Ten12 Network Member and co-host of The Hype Train Podcast Trevor Leavvit joins the show to educate us about the 2024 BYU Cougars.
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Boscoe’s Boys
Summer School Behind Enemy Lines: BYU
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Boom, the boys are back in the summer school series behind enemy lines, continues and we're going to be talking to BYU, it'll be the first time since the 1997 Cotton Bowl which case state make sure that there's still some highlights from that game, but we don't talk about the final score because well, the Cougars came out on top. Representing BYU, we are going to member of the 1012 network, the hype train podcast and we have Trevor Levitt, not only a BYU fan, but a former varsity athlete as well. So maybe one of the most athletic people we've had on the show, we've had former football players on here, we've actually had, you know, former Heismen finalists on the show. And I mean, look, you're athlete up in the elevation, so I mean, you might have an upper hand on, you know, Michael Bishop, you might have an upper hand on Jacob Poland and, you know, some of the guys we've had on. So no pressure, but I just hyped you up quite a bit. So welcome to the show, Trevor. Hey, that was one of probably my favorite introductions ever, and better than the Kansas one, if I can warm myself up to you guys right away, Kansas State already won, you know, 1-0 to Kansas here. Well, if you had to talk to Andy Mitz, I'm sorry, I'm hoping it's another KU podcast, but if you had to talk to Andy, my apologies, now I'm just kidding. So let's just jump right into it. You know, well, you're part of the network. This will be our first football game as part of the conference. So I'll just ask you this, what was the last 52 weeks like as a BYU alum, varsity athlete, fan, coming into the Big 12? Did everything live up to your expectations? Did things fall short? Was it everything you hoped for? Did you think things were going to be a little different? Just walk me through the 52 weeks as a Big 12 fan. Yeah, exceeded expectations around every corner, which is to say a lot. I think you look at a team like BYU who was in, you know, the independence for a decade. All of a sudden you're moving up to the Power Five, or I should say, I guess, now Power Four level and things look very green, very bright, it's very exciting. And then you meet fans of Big 12 teams, whether it's at the game or on Twitter, and everyone's super passionate care about their team deeply, know a lot about the history of their school. And to me, it almost feels like looking in a mirror. I mean, this has been my entire life. I had recruiting offers, and none of this is meant to be a flex or anything, but I had recruiting-- A flex on them, Trevor, flex on them. From Baylor, from Alabama in different schools, but the second BYU offered, that's where I was going to go. I ran there. And so to see fans like me on opposing teams was so fun to watch. Just the fact that this conference has the 10-12 network, guys that are very passionate to talk about their schools, and they all have terrific followings, I mean, you're following on Twitter is over 5K, I was just beyond impressed with that. I mean, everything, the football games were amazing, the atmospheres were amazing. The trash talk was great. It's been everything I could have hoped for and more both for the football team, for the basketball team, and for every other team, the track team. It's been a wonderful 52 weeks. I know, I mean, things are going wild with basketball and I might have to link up with you guys come November, December, because what a wild run it's probably been just in the last five weeks for you guys when you talk basketball, but this is football, but before we get into it, as much as I love the sunflower showdown and needling Andy and beating them almost every year that in my entire life, pharma getting absolutely heated. It started as a social media rivalry that really has seeped its way into both athletic departments and both men's and women's basketball as well as football. But I think BYU and Utah may be the best rivalry in the conference. Did you personally want to see them join? Where were you at? Because I've, I can't stand Utah fans. I know there was like some discourse, you know, this like on Monday or Sunday, I can't remember which day someone tweeted out, it's like, Hey, are we sure like BYU or Utah fans are this bad? Just indoctrinate ourselves with BYU too much. I'm like, no, from what I've seen, they are that bad. So, so where did you land on it? Were you happy that you're going to be sharing conference with them for the first time since the Mountain West days? Did you want them to rot on the vine out West? What was your own personal journey when it comes to Utah? Yeah, it was, um, it's funny you bring this question up just because this was a discussion that we had in one of our first ever episodes of this podcast a couple of years ago as BYU, the rumors of BYU joining the conference, um, really started heating up and then the question was, well, you know, will Utah follow? Do we want, as you said, do we want Utah here? And, and for me, it boiled down to a single question, which is do I love BYU or do I hate Utah more? Because, you know, I don't, I don't love Utah, the football team, I have plenty of friends that are you fans that I get along with, but the football team has been the thorn in my side forever. I mean, we had to deal with 12 years, frankly, of not beating them and, and just that the relief, it felt like Shawshank Redemption when BYU finally won, we were, we were free, right? But for me, Utah's a very talented football program, it tastes like vinegar to say that in my mouth, but, but they have had a lot of success. And so for me, if we're going to preserve the big 12 and therefore preserve BYU, we need to be able to kind of shore up our ranks, right? The big 10, the SEC has gone and made all these moves, the ACC is trying to stay together but Florida State and Clemson are having their issues there. So to be able to add a program like Utah, who I don't think is going to run the conference as they've claimed, but being able to add a program like that adds a lot of stability and that in itself benefits BYU. So yeah, I can't stand the team, I hope we beat them by 60 every time we play, but having them in the conference is a benefit to BYU. And I think any BYU fan that truly looks at what they want out of BYU and their success and like their stability in the future, I think they can acknowledge that. I love it. Before we keep going, we'll give a shout out to our friends over at Charlie Hussle. Folks, the Charlie Hussle, big eight road show is just wrapping up, but don't worry, they got some awesome drops for the entire conference before football season comes. That includes our friends, the Cougars, who I'm sure getting a few more BYU fans listening to this specific episode than usual. So don't worry, while K-State got some awesome stuff from our time in the big eight, some awesome stuff for the entire conference is coming before football season. Make sure you're following Charlie Hussle on social media, both at Twitter and Instagram. Charlie Hussle, clothing co, and I mean, look, they're going to have awesome releases all summer long, getting ready for football season. So shout out to Charlie Hussle, shout out to BYU. Of course, they have the big 12 branded stuff that they dropped at the big 12 tournament. You never know what they're cooking up. And I've had a little sneak peek that there's a lot of fun stuff coming. So we're about two months removed from spring ball. We're about a month out from preseason camp. What are the expectations for BYU this football season? Is it, hey, get to a bowl game or bust? Is it content for Arlington? Is it, hey, beat Utah and we're not going to complain about anything else. Where do you land on the spectrum of this upcoming football season? Yeah, the expectations, I think, you know, short answer is make a bowl game. That was, you know, something that, you know, my cooks came up short with last season. The expectations this season have been, they've been hard to quantify because this off season has been probably the most radio silent. I've seen BYU's media team, like, even like the, we've got players that are willing to give us information, but even like, they've been quiet, coaches haven't expanded a lot on, you know, what they're seeing in spring ball. I don't know if that's good or bad. But expectations for this season certainly is making a bowl game, but from there, it's just seeing progress from places that ultimately struggled last season that led to a lot of, you know, BYU's woes. The offensive line, they brought in TJ Woods. I'd like to see the offensive line be better from what, from what little I've heard. They, they love what TJ Woods is doing for them. So I expect there to be, you know, some, a step forward. And with that, Jake Ritzleff, it's, in my opinion, probably going to be the starting quarterback. I'd like to see him take a step forward. I think an improved offensive line is going to help immensely with that. But yeah, expectations make a bowl game, but, but from there, was there progress made? Was there improvements made from the 20, 23 season to now? This episode is brought to you by our good friends at NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV. I'm sure by now, you've all got back into your Sunday routines, but they could be even better. With NFL Sunday Ticket and YouTube TV, you get the most live NFL games all in one place, every game, every Sunday, and you can even watch up to four different games at once with multi-view, one of my favorite inventions of this decade. It's exactly what you need to catch all the action. Make your Sundays more magical. And also, YouTube TV is great. I got it this year. It's awesome. Sign up now at youtube.com/bsdevice and content restrictions apply local and national games on YouTube TV and a fall Sunday ticket for out-of-market games excludes digital only games. So you mentioned some of the spots that you're looking to. If you had to pin down one or two, you're feeling most confident in coming to fall. What are those spots on the field going to be? Yeah. I think I'm going to pick one from each side of the ball. So the first one is going to be the wide receivers. I think that's a group that had a lot of success despite an offensive line issue, QB injuries, a new QB coming in. It felt like they looked good. Chase Roberts, Keelan Mary, and Darius Lasseter have been good for us. I think another season in the offense is going to do a lot of good, especially for a guy like Darius Lasseter, who was a transfer from Eastern Michigan last year. In fact, he actually had made a comment that last year, there were times in games that him and Keelan Mary and would look at each other, Jake or Keaton would call some sort of audible and they'd look at each other and be like, what are we supposed to do? And so, and they've rectified that in spring ball. They know what they're supposed to be doing now. Darius mentioned that he's confident in knowing everybody's else's assignment on the field now, which I think is a big deal. And I think we're going to see a lot of progression there. Keanu Hill was one of our starting receivers. He got moved over to tight end. He had to fight to kind of keep his weight down as a receiver, but now he can bulk up as a tight end and he looks good. And then on the other side of the ball, I feel pretty confident in our safeties for a couple of reasons. One is we had a ton of injuries last season, so everyone got to play. This is a very deep safety depth chart simply because our fourth and fifth string guys got in and had to play a ton of snaps. So not only do they have the experience, but our original starters are all back. They're healthy and I just think that experience is going to be very beneficial to the kind of that back line of the defense and they're going to be tested. I mean, the Big 12 is incredibly athletic. A lot of not only big receivers, big physical receivers, but they also are running four fours, high four threes. And so I think having those safeties is going to be a big deal in this upcoming season. So receivers and then on the other side, the safeties, I think, are going to be places that I can confidently say, I've got to step up and do what they need to this upcoming season. All right, we'll flip to the other side. I'm sure you had a feeling this would be coming. Where are the biggest question marks that you need answers from over the next two months before the season kicks off in late August? Yeah, quarterback, that's the biggest one. I know a lot of BYU fans are panicking about it, probably rightfully so, because question marks are not good, right? You want to go into a season knowing like, I mean, I look at somebody like Avery Johnson, for example, who's incredibly gifted with his legs, showed a lot of upside. He's got a whole off season to really get to know the offense and mature. I envy that. I think that he's going to be really good for you guys. Jake had his moments last season, like where he looked really good, but he also had turnover issues. One of the biggest things that's a concern to me is right now the football seems to be coming out at one speed, which is a hundred miles an hour. I'd like to see him be able to take a little bit off of it, put a little bit more touch on the ball. But question marks also don't necessarily mean things are going to be bad. It just doesn't guarantee that they're going to be good either. So that's going to be the biggest question mark for me. Just going forward is how is Jake Rutsloff going to look, and are we going to have to see Gary Bohannon at some point? And then on the other side of the ball, the defensive line I think has a lot of promise, but definitely some question marks there. Tyler Batty is a guy that he had a ton, like over his career here at BYU, he's had a ton of pressures, quarterback pressures, but not a lot of sacks, which tells me that he maybe doesn't have that closing speed, especially against athletic quarterbacks. I'd like to see that improved. But defensive line, more optimistic with still question marks there, and then quarterbacks the big one. Awesome, before we ask a couple more questions, wrap this up. Final shout out to our other sponsor, Manhattan Brewing Company. Folks Saturday, they have the block party on points with Wildcat NIL. There's going to be food vendors, there's going to be tailgate games, there's going to be DJs, live music, raffles, every hour, there's going to be case state men's and women's basketball coaches and players, case state football players. So if you're in the happiest place in the world, Manhattan, Kansas, be sure to get down to points avenue tomorrow, as you guys are listening to us on Friday, for the Wildcat NIL and Manhattan Brewing Company Party on points, check it out. Okay, I was looking at your guys' schedule. I'm asking this to everyone because I'm always intrigued, the hierarchy of excitement for everyone's schedule. You know, you have fun road trips down to Orlando, you're going to Wyoming, that should be a fun game as well, up in Big Sky Country, going to SMU, again, a challenging non-conference with those two road games, and of course, the Utah game. I assume that is number one with a bullet for you guys, but when you're looking at the schedule and you see the K-State game in Provo, where does that rank in the hierarchy of excitement for the season? I mean, I think it has to be up there if, you know, as someone who's followed, you know, especially once BYU was announced they were coming in, that same season, Kansas State goes out, beats a very talented TCU team in the Big 12 championship, the K-State's right up there with me with Oklahoma State and a lot of teams that are, you know, vying for a Big 12 championship, and so being able to get them at home is something that I was very excited about, I have my concerns if it were being played in Manhattan, but it's up there. I mentioned, you know, at 96 and being able to play Kansas State then and having, you know, all this time since we've played them, it's definitely up there, it's our first conference game of the year. It's the all second, I believe, because you play Arizona the week before. Well, that's technically a non-conference game for us, weirdly enough, so. Really? Yes. That was scheduled before, so I think you guys are playing Baylor and it's technically a non-conference game again this year as well, right? I'm not sure, that's a good question, I'm not sure. I don't know, maybe I made that up in my head. See, I thought so, but I could be wrong, but yeah, that's technically a non-conference game for us, so it'll be the first one that counts for the standings, so I mean, it's massive. Yeah, it's one of those games where I think it's going to, I mean, every game, you know, helps determine a season, obviously, that's goes without saying, but it's one of those that is going to set the tone for how BYU is going to look. You beat a Kansas state, even if it's at home, you have a chance to beat anybody in. So that's definitely one that I'm going to keep an eye out for, and that's not just because I'm on your podcast, it's just the reality of the situation, Kansas state's just one of those teams that you want to beat if you want to be successful. Definitely. I have so much respect for Kalani Satake, but I am interested for you guys. What is the gauge of success? Is his seat hot at all if the season falls short of expectations, or is it, "Hey, even if it's another rough year, even if we miss a bowl game, he's going to be back for 2025. What's the view on his performance and his job security right now?" Yeah, I would think that the seat is warm. It's one of those things where if he struggles again this season, he'll be back. He could be back the following season. Granted, we go, "Oh, and 12," or some horrible record, but he's got at least another year. The one that I am most interested in would be our offensive coordinator, Aaron Roderick. This is definitely a prove-it-year for him. The narrative around him has kind of shifted a little bit, and I think that's where kind of the prove-yourself has come in. He had success with Jaren Hall. He had success with Zach Wilson, and so before it was well, he makes great quarterbacks. But then with the Keaton Slovis struggles, the Jake Redsoft struggles, now it's like, "Well, what did you actually just benefit from two guys that are on rosters in the NFL?" This year, I'm looking for him to really get to his bag of tricks and get the ball moving. If that doesn't happen, I think he's probably the one that falls on the axe, if you will. Something we used to do live shows every week with the fans of our shows, and one of the things I love to ask were super specific predictions. No records, no specific games. "Oh, we're gonna beat Utah." No, I want a super specific prediction that can be funny. It can be super niche, but I want something super specific that has nothing to do with the record, nothing to do with the win or loss of a game. Just give me something that, when it comes true, we can pull up the podcast, we can tweet it out, and everyone's gonna be like, "All right, I knew I liked Trevor, but he's also secretly a genius." Oh, that's a good one, I like that, I like that a lot. I think I'm going to guarantee a Gary Bohannan start this year. It's BYU fans listening to this are probably gonna be like Trevor, that's probably the most obvious prediction, but I am trying to look genius to you guys. BYU does have just kind of this ongoing thing where the backup quarterback plays at least one game. I don't think that changes. I think that's not necessarily saying that Jake Rhett's loss is gonna get knocked out for the season, but I do think given the physicality of the Big 12, there's definitely a very high likelihood that Hill will be out of game or two, and so I'm gonna stamp that in right now. Gary Bohannan will play another Big 12 game, but it won't be for the Baylor Bears. All right, this is another one that's unique for BYU that I'm not gonna ask anyone else. I love uniforms and all that type of stuff, and I think BYU does something better than anyone else in the country does, and it is the color swap of their base uniform. You have the white, you have the royal blue, you have the navy, you can do a little mix and match. I don't know if you guys had a black last year, but I think you've had black before. So if you had to choose your favorite BYU football uniform that is currently in the rotation, what is it? It's a classic, it's actually gonna be, I've got the helmet right here, the white with the royal face mask, the royal top, and then the white bottoms. That one for me tends to be the one that we pull out for the Holy War. It's hard to beat that one. Second to that only is kind of that stormtrooper, the white out with the royal masks. To be honest, it gets a little touchy when you talk to BYU fans about navy, because there's some that really, really like it, and then there's some like me who kind of wish that we would just kind of get rid of it and just keep just the royal. But that being said, our all navy looks not bad either, but I've got to go with the classic look, the white, the royal, and then the white again. See I like that you guys have the navy in rotation, but I'm an outsider, so my opinion probably shouldn't count for too much. The final thing I'm asking everyone this, and you'll be no different, what is one takeaway or one thing you want K-State fans to know or to learn about the BYU football team coming into the 2024 season? Physical, it's one thing that going into the big 12 I wasn't concerned about. Team speed, you look at teams like Oregon, TCU, Washington in the past, like BYU struggles with team speed, but if it's like a buckle up your chin straps, smash mouth type of football game, BYU's been there to meet the task more often than not, and just a bunch of gritty players, and so that's whoever you're playing. If it's Kansas State, if it's anybody, that would be the first thing that comes to mind. Absolutely love it. Trevor, please plug the awesome podcast that you guys got going on and anything else that you want folks to take a look at. Yeah, the hype train podcast, it's on any place you find your podcasts, our go-to saying is that we'll hit you with facts and then we'll throw it out the window for superlatives and that's kind of how it goes, but we love BYU, but we just love people too. So if you're looking to listen to a podcast, it'll lean BYU heavy, I'm not going to make anything up to you, but we're welcome, we're welcoming, we'd love, you know, if you mentioned that you're probably coming to the game this season, we want to meet up with anyone that's there, hit us up on Twitter, we'll show you guys around, get you guys situated, and you know, hope you guys have a good time. Well, I absolutely love it, I enjoyed getting to talk with you guys, I'm sure we'll be reaching out when the game gets a little closer, I know down here in Kansas, I'm in the Kansas on the Kansas side of the Kansas City Metro, got up to 102 today, I hope you're staying cooler than that, but I'm just daydreaming already for fall football nights and I'm sure you guys are the same, so I appreciate you coming on Trevor. Anytime, we appreciate it. So for one of my new best friends in the world, Trevor, for Chauncey, the best dog in the world who slept through this entire episode, my name is Scott McFarland. We love you guys and go cats. Hail to the purple, Hail to the white, Wildcat in spirit, Wildcat in fight, Hail Alma Mater from sea to sea, Onward forever, Hail victory, Fight UK State Wildcats for Alma Mater fights, Glory in the combat for the purple and the white, Faithful to our colors. We will ever be a fighting, ever fighting for a Wildcat victory, Fight Fight Fight Fight UK State Wildcats for Alma Mater fight Fight Fight Fight Fight, Glory in the combat for the purple and the white, Faithful to our colors. We will ever be a fighting, ever fighting for a Wildcat victory, Go State! [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] network.