P.J. Petersen, Folsom Times

Daily Herald sports reporters Darnell Dickson and Brandon C. Gurney use their sports expertise to riff on the hot BYU sports topics of the moment.

1. How significant is the commitment of 5-star quarterback Ryder Lyons for the BYU football program? Are fans and media alike making too big of a deal of it?

GURNEY: I believe it’s truly significant in that it’s not just Lyons committing to the program, but several other top flight recruits such as Bott Mulitalo, McKay Madsen, and Alai Kalaniuvalu, among others. BYU has landed big recruits in the past, but the fact that Lyons commitment comes in conjunction with those of other top prospects indicates that BYU has reached a new tier in its overall recruiting profile and potential.

So no, we’re not making too big of a deal out of it. Lyons’ commitment made national news and it’s an extremely good look for the program, even if he never reaches his 5-star potential. Other top recruits are taking notice and it could very well be a harbinger for even greater recruiting returns.

DICKSON: Ah, summer, the time when every team is undefeated and every recruit is a game-changer. It’s easy to roll your eyes at all the hype that accompanies recruiting but as they say in Utah, “Ryder Lyons is the rill dill.” Look, the only folks NOT excited about Lyons are Utah fans who can’t seem to wrap their heads around the simple fact that BYU is using its resources to become major players in the recruiting game. Nothing immoral about that as long as it’s within the new rules, right?

Here’s how I look at the commitment of Lyons, who won’t even step on the Cougars practice field until 2027 after his church mission: One recruit doesn’t make your football program. What it does is enhance your visibility among other highly-rated recruits, and when you start stacking four and five-star recruits year over year, you increase your chances of getting to the college football playoffs and doing something special. Lyons is a duel-threat quarterback but won’t play defense. (At least, I don’t think he will. Who really knows?) Getting a five-star quarterback in your program may help you recruit a four-star cornerback, or a four-star edge rusher, and now you’re cooking with gas.

2. What’s a reasonable expectation for Ryder Lyons with regards to potential and how soon he’ll be able to legitimately compete for the starting quarterback position?

Daily Herald file photo

DICKSON: Projecting anything in college football is getting to be a hard chore. Heck, even Phil Steele got everything wrong in his magazine predicting the Big 12 last year and he’s NEVER wrong, is he? Seriously, I think I know less every year about the teams in the Big 12 and what they might do because of all the changes that takes place on rosters in the offseason.

With Lyons, you’d have to expect he would need a year to get his feet back under him after his mission and honestly, the coaches hope they have their quarterback room arranged in such a way that there’s no pressure for him to be ready right away. If you’re relying on a returned missionary to lead your team into the season, yikes. Then again, Lyons seems to be a special talent and could be ready sooner than you think.

GURNEY: Two years starting is the bar for any recruit rated a 4-star prospect or higher in my mind and that should absolutely be the expectation for Ryder. When watching his film it’s very easy to see why he’s regarded as highly as he is and he’s very much the type of dual-threat quarterback that football tends to be trending toward.

Ryder plans on entering the football program in time for the spring practice session in 2027. Given that timeline I expect him to compete immediately for a starting spot for that season. Of course a lot of it depends on how BYU is stocked at the position when Ryder returns, and things rarely work out the way you think, but given Ryder’s very apparent ability I would expect him to compete immediately.

3. We’ve both covered a lot of top local recruits through the years who played locally. Who is flat out the best local high school player you have ever covered?

GURNEY: I’m going to dig deep here and provide a name many probably aren’t aware of or have forgotten about; Brian Soi. Soi played for Timpview about 20 years ago and stands as the single most dominant interior defensive lineman I’ve ever covered in this state.

Soi signed with BYU out of high school, declining offers from the likes of Texas, USC and many others, but wasn’t able to qualify academically. He eventually ended up playing for Utah State and did attach himself to some NFL practice squads after, but never fully became what I thought he could be when watching him wreck offensive lines for the Thunderbirds.

I’m going to cheat here and give another quite obvious one; Puka Nacua. In the 4A state semifinal his senior season I saw a defensive gameplan where opposing coaches literally triple-covered Nacua on every down. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that type of coverage before and don’t think I’ll ever see it again. Puka was just that dominant and he’s more than validated his great potential in starring for the Los Angeles Rams as truly one of the best receivers in the entire NFL.

DICKSON: Man, I could write for days on this subject. I’ve seen so, so many fantastic high school football players. Some have gone on to amazing college and even pro careers. Others kind of flamed out and had just their glory days in high school to look back on. Here are a few that come to mind.

Timpview linebacker Bryant Atkinson was one of the more dominant players I’ve seen. Britain Covey, also a Timpview alum, was remarkable as a running quarterback. He made so many defenders look silly trying to tackle him, it was like the fastest kid at recess in grade school. They couldn’t touch him. Reno Mahe, who played at Brighton, was an amazingly gifted runner who I wrote was a “fleet-footed wisp of smoke” in one of my game stories. I still like that turn of phrase. There was one summer when Paul Walkenhorst, who played at Lone Peak, put on about 30 pounds and became a lock down linebacker the next fall. Like Brandon said, Puka Nacua was unbelievable at Orem. Just uncoverable and he had the best body control of any high school player I’ve ever seen. Noah Sewell, who played his senior year at Orem and is now an NFL linebacker, was absurd in high school. He was just so physical and strong. I’ll end there, but I’ve got more if you ever want to visit this topic again.

4. BYU head coach Kalani Sitake was optimistic when being interviewed about this year’s team this past Monday. What do you believe will prove to be the best aspect of this year’s team and the biggest reason to be optimistic about the coming season?

DICKSON: Special teams was, well special, last season. Could it be this year? Everybody is back except for Keelan Marion (good luck in Miami), who had two kickoff returns for touchdowns. What struck me last year about the special teams was superior execution. Kelly Poppinga really got this group grooving on all cylinders and it made such a huge difference. Will BYU return four kicks for TD’s this year? Not likely. But I believe kicker Will Ferrin will continue to be a terrific scoring weapon, Garrison Grimes is one of the top deep snappers in the country, Sam Vander Haar will keep improving as a punter and Parker Kingston will continue to be elusive as a punt returner. In addition, I think Poppinga will keep the coverage teams doing their job.

GURNEY: I believe that all the parts are in place for BYU to field one of the best defenses we’ve ever seen in Provo. The linebackers are elite, the interior defensive line should prove much deeper than a season ago, and the defensive ends include a lot of top end talent. The safety position looks to be as deep as we’ve seen most years and there’s enough cornerback talent to overcome the losses of Jakob Robinson and Marque Collins.

It’s also BYU Defensive Coordinator Jay Hill’s third year administering the defense, and while his defense showed very well a season ago, I believe it’s in the third year when any given system, offensive or defensive, really solidifies within a football program.

We’ve both interviewed coaches for BYU football who are great to speak with and truly engaging, while others are somewhat lacking in those regards, to put it nicely. Who is your current favorite coach on BYU’s football staff to interview and why?

GURNEY: I sincerely enjoying interviewing every BYU coach on the football staff, so this one is a bit tough for me. But I’m going to go with Defensive end Coach Kelly Poppinga. Kelly always is very personable and usually begins interviews inquiring about your current state, what you’ve been up to and so on. His answers are always interesting and he gives a good effort in providing the best information he can about his position group.

DICKSON: The thing fans don’t understand is that sometimes the quality of the interview depends on the setting. In a media scrum with 50-plus reporters, you’re not going to get much no matter who you are interviewing. Get them in a 1-on-1 situation or with just a few reporters and it’s just a couple of guys having a chat. Man, we live for those moments.

Gurney already stole Poppinga, so I’m going to go with Jay Hill. As a coordinator he could be very coy and just give general answers but he’s not and he doesn’t. He’s always willing to go in depth about a player or a position group and is very up front with his answers. You can tell he has confidence in his players and his scheme.