Riley Nelson to fill Marc Lyons shoes in the broadcast booth

I just heard that Riley Nelson will be taking over color commentary from Marc Lyons.



Personally, I think it's a great move. Riley in addition to being a very good QB is also incredibly smart and well spoken. I've listened to him numerous times on ESPN960 and he's always clear and informative in his comments.



https://twitter.com/BYUfootball/status/1130870928957513728

Would love to know whom else they interviewed or at least the final candidates.



No problem though with Riley. Was listening to him in the car going home last night with Criddle on 960 and he seems like he'll do a good job. The comment I found most interesting was that he had the same exact injury that Wilson is rehabbing from. He said he's spoken to Wilson in the last month and his greatest concern is that Wilson, being younger, will push himself a little too much too soon.

EM_Puma wrote:

Would love to know whom else they interviewed or at least the final candidates.



No problem though with Riley. Was listening to him in the car going home last night with Criddle on 960 and he seems like he'll do a good job. The comment I found most interesting was that he had the same exact injury that Wilson is rehabbing from. He said he's spoken to Wilson in the last month and his greatest concern is that Wilson, being younger, will push himself a little too much too soon.

The good news for Wilson is that there's a competent QB on the roster besides him, Jaren Hall could step in and be a big time QB at BYU if Wilson needs more time to rehab. Riley Nelson didn't have the luxury of having other QBs who could shoulder the load.

hawkwing wrote:

The good news for Wilson is that there's a competent QB on the roster besides him, Jaren Hall could step in and be a big time QB at BYU if Wilson needs more time to rehab. Riley Nelson didn't have the luxury of having other QBs who could shoulder the load.

Yeah, and that is exactly what could push Wilson to try to take his place before he actually should. I see a lot of potential for that because it's not like he's guaranteed the spot if Jaren looks like he could start.

Riley Nelson knows all to well about doing too much. We would have beat BSU with Taysom if Riley had been honest about his injuries.



I feel mixed about this. I've never heard Riley on the radio except when he was injured and I recall not caring much for it--but maybe that's because I didn't care much for his play.



I would have thought that Criddel or Cam Jensen would have been tapped for this. I hope they were at least interviewed and offered.



Ultimately, I trust Greg Wrubell. I have HUGE respect for him. And I'll miss Marc Lyons.

Am I the only one with a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth about Riley and the way he destroyed the unity in the locker room when he was a player? My memory doesn't recall the particulars other than he was the cause of contention. He also has made he detest the word "grit." I'm willing to forget and forgive and give him a fair shot at the position. I'm just taken back a little by all the praise and accolades he is getting - as if he was always a team player. He wasn't.

1967cougar wrote:

Am I the only one with a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth about Riley and the way he destroyed the unity in the locker room when he was a player? My memory doesn't recall the particulars other than he was the cause of contention. He also has made he detest the word "grit." I'm willing to forget and forgive and give him a fair shot at the position. I'm just taken back a little by all the praise and accolades he is getting - as if he was always a team player. He wasn't.

I think a number of fans have a bitter taste in their mouth, but I think by and large they are mistake in doing so. You say you remember that he wasn't a team player, but in actuality the problem was that he WAS a team player. He worked out daily with the team, pushed the team and lead the team through summer workouts and encouraged optional workouts and overall pushed the team to new levels of commitment and effort.



On the other hand there were a small handful of highly touted recruits that were coming in, they didn't practice with the rest of the team, they only hung out together, they expected the rest of the team to do what they said. The very opposite of team players. Interestingly enough the entitled players ended up either getting humbled and returning to working hard, or they failed and never were able to find success at BYU or anywhere else.



It just goes to show you that hard work and effort trump recruiting stars and little effort.

I liked Riley Nelson even with his flaws. He was not a perfect player or leader but he worked really hard and was completely invested in BYU. He has some HUGE shoes to fill. Marc Lyons was a staple of BYU football for many, many years. I look forward to the new flavor he will bring to the radio broadcasts and wish him well.

hawkwing wrote:

Am I the only one with a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth about Riley and the way he destroyed the unity in the locker room when he was a player? My memory doesn't recall the particulars other than he was the cause of contention. He also has made he detest the word "grit." I'm willing to forget and forgive and give him a fair shot at the position. I'm just taken back a little by all the praise and accolades he is getting - as if he was always a team player. He wasn't.

I think a number of fans have a bitter taste in their mouth, but I think by and large they are mistake in doing so. You say you remember that he wasn't a team player, but in actuality the problem was that he WAS a team player. He worked out daily with the team, pushed the team and lead the team through summer workouts and encouraged optional workouts and overall pushed the team to new levels of commitment and effort.



On the other hand there were a small handful of highly touted recruits that were coming in, they didn't practice with the rest of the team, they only hung out together, they expected the rest of the team to do what they said. The very opposite of team players. Interestingly enough the entitled players ended up either getting humbled and returning to working hard, or they failed and never were able to find success at BYU or anywhere else.



It just goes to show you that hard work and effort trump recruiting stars and little effort.

Well said!

I could have seen Criddle be in the mix, but I believe both are very much alike and I've enjoyed listening to both. Criddle gets a bit too sanctimonious and sarcastic some times, but I understand. One of the reasons I wouldn't want the job is that during the 2 years I wrote on-line for Cougar Blue over at Daily Herald, I hated that when BYU sucked and lost, you had to still remain in the game. I always think of Greg Wrubell and his having to broadcast that year that BYU only won 1 game in MBB. I guess you have to keep saying that it's part of the job, but I really didn't like submersing myself in the game after a stupid loss. I just wanted to slink off and hide. I'm in finance and you have some tough days here and there, but nothing at work has ever felt like it feels when you lose a game and need to pick up the pieces. It takes some thick skin to write or telecast sports. I'm personally not too comfortable in that setting.

I agree. Well said. Leave it to Hawk to restore sanity and levelheadedness to situational memory. Thank you!

byufan4ever wrote:

1967cougar wrote:

Am I the only one with a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth about Riley and the way he destroyed the unity in the locker room when he was a player? My memory doesn't recall the particulars other than he was the cause of contention. He also has made he detest the word "grit." I'm willing to forget and forgive and give him a fair shot at the position. I'm just taken back a little by all the praise and accolades he is getting - as if he was always a team player. He wasn't.

I think a number of fans have a bitter taste in their mouth, but I think by and large they are mistake in doing so. You say you remember that he wasn't a team player, but in actuality the problem was that he WAS a team player. He worked out daily with the team, pushed the team and lead the team through summer workouts and encouraged optional workouts and overall pushed the team to new levels of commitment and effort.



On the other hand there were a small handful of highly touted recruits that were coming in, they didn't practice with the rest of the team, they only hung out together, they expected the rest of the team to do what they said. The very opposite of team players. Interestingly enough the entitled players ended up either getting humbled and returning to working hard, or they failed and never were able to find success at BYU or anywhere else.



It just goes to show you that hard work and effort trump recruiting stars and little effort.

Well said!

I agree. Well said. Leave it to Hawk to restore sanity and levelheadedness to situational memory. Thank you!

hawkwing wrote:

On the other hand there were a small handful of highly touted recruits that were coming in, they didn't practice with the rest of the team, they only hung out together, they expected the rest of the team to do what they said. The very opposite of team players. Interestingly enough the entitled players ended up either getting humbled and returning to working hard, or they failed and never were able to find success at BYU or anywhere else.

Are you talking about recruits for the football or basketball team?

SpiffCoug wrote:

On the other hand there were a small handful of highly touted recruits that were coming in, they didn't practice with the rest of the team, they only hung out together, they expected the rest of the team to do what they said. The very opposite of team players. Interestingly enough the entitled players ended up either getting humbled and returning to working hard, or they failed and never were able to find success at BYU or anywhere else.

Are you talking about recruits for the football or basketball team?

Hah, we've had a few entitled kids come through both programs recently, haven't we?