Jake & Ben: Full Show | Isaac Wilson is Utah's Backup Quarterback | Shehan Jeyarajah talks AP Top...

and now it's 10:00 a.m. let's just get down to it and it's time for your sports fix strap yourselves in folks from two guys who have covered the teams you're passionate about for years we are professionals this is Jake Scott and Ben Anderson on 975 the KSL Sports Zone what just me just I thought was eting J 975 the KSL Sports Zone Jake Scott Ben Anderson thank you for making us a part of your Tuesday what's going on over there Ben doing well how are you good you excited for your children to go back to school tomorrow I think they're ready for it I think they were uh a little nervous about it but went and checked out the new Junior High yesterday oh yeah how'd that go it was good was it good had some issues getting registered for a while and he excited though he like the that's a new school over there ready daughter got her ears pierced last night how'd that go she seemed happy so Life's good any tears no tears oh would it would it be tough yeah yep uh write a passage we could put we could do as a draft best ride of passages got to be careful with some of those but like when Ben got his nipple pierced for the first time yeah did they look at you weird at Claire's when you went in there yeah well they didn't like that I didn't wear we a shirt in they weren't against doing it but it's that I came in shirtless I have to go to Claire's now like once a month cuz my daughter's in that club where you get free earrings or whatever once a month so we have to go into cla's like once a month I can't even imagine because if you've seen the clientele that goes to Claire's it's little kids little bunch of little girls and that's it can you imagine coming in peeling off your shirt and being like all right I want a quomo give me the double quomo give me the double quomo yeah the poor G would be like sir the cla's I'm going to need you to put your shirt back on do that here oh we should do it and film it that's how you go viral right there how you go to jail that's how you go by they wouldn't go to jail they'd probably ask you to leave they would definitely ask you to leave but they wouldn't put you in jail I don't think I might try and I wouldn't blame them if you take off your shirt at the mall do you get arrested again it depends on where you are we've had this conversation where I mixed up Spencer and Claire's Spencer probably not Claire's probably probably probably well yeah deservedly so probably at Claire's can you imagine the looks from the parents you know going through the earrings at Claire this boso just trying to get a Hello Kitty journal for my daughter will you button your shirt up please I don't know why that visual is so funny to me but that seems to me like it would be quite funny sir I'm trying to shop for a Hello Kitty purse for my daughter can you please put those nipples away please put those things away we don't do that here oh that's so funny after doing two hours with PK I needed a laugh thank you thank you Ben I appreciate that uh but yeah good for your daughter that's awesome yeah absolutely a right a path do you guys go back to school our kids go to the same school uh we went to the back to school thing yeah teachers seemed nice good it's back to school kids are ready to be back I I'm I get a little anxious for my kids going back I am uh happy as a parent to uh have them put some energy to something a little bit more productive they've run out of things to do this summer I had a like a a throwback to emotions that I had as a kid though cuz my my daughter found out which class she's in and most of her buds are in the other one yeah and so she's pretty sad about that and it's like I remember that remember when you're going into your fourth grade CL class or third grade class or whatever it is and you look at the list you're like oh I'm in the one without everybody it's like this weird sad thing that doesn't actually matter and you think you're never going to see him yeah right it's like you're gon to see him every day every day it's fine yeah yeah you don't really get a socialize in class anyway it's you're GNA have your recess together things be good it's gonna be just fine but I remember I was having like throwback anxiety because she was bummed about it had last night or yesterday afternoon trying to teach my son how to use a locker how to use the old and I had to kind you know and it comes back it's a little bit like riding a bike twist it three times to the right and then pass it on the left and then come back to it's just like it's like if you've never done it before it totally seems foreign now when you do it every day between you know I did it from seventh grade to 12th grade it becomes second nature but now is your son the type of guy cuz I definitely knew these people and I was one to a certain extent but is your son the type where when you clean that Locker out at the end of the year it's going to be absolutely gross yes yeah not like food necessarily but like food's the worst so that's so many papers and stuff yeah and I know it's going to become an issue of leaving stuff at school I left it in my locker well you got to do your homework it's in my locker get in the car yeah right we're going back to walk to school going back to school we're going to get to that's what happened to me left it in my locker oh well better go get it better go get it y yeah I remember though Locker clean out day at the end like when I had to clean it was like a whole thing I had to get my own garbage can just full of stuff yeah absolutely oh I forgot this existed yeah forgot I but then there are some people that keep them like tidy and nice it wasn't me not GNA happen wasn't me either Christian strikes me as a tidy and nice Locker guy I barely used my locker to be honest in high school I had a locker partner do you have Locker Partners in high school I didn't luckily and my sophomore year I definitely had a locker partner who was really into stealing okay and so just random stolen things would show up in my locker and I would think oh they weren't stealing from you no they were using they would steal things and then it would end up in the locker and I would think wow I hope nobody well that's good you could have assumes it's me you could have stolen from them because what are they going to do they can't rat on you for stealing their stolen stuff I I didn't think I needed like a old tape deck yeah right and all the other random stolen stuff that would show up but that was an interesting thing it's like I I hope he doesn't get raided because I'm G to get wrapped up in this whole thing it's my thing I'm get he's probably going to sell me down the river they like I don't know what you're talking about never seen any of this stuff in my life apparently a lot of schools are getting rid of lockers I'm Pro Locker it's a personal space it's a little responsibility well and ideally you have like a big book for every subject right but they don't because the internet exists now so you just get everything online you don't have to carry around big books in school anymore at all not really see speaking of right of passage that should be a right of passage you should have to heft around a bunch of heavy books yeah that's how it works I just don't think those textbooks for Utah history exist anymore well that's stupid yeah we'll see we'll see I I'll learn more tomorrow after day one you have to buy like a laptop for your Junior High kid well they all have a Chromebooks I suppose my daughter has one of those two I guess at school yeah I don't know that's lame I remember okay get rid of lockers they don't need lockers having to make book covers because the books were they needed them to last well what are kids using lockers for these days probably housing stolen goods like yeah right what do they need a a locker for now just have to heave around a a Chromebook they don't even need a backpack I think that's the argument all right well I'm Pro get rid of locker then okay pretty pro-e heavy book though so if we're moving away from the heavy books then you can't have nice things teach you something he doesn't have gym which is weird oh yeah I remember in junior isn't that like a half year thing I think it's an it's or an elective it's an elective and he didn't get it it was his top priority and he didn't get it but he registered late which I think Jim's good for kids so what is he taking like uh like choir or something stage crew he's going to go uh pull the pull the curtain for the performances for act for the actors oh doing lighting and stuff I can't believe that's a class someone's got to do it I think it'll be a good for him does someone have to do it I'm glad he's doing it that's what Christian's doing Christian is our stage crew right now pushes all the buttons I remember somebody turns the lights on I remember stage crew in high school and they were very strange people yeah so I'm setting them up for a weird life very very strange I think people just took it because it was a throwaway period where they didn't have to do anything yep they could just leave that's where we're headed all right were you on the stage crew Christian no at your high school were they super weird yeah our theater Department was like pretty intense in high school they not talking about the theater kids per se I'm talking about the stage crew it's a it's even different crew yeah yeah I don't I don't want to know what the stage crew is up to theater kids I know what theater kids are doing stage crew I don't want to know you know what I mean I'm Gonna Learn I'd get him out of that class immediately anything else take a second math class yeah it's not gonna happen hey it's good day for uh Johnny juang Ben he's a rich man for the time being uh it's interesting all these deals have come out Utah Jaz of announced deals for SP meluk who we didn't really talk about yesterday at all uh Johnny juing and the details on Drew eubank's contract have also come out all of these deals are onee guaranteed and everything after that is completely non- guaranteed we talked about a little bit with yesterday uh his first year he gets $3.5 million and then it's non guaranteed the rest of the way basically team options the rest of the way uh so the Jazz without doing anything basically already have $1 million in expiring contracts for this season now unlike we talked about this with with Lowry marinin where you have six months you had to wait six months after a player signs an extension to trade him with free agents it's only like three months so and everyone becomes trade eligible really on December 15th so as soon as December 15th the Jazz will have drew Eubanks Johnny juank s Muk and I I I think Michel luk and Eubanks are probably the more interesting players there and I'll I'll explain why but that they can trade and the Jazz have continued to set themselves up to be versatile because they are not committed to one route yet they're not committed to one pathway yet they want to make sure that they have options to get out of contracts trade contracts and maintain the ability to make moves and that's that's where the Jazz are at flexibility flexibility it's their number one asset right now is that they're flexible they can do anything this all makes a lot of sense yeah I'm sure they like Johnny juang or he would not be have been around this long but yeah they're probably signing him to that deal to either not pick up the option next year or move him this year but four years $1 million is pretty poultry by NBA standards well he not going to see anywhere near that though if yeah if they don't pick him up and if they do if they like him great he costs two million bucks a year super easy it's an easy contract right and he's just doing it for the guaranteed two million bucks he's trying to fight his way onto the roster this keeps him onto the roster and gets him paid and he's been a two-way contract player the last two years you make half the rookie scale as a two-way guy which is like $600,000 so good for him he goes from $600,000 a year to 2 million now two-way guys is it it is two-way guys right where when you play with the big Club you get one or you get one paycheck and when you play with the G League I think that's how it started is it still that way or no I think they have flattened it out so every two-way player just gets their half a million dollars because it's so funny one week you're like I'm gonna buy a Lambo and the next week you're like well I'm worried if I can buy that ham sandwich yeah right we're going to Ramen cashing in getting called every time you get called up for a practice it'd be like oh thank goodness cuz I got to keep the heat on and that is still what 10day contract guys deal with but the nice thing is like conceivably I think if you're the Jazz and you're trying to make trades which again this is going to be a busy Justin xanic Danny a trade deadline because of these types of contracts you know the Jazz will look for contending teams or decent teams that want a backup center and you've got it in Drew Eubanks or can sell themselves on the idea of a six foot seven shooter which is what you have in s mck luk that's that's what the Jazz are doing they continue to kind of mine that with the ability of well you'll pay these guys now and hope to get second round draft picks out of them or financial flexibility out of them or whatever asset you feel like is valuable going forward that's what the Jazz continue to set themselves up for and then maybe the pie in the sky option for the jazz is either they find a way to turn John Collins's $25 million into an expiring contract or John Collins plays well enough that he opts out of his deal not this year obviously this year but next year and the Jazz have his $25 million coming off the books and this basically $1 million in options that you have with Eubanks juzang and S Muk and you have $36 million potentially in cap space or money coming off the books at the very least that probably turns into free agent space and a lottery Pick and you've got the tools to start getting better that's kind of what the the framework of how things could work for the Jazz it makes sense it makes sense yeah or you sit on it all and have that room next year I mean yeah right or yeah you go two years and the only players you're going to have under contract are your rookies or your players on their rookie scales and Lowry Markin just yeah okay that's that's the foundation and it it shows that they're not I don't know if it shows the tank is on but it definitely shows that they're not interested in adding some vets to see where this group's going to go I think you can see because the Jazz out cap space now that's the other element of this that we didn't mention is that all these signings that jazz have made this this you know $36 million they had as of a week ago was gone they gave 24 to low and they've given basically 12 out to Kyle filipowski who they also signed yesterday and these other three that we've been talking about all that cap space is gone and I think there's a pretty fair argument to say the Jazz didn't get any better yeah like you you got michaelo can play a little bit he's not gonna win games he can play he can see the floor well none of these guys are going to win your game yeah Eubanks isn't get to help you win games just don't have a lot of guys who help you win games you know you've got a team and every NBA team wins 20 and every NBA team loses 20 how many more of those final 42 games do you win who are the difference makers that either get you you know 30 of those which the best teams do or get you 10 of those which the worst teams do and the Jazz are far closer to that five to 10 range I think right now well yeah none of these guys you're signing because they make the team better you're signing them because they're Canon fod yeah exactly which is do you think but yeah Johnny juing doesn't care he's gonna get trade me to wherever yeah was going back to Europe or yeah was going to be rich here Johnny juang has certainly at the point in his career where he's going to have to make uh or was going to have to make a decision of do I go make a decent living in Europe yeah or do I continue to try and fight and hang on to a two-way and now he's got a guaranteed deal for a year that John Johnny juice the happiest guy in town today absolutely and I'm sure there's some uncertainty about his future but who cares and he's going to play the certainty is he has $2 million in his pocket that he didn't before and if he did that with a different team then he would never see the floor he'd get us $2 million or whatever but there going to be plenty of minutes to be had on this Jazz team yes there will in fact like there's a not zero chance he's fighting for a rotation spot they one yeah and then all of a sudden if you're a rotation guy just ask somebody like Roy O'Neal or I mean you can think of any of the I mean like Joe Engles I think would fall into this like once you get to be a quote unquote rotation guy in the league then all of a sudden opportunities are a little bit more plentiful because you've proven that you can do it and then you're off to the races right uh deari Carroll is another one you know where the Jazz found him on the scrap Heap turned him into a rotational guy and then he signning he signed a big deal with Toronto right yeah whoever was not a big deal but in in money for this conversation it was a big deal yeah and it was a pretty productive player so Johnny juing is the happiest guy in town because now he has the opportunity to forget about you know how much he's going to be playing at Maverick Center and focus on making a rotation and if he makes a rotation then some other team teams are always looking for rotation guys yeah yeah and the Jazz specifically targeted he's in a great spot Arch archetypical players players of a certain archetype which are basically big shooters or hustle guys those guys are available yeah those guys have value when uh when you're making trades yeah what Jazz flipped Malik Beasley right I mean Teo yeah yeah those guys are I mean oen backup center you know now oen is more talented certainly than Drew Eubanks uh and will crack your skull which is helpful but having guys who can shoot you can always sell that having guys who can get rebounds you can always sell that and that's what the Jazz have and that's what they're going to continue to shop around and it's not going to be a season full of wins but it's going to be a season full of conversations ERS yasova yeah right he was in a movie Once yes he was what was that movie called The Adam Sandler movie I don't care what was his basketball movie where he was the Scout was it hustle or something something like that 's a star but it was it was what's his name it who was the it wasn't erson who was in the movie oh no it wasn't no it was the the brothers wano oh her and Gomez that's right yeah jazz legend come on both Jazz Legends big time it was called hustle hustle good job yeah Anthony Edwards yeah aun was in that he was good in that too was he good yeah he was funny comic relief better than Ray Allen and he got game that wasn't good I like the movie Ray did a poor job not an Act was Anthony Edwards playing himself he was see like everybody's like well LeBron was really good in that one movie with that one gal and it's like yeah I laughed a couple times at LeBron but he was just playing himself playing yeah train W just playing train wreck yeah yeah with uh what's her name Chuck what did you say Chuck's niece Chuck's nie you said Chuck's s n was the there you go was the star of that movie Chuck's n or sneeze sne Chuck sneeze Chuck sneeze sounds like a made up quarterback in uh the new NCA football game Chuck Snee but see Ray ran into the he was playing someone else Ray all that's hard yeah it is just playing yourself being goofy that's easy Chuck's n Chuck sne stay tuned it's my Alias when I start stealing stuff and putting in lockers top three stories of the day at KSL sports.com coming up next 9975 the KSL Sports Zone who's got it better than us no your home for the best Sports coverage in Utah you're listening to Jake Scott and Ben Anderson on 975d KSL [Music] Sports Monday warri mean mean stride today's time so your mean mean Pride [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] J Man time with the top three stories of the day KSL sports.com brought to you by J Brooks Jewelers two locations to serve you one on Winchester Street across from Fashion Place Mall the other Traverse Mountain in Lehi all right Christian where are we starting today number one Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham named his backup quarterback right now cam Rising number one Isaac Wilson number two that's where we're at three and four still working through that but without much debate cam is one and Isaac is two uh this is what w had to say about Isaac Wilson I'm sorry for yelling at you about it yesterday uh Isaac has continued to get better each day he's seeing the field better making better decisions he's got a live arm ball comes out of his hand like it's supposed to very mobile that's another facet another strength of his being his being of his is being to have escapability in the pocket obviously a little nonsensical talk there but he senses the rush very is able to get himself out of jams and still make a play on the Move what what do you read into Isaac Wilson being number two uh that they don't think Brandon Rose is any good and they don't want Isaac to transfer I think not wanting Isaac to transfer is a big part of it I also kind of wonder if they feel like there is such a huge drop off from cam to whoever why not just go with the young guy like you're not going to win the Big 12 well I guess maybe that's the question do you think you can win the Big 12 with a backup quarterback no uh but I you know what I'm not convinced that if an injury were to happen during the season again I hate talking about this stuff especially with Cam's history I mean I hope he makes it all the way through but I'm not convinced that Isaac would necessarily be the first one Off the Bench probably depends on where it is in the season and who they're playing but either Huard is just awful or this is something else is at play I wonder if they would play play the guy with experience if they absolutely have to yeah if let's say it's a fourth quarter of a one score game and cam twists his ankle is gonna be out is gonna be out until next week you know he's going to come back like what do you do there yeah do you go Huard who's been on a field he's seen these drives before he's made these types of reads before hasn't done it excellently otherwise he would be starting at Washington you're missing the big one though is less likely turn the ball over yeah that's it and see that's the that's the Instinct I mean you talked a lot yesterday about wit's instincts I mean that's like his biggest one so is he gonna play a true freshman who's probably GNA make some mistakes or is he gonna play the guy that he thinks is not going to throw an interception so that's why I wonder I mean I think you know depth charts are cute they they are and they provide fodder for bozos like us and I appreciate that they do depth charts just don't know how much they actually mean and I wonder if push came to shove what they would do it is best case scenario if Isaac Wilson is actually the second best quarterback on the team yeah yeah and if that's true then that's really the best case scenario but I don't I don't know if that's true or not and then if he is good for Utah's future if he's good and you can talk him into staying he's your guy yeah if you have an answer post cam Rising which is going to be one of the huge questions for Utah not the biggest the biggest is what do you do after Kyle Whittingham and we know where Direction they're headed they've already named their backup quarterback there in Morgan scall how well he actually does is a different question but yeah if you can find somebody to step in and replace cam rising and be a guy that's interesting it is not however the same conversation we used to have about Utah you know eight years ago nine years ago because nowhere is it similar in college football if they're not good you go get a transfer you just go get a guy there's a lot of players available you know in the past think of what a big deal getting hu at Utah would have been oh they might go get a guy anyway because they' recruited over the top of young players they young quarterbacks that's why McKay hillstead left Utah State apparently yeah exactly right and Utah will get somebody else there will be another big name that comes into the program next year and a true freshman like they've already got a true freshman who's committed and they will still go get the junior or senior transfer that's life so you know beste scenario Isaac Wilson's good and he's good for a long time worst case scenario it's not a big deal at all uh well I don't know if that's worst case scenario I wouldn't say that Utah's certainly been left without a quarterback before that that would seem to be the lot worst case scenario Norm Chow stepped into the job and was like oh Mylanta did you guys forget you mean this little kid Jordan win is the only quarterback on the roster huh did you forget you have to have more than a one person B they have to have actual quarterback skills I think they were less sans's quarter back last year actually if you want to make an argument really the last two years where you know they had cam rising and nothing else it's amazing they won eight games last year without a quarterback so that I would argue is the worst case scenario Isaac doesn't work out nor does anybody else and next thing you know John Hayes is starting yeah uh Nate Johnson R tough all year of just not not trying to play him that's a very bad situation Bryson Barnes and again bless his heart and I love his story he's a walk-on yeah how are you left just with a walk-on you're a Pack 12 team you've got a walk- on playing I mean Utah truly didn't trust Nate Johnson Too throw the football they didn't give Bryson Barnes a scholarship until like two months ago yeah and now he's on Utah State right that was quite a year for Utah quarterback who was the guy Jason Shelly that was back in Huntley who wasn't that great he was on scholarship yeah right and he actually went out and beat Oregon to his credit M but you know what I mean like yeah I don't think best case scenario is he's good sure but worst case scenario is they have to go get somebody else well that's not yeah that's not the end of the world exactly right it could be that's not easy that's not something you TOS done it's not but you don't have to do that this year you got three guys you can cycle through the maybe I don't quarterback class is much deeper this year than it was last year quarter quarterback room samam rising's good yeah and we don't know about Wilson we don't or and they they are trying actively not to play Brandon Rose so I don't think their quarterback room is any better this year than it has been in the past or at least I don't know that I think there is is value in believing that your quarterback can do a thing called a forward pass right they didn't believe that last but hu was a five star recruit or whatever and now he can't even beat out a true freshman correct right I mean so yeah absolutely there's a reason he went from Washington to calp excited about going to that guy no which is why he's not to on the depth chart then why would you be excited about going to Isaac Wilson I don't know if he can play I have no idea because what you're hearing about Isaac Wilson now again it's what we're hearing in Fall Camp which you might as well just have who is the most popular player on every football team always the backup quarterback it's always the backup quarterback I get it why what position are we strangely obsessed with backck of quarterback I talked to PK about Corbin L today there was a bunch of you fans back in the day were like this is the replacement for Brian Johnson he is amazing yeah he is going to tear everybody a new one are you Bri Johnson yeah they couldn't wait to move him to safety and then he was so bitter about that he transferred to Nevada to do what play safety the biggest little football program in the world got one look at Corbin and they were like you're not a quarterback yet throngs of fans were like this guy you're not fooling us is amazing this is the next this is the next dude so I don't know I don't know if there quarterback rooms any deeper it has more celebrity factor it's hard to be worse than it was last year the once they lost Brandon Rose and they had nobody to go to do you think Isaac right now is better than the pck farmer no how was this role flipped I guaranteed he was going to throw for 200 yards every game last season and you said no and you were right most of the time but I was the one defending Utah's quarterback room last year and you were talking about bad it is and now we no I just don't think you can assume that it's a deeper quarterback room because you've actually heard of Isaac Wilson who's a true no actually it's and it's not even Isaac Wilson because I would say Isaac Wilson is probably a similar entity to what Utah had last year in Brandon Rose he just fell on a football and hurt his shoulder last year at least knock on wood if you're a Utah fan Isaac Wilson's healthy Brandon Rose was not and then you were getting to your three and four deep and I will say I think Utah's three and four this year is better than last year's which again insane to say it but look at what happened to Utah State last year look what happened to BYU last year sometimes you can find yourself playing your third and fourth quarterback and I will take Sam Huard I will take Brandon Rose who was last year's probably number two being three or four in that conversation I think that's better if you get down to a guy that can't beat out a true freshman and a guy that you're not even going to play in the bowl game I I don't care if they are better than they were last year Ben they stink I'm not saying and the team is going to stink if they get down to three and four Texas's quarterback therefore is a non-factor I do not care how good the fourth quarterback is they're gonna be terrible AB if Brandon Rose starts they're gonna be terrible I don't I I won't I won't coign that all right what's next number two Kanani sataki said he would like to announce a starting quarterback before week one yeah would like to do that we could we could do the old school Coach episode where we don't say anything and you guys don't know anything just throw out a punter out there just in case but I don't know I think we're just going to I think we do what's right I think the team has a good feel on on the guys that are battling for it but what I've been impressed with is that they're all getting better is he talking about Craig T Nelson coach like is he actually talking about the TV show Coach or was he talking about the old coaching trick of not naming a quarterback until I think he talking about that uh old coaching trick um yeah whatever I think he'll do the old coaching trick I think this that comment is almost setting up the well it's that close guys I'd tell you yeah I'd tell you if we knew but man it is that close between these two players are you surprised that McKay hillstead is not in this conversation at all it doesn't seem like I am a little surprised given that he transferred from Utah State because he was bitter that he didn't feel like he get a chance and now it feels once again like he's not getting a chance but if Bo Hannon really is like blowing everybody away cuz he's coming in and healthy and slinging it then I think that if you want to talk about best case scenario worst case scenario that is absolutely the best case scenario let me ask you is that what you're getting from what he's saying I don't I don't that's not what I'm hearing when he's talking about these this quarterback race I'm not hearing that bohannan has surprised everybody and now they've got this hard conversation where are you going to start Tyler Huntley even though he's younger and you've got a captain already on the team that's not the way I feel it's not a similar scenario to that no yeah I I just don't get that I don't get this idea like oh there's this unexpected candidate that we're just going to throw out there and that's going to be the star because they're they're playing so good we can't keep off the vi with Bohanan is he's had a great Camp not from not from Kanani's well I mean I'm sure he said something along those lines but I've heard it from other places that he's had a really great camp that they had low expectations for him after spring because he couldn't do much in Spring and that he's really torn it up and if that turns out to be true then that is really really good because no offense to Jake rett's laugh but I don't think the ceiling there is all that high my opinion but if it's just a narrative about banan then I think BYU's in trouble at that position it's a little ironic because bohannan historically has kind of been a low cealing guy if if he win if he beats out Rett laugh because R laugh ceiling is not that high and I know that's that's your words and I'm not trying to put that in's mouth purely my opinion yeah yeah which I think is totally fair I mean I think that's absolutely fine uh but Hannah winning is has gone from being what seems like the low excitement safe choice to maybe the more exciting choice and I'm curious how to feel about that can he throw I don't know how well Reta can throw all right what's next number three Utah Hockey Club released their rookie tournament schedule uh this is going to be cool again it's a little bit like uh the summer league but this is even closer to the start of the regular season the rookie Faceoff tournament will be hosted by the LA Kings next month from the 13th through the 16th and uh you have NHL rookies seven teams together including Utah Hockey Club going and throwing their uh their prospects out there to play it can be like summer league where you get to kind of wet your appetite uh yeah absolutely uh because you know hockey's different they're I don't want to say they're less cautious with their players but they're less regulated with what their players do now this is all under the umbrella of the Utah Hockey Club but some of these guys go off and play for other teams or go back to college and have these different opportunities uh but this is cool their first game is going to be against the San Jose Sharks who had the number one overall pick and took Mackin celebrini so a good taste you probably see T ginla see uh See Bowden out there some of these new players what do you think about the renderings of the facility I'm sure you got to look at those it was a little Bland but not every building needs to be the Eiffel Tower I I I just I'm not going to criticize building plans all that much I was excited about what the arena was supposed to look like in the original rendering that Ryan Smith put out I don't know if it's actually going to look like that no I was I was more interested in the concept less your architecture critique okay and more you know I would have gone mid-century modern up to me I know um oh I I love the idea of it and if you can build a bridge that goes over the freeway I guess why not build a bridge well that's a if they're going to keep it a mall that's a mall move right there right you got to get from the train into the they're not trying to get uh the assistant GM from the front R not taking the he's not taking the the bridge no that's a that's a move for South down mall like wow we need connection to that because that overpass is a zoo I can't even imagine walking over that thing yeah 106 South overpass so unfriendly to pedestrians but uh we're going to be inundated with hockey before long it's there's a they play a lot there's a lot of games and there's a lot of opportunities to see the team so well I wish they would have sampled something from the Baroque Period but I suppose it's a little it's a little Bland but functional I mean Frank lyd Wright wouldn't be thrilled no I'm not sure it matches the uh the surrounding nature somewh some dude in an Architecture Firm just like like threw his Rolodex hearing Ben talk about it what are you talking about yeah someone actually just spent some geek who drafted that for the last six months it's like how dare dare you what do you know some idiot gets on the radio it just absolutely that look boring stay tuned more next 975 the KSL Sport Zone the sports you love the teams you can't live without get a sense of urgency this is Jake Scott and Ben Anderson on 975 the KSL Sports Zone [Music] in my eyes in dis in disg no one knows has the face last the snake J Ben 975 the KSL Sports Zone Jake Scott Ben Anderson thank you very much for making us part of your day I can't believe this next story is true Ben we don't have to focus on this but you're aware of a quarterback named will Levis I am who's he he plays for the Titans right correct out of Kentucky uh so he is now sponsor in bin a fragrance will Levis number eight okay now do you know what the fragrance resembles Beach tones mayonnaise oh well mayonnaise stinks tastes good but does mayonnaise even have a smell I don't even does mayonnaise even have a well it's egg based so it kind of has that rotten NY smell I got to imagine though and I Hey listen I don't think uh I have a little lemon in there guess I don't think a good cologne is anybody's secret to meeting uh have you know getting a girlfriend sure like really if it it doesn't hurt but it's not I don't think it's going to make the difference I think it could make the difference the other way if you smelled like mayonnaise what can hurt is a bad smell a stinky person is hard to get a date yeah and not just like neutral smelling but like smell like mayonnaise yeah you're not getting a date you smell like eggs it's not going to happen I don't think you have to walk around wearing a Dr Noir but you can't smell like manise you can't smell like man what's that smell we're in the club oh don't worry that's me I've been drink lavis number eight some mayonnaise flavor eggs little oil in there some salt squeeze of I guess if you're actually trying to repel attention from sure if you're a celebrity yeah right you're trying to scare people off I don't need the headache I'm going to wear my will Levis number eight out to the club tonight [Laughter] yeah I'm just surprised mayonnaise and by the way should will Lis be like sponsoring anything it's kind of like the the baker Mayfield with all those State Farm commercials when he sucked for the Browns remember that yeah everybody's looking around like what are you what are you doing a national ad campaign for State Farm you stink do you know the the backstory for this why this is a thing no he puts it in his coffee right yes in the draft process uh when he was coming out uh he went viral for saying that he he puts mayonnaise in his coffee instead of coffee creamer that's the grossest thing I've ever heard and I like mayonnaise I like Mayo too it has a place uh not in coffee a lot of things go good in coffee not mayonnaise you can do powdered creamer you can do actual creamer you can do milk you can do little honey little honey if you want do a little scoop ice cream it's like a latte basically not Mayo there's nothing in mayo that goes in coffee by itself nothing none of the elements of mayonnaise have anything to do with coffee so I get it he's got now a unhealthy connection to mayonnaise it still doesn't mean coffee breath and his clone smells like eggs good job coffee breath with mayonnaise breath like a mixture of the two like that can't be good and I smell like mayonnaise in my personal life anyway I want to up I want to up this smell this guy's lucky he is a quarterback it's the only way he's going to get a date yeah dude you stink you're lucky you make millions of dollars you stink on and off the field yeah is he any good not we don't know yet he was okay his first couple of games and then fell apart like every quarterback once they scouted they got hurt they're like oh yeah we know we know who you are so don't take him in my fantasy draft then uh by the way Vikings uh quarterback J.J McCarthy has a torn miniscus which is actually a break for him because then he really has an excuse not to play and again these quarterbacks playing early is nothing but detrimental shouldn't be playing anyway in my opinion I'm with you I mean even the Patrick momes sat for a year I do think that that's healthy I don't think your guy Caleb Williams is headed for Success uh but potentially good news for jiren hall right is he gonna get to play for the Vikings uh well he probably has a much better chance of at least being on the two de making the roster yeah well it depends how long you out for a meniscus that's not a season no ending should injury but they might be extra careful with him which they should I don't think JJ McCarthy's going to be good but he's got a better chance of being good if he's not thrown into the mix day one uh Sam darnold's not going to win the job long term so that's fine he's the other backup in Minnesota he's got good hair somehow still floating around yeah the Jets God what a bad franchise amazing Sam darnold's had this good a career he got the will Leva stink off of him yeah seriously you play for the if you play quarterback for the Jets you might as well be wearing mayonnaise cologne just wear actual mayonnaise just going to have a stink just a stink on you did you see that player who got traded to the Jets like two months ago was already demanded a trade y get me out of here it's a disaster it's a disaster program can't fire their crappy offensive coordinator because he's Aaron Rogers buddy tried to hire a guy to actually be the offensive coordinator but that guy didn't take the job because they wouldn't give him the title of offensive coordinator he was just going to be like behind the scenes actually doing the work guy and Arthur Smith was like I don't think so bet Zach Wilson's the happiest person on the planet to not be in New York with the Jets yep 100% all right stay tuned we'll have uh more coming up next in fact we're going to uh switch gears a little bit Ben and uh talk a little college football with shahan jaraja he covers college football for CBS Sports we're going to talk to him next 975 the KSL Sports Zone who's got it better than us no your home for the best sports cover in Utah you're listening to Jake Scott and Ben Anderson on 975d KSL Sports Zone [Music] [Music] jaob Ben 975 the KSL Sports Zone let's get out of the Zone phone joining us now he covers college football for CBS Sports he is shahan shahan J araja with us here on jakc and Ben shahan thanks for a few minutes how are you I'm doing great thanks for having me uh we're excited for the college football season to kick off top 25 the AP poll comes out yesterday uh I guess your initial thoughts what were the surprises yeah to be honest I mean it was very chalky in fact I think that I saw stat that no one in the AP pole was more than two spots away from where they were in the coach's pole so that's how chalky we're talking I mean certainly look I knew that Michigan and Florida State were going to be rated in the top 10 off the strength of what they did last season I think you know for me there's just a lot of turnover I probably wouldn't have had them that high but I also understand why people kind of give them that level of credibility so really I mean the big thing heading into the years I think that these are just about the teams that I expect there's another stat that our CBS HQ team came up with as well that each of the uh playoff Champions since 2014 has started in the top six and I think that the top six is just about who you'd expect how strong do you expect Big 12 to be this year yeah I think it's going to be first of all a lot stronger than it was last year I think last year was a bit of a transitionary year across the conference and TCH was certainly able to take advantage of that but I think that you have more teams that are going to be closer to their Peak in 2024 certainly Utah would be top of my list I think that they have a chance to maybe have their best team uh under Kyle wedh since they moved to the power conference level I I think that certainly also you look at a team like Kansas with what they bring back so many 50e players a really really good secondary and a quarterback in Jaylen Daniels who when he's healthy might be the best in the entire conference uh then even you have some of these contenders like Iowa State who quietly went six and three last year and ranked number one in returning production you you look at a team like UCF who brought in some transfers at the skill positions like KJ Jefferson at quarterback and tenny Boon at running back to go with RJ Harvey and kobby Hudson and a really good uh defense and so I think that there's just so many teams that expect to compete and content and frankly I would say that there are two teams Arizona State and Houston who probably don't expect to make a bowl in 20124 I think all of the other 14 teams expect to be in a bowl game and there just aren't going to be enough with to go around I think we can tie in these first two questions with one another the chalky nature of the top 25 and and this new Big 12 that we're looking at because there's so much changing landscape is it chalk because we know so much about what's going to happen in college football this year or is it chalk because we don't know so we're just kind of stacking the usual names yeah I I think that it probably is a little bit more towards we don't know right I mean you have so much transition from I mean you look at the the college football playoff from last season three of the four teams in the playoffs lost their head coach of course National Champion Jim Harbaugh left for the NFL Nick Sabin retired and kayin dor went from one of these schools to another so I think that's a big part of it certainly uh and then even again I mentioned a team like Florida State who was number five they lost essentially every major contributor for their team and so I do think that there was kind of this stratification that was in some ways based on pedigree now I do think that when you look at the very top to me um I I think that the top three is pretty Set uh whatever order you want to put them in you know I had Ohio State as my preseason number one other you know the the AP PA is Georgia I think that those two teams are certainly on a different level then Oregon at number three I think is also a team that you can kind of just slot in there but once you get past them I mean number four Texas I think they'll be really good deserving number four but they lost a lot of the things that made them special from last year Alabama of course changing out of coaching staff Old Miss for a lot on transfers Notre Dame ring relying a lot on guys who haven't contributed for them so I I think that a big part of this is look I mean we know over the past five years or so what programs have consistently competed at the highest level and there is a level of difference that happens because of it you mentioned you voted Ohio State number one why does it seem like Ryan day has such negative Vibes I mean other than his shoe polish beard why is everybody hating on that guy well it's almost like this perfect case study right where Ryan day has done everything possible except for anything that Ohio State cares about right he has not won a big 10 title since the covid season and only one before the covid season he has made a playoff since the co season he's only won one playoff game which was during the covid season and he's won basically everything else except for that but he's one in six against top five opponents so it's it's this incredible like it's this incredible place to be in where it doesn't feel like they've achieved at the level that uh that Ohio State wants to contend at but they've clearly separated themselves from the rest of the field as well it's a again it's a really unique position to be in to be one of the elite teams but clearly not the elite team not just in college football but in their conference so look I I I think that college football history is littered with coaches who couldn't get over the hump until they did frankly Jim Harbaugh being among the chief among them right you look at the success he had at Stanford the success that he had at Michigan before he finally got over the top and finally won a big 10 title in 2021 and finally won a national title in 2023 so I think of that significant right so again it's sort of this question of like if you're Ohio State like your goal is to win a National Championship and frankly in 2024 with the investment that they've put in the roster and frankly the money that they put into the roster that is the expectation is that they're at least playing for a national championship and and have a very legitimate chance to win one but again this is this is the blessing and curse of being at Ohio State you have the resources in order to win a National Championship and frankly again hold your program in many ways over the rest of your own conference but when you don't do that you're gonna get criticized in a way that you're not going to at other program how fully are you believing in Texas and Steve sarkeesian yeah I think that there's a lot of reasons to be optimistic about them uh you know one I think their offensive line should be pretty good to they've got a returning quarterback in Quinn eers and and by the way it's going to be Quinn ewards it's not going to be Arch Manning but Quinn ewards is a third-year starter who's been really good for them and took a step last year defensively they've probably recruited better in some ways than even the offensive side of the ball and uh you know I don't think they're going to be as dominant on the interior defensive line but I think they'll be potentially a lot better uh on the outside and in the secondary as well so I I think that there's a lot of reasons to feel good about them I will say though too like I I wrote a piece actually yesterday kind of reacting to the AP pole and one of the things that's fascinating about the AP poll is that of in 20 of the last 21 Seasons a program that started the year in the preseason AP top 10 has fallen all the way out of the pole now I I certainly don't think that there's a pathway to Texas being that team but I will say too when you look at what they did well in 2023 they were an elite run def defense they were explosive and consistent at receiver with guys who had been in the program uh and they did just enough in the running game to make things happen well all of those aspects are going to be substantially worse this year they replace their two first and second round wide receivers with transfers who are outstanding like Isaiah Bond and Matthew golden but transfers nonetheless who haven't played at Tex and proven anything they lost their top running back CJ Baxter to a season ending the injury and their backup Jaden blue is a good player certainly not that level and they don't have a lot of depth behind them as well and then the big thing is they had probably the behind Georgia and 21 maybe the best interior defensive tackle combination of the past five years or so in college football which is why they were a top five rushing defense and those guys are gone and I don't think they have anywhere near the the guys to come in and replace that level of production so if they're successful in 2024 it's going to have to look a lot different than it was in 2023 but I think that when you look at the way they built up their roster they should have the pieces to do it how do you think it'll go for USC in the Big 10 year one yeah they're a fascinating team not just because of the issues that they showed last season in the pwall but also because of the change in scenery when you look at what they're going to do in the Big 10 this is a team that has of course over the past couple of years really relied on athleticism and Agility and and I don't think that you're just able to win that way in the Big 10 now they they made some really key moves on the defensive side of the ball that show me that they're at least serious about trying to rebuild themselves and you know the top among them of course bringing in defensive coordinator Dean ly bringing over Matt en from North Dakota State as their head coach of the defense bringing Eric Henderson as a defensive line coach Doug Belk as a secondary coach so like it's a really really good coaching staff on the defensive side of the ball but I do think that a lot of this ultimately rest with the head men and Lincoln riy how are is he going to allow his defense to practice in a way that sets him up for Success one thing that we've heard uh from you know Oklahoma and then USC practices is that this isn't a team that has a lot of contact in practice because they want to protect their players is a big part of it but also because of kind of a focus on the offensive side of the ball as well I I think that some of that does ultimately need to change in 2024 just in terms of practice Happ to help set them up for Success on defense so I think for me if they are a solid 8 and4 but show signs especially on the defensive side of the ball that's a successful season to me if they're back to fighting for bull eligibility that's a huge disaster BYU fans locally were so excited to leave Independence and have some foothold in a conference that brought a natural bit of relevancy to them as a national writer what's is there a consensus perspective on BYU as a football program in 2024 I don't know that there is in many ways because you know look the question for them coming in was always going to be we've known that they've had the topend talent to compete when they're playing four or five power conference games a year well last year and really most years heading forward now they're going to play 10 right nine conference games and and of course a non-conference opponent usually gets power conference opponent as well and that's just a lot to ask for any program it's it's a huge difference versus kind of needing to show up for certain games and I think that it tests your depth in a way that is just unique and last year I felt that I I felt like some of their high-end Talent was really good and they just did not have the depth to make it through a full Big 12 season and the coaching staff decided to go with consistency decided to go with maintaining the roster embedding on internal growth over uh bringing in more transfers or anything like that now I I think that there's validity to that especially because I don't think that this roster was you know too far away or a disaster or anything but I do Wonder right you look at the other three former G5 programs from last season all of them tried to not just find some starters but really bolster their death through the transfer portal over the the 23 24 off season so it's a different approach I think that BYU has always been a developmental program and and I do like that they're trying to rely on that piece of it because I don't think you want to lose your identity but there's a level of development that's just uh the level of development that you have to do is just a much higher level in order to compete in this league so I I think for me this is a really important season for BYU and colani sataki and uh frankly I mean if if things go four and eight three and nine I I mean I think that you know certainly I think depending on whether they make a coaching change or not I I think that regardless they have to change the way that they approach player acquisition in the Big 12 you know the football gets here and we get distracted from all the conference realignment stuff which is which is really great but uh the future of the ACC is very much up in the air can you give us your thoughts on on where that is going yeah from my perspective I think we're still a couple years away from legitimate movement now obviously I mean especially for someone like me who's been in the Big 12 when you start hearing noise when he starts seeing smoke like fires probably down the pipe and that of course uh created itself with Texas Oklahoma moving to the SEC but I do also think that when you look at these big moves that have happened over the past couple of years versus the acc's all of these moves that happened involved teams with conferences that were about to have their contract be up none of them were had to fight to get out of 10 additional years of contract I think it's going to make things very very very difficult for Florida State and Clemson especially as they try to get out they're going to have to try to raise hundreds of millions of dollars potentially to make this happen and then on top of that they're going to have to find a landing spot that delivers them hundreds of millions of more over the next 10 to 15 years so I I don't think we're especially close to having this resolved I don't think that there's an obvious answer unless of course Florida State or Clemson gets a A Surefire offer to be in the Big 10 or SEC which I don't anticipate so I I think we're going to live in this limbo for just a little bit longer and look I mean ESPN reportedly has a look in clause in 20207 I believe it is where they have an opportunity to renegotiate this contract if they want to that might be the first chance that we really see whether there might be any movement but at the same time I mean why would ESPN necessarily help one of these schools get out if they have them on a bargain contract to potentially try to funnel them to a league where they'd have to f a lot more so I don't think that we're especially close to movement happening but uh at the same time you just never know what these things uh we all get excited for college football at this time I guess what what's got you most excited for this season what what are you geared up for oh man it's it's everything right now right you talked about the Big 12 I mean just the level of parity and competition in this league I can't wait to see which team is the one that really kind of fights its way from the bottom half of the conference to the top half because I absolutely anticipate that that's going to happen I think around college football rights I'm fascinated to see how how the the new SEC kind of shakes out you Texas and Oklahoma especially moving from the Big 12 to the SEC it's going to be such a different Dynamic and again I mean when when you look around too I think the expanded college football playoff is going to make college football just so much more fun holistically because all of a sudden instead of seven teams or something like that competing for a four team playoff going into November it's going to be like 30 to 35 teams who still have a chance to get in when you head into the month of November so I'm fascinated I'm excited about it and and I think that that's going to really open up college football in a way that we haven't seen in a little while shahan we certainly appreciate your time thanks for coming on and sharing a little wisdom with us man we appreciate it enjoy the season thank you so much for having me yeah you bet appreciate it uh shahan J araja uh joining us here on Jake and Ben and uh he was great well certainly very thorough in the Big 12 and uh knows his stuff hence writing for CBS Sports on National level it's just I I I'm curious about the powers at the top a lot of love for Georgia a lot of love for Texas a lot of love for Oregon Kaylin deor has never lost anywhere he goes he just wins everywhere he goes and Alabama historically is a I'd call it a decent program I don't think it's going to go well for him in Alabama I don't I kind of believe in him as a coach why is that I mean he just took Washington to the national champ championship game which he's he's proven it everywhere he's gone that he wins Alabama though you're right is just a totally different animal than Washington I don't like him culture it's a different I don't like him at Alabama for the same reason that I don't like Sten Riley at USC you don't need a gimmick when you're Alabama or USC you know what Nick Savin was really great at recruiting the biggest strongest fastest guys yeah and then just running over his opponent it's what he did forever now got a little different with with Tua there a little Spice in there I don't even know if he had to but he did but the the formula of what made Alabama successful is that you don't have to get cute at USC you don't have to get cute you're automatically day one you should be bigger stronger faster than any team you play so why do you need kayin de boore plus I'm I am skeptical on coaches that rocket to the top because they found one player and you're talking about Michael penck and the success he had at Washington yep I think he got the job at Washington in part because he said like I'm bringing in a guy and then I think he had success at Washington because he had a guy now i' to your point and you're not wrong he has had success where where he's gone so maybe he is that coach that's more than just a guy but I am skeptical of that I have a little more faith that he's less gimmicky than then stinking then stinking okay I sure I I could buy into that and that's a leg up but there's a reason why there's a saying don't replace the guy don't be the guy who replaces it barely goes well there is never been a bigger the guy in college football than Nick Sabin he's the best coach in college football history well and by the way it's happened at Alabama too where they've had trouble multiple times in their history replacing the guy bear Bryan there was at least one coach between he and Jean Stallings and you could argue that Jean Stallings was good not great and then they couldn't replace Jee Stallings for like 10 years they had a schula in there that was terrible so it's not a guarantee you're going to win at Alabama just like it's not a guarantee you're going to win at USC they've been replacing Pete Carrol for 15 years now I guess in that sense my safest bet I would think this year would just be Georgia I'm a total believer in Kirby Smart I think Kirby Smart is probably the best coach in college football they're in the best recruiting landscape in all of college football the program is obviously at its peak so I would bet on Georgia of of the teams to bet on still don't know what to expect from Oregon though everyone loves Dylan Gabriel their quarterback I'm excited to watch them yeah I like laning yeah I think he's the best coach they've had at Oregon since Chip Kelly I agree with that with all due respect to Mark helrich I don't think he they didn't think he was very good no he wasn't I thought he would be good I didn't think Willie tagger was very good no Willie was bad and uh what's his name the guy in Miami that now I don't think he was that great either Mario christall landing's much better that was a great hire from them speaking of Georgia can you imagine being uh what's his name and having passed on the Oregon job to stay a cal some bad decisions out there bad decision stay here at Cal where I can't win and I'm going into the the AC can't wait think uh Willcox right you think he enjoyed flying I wonder where ACC media days are Greensboro right what a stupid world what a stupid world where happening here supposed to be at Cal I were a cal or Stanford fan I just quit not like there are any Cal or Stanford sports fans anyway well you're certainly not going any road gam what's the point what is the point of not making a quick JT over to to catch your team play Florida State this year it's not gonna be easy to do how stupid is that it's gonna be really weird middle the AC season just dumb to see well it's gonna be it's gonna be weird with the beaves and the CBS absolutely I just that's where I was going a league I just man Utah and BYU were lucky to be in a good spot so lucky lucky to be in a good spot and and that just because you're lucky doesn't mean you haven't earned it but still lucky ern's got nothing to do with it it's all Lucky Man are they lucky coming up next Cole bagley's going to join us of course he uh covers the Utah Hockey Club for KSL sports.com we'll ask him about the the big events yesterday and maybe even get into this rookie uh tournament stuff Ben stay tuned Jacob Ben 975 the KSL Sports Zone whether it's the Jazz Utes cougars or Aggies these guys have got you c h fellas you're locked on to Jake Scott and Ben Anderson 2 on 975d KSL Sports [Music] Z J Ben want to remind you to nominate the US Sports volunteer you know for the Hercules hero of the week submit your nomination in KSL sports.com contest and listen every Thursday afternoon to JJ and Alex for the winner help us celebrate the efforts of those volunteers making an impact with the Hercules hero of the week sponsored by Hercules Credit Union joining us now he covers the Utah Hockey Club for KSL sports.com he is Cole baggley with us here on Jacob Ben what's going on Cole I'm much how are you guys uh doing well Cole can you set the scene for what was going on yesterday where and what happened yeah so uh the um groundbreaking um for the new Utah Hockey Club practice facility um at the shops at Southtown um took place yesterday with um much of the ownership Ryan Smith Ashley Smith um and then a lot of the front office so Chris Armstrong Bill Armstrong head coach a bunch of players and then just a bunch of Staff members and there are some fans there as well so yeah just the uh ground breaking and um first look at what the uh Utah Hockey Club facility will look like and uh you know just the the details along with that Sandy city mayor and council members were there as well so it was a it was a big deal um your thoughts on on really the whole project and it coming together functionality I mean do you like the idea that it's supposed to be a 247 facility and its connection with the community and all that give me your thoughts on the Vision I think it's really cool um so it's crazy how quickly I mean it's crazy how quickly everything has has kind of um come together uh the fact that an entire franchise has has moved um to a new location a new city in less than six months is is wild and so um that that comes with the the need for a practice facility and I think Southtown is is a really good for it you know Ryan talked about how um you know this is going to be the home of not only the ukah hockey club uh team with the front offices and whatnot but it's going to be a staple of the community um very very um different and special uh project that will offer um fans and uh youth players uh the opportunity to experience uh these worldclass facilities um you know Brian said hey when our team is is off the ice here uh the community is going to be on the ice so uh youth youth leagues will be given the opportunity to play on the same sheet that their uh their uh hockey um Heroes uh as as was said yesterday um get to use and um I think it's I think it's brilliant you know to to come in and and establish a new brand um it's not an easy thing especially a brand that's not uh familiar that fans aren't really familiar with you know we're not a hockey state yet but this is a a really significant move in um building that brand in building the awareness of hockey and building the sport in Utah and so the fact that players are going to be able to youth players and and fans are going to be able to use the same facilities as the professionals is is just phenomenal at the announcement of the team at the Delta Center several months ago there was just this energy and you could sense the the players were impressed by the welcome and were excited about the new digs uh I know Nick bu's dad was there yesterday La of Krauss was there do you get the same feeling that they still have that energy that that this is new and exciting and that some of these things are are such a major change from what they had in Arizona yeah um I was able actually to talk with uh with Nick um yesterday and I asked him I said you you know you've had a you've had a couple months now to kind of process this move and you know what's it been like to have support from not only ownership but the fans and and he just he um he was at a loss of words uh for a minute and just said it's that it's truly been unbelievable um you know they they had decent support in Arizona but they've definitely uh taken a a step up um here in Utah to have so many people at what he called the pep rally for the team and and you know the continued interest is is is crazy and um yeah the excitement is still there and one thing that stood out to me that he that he said was you know we want to become um you know one with the community you know we want to get involved with the community we want to be out here with you guys we want to be skating out here with you guys and and uh you know to uh to coincide and so the excitement's still there and and and these these players are just awesome individuals who are looking toh assert themselves and and become um you know Staples themselves uh here in Utah who's going to get that c on the Jersey I know you've written about that recently yeah I mean this is not uh me reporting anything simply just me uh you know my opinion um I think it's going to be Clayton Keller um just looking at his resume you know he was drafted by the team uh the franchise eight years ago he's been with the team through the ups and downs um especially you know he's been you know kind of a primary voice and someone to to look to as they've moved and then uh he's he's just an he's he produces off iens L for this team he's the offensive leader um he scored I believe 98 goals and had about 127 assists over the last three seasons so he he leads the team um in scoring an assist over the the course of that time did it again last year was an Allstar um he's got the chemistry he's got the leadership he's been the primary rebuilding block um for for this club and so for me um that means that uh if they do name a captain they don't have to but if they do I'd be surprised if it wasn't Keller and then um you know I wouldn't but I also wouldn't be shocked if um you know they went with sergachev uh just a a very experienced guy um you know one of the top defensemen in the league a two-time Stanley Cup champion who played alongside Steven Stam Co in Tampa Bay who was one of the longest tenear captains in the league and has probably one of the greatest captains of this current ERA um but you know if you ask if you're asking me Clayton Keller will have the SE and I think sergachev will have the alternate Captain a on his sweater and those are the two best players on the team as you've mentioned uh and maybe a little interchangeable we'll see who is better this season but how does bringing a player of serach chev's quality in but also kind of name value how is that going to change the culture at youah like I in hockey is that something everyone's just going to wrap their arms around and they're excited to have them in or can that be disruptive I don't think it's going to be disruptive uh the culture of hockey just you know from my experience in and uh you know watching this league for more than 20 years is there's not a lot of padas you know there's not a lot of guys that uh are more about themselves than about the team's success and so I don't think it's going to disrupt I think it's going to be really helpful you know you're bringing a guy in that uh Has Lifted the cup twice who's played with the premier talent in the league um and and he's he's a significant addition I mean I would I would almost compare this to the uh you know the Darren William days where the where the Jazz went out and got Carlos Boozer you know a kind of a you know one of the top uh available guys obviously it was a trade so it wasn't free agency but to bring in a guy like this who is one of the best at his position um not only in terms of Defense but he produces offensively as well um and then just his experience I mean this this to me is the next step and something that I've talked to uh you know the front office about this is the next step in the rebuild here uh you know they've they've they've put their time in in terms of um developing young talent in terms of uh spending those draft picks and uh bringing in young guys guys like Logan kolie and and Don and and then obviously this year TJ ginla and Cole Bowden but now's the time to take that next step and sergachev is um kind of the headliner in terms of uh that next move so what are what do you think your expectations are on the ice for this club they're going to compete every night um you know there's there's going to be nights where they look like the best team out there and there's going to be nights where they look like they don't know how to play hockey but um that's okay and uh I I think this is a thing this something I was talking about with a few people yesterday this is a tough division um you know they've they've got uh Nashville who is who uh you know kind of reset uh their team a few years ago they've done really well they also actually brought in serach chev's former teammate step Stam coast and so Nashville is very very good Winnipeg is very good Dallas um is uh one of the top teams in the conference and the division and then you've just got other teams that are going to compete every night you got Colorado who you know won a Stanley Cup a few years ago and um so it's uh it's going to be tough um but I think with with what they've built they're going to be competitive and to me their ceiling is a playoff spot is um you know maybe making that first round um which would be fantastic you know even even if it ends up you know in a 40 or 4-1 loss uh you know having the Stanley Cup playoffs in Utah especially in the first season would be a big deal I think this this team is capable of that it's just going to depend on how quickly um do they come together you know how fast does a guy like sergachev have an impact and and uh you know John Marino from New Jersey and then you know what uh what steps are some of those young prospects going to take you know a guy like Logan Coy who came in and kind of shocked uh the league with his performance in the second half of last season you know what uh what's the next step for him you know does he take a leap and if he does you know how does this impact that team 36 wins last year for the club are you thinking five 100 can they be better than that yeah I'm thinking somewhere between 45 45 to 50 you know maybe maybe expand it you know somewhere between 40 and 50 um but you know it it takes a lot of wins it generally takes you know near that 50 to 55 Mark um you know to uh to get in Cole thank you as always for jumping on with us and keeping us up with the latest of course anytime appreciate you Bud uh Cole baggley covers Utah Hockey Club for KSL Sports St very cool to have a full-time KSL Sports Utah Hockey Club Insider who is dialed in on not just this team but the sport overall really excited to have already written a ton he he all over the news yesterday written this morning already yeah he's doing a great job yeah so uh fun to catch up if you are wanting to learn a lot about the team the minutia of hockey uh Cole's really the best in the bus and if they can be over 500 getting into the playoffs I think that that would do a lot for momentum keeping the buzz that the new of the new toy you're going to have to put a good product on the ice I mean I'm I'm convinced that's why Las Vegas took off like they did is they came in and they did a community thing and they built it from the ground up but they won pretty much right away went to the Stanley Cup their first year yeah right so I mean that helps I'm not expecting that for the Utah Hockey Club but no I think you're right winning like and to the point where again I'm not pretending I know even how this trade deadline Works compared to other leagues but you may be a buyer throughout the year you know you may continue to try to get better and continue to get better and I know that uh Bill Armstrong has said they're not going to skip steps in this process and they don't want to interfere with how much work they've put down already to rebuild this thing naturally but you know if you are good if you are finding some of that energy I could I could see the team continuing to invest so big thanks to Cole for jumping on with us we appreciate that we'll wrap up the show get you ready for Hansen Scotty next 975 the KSL Sport Zone the sports you love the teams you can't live without s urgency this is Jake Scott and Ben Anderson on 975 the KSL Sports Zone talking Sports they got him Jon on This Ti got sty his oh [Music] my from the the [Music] basketball Jacob 975 the KSL Sports Zone want to remind you about Peach doors and windows amazing home Transformations begin with Peach where five star reviews are the norm call them today for your free inhome estimate 80566 1255 Peach doors and window shahan J araja was on with us earlier today uh talking college football and he mentioned this maybe being Utah's most talented team that they've had under Kyle Whittingham uh this used to not be a very nuanced conversation because there was two teams to pick from it was the Sugar Bowl team or it was the fiesta bow Team and I know Whit wasn't coaching the fiesta bow Team but we're getting to the point where there's just been enough good teams at Utah I don't think it's that easy of a conversation and you have these funny years where I'm not comparing Utah to you know Alabama but there are even Alabama teams that won championships there is a clear hierarchy of like well that team was actually the best versus you know some of these other teams and we've talked about this Utah's second Pack 12 title team was nowhere near the team uh that won it the first year the year before do you think this Utah team does it feel like it's as talented as maybe that team was the first first do you think they're closer to the first Pack 12 title team or the second um I would probably think second in all honesty because we don't know the running back situation yeah I don't know if they have a superstar like they did on defense that year I just I sometimes those I don't like those combos like the most talented yeah sure um for example like I think the 04 Utah team was way more talented than most of the Pack 12 teams and I bet you youth fans would disagree disagree with that and wit would probably himself be like well that 04 team wasn't nearly as deep and okay depth but you had well you stay healthy who cares the number one quarter the number one draic yeah you had two allconference receivers when was the last time Utah had two they had arguably three All Conference receivers because they had Steve seavoy Paris Warren and Mark Matson who played yeah in the NFL they had two All Conference Johnson John what did I sayk Mark no he's a basketball player they had two allconference running backs in Marty Johnson and Quinton ganther a defense that was loaded yeah including Eric wed right and that's I so i' like that's that's you get into the well the most talented team it almost feels like you're letting teams off because you're saying like well they're not going to be as good as their talent is I mean their talent is amazing it almost feels like you're giving bad teams credit by being like oh they're way more talented than their record I don't know if this team is more talented I think it's good that they have an upper classman quarterback I think that goes a long way I think the defensive line is as talented probably as it's been but I don't know if it's more talented than than it was a couple of years ago I don't know if it's more talented than that 04 team I don't think they have a lot of holes what what year did was three years ago that Utah won it the first time in the Pack 12 or in the Pack 12 in 2020 W right right um and it's funny that team still lost four games it wasn't like that team went undefeated uh but they did have in Devon Lloyd a superstar he he was a superstar the same way Eric wed was a superstar and Alex Smith was a superstar of college football those were yeah I'd come along with that sure um I I'm curious if Utah has somebody like that emerge uh and if someone's yelling through the radio cam Rising is a superstar I I would listen to it I'm not sure he's quite that I mean legitimately Alex Smith was the best player at his position in college football Eric wed might have been the best safety in college I mean whatever you wanted to play him about was the best cam Rising we've said this forever cam Rising is a winner he's not necessarily a superstar Deon Lloyd was a superstar he was just a the best linebacker in the country he just wrecked teams it was unbelievable what he could do I wonder if Utah has the ability to get to that and if they don't that doesn't mean they can't be great all around but the 2018 was great all around maybe you disagree they they were great all around they weren they weren't nearly as good as the 04 team Superstar there and then I would say that about the team in 2022 at Utah who had lost Devon Lloyd and had lost Britain cvy those guys were stars those guys were gamechanging stars I'll be curious if they have that backed into the title which is fine I mean hard but yeah that's why you know it's funny like when these some teams get over the hump where they like the the Jazz got to the finals in 96 97 wasn't that is that 9798 uh those two teams I don't think were John and Carl's best teams necessarily okay listen to that the se's parted but they made it to the finals they they the circumstances like John and Carl were both old yeah right by the time they made the fin yes Carl had won an MVP but you go back to like that 89 roster probably was better right as is it the the best team but that 89 team ran up against the showtime Lakers and you know whatever right like the the Darren Williams Carlos Boozer team that made it to the Western Conference Finals was not the best Darren Williams Carlos Boozer team agreed so it gets a little it gets a little tricky yeah results don't indicate what you have on the floor all right Hansen Scotty G you're coming up next they're getting Lander Bon on all right stay tuned for that we'll talk to you tomorrow 975 the KSL Sport Zone