Trying to make me cry on the show today with pensive So what do we got here?
What's the bump?
Little Chappelle Ron Pink Pony Club on behalf of the guest?
Wait, is that how you pronounce it? I think so? I thought it was Shappele. I honestly it might be. It might be.
You'll have to ask Sammy. I'm I'm not again. Listen, this is too This is pretty new music. H not like brand new, but like this century, so it's not really down my wheels.
Well, we like to give our guests an opportunity to select their walk up song, so we'll bring in Sammy Mora, our friend from you Zone. All right, Sammy, how do you pronounce the artist's name? I honestly don't know.
It's Chapel Roone nice porter. There we go. See, I'm not I'm not in that song though.
Bro, I'm old enough to be really an older brother. But if we stretch it and get weird, I'm old enough.
To be your father. Yeah, I know. All right, Sammy. How are you happy Wednesday? I'm good, be good. Thank you for the time.
So let's start with the announcement that came down yesterday that Isaac Wilson is officially QB two. He'll be backing up Devin Dan Pierre, and I suppose Sammy the blessing in disguise with Cam's son, you know, his inability to stay healthy last year is Utah football as a backup quarterback with a good amount of Big twelve experience, which of course is a good thing.
What's your reaction to the news.
Well, I mean, you have Kyle say that Isaac is that backup quarterback, but then Jason Beck yesterday kind of slightly contradicted him by saying that he sees it as a two A and a two B versus a two and a three, so saying and he was talking about Bird Ficklan specifically, like he said that Bird can get out there and get the job done if they needed. But you know, it's kind of interesting to hear Kyle say that Isaac is two and then you hear Jason say that if a two a two B type of situation.
But like you said, to a certain extent, it's kind of a blessing in disguise, knowing that Isaac does have all that experience coming into this season, and I know, you know, there's a lot of hesitation about him and his play and stuff, especially how last season went down. But the way that I see it is, you know, I think that everybody, everyone in this quarterback room, with the exception of Devin, came into this spring with the clean slate. You know, they were all learning the offense
at the same time. It wasn't like someone had been in the program for a little bit longer than another one, so they had to edge up. But you know, Isaac Byrd were both on the same page, same playing field, and you know, they this this battle went on from the start of spring ball until literally Saturday when the or Friday when the scrimmage ended. You know, like that's a long time for these two to be going neck
and neck and back and forth. But I think it proves that, you know, Isaac has made the stride that he needs he needs to do to be more consistent as a quarterback. You know, Kyle said that his in head clock is is going off a lot faster, so he's you can tell that the game is starting to slow down for him. I think, you know, most people
hope that you only see Isaac in garbage time. You know, in a couple of games this year, but I think having a backup quarterback who has experience is you know, it's it's a positive, but you know, this isn't the same offense that he ran last year. Like I always joked that Andy Ludwig's offense, to a certain extent, you needed like three PhDs, a Masters, and like a bunch of other degrees to be able to do a checkdown in the in the offense just because of how chaotic
and how the intense it was. And this offense is a very plug and play, user friendly type system from what we've heard, So you know, it's going to be interesting to see how Isaac you know, has adapted to it, how he's he's grown in it, and stuff like that. But at the end of the day, I think, you know,
it is a it's it's a blessing in disguise. I hope, I know most Utah fans and I I think everyone Maydia included, hope that you know, you don't see any of the backups for an extended period of time this season, but if God forbid something were to happen, you know it, it gives me at least a little bit of comfort knowing that you know, there is some experience behind Devan.
Tell me what you've learned about Bird, because to your point, it is kind of funny to hear Kyle emphatically announced them back up and coach back be like, wait, hold on a second, and I wonder how much of the messaging is to It's just such a weird thing now and obviously the transfer portal is not open, but so many players, if they're not happy with their lot, decide to withdraw and maybe go elsewhere. So I don't know how much of that messaging is to you know, let
Bird know, like, no, we still like you. But in the instance, I mean Sammy, as you know, the past few years, it hasn't just been QB one, QB two. I mean how we've seen four and five quarterbacks at times. So if we do see Bird this year, and we hope that we only see Devin, to your point, what have you learned about him?
What kind of quarterback is Bird? Ficklin, Well, Bird.
Is back even said that Bird does things a lot similarly a lot, more like a lot, the same way that Devin does things.
Bert.
It's like the fun fact that I have about Birds. He's a leftist, so you know, they kind of have to, you know, shift a few things here and there because of you know, the left tended quarterback. But other than that, like, he's a he's a big guy. He's up to two hundred pounds now. He's very, very, very like. That was one of the things that I think was when I watched his high school tape, you know, late in the cycle, when Utah started pushing really hard for him down the stretch.
He's a fast guy, he's very shifty, he's hard to bring down, and you know, I can see a lot of the same qualities that Devin Dampier has in Bird Ficklin. I mean, you know, yeah, he's still young, and you're gonna have to You're gonna have to see how he adapts to you know, playing in a live snap and stuff like that. But from just a film standpoint and just watching his high school film and watching the little bit we've got to watch in the spring, Bird plays
very similarly to Devin. He's very mobile, he is he's elusive. Like there were times that like when you go back and watch high school film and even like, you know, I think there was a moment during the spring game where it looks like he's he's dead in the water, like the defense is going to get to him and he is somehow able to get out of there and turn it into a positive play. I you know, upsidewise,
I like where Bird is at. You know, maybe it's for the best that he sits for a year, gets his feet wet, gets his feet underneath him, and the game starts to slow down because you know, if Devin has a massive season this year, you know Utah could have a wide open quarterback spot heading into next season, and you know we might have this whole battle all over again between Bird and Isaac, depending on if someone
Alexa transfer or not. But there's a lot If you haven't went and watched Bird's highlight reel from high school, I encourage everyone too, it is. It is a very fun highlight reel to watch.
How is that wide receiver room shaken out? I know I asked you this last week, and I'll ask you this probably up until we actually see see the games and see what they look like. Coach Witz said they've landed. I think he said seven or eight. And the reason that number is applicable is that's how many you travel with. And we'll see. I mean, when asked about it. Devin has good things to say. The wide receivers were made available last week. They all said things you'd expect them
to say in fall camp. But any thoughts on who the wide receiver won is wide receiver two is how that room is kind of shaping out as of now.
So I honestly I said this to you last week, but I still think Tobias Merriweather is going to be
wide receiver one. I mean, it's kind of hard to say who's gonna be where on a depth chart, considering Kyle said we're not getting depth charts anymore, which I know, like there's people that are like what we need them, but I'm like, honestly, per past game one, nothing really ever changed on a Utah depth chart unless someone had a season ending injury, So you just kind of had to like base it off of what you're seeing, uh like during war ups and stuff. But I will say
that Tobias I think is wide receiver one. We've heard a lot of great things about him coming out of camp, and you know, he's a big he's a big guy, big playmaker, and I think that he could be like a very dynamic pass catcher for this Utah offense, I still am very uh bullish on Larry Simmons at that wide receiver wide receiver two position, just you know, another guy, big guy who can make a big downfield play, is a big playmaker, threat guy, very good at making contested
catches too, So I'm still high on him. And then but the slot receiver position is one that I over the last few weeks have kind of went back and forth with. You know, at the beginning of fall, I honestly thought it was going to be it was going to be Ryan Davis, and then I didn't know who
was going to be at the two. But now I honestly, if there was a depth chart, which I think, I think that that's I think it would be Ryan Davis or Creed with him or now just you know, we've heard good things about both of them coming out of
Faull camp. But you know, Creed really really really came on the last few weeks, and I think that he's firmly worked his way into that rotation and he might even you know, at some point of season he could possibly overtake RD depending on how his production is going and stuff like that. But that that that slot spot has kind of evolved for me over the last few weeks.
So you sent out a tweet, Sammy, and I followed you last week when you joined the show and your follow I'll encourage people to follow Sammy at s Underscore more two four seven. That got quite a lot of attention, and it was you were the first person I saw tweet this. I later listened to the sound as Devin Dampier said that he sometimes has up to eight seconds in the pocket with the Utah offensive line, the big boys blocking up front, and it got quite a lot
of attention. Looked like some BYU fans decided they wanted to chime in, which I'll you know, it's always kind of an interesting dynamic that way, but.
Look, it is the positional group.
Like ESPN did their top one hundred players in college football today, Spencer is at seven in the entire country at any position, you know. And I was thinking about this the other day. I was just kind of doing some prep for the show. We never talk about Michael Mochafisi. He has thirty three starts under his belt and all the attentions on like Spencer and Caleb and Jared's a captain.
So tell me about your thoughts with that dynamic and certainly going up against Utah's defense projected to be one of the best in the Big twelve, the line has that type of performance in them, I honestly.
Do, Like, you know, this is like you said, there's a lot of experience on this line. You know, Spencer and Kleb are getting most of the of the preseason praise and stuff, but you you got to remember to know what Togi I also, he graded out as one of PFF's top guards last season. Like he is also a high, high level player. So you know, it's not just the tackles that are good at what they do.
Those three interior guys are also really well And it's it's it's good that you bring up Moco because you know, people seem to forget. People seem to just use that last season as the reason why, you know, maybe he's not playing the best and stuff, but he got hurt last season, he didn't play majority, he didn't play majority of the season. So but before that, I mean, I can think of times his freshman in his sophomore year where he was making some really big plays that made
everyone really excited for his future. And so you know, those thirty three starts. Those are going to be really important. And I think, you know, all five of these guys have played quite a lot of football together and they know each other, they know how they're going to reacty know what's going on. So I think that that's great. And you know that tweet that we did, go on mute as as soon as I saw that it was making waves, I just I just went onto my notifications.
I just hit mute. But the thing is is like, I don't know if that eight seconds people are saying that that's the indicative of the defensive line. I don't think so, because we're also hearing that the defensive line is still making a lot of big time plays. You know, those two things can happen and they can coexist in the same universe without one being negative and one being positive, you know. And so yes, the offensive line could be given Devin to eight seconds, but that's not maybe one play.
The next play, the defensive line could get back there in two, you know. So it just kind of depends on the situation and what's going on. But I don't think those two things one can exist without the other one being negative. I think is how I'll put that.
Yeah, well said I wonder. You know, you're in a generation where it's not your fault. But we raised you guys with cell phones. They were your babysitters, they were your friends. You probably had a phone when you were young. I didn't have my first phone until I was in college, and so the Internet wasn't a thing when I was in college.
So let's be clear about that.
But when it comes to the online dynamic of your job, is it uncomfortable for you or I mean anyone in our space amy has to develop leathery skin, and I think for some older people it probably takes some time because I was not raised with social media like you were. Is that an uncomfortable part of your job or is it just something that you can kind of roll with because you're used to it.
Well, to be fair, like I was one of the last kids in my school to get a phone. My parents didn't get me a phone until I think I was in like fifth or sixth grade, and I was, like, I graduated high school in twenty seventeen. Just to like put that into perspective, So I was like one of the last kids in my grade to get a phone.
But you know, like I'm When I first got into this, it was hard because you know, the more followers you get, the more eyes you get, and the more attention you get, and sometimes it does get to be a lot at times. But you know, I have a great support system around me that like make sure that they're like, Okay, well, you know, maybe let's let's put the phone down for a little bit and like go watch a movie or go outside and hit some golf balls in the backyard
or something. And so I always, you know, I'm very good. I have my notifications off on Twitter, so I don't get constantly blown up with things. But you know, it's taken. It takes time to get used to. But I'm at the point now where you know, it's just it's just kind of like water off a ducks back to a certain extent.
Good because the Internet is where cowards go to feel brave and certain BYU fans are a certain kind of coward and they want to be a certain kind of brave. So don't let it get you down, Sammy, You're doing a good job. I've been asking all of my guests the following question. I will ask you this as well. What does success look like against Ucla. I'm not plane home from the Rose Bowl. What sort of dynamic result?
Obviously a win, but beyond that, what does success look like for coach Wit and the Utes Week one at the Rose Bowl?
Well, I think, yeah, like you said, the win is probably the best, is the biggest thing, and I think, you know, getting out on a one in start is going to be massive for this thing. But team, but I think, you know, offensive success at this point, you know, everyone's going like UCLA is basing their game plan off of what Beck did at New Mexico and what Beck possibly did at Syracuse. So right now, nobody knows what
to expect of this Utah offense. So Utah has the ability to catch UCLA off guard with his offense and you know, just you know, shock them and push them back on their heels. This defense is going to be this defense. They're going to do what they do. And I think that, you know, the offense, if the offense can come out and put up good numbers. I don't want to put a number range on it so that everyone's like, well, Sam, you said this many yardage is going to happen and stuff, But you know, I think
you want to see a good amount. Like I don't even know what yardage to say on this one, because you know, it's it's it's about consistency with one of these guys too. But I think offensive performance needs to be strong, and I think, you know, keeping the ball safe, whether it's Devin, whether it's the pass catchers, whe whether
it's the running backs. I think that's what the big thing is going to be for this game, because you have the opportunity to, you know, have a massive game and put the nation on watch, be like, hey, this is what this new offense has the ability to do, so everyone just like, watch out type of thing. So I think offensive success is going to be the biggest thing that I probably you know, look at it from
you know, the defense. I don't have concerns about. I just I think more than anything, I think everyone's just ready to see this offense because there's been a lot of talk about it. So I would just say offensive success, what sort.
Of balance, or maybe I'll even say lack thereof, because there is a part of me that believes this is going to be a very run heavy attack and I'm only basing that off of the personnel that we feel, you know, more or less confident in and maybe this wide receiver group will blow us all away. And maybe Devin is better with his arm than he was a year ago in New Mexico.
I don't know.
I certainly leave space for the possibilities of things manifesting that I don't know about. I'm no expert at all, but it does feel like with your line being what it is, in two backs they like a lot and a quarterback that can really run, it feels like we could be in for a little bit of a rush heavy system, which you know, or maybe in you know, intermediate passes. But maybe it's more explosive than I'm expecting.
But as far as just generally speaking, the balance between the run game and the throw game, what are you expecting, Sammy, Well.
I think you know this, Like you said this def this offense is I think gonna be rooted in a run first option, in a run first mentality. I've said, I think sometimes I say it's gonna be fifty to fifty. Sometimes I say it's gonna be sixty forty in terms of run to pass. But I do think, you know, Utah's gonna take their chances. They're gonna, you know, Devin's a good quarterback. Devin knows how to get to get it done through the air. I think they're gonna they're
gonna make them. They're gonna do some damage for the air. I mean, Dampier even this week said that the area that he thinks sees them like that he thinks is going to thrive the most is the run game. He's like, that offensive line is making up these these massive holes. And if the offense is making these massive holes and leading to these big run plays, you know, that's just gonna open up the pass game. You know, you got to keep teams honest. You need to keep these defenses
on their toes. And I think that, you know, having a quarterback like Devin who can run and who can throw is going to be a benefit this year. And you know, the pass catchers are gonna be great. I know Wayshot Intokar are great in pass Pro, which is
another added benefit for this offense. And so you know, at the end of the day, I think it's just gonna come down to the pass catchers, because if the pass catchers aren't doing what they need to do, then you're gonna start seeing this offense move to more of a run primary system with occasional throws. But you know, Beth said that, you know, they don't know right now, Like in practice it's one thing, but when the lights
are on, it's a different thing. Like he again referenced that in New Mexico team last year where he thought it heading into this, like heading into the season last year, that he had like six or seven pass catchers that he could rely upon, and then they all started struggling, but the running backs were really thriving, and so they turned into a run first offense. So it's just gonna evolve.
I think that you know, we're gonna see how this offense maybe, like I honestly, the team we see week one might not be the same often we see the last week of the season, and it's just going to depend on who is performing at the high level and who's earning becks.
Trust, have you landed on where you think Utah exists in this Big twelve ecosystem? I'm telling you every whether it's a podcast or an article or you know college football media members or experts, who who I trust?
And this isn't just the Big twelve.
And look, I've always been of the opinion Sammy that this is the sport that is the hardest to predict year in and year out. And that's before every roster had the changeover and the turnover it does now during the offseason. I mean, every team has at least, you know, thirty forty new players. Some teams have more. Utah State has eighty. So it feels wide open. Both the race for the CFP the race for just college football is
elite in in the Big Twelve. I feel like most people believe Utah is still a Tier one Big twelve team, including Vegas. But just generally speaking, where do you think Utah exists in this Big twelve ecosystem?
I honestly like this conference is so hard to read and predict, like you said, and it's just kind of it's it's interesting to see. I mean, I've been asked so many times to do in pre season ranking, and at this point, I just split it up into tiers. I have contenders, middle of the pack and bottom of a pack, Like I can I see Utah being in that contender's top half top third of the conference. You know, Arizona State's up there, Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas State, Texas Tech.
You know those are all those teams that I see in the in the in the top half of the conference or the top third, I should say, actually, and then you know by U, Cincinnati, Colorado, Kansas TCU in the middle pack, and then the bottom would be you know, Arizona, UCS, Colorado, West Virginia. I know I probably forgot somebody because they're sixteen teams. But you know, I think Utah does if you talk and stay healthy, I very strongly believe that they can go toe to toe with all with every
team in the conference. You know, you know, you have Texas Tech at home, which is an added benefit. You have Kansas State at home added benefit, you have Arizona State at home. So that's that's all nice, and that's dandy, and that's good. You have that home field advantage Baylor on the road, by you on the road. Those are going to be tough environments to play in. But Utah, if they stay healthy and do what they need to do, I really think this team could go toe to toe with anybody.
All Right, before I sayd you loose, what are you willing to say about where you believe Utah will be prior to their trip to Provo? So it's the opener at U SA LA at the Rose Bowl, it's a cake walk against cal Poly. At home, it's a road trip to Laramie against a Wyoming team they should handle.
Then home versus Tech Morgantown, West.
Virginia, then home Arizona State bye week mixed in there. So after those six games, prior to the trip to Provo, where do you believe Utah football will be?
Oh? God, that's so, that's that's that's that's hard because you know, I could see losses to Texas Tech and Arizona State, but I could also see Utah pulling off wins against both of them. So you know, I could see Utah maybe going six and oh, but I could also see five and one. I think that's that's a safe bet for me. I mean, worst case scenario is six and two. I think you or not six and two, four and two. Don't do math on the air, kids, but I think that worst case scenario four and two,
best case scenario six and oh. Realistically, five and one probably fair enough.
All right, Sammy, where can people go find your work?
You can find me on Twitter at s underscore MORA two four seven, and you can come join us over at ut Zone one of the best communities for Utah fans on the internet. We're running a fifty percent off sale currently for the first year of your subscription. We have a VIP podcast that comes out twice a week. So yeah, come over and join us at yout Zone.
Thank you, Sammy, I have a great weekend. We'll catch up soon.
Okay, thanks Vince.
All right, our friend Sammy.
More from ute Zone ash you referenced at s underscore Mora two four seven and then you Zone dot com for all the latest on the University of Utah. All right, before we catch a break, I want to tell you about my friends at Utah Elite Services. Do yourself a favor and don't procrastinate and wait to take care of your asphalt or fix that concrete that's been cracking and shipping away. The fall and winter will be hitting us
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