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Being inundated with BYU Football has got to be one of the best ways to spend time. Media Day 2017 was full of announcements, tributes to LaVell Edwards, interviews, and more (check the homepage for all the hard news). One of the best parts (in my opinion)? The web chats they did throughout the day.
Now, the web chats are not the hard-hitting news. They are definitely more Cougs on Cougs-type material. But that’s what makes them so wonderful. Lauren Francom sets up shop in the halls of the BYU Broadcasting building, sits down with pairs of BYU players and coaches, and really gets them to open up in ways they might not otherwise. They venture away from the rehearsed answers about opponents they’re looking forward to playing, or ways they’ve improved in the offseason, and wander into much more personal territory.
Francom talks with them and does ask them some questions about the X’s and O’s, but then plays games with them. Last year, for instance, they played a version of Family Feud. This year she broke the ice with games like Two Truths and a Lie, Would you Rather, and BYU Jeopardy. They also played this game they called “In Sync” where the pairs would essentially try to guess what their partner was thinking (the Warner brothers absolutely rocked this).
Some of the pairs included best friends Tanner Mangum and Matt Hadley, offensive pillars Jonah Trinnaman and Squally Canada, head coach and offensive coordinator Kalani Sitake and Ty Detmer, plus many more. There were even a few in different languages (the world is our campus, after all).
The web chats are really worth a watch, and I promise you’ll be laughing out loud at some of them. A few of the highlights? Did you know Tanner Mangum played cello for five years (Matt Hadley knew [“He knows everything about me,” Tanner said])? Did you know that offensive lineman Tuni Kanuch has the voice of an angel? Seriously, he sings on the web chat. Coach Tuiaki does an impression you can’t miss of Tevita Mo’unga. Coach Sitake (unintentionally) gave President Trump a new nickname — “Hotel”, and the first Disney princess that comes to mind for defensive linemen Kesni Tausinga and Handsome Tanielu is Moana. This is only scratching the surface of the fun facts that were uncovered.
Aside from being a fun, fresh break from some of the stuff that can become monotonous interview after interview, it’s great to see the chemistry between all the personnel. You can really tell that these guys love each other.
You can find all 14 of the web chats on BYUtv’s YouTube channel, plus much more content from 2017’s Media Day. Is it time for Fall Camp yet?