I'm not saying you don't turn.

Down a win, but in order for you to get on that plane heading back to Salt Lake and feel like, you know what, we got something here that can travel the rest of the season.

I want to see an offense that can really work in sync.

Thing that I really wish for you fans that they could see with that team is a group of receivers that can be very dependable to make high level plays consistently, to make the tough catch Lakisi at times, to be able to just go up and win a ball more often when a quarterback needs to just kind of put it in a spot and depend on his guy to go win.

Utah has not been able to have that consistently.

They've had a guy here, or a player who has a particular skill, such as you know, a guy with speed, or a guy's got good hands but not a great route runner. It always feels like they have one, but they're always missing the other. And I would love to see a corp of receivers that they can.

Depend on more and more. Balance.

I don't think is going to necessarily be a must, but you have to be able to have a threat for these things rather than a defense saying okay, this is all we have to do and we can simplify our plan once we figure out what their original game plan is.

I want to.

See a group that can go out and beat people just simply by being better players. And so last year, like the BAU game, always jumps out to me because I love that game plan.

I love the way they executed.

The physicality was tremendous, and Utah obviously hangs their hat on that.

But the second half.

It was very early. You're looking at it going they're not going to score. I mean they had field position for days, couldn't move. I mean they their defense was given them opportunity after opportunity, and they couldn't convert even with a field goal. So I don't want to see them backing their way into a win and then coming out of it going, well, a win's win and one to zero and you never turn out to victory and oh they got some things to clean up.

No, no, no, no no.

I want to see something that shows me with a guy like Devin stepping in winning a job like that where you fans have been hoping to see a guy who can go out and be a dynamic playmaker like they had, you know a few years ago when healthy and then say, okay, now, if you take this away, we can be great here, or if this isn't quite running the way we need, we can always go back to this rather than well, if we're not winning first down with the run, we're in trouble and trying to

That's just not going to give.

Anybody a good feeling going forward about what is a very difficult conference to play in that is so unpredictable.

You referenced the balance and look, man, you've known me for a long time. I'm just a natural cynic for whatever reason, and I'm usually more skeptical than I am accepting just audacious expectations based off of no data or proof.

So I lean into what I feel like. I know.

I mean, back when like Al Jefferson was here, it's like, oh, we're going to call it the Wheezy and he's going to be twenty and ten, Like, no, well he's.

Not very good.

If this team is not going to be very good, And you know, when it comes to just Homer Broadcast and Homer media.

I'm not into it.

So I just don't know enough about the weapons on the outside for Utah right now. I don't know enough about the wide receiver room. Even if the Zach Williams kid didn't transfer. I mean, he didn't have a ton of experience.

Here's what we know.

Oh and I'll speak for myself, here's what I feel like. I know they've got two running backs they like, they've got a run it. They've got a quarterback that can really.

Rush the football.

They've got potentially the best offensive line in the country, not just the Big twelve. They have a head coach that just abhorrors not taking care of the football. Part of me feels like this is a rush heavy attack and we are going to see a lot of like seventeen fourteen or twenty to fourteen hopefully wins for Utah football this year.

Nothing wrong with that, But as far as.

Just generally speaking, when it comes to the balance between the run game and the throw game, how do you think that will look for Utap football this year?

If it's heavy run.

Because you're incapable of passing, and then you have to do it like you did, say in twenty fourteen, which I'm not bashing that twenty fourteen team, and that was the first one in the Pac twelve area era to kind of emerge and start to win at a higher clip.

You cannot save your way to wealth.

You must be the one that ends up being a little more aggressive, or is it the threat to be more or aggressive? So the twenty fourteen team, it was, I remember coming out of their game against USC thinking, you can't keep winning like this, Like you just can't keep like you can't have a wide receiver drop a backwards pass and stare at the football on the ground.

I think it was or Fe who picked it up and ran it back.

While nobody even knew what was going on, and takes it back for a touchdown.

Utah I think had one good offensive drive.

It just happened to be the game winning drive.

And everyone's like, but they're in contention, and it's like they can't keep winning like this, Like in this league, you're just not going to survive that way. If you want to talk about a championship aspiration, if you want to talk about playoff threat.

Those kinds of things, you won't get there.

Then the twenty eighteen team, they lost a couple of conference games early, and when they started playing their best balls, they lost one conference game the rest of the way out. This is the part I'm getting into.

They were not balanced.

They were like sixty four percent runs something like that. The difference was Huntley was now a much bigger threat to throw effectively. The team showed the capability to throw at a much more efficient level.

And so the defenses, even though Utah would.

Say take off with Huntley or go to their run game because they knew you could, it actually helped open up even more run opportunities. So balance may not need to be there. The balance of what is a realistic threat.

Making the timely plays, but you won't get to the elite levels.

You'll just have a nice season. You'll have a nice season. So when people look back at some of those Novembers when they used to say, boy, the uts they just can't figure it out in November, well that's because they kept trying to with a situation where you know, they everybody knew that their ability to throw the football was not a real threat, or it wasn't a consistent threat.

Make a mistake.

You can't play it. You can't be great like that. So that's what I'm curious about with Utah. Even after the first game, do teams now have to legitimately respect your ability to throw the football and hurt you in all different facets of the pass game? And if they throw for you know, some great number, but we're talking screen passes that took off for a big gain, or somebody got out of their alignment on a wheel route, you know, in coverage, and it was a busted coverage

I want to see if u Tak actually has that threat.

Because that, I think is going to tell me a lot as to whether or not this is going to be a season of improvement or a season of being a true threat to become elite.

I tell him before I say you lose, give me the latest with the Bees. What's going on with our local baseball team?

Yeah?

Man at home here tonight getting ready for the game against the Reno Aces, the Diamondback's affiliate.

And then after this week.

We have two weeks left in the season in terms of home games, a twelve gamer there in September. Take advantage of the great September weather by coming out to some games. Those nights are going to be beautiful so if you haven't joined us, make sure to come on out, and if you have joined us, join us one last time. Saturday Night is a big night. That's this upcoming Saturday, the twenty third, we have Princess Night, so make sure

Or five bucks getting wile they last. So hope to see you out here.

Good stuff, Ton, Thanks for the time, buddy. I have a good week with chat too.

Appreciate you. Thanks man to the