This article was first published as Cougar Insiders Newsletter. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox every Tuesday evening.
In this week’s NFL draft, Zach Wilson is featured as the second tallest player to join the New York Jets. If four or more cougars are taken, it will be most in years, maybe history.
By at least one matrix, BYU has seven potential players on the draft board, and that would be as high as any other season. It is more likely that only three will be drafted, Wilson, OT Brady Christensen and cornerback Chris Wilcox. But also defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga, receiver Dax Milne and offensive guard Tristen Hoge and Matt Bushman could be drafted.
The Deseret News reported extensively on Wilson and other BYU stories that led to this draft. Our work includes the following stories just last week:
Behind the Scenes of a Top NFL QB Conscript (Jay Drew)
Why did Wilson pick the brains of ex-Jets QBs? (Brandon Judd)
What Norm Chow thinks is Wilson’s success, Roderick (Dick Harmon) does
Meet the Men Who Helped Zach Wilson as a First Round Player (Jay Drew)
Does it really matter who Wilson played against? (Dick Harmon)
Kavika Fonua played six positions, will it help? (Jay drew)
Wilson: It’s All About Family (Doug Robinson)
Cougar Insider Predictions
Question of the week: is BYU a volleyball school?
Jay Drew: Diehard BYU fans may view this as blasphemous, much like taking the names of LaVell Edwards or Stan Watts in vain, but it’s becoming more and more obvious that the school’s best sport isn’t football or basketball.
It’s volleyball.
Year after year, BYU’s men’s and women’s volleyball programs have been successful at both local and national levels. In a strange convergence due to the pandemic that shifted the women’s season to spring, both programs have taken center stage for the past few weeks – and neither program disappointed.
The women got the number 16 at the NCAA tournament and swept UCLA before hitting a number 1 in Wisconsin.
The men won their conference tournament last weekend, defeating the Grand Canyon and Pepperdine. You’re number 2 in next week’s NCAA tournament and looking to win your first national title since 2004.
Yes, volleyball is the most successful sport at BYU. And it’s really not that close. The cross-country teams are likely in second place.
Dick Harmon: No question about it, volleyball is brand new at BYU. In non-COVID-19 years, it attracted masses of capacity. It is exciting. The sport is led by outstanding coaches who are at the forefront of their profession and have been for decades.
The men’s team is well on its way to winning a national championship and has been at the top for many years to make it to the final or semi-finals. You can argue that BYU is actually becoming a volleyball school because of its success and well-deserved praise.
But football and basketball – even in years up and down – are far more visible. Football has been the crucial welcome mat on the university porch for years. It garners most of the attention, press, media, money, ticket sales, and national television exposure. It pays all the bills. But that shouldn’t detract from the fact that Jay does it very well. It’s volleyball that makes it to the top of the game, not soccer or basketball.
Cougar Tales
BYU’s men were ranked number 2 in the NCAA tournament in Columbus, Ohio and are automatically entered into the semifinals. The Cougars are 18-3 and are run by a world class server Gabi Garcia Fernandez. You can read more about Garcia Fernandez’s skills and acumen in this piece by Jay Drew.
BYU’s women’s soccer team has earned a spot in the NCAA championship and will also say goodbye in the second round.
In golf, BYU women lost a two-shot lead in the finals and faded away at the WCC championships in Henderson, Nevada. The BYU men will play their WCC tournament championship this week at the same location in Henderson, Reflection Bay. Last Saturday, BYU’s Carson Lundell picked up medalists with a 13-under-par card at the annual Ping Cougar Classic.
BYU Center Kolby Lee explains why he switched from Jeff Call to Dixie days before his landing site was announced in this piece.
From the archive
From the Twitterverse
Jesse Wade announces resignation (@ Jessewade10)
Kolby Lee signs with Southern Utah (@ Krlee21)
Zach Wilson’s first Nike ad posted (@usnikefootball)
Jets’ Podcaster Praises Wilson Pick (@tydunne)
Mural of Wilson in Provo (@DailyUnivSports)
Breakdown of How Wilson Was Discovered (@RapSheet)
Extra points
- How Zach Wilson went from journeyman NFL gamer to NBC Washington QB guru
- BYU’s Allysha Mae Mateo named WCC Player of the Year (Daily Herald)
- What Norm Chow thinks of Zach Wilson’s success is Roderick (Deseret News)
- BYU Football Adds Another Wilson (Deseret News)
Fanalyst
Comments from readers of Deseret News:
Jealous Utah fans all talk but no step when it comes to comparing QBs.
Utah QBs threw as many interceptions in Utah’s first game as Zach did in TWELVE games.
Only a delusional Utah fan would try to attribute this solely to SOS.
There are many reasons why Zach will be the second player selected in the 2021 NFL Draft that has absolutely nothing to do with BYU’s 2020 SOS.
However, this is the only explanation the jealous knuckle-biters can come up with.
Even so, I laugh at the jealous hysteria every Zach article creates on the hill.
– BlueCoug
Next
April 29 | 6 p.m. | Baseball | St. Mary’s College | Provo
April 29th – May 1st | TBA | Men’s golf | WCC championship | Henderson, Nevada
April 30th | 6 p.m. | Baseball | St. Mary’s College | Provo
April 30th | TBA | Athletics | Fresno State Invitational | Fresno
April 30th | 2 p.m. | Softball | Loyola Marymount | los Angeles
May 1st | 1 p.m. | Baseball | St. Mary’s College | Provo
May 1st | TBA | Athletics | Texas A & M | College Station, Texas
May 1st | TBA | Football | NCAA 2nd round | North Carolina
May 1st | Noon | Softball | Loyola Marymount | los Angeles
May 1st | 2 p.m. | Softball | Loyola Marymount | los Angeles
3-4 May | TBA | Athletics | Weber State Invitational | Ogden
May 4th | TBA | Baseball | Utah Valley | Orem
May 4th | 3 p.m. | Softball | Southern Utah | Cedar City
6-8 May | TBA | Men’s volleyball | NCAA tournament | Columbus, Ohio
Comments are closed.