Jay Drew on Big 12 Media Days, BYU’s Brand, Fall Camp & His Big 12 Preseason Top 5

Deseret News BYU football beat writer Jay Drew joins Dave McCann and Jason Shepherd fresh off the Big 12 football meetings in Frisco, Texas. Drew says the biggest takeaway wasn't a stat or a storyline but a vibe shift: BYU is now treated as a bona fide, entrenched member of the Big 12 rather than the conference newcomer, and the event itself was "made for" Kalani Sitake, who national reporters describe as a favorite to cover. The bigger surprise, Drew says, was how quickly Texas Tech has moved on from the Brendan Sorsby saga, with the program and its players expressing full confidence in Will Hammond after paying a steep PR price to land Sorsby in the first place. From there the conversation covers a run of BYU storylines: Arizona's aggressive Heisman campaign for Noah Fifita couldn't stop LJ Martin from being named the Big 12's preseason offensive player of the year; Arizona coach Brent Brennan is already hyping the Week 2 BYU-Arizona matchup as a national game of the week; and Drew, Dave and Jason debate where BYU's brand ranks in the Big 12 alongside Texas Tech, Arizona and Utah. Drew also picks the single win of the last two seasons that most legitimized BYU in the conference (beating Utah last year), while Dave makes the case for the Alamo Bowl win over Colorado and the Iowa State and Kansas State wins get their due as well. The interview closes with Drew's read on BYU's fall camp storylines — new defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga replacing Jay Hill, an offensive line replacing a couple of starters, unresolved questions at receiver, and how new tight ends Walker Lyons and Roger Saleapaga will share the field — plus his take on the team's veteran leadership (Bruce Mitchell, Andrew Gentry, Bear Bachmeier, LJ Martin, Keanu Tanuvasa and Evan Folau Tapuosi) staying grounded under preseason hype. Drew wraps up with his own Big 12 preseason top five, landing on Texas Tech at No. 1 and BYU at No. 2. #YsGuys #BYU #BYUFootball #BYUCougars #CougarNation #GoCougs #JayDrew #DeseretNews #Big12Football #Big12MediaDays #KalaniSitake #BearBachmeier #LJMartin #KeanuTanuvasa #NoahFifita #TexasTech #Arizona #Big12PreseasonPoll #CollegeFootball #FallCamp #LDS Timestamps (approximate): 00:55 – Big 12 Media Days Takeaways: BYU Is No Longer an Afterthought 02:36 – Biggest Surprise: Texas Tech Already Moving On from Brendan Sorsby 03:44 – LJ Martin Snubs Arizona's Heisman Push for Noah Fifita 06:02 – Is BYU the Biggest Brand in the Big 12? 08:48 – The Win That Legitimized BYU in the Big 12 11:51 – Fall Camp Storylines: New DC, O-Line, and Receiver Questions 13:34 – Can This Roster Handle the Preseason Hype? 16:56 – Jay Drew Reveals His Big 12 Preseason Top 5