BY KEN DRIGGS, DESERET NEWS COUGAR BLOG GUEST BLOGGER It was a hot early summer night in Tempe. The vaunted 1983 BYU baseball team was paired with a legendary college baseball program, Arizona State University, in the first round of the NCAA playoffs. Even though BYU came into the game as the No. 1 seed in the country, the first-round games were played at ASU’s home stadium. BYU … Continue reading
By Ken Driggs, Deseret News Cougar Blog Contributor My good buddy, Richard “Zeke” Zimmerman, was a zany Jewish-Mormon kid from the Los Angeles area who came to BYU in the ’60s. He was short, brash, irreverent, and at his best was the life of the party. Zeke was a sprinter on the BYU track team, and also ran the 330 yard intermediate hurdles. Yes, there was a time … Continue reading
Former BYU Cougar and recent Detroit Lions draft pick Ziggy Ansah may still lack fundamental knowledge about football, but Deseret News columnist Brad Rock thinks his marketing savvy is better than any of us thought. Plus, how much pressure is on him to perform in Detroit, even with the “project” label hanging over him? The linebacker position is all the rage at BYU, but what happened to the … Continue reading
There were five men representing BYU men’s rugby in the post-game press conference, but their accents and origins couldn’t have been more different. Ray Forrester (New Zealand), Ryan Roundy (Utah), Luck Mocke (South Africa), Jonny Linehan (New Zealand) and head coach David Smyth (Ireland) were all beaming, exhilarated after an incredible season capped off with a national championship. The differences amid shared success didn’t stop there. Forrester and Roundy, who … Continue reading
This blog post was written by BYU Cougars guest blogger Ken Driggs Roy High School’s outstanding quarterback Jim McMahon wanted to go to Notre Dame, the ultimate name in Catholic football teams, but settled for BYU. He was uncomfortable with the behavior restrictions in the BYU environment, but his football performances were legendary and record-setting. He didn’t fit the mold of the classic Cougar athlete. He was brash, … Continue reading
This post was written by Deseret News Cougar Blog guest blogger Ken Driggs. I just watched the ESPN feature on Ziggy Ansah. It was so well done, and I was enthralled by the details of the story of his conversion and the odyssey that brought him to BYU and to football fame. I know that the Cougars had some crushing defeats in 2012, and certainly the dramatic loss … Continue reading
While writing a series on columns analyzing the new faces involved in BYU football recruiting, Deseret News columnist Dick Harmon talked with the Cougar Sports crew about some of the behind-the-scenes interviews and research involved. Harmon on Garett Tujague and his California recruiting connections Harmon why BYU needs junior college recruiting to work You can listen to the complete interview by clicking here. RELATED STORIES BYU receiver coach Guy Holliday … Continue reading
PROVO — Things haven’t exactly gone according to plan for the three standout recruits who announced their commits to BYU at Iggy’s Sports Grill back in June of 2009. Jake Heaps and Zac Stout have since left the program while Ross Apo has struggled to meet his lofty expectations and recently wasn’t even listed as a starter out of the spring practice session. All three held as much … Continue reading
PROVO — BYU football coaches released their post-spring practice depth chart yesterday and it included a few surprises — two specifically. Those surprises included listing Skyler Ridley ahead of Ross Apo, who started all of last season, at wide receiver and listing Tyler Beck ahead of Manoa Pikula at Buck linebacker. Most of the two-deep generally shook out as indicated by coaches during interviews this past month. The … Continue reading
Questions still remain for BYU football after spring practices. Deseret News reporter Brandon Gurney, along with Jan Jorgensen and Ben Criddle from Cougar Sports 960AM radio, discusses which starting jobs are up for grabs and which ones might already be decided. Brandon, Jan and Ben lament the Cougars’ kicking situation, discussing what might be making the current kickers struggle and how much those struggles cost BYU last season. Think … Continue reading