BYU Football Has One Key Advantage Over The Alabama Crimson Tide & It's WILD | BYU Cougars Podcast

all right I had great chance earlier this week to catch up with BYU offensive lineman Wayan laho I wasn't 100% certain what to expect going into this interview with whan now he's a guy who's more of a kind of reserved uh individual when it comes to the BYU football program has not been one of the guys out uh kind of front and center talking to the media a lot but I'm not goingon to lie very very impressed with this young man he had some really really good thoughts on what to expect from the BYU football program this fall going into this opener tomorrow night at level Edwards Stadium and a whole lot more without further Ado here you go Wayan Lao with myself right here unlocked on cougars how excited are you to have game week here and just be ready to oh man I can't wait I can't wait to get back into Lees get back to see the fans and just uh feel that atmosphere again it's it's going to be a good one so I can't wait do you guys I know fans they anticipated the countdown days and everything do you do the same thing as players uh not really cuz it's going to be you know the countdown is still I mean if you look back at it three months ago the countdown's 90 days so you really just want to take one day at a time and make that day uh make that day worth it and just go one day at a time I don't really count it just let it come as it does now Connor's been regular on this podcast talking about how you guys as an offensive line he believes you guys have improved you concur with his assessment yeah for sure 100% I feel like we improved at all five positions MH um just knowing the game of ball a little bit more and and uh getting another getting a lot of reps getting a lot of reps together and uh being cohesive so how much how much sorry how much of a I guess a testament is that to the work of TJ Woods as your old line Co a lot it's it's a lot he definitely uh has a big piece in where we're at right now so yeah he he's a big piece for sure what has he worked on the most with you guys um everything I mean just the concept of uh of a lot of things just just breaking it down not just not just telling us where to go but why we go there and how to do it and like you know just for like Zone schemes he's just he's teaching you what to play is like what the what the purpose of the play is like what we're trying to achieve so he breaks it down in a lot of a lot of different ways to so he's even bring like the philosophy of the whole right and then having the Phil philosophy you're knowing where everyone else is going too so that's going to help you out too help to play fast now the left side of that offensive line is pretty veteran because you got Caleb outside of you you you you obviously starter season you got Connor to your right do you guys feel like that left side is quote unquote the strong side to use this expression uh no no hate on my right side they they Ballers too but yeah we strong side on the left side but and they can say the same thing about their side it's we're both solid on either side what excites you most about playing at lavel Edwards Stadium once again man I there's too much to say um I would say the first thing he playing in front of all my family being a Utah boy and playing for a home Home State team it's it's huge for me and I mean just the energy and and the crowd Lees is it's just it's pretty nuts I mean I I played at Alabama and that game that game atmosphere was pretty good too but you know I still take LV Edwards over them so so BYU over B we got okay I said it I played there so I mean you can you and and and then we have we were getting the lights this year too so that's going to add the little specialty into them touchdowns so well we've seen those lights from different stadiums and what not do you like stuff like that the aesthetic stuff I think it's awesome I think it's like I think playing on Saturdays is like a It's Entertainment so why not make it entertaining and do all that flashy stuff I like it personally now looking at Southern Illinois they've got a very strong defensive reputation what do you see on tape from them that you you see from your perspective um a bunch of 11 guys that fly to the ball and they play hard and they they know what they're doing and they do it so a solid defense are they a defense that like' got bunch of experience playing different teams do they compare to anybody you've played in the past maybe um I would compare to them like uh Sam Houston last year okay they move around a lot they uh like to give you a lot of different fronts and and uh slant a lot of different places so you know you got to stay on your toes and make sure you don't that people and fall in your face a lot of stunts a lot of twists that type of stuff now how difficult is that for you as a guardz I know you had to pass off guys all the time cuz you got a guy outside of you and a guy inside of you so how difficult is that you have to communicate pretty well I'm yeah you got to be everyone's got to be on the on the same page for sure um if you have one guy off he the SL you might be thinking you're passing a guy and your guy's not coming so that guy's unblocked so everyone's got to be on the same page and make sure we Conor IDs it right and me and my tackle were making sure we pass off things and make make sure he's there and I'm there so it's definitely a teamwork type of thing no matter who's a quarterback cuz I know you guys are keeping that Under Wraps until game time no matter who's back there does that change anything for you nah I I full full both of them I'm happy with either one I so ready play it doesn't matter to me you just want to get out there and get after it okay and both of them are great quarterbacks too so I trust both of them what what excites you most about the running back guy running back group uh a physical bunch and and and that they're deep and then they they run hard too so I can't wait for us as old line and running back we had a lot of lot to prove now I know you were a newcomer last you're alongside LJ where have you seen him improve the most at running back um his vision and and just his understanding of the game of ball you know he he grew he was just a young buck last year I can contest to that you know playing young you just play super fast and kind of just let your abilities do the thing but uh this year I could definitely see him get more I mean even in the weight room and and out here on the field he's just dialed in you know like a veteran already he you know he's already already trying to he's already stapled in well you talk about you were a young player youve got a lot of experience you've played this is your third year of college football and you've been a starter almost the entire time you've been in college how much has that helped you I mean it's a lot the the game nothing simulates a game rep so uh it's helped a lot it helps me with my confidence and you know just having all those reps is it's definitely a game changer Where Have You you improve the most I guess this off season coming into 2024 um I just think in being in the right spot okay being in like a good positioning and and body body demeanor not kind of just flying all over the place and just out of out of sorts just toning in what I know I know where to go but sometimes I don't go there the right way so just making sure my technique is dialed in to the te now you're two of the Big 12 obviously Big 12 season will start kick off a little bit later on but what excites you most about playing in the Big 12 once again just the competition week in week out and and the places we go and travel and and see it's going to be fun now I've gotten a sense from talking to different guys Conor coaches on that there's a quiet confidence with this Bunch would you is that kind of what you sense from this team is they're looking forward for sure for sure I mean there's not much to say it's just it's football we got to get out there and do it anyway so yeah that is Wayan laho and folks we have had Clark barington as our player guest via an nil deal here on this show the past two seasons obviously upcoming as well with Connor pay has been absolutely a delight to have him on the show could we make it three for three with Wayan L waho as our next H player uh co-host via an nil contract I'm really really impressed with way he's got a lot of Personality was a delightful delightful interview to hear from him and I really enjoyed that like I said I did not know necessarily what to expect when I requested a chance to catch up with him but hey Connor not to put you on the on the spot but man whan's coming for your spot man that's that was really really fun to catch up with whan and uh best of luck to him and his teammates this upcoming season Wayland's got a lot to prove but uh just put it this way talking with some people not Connor not anybody I mentioned on today's show but people involved with the BYU football program they think Wayan L waho is going to take essentially kind of that next step and really make him a bonfi make himself a Bonafide NFL draft prospect this season we'll see if it comes to fruition but I really really like that young man I really appreciate him carving out some time to join us here on the podcast