Christian Cox: Utes are built for a special college football season | Reunited with BYU in Big 12

all right joining us now one of our favorite dudes on the planet Christian Cox is with us Christian how you doing hey hey Scotty voice of an Angel ah you're too kind how was your flag football team how'd you guys do this year you know we did pretty good we did pretty good you know we lost I think two games but season's back up already so things are going well good good Christian when did you start coaching flag football um you know Millie and Henry were on the same team for a second uh so this is when they were in like first grade and Henry's in kindergarten and now Henry's playing he's in third and fourth grade he got a he got a pick six on uh on Wednesday so he's got you know the Eric wed instincts but um you the last two years so it's fun I saw Scotty down there he's a heck of a coach that's not true uh hey uh you're going to be hanging out with Lloyd a little bit doing the uh pre post and and uh and talking Utah football again this year we can't we're fired up to have you back with us but dude expectations are through the roof with this team man everybody's fired up about this Utah team is this is this a team that you feel like can live up to those expectations listen I don't know if people love my takes on these but I give pretty down the barrel you know Utah historically when expectations are high have not delivered but when expectations are low they do deliver what I do think about this year that's completely different um seems like the offensive line has you know gota you know moving Spencer fa over to right tackle and protecting cam Rising is going to be such a a big thing I think overall um you know the great successful Utah teams of the past and I'm going to go back to the Alex Smith years and then you look at Brian Johnson years um even my year in 2010 Jordan W had a decent year but Alex Smith and Brian Johnson what was the common theme in both of them senior year uh was it year seven no but um you know you have a quarterback that can you know Lead You In The Red Zone and score and it's really going to be you know if you get the cam rising of the first Rose Bowl version or anything close to it who can lead this offense and that was what was very clear last year is the offense was rudderless without a really Quality quality quarterback and this is nothing against the quarterbacks of last year but you know there's something about cam Rising he's got it he's got the stuff he's got that the you know the Mojo but he's got a lot of pieces you know you got Brent keithy at tight end coming back you got Landon King you got this you know former BYU uh Baylor basketball transfer and Caleb lner who's looking really good as a third tight end and overall I I think this team is balanced and deep it's a new conference so it's just it's a lot of new and so you know it's hard to predict the future because they've never played in this conference and um the teams that they played in the past uh you knew you'd play Oregon tough and USC couldn't hang with the the level of physicality that Utah brings but you got some tough road games at Oklahoma State you've got Arizona at home who you got you know whipped for bad last year on the road and so but overall like you've got a quality staff you've got a deep team and can they come together and that's really going to be the fun thing week by week and I think you know this is the most exciting time of the year because everyone thinks they're gonna win a National Championship and go all the way but this year it's you got a chance to do something unique get to a playoff and all you got to do is win the conference and so you UT in the past in the you know the Pack 12 won the conference so can you win the Big 12 and um you are now the the the top of the conference quote unquote with never played in it and so sometimes it's tough to play from that position but if he didn't have such a great quarterback cam rising and if if he can stay healthy and even if he's not healthy you've got a you got a young little whipper snapper and Isaac uh you know that who's Wilson who's ready to go but the difference at any level you know little league High School the NFL the quarterback is the difference and having cam Rising will be the difference this year com uncomfortable do you feel like Kyle is in this lead dog this big targeted position yeah I I think I think now that the team is so different with staff he doesn't I know he doesn't love it I he's he's always just played into the overlooked work like you know every like everyone's against you and um but I think I think Morgan scall keeps him grounded share keeps him grounded Lewis keeps him grounded uh Kyle will keep him grounded because there is so much to play for this year uh considering it's a firsttime playoff uh think of all the years in the past where uh I think what Utah was uh you know we lost in the Pack 12 championship and you ranked like up you know fifth sixth fourth or whatever and you lose well that all goes away there is no BCS nonsense there is no weirdness like you could be a top 10 team and make a playoff and you just have to be playing the best football near the end and so how you think about the seasons and it's still I think what's so fun about college football and it's high stakes every week um but like you're in control of uh your destiny in this conference and if you look at the caliber of talent you've got a very good conference you don't have blue chip Blue Chip teams uh like I'm not going on the road against Ohio State you know you're not playing Michigan at home um but you're going to have to create that in your mind and uh in the Mountain West days you know like playing on the road against Colorado state was Colorado State the best team no but if you let them play close with you they'd play close and so it's gonna be a really hard year like don't don't don't be fooled by what the media says and it's just Utah to walk through like every game is going to be hard uh Oklahoma State on the road is gonna be hard uh BYU at home's going to be hard Arizona at home's going to be hard uh Iowa State's going to be tough matchup Colorado is is going to be tough but like I don't know I I don't think the program has been this deep um I I think you have some of the best coaches in the country and where Utah struggled last year is hopefully going to go away offensively with Cam rising two years ago uh if you remember that SCC game with the double overtime win or overtime win that offense went up and down the field if you remember on the road against Florida they went up and down the field they didn't convert in the red zone and so if you look at Camp uh it seems like they've improved a lot in the red zone so all the talk is coming to an end because we got games next Thursday and then you're in the season and so like I think there's not a more exciting time than the early part of college football and then the real grind hits about Midway and I don't know like it's we're kind of part of a historic part of the the state uh and the Big 12 going in and like Utah fans have always been let down right you know that Rose Bowl game uh both of them the one against Ohio state was CJ strad like that was some of the best receivers ever but you've come always this close the last like decade uh we were spoiled in you know early 2004 2009 well now this is a year that you have the pieces you have the horses now it's time to go execute and I I think they're barring injury there won't be any excuses if they don't go far and and get to at least a playoff and win some games like you could be you could have a home game in December at Rice Eckles but everyone has these same desires the start of the year and it's it really comes down to can they take it week by week the lame response but can they just worry about one week at a time and I think these kids can how hard is that to do as a player though especially when you do have high expectations um you know we are still I you know I always reference Chris Peterson told me in hands that a Pack 12 media day that they're dealing with the dumbest demographic in the country and that's men 18 to 22 that are high level athletes that are easily distracted by a lot of other things going on in their lives uh so so you lived that life you know what it's like and you went through a season where you went undefeated in 2008 I mean how hard is that pressure to play well week in and week out yeah I you know in 09 we returned a lot of our guys um you know we we didn't have Brian Brian moved on and uh Paul went to the NFL and but we had a lot of pieces and um you know we I don't think we understood what we did in the sugar bow year like to go undefeated to start the season on the road against Michigan and beat Michigan and then end the season against Alabama and beat Julio Jones and Mark Ingram and Nick Sabin and that crew like we didn't realize what we did uh it it was hard that next year I think we went 10 and three we lost you know three games um you know uh we lost a double overtime game against BYU and then went on a big run with with not losing a lot of games uh we we played Cal in the point s bow that year um you know I think we opened up against Utah State at home with Robert turban who was playing running back at the time and it you know like every this is what's hard is every year is a different year and you can even if you have good personnel and so um you know we felt like we could go far but the quarterback position is the most important even if you are a great defending team and so like this was no no knock on Jordan um Jordan was a freshman that year and in the poinet bowl at the end of the year I think he had a historic game he threw for like 450 but he wasn't Brian right there's a drop off from Alex Smith to the next guy there's drop off from Brian who had five years experience and when it was the toughest biggest moments ice in his veins it could execute this is not saying Jordan wasn't that this isn't me to go on Jordan wi rant but if you look at all the great players all the great teams like sorry the most important position is quarterback and what can they do when it's crunch time uh you can go to the Aaron roders or the Tom Brady what's the difference in those two guys five Super Bowls uh winning when it's the most important and the highest stakes and so I've seen that in cam Rising um I think uh you know the the staff is much different now you know versus the staff I had way back when and they have a lot of resources but like this is also a season team it's also an injured team who's come back for another year their last year or their last ride and like that's that that just I I can't not get nostalgic that was us in ' 07 when um Brian had come off of an injury uh we had lost a heartbreaker on the fourth and 19 and we returned all these starters in ' 08 with like Bryce McCain and Sean Smith and Mike rright and and Paul Krueger and Co Mei and Matt oata and all like we were just stacked like the whole team came back and was just ready to prove and just wanted to play and that season we were fortunate we didn't get hurt in 08 we didn't get injured like our ones and twos didn't get hurt we weren't like doing depth chart of third and fourth strain and uh that's why we were able to put together a special season so there's a lot of mixture of that and then there's also like you got some young like red shirt freshman and young offensive line and then seasoned offensive line and then the defense you you lost you know two really good safeties in sonaki and so you're replacing you know uh people and then there's folks come off of injuries and so like I don't know like I I know I'm talking world sality but it's got a recipe for could be something special I see that's why pundits are saying that and you have what's most important leadership at the right places but also the the chip on the shoulder to go execute and again I keep coming back at the same point if you didn't have Cam rising and it's going to be really interesting to see what version of Cam you get um but even an 85% cam or a 90% cam is a cam i' take all day and injuries are hard to bounce back from and Brian Johnson lived that but Brian Johnson's senior year in 2008 was pretty special in my book speaking of great quarterback play and Nostalgia the University of Utah has instituted a Ring of Honor and Alex Smith was the first inductee who do you think number two and three are because they're supposed to be named after this 24 season who who are number two and three and did they get number one right yeah you know that's I see the game you're playing you want some controversy on this show today you want people to pay attention uh I I can't remember the the actual there's pretty tough regulations on who can get in too I think don't you have to be like all like uh All-American uh record breaker I don't I obviously Luther comes to mind immediately like how do how do you keep you know one of the great defensive linemen uh out of the Ring of Honor and Luther Ellis and his professional career um you know if you go back and look at Scott Mitchell's quarterback passing yards and success at Utah like how do you how do you how do you really top that um I bet there's some guys from you know the the Sugar Bowl year that I played with um Sean Smith had a really special season that year um I know I might be biased but Paul Krueger was a a freak of nature he only played you know two seasons and then left but had a great NFL career um but I don't know Luther would be I don't know how you keep Luther Lis out um and then my asterisks would be how do you keep John P up if you're asking me like how do you how do you keep one of the great youths and coaches out but I know I'm biased because I love John and um you know he passed away last year and but you know those would be my my two well Christian we're fired up to get you back on the air man thanks for hanging out with us uh make sure you run in ladders with those uh flag football kids make sure you get them in shape and get them going and uh looking forward to catching up again here real soon same to you Scotty says see Hands there he is the man himself Christian Cox