Happy New Year!
I am back to writing this newsletter as part of my 2021 resolutions that I made, but this is one that I actually will look forward to unlike the annual dream I have of losing weight and the like. Many of you know how busy I am, but for the uninitiated here’s a sampling of what I have going on: I host two daily podcasts, dabble on ideas of dozens of other podcasts, produce the highest-rated morning sports radio show in Utah and have a wife and two kids under the age of five to wrangle…in other words, I have a lot of free time on my hands!
Anyways, all joking aside, I enjoy writing even though I work chiefly in audio mediums as a sports media professional. That is why I am back to writing this newsletter and hope to write often, maybe even daily.
What will we cover? A myriad of BYU-related topics. Thoughts I have based off of what I’ve been talking about on the Locked On Cougars podcast, reaction to the news of the day, sharing great pieces from my fellow media members, my random musings about the Cougars and more.
With the new year comes a new look for BYU football. We’ve already seen two of BYU’s junior standouts declare their intentions to enter the NFL draft with Brady Christensen and Dax Milne deciding to take their talents to the next level. Zach Wilson is expected to formally announce he is doing the same any day now.
Those losses combined with the outgoing seniors, including Khyiris Tonga, Troy Warner, Zayne Anderson, Isaiah Kaufusi Tristen Hoge and Chris Wilcox, among others, means that the 2021 BYU football program will have a new look and new “faces of the program” as they look to build off a breakthrough 11-1 season in 2020.
I am looking forward to a quarterback battle that presumably will pit Jaren Hall, Baylor Romney, Sol-Jay Maiava-Peters and Jacob Conover against one another for the right to succeed Zach Wilson. Whoever emerges with the job will have a great stable of running backs, wide receivers and tight ends at their disposal with a re-tooled, but experienced, offensive line in front of them.
Defensively, there are question marks along the defensive line and in the secondary, but the hope is that the program will have more of a “normal” 2021 with spring ball, summer player-run workouts & a full training camp to work out the kinks ahead of a loaded schedule this fall that currently features seven Power 5 opponents.
We’ll have plenty of time in the coming weeks and months to dissect and analyze these and other football-related topics. I welcome your input and thoughts on the topics and would encourage you to weigh in with your comments here or email me at LockedOnBYU@gmail.com.
Now, before I go, a word on the BYU basketball program. They had their West Coast Conference opener at Pepperdine postponed yesterday due to COVID-19 concerns with the Waves, so their WCC-opener will come against the University of San Diego tomorrow in the “slim gym” aka Jenny Craig Pavilion at 6 p.m. MT (Stadium).
This year’s USD team has had to deal with their own COVID concerns, but they are not the Toreros of years past that made life difficult for the Cougars. They lost their WCC-opener 70-62 at USF yesterday and sit at 1-4 on the season. This should be a game that BYU rolls in to pick up their 10th victory of the season. Funny enough, the Cougars’ last road game and win of the season was that uber-impressive 72-62 win over then No. 18 San Diego State, just 10.8 miles away from where they will play tomorrow.
That’s all for now, but just a request to sign up to get this newsletter delivered directly to your inbox if you haven’t already. You can do so right here:
Also, make sure you subscribe or follow the Locked On Cougars podcast that I host daily. It is available on all podcast providers/apps. There will be crossover topics on both the podcast and in this newsletter, but plenty of unique topics on both as well. Until next time, Happy New Year to your and yours!