It was a whirlwind of a Tuesday in Cougar Country as Logan Fano and other BYU Football players entered their names into the NCAA Transfer Portal but the news that BYU has hired Jay Hill as the team's newest Defensive Coordinator also broke.
Luckily the Hype Train Pod was live on Tuesday night reacting to all the latest news.
Logan Fano Enters the Portal
The sky was seemingly falling on Tuesday morning when former Four-Star defensive end Logan Fano announced that he was entering the transfer portal and it was quickly hypothesized that he would follow his younger brother to Utah. Fans and media alike had strong reactions to the news. After all, Fano seemed poised to play a large role for the BYU defense as they entered the Big 12. Some thought that Fano's departure was indicative of issues within the BYU program while others criticized Fano, calling him a "coward" or "a liar."
But the reality is most likely neither and is rather just the reality of the newest era of College Football. ESPN reported that as of Monday Night, the first day of the open portal window, that over 1,000 players had entered the portal. Many of those are starters from big time Power Five programs, including Clemson, Alabama and Texas A&M. In fact, based on some quick math, it appears as if 13 or more FBS teams have lost their 2022 starting QB to the portal, including premiere programs like Wisconsin, Texas A&M, North Carolina and Clemson.
So, if it can happen to A&M, Clemson and other P5 schools, who's to say it can't happen at BYU? Players will leave every year now that the portal is available to athletes. It was definitely going to happen to a BYU team that went 7-5, lost the majority of their defensive staff and is on the cusp of joining the Big 12. And it's probably going to happen again next year as the staff evaluates where the roster stands after a year of P5 competition. The sky isn't falling, it's just changing.
BYU hires Jay Hill as Defensive Coordinator
Immediately after recording ended, ESPN's Pete Thamel reported that BYU was hiring Jay Hill as Defensive Coordinator. Fortunately, sources had indicated to members of the Hype Train that this was in the works days ago and even addressed it on the podcast.
Hill comes to BYU with experience on the defensive and offensive side of the ball, but at his core is a defensive guy. He played cornerback at Ricks College - now BYU-Idaho - and then the University of Utah. After his playing days he coached under Ron McBride, Urban Meyer and Kyle Whittingham and with Kalani Sitake at Utah before taking over as Head Coach at Weber State in 2014, where he called the defense.
You could make the argument, and you'd probably be right, that the Weber State defense under Hill's leadership was BETTER than BYU's in 2022. With two common opponents, Utah State and Utah Tech, the Weber State defense outperformed the Cougars in both. Weber State held Utah State to just 7 points compared to the 26 points the Aggies scored against BYU. Then Utah Tech was held to 14 points against Weber State but tallied 26 against the Cougars.
Imagine what Jay Hill can do with BYU and Big 12 resources and recruits.
Grade: A
For a more in-depth analysis and thoughts on the latest news, including who could start for the Cougars in the New Mexico Bowl, listen to the full Hype Train Episode.
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