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HIGHLAND — Connor Pay is as competitive as they come, and by his own admission, a bit of a wild card in front of a microphone.
But BYU's senior center with 34 starts in 44 games that included all 12 starts a year ago during the Cougars' 5-7 inaugural Big 12 campaign is only speaking from the heart. What he says isn't always popular, but it's always — or at least, usually — how he feels.
So when Pay heard what Utah quarterback Cam Rising said about his team and the renewed rivalry that will be a conference game for the first time since 2010 during Big 12 media days — that he wanted to "go down there and whoop their (expletive)" — he didn't think much of it.
Maybe some teammates did, and certainly a collection of BYU fans, as well. But Pay hopes Rising feels that way; he feels the same about Utah. That's what rivalries are, and Pay wants to win a BYU-Utah game as much as anyone, even if the Cougars' media training would have him convey the idea in a softer tone.
"I think we know by now that I don't listen to anything they tell me in the media training," Pay quipped, clearly jesting during a fan autograph signing hosted by ESPN radio in Utah County at Meier Meats and Fine Foods not far from where he grew up at Lone Peak High. "I kind of just say whatever I want. And I'm obviously not going to say anything to make the program look bad, but I'm going to share my opinions and what I think.
"But that's really how I felt about it," he added of Rising's quip. "I think Twitter kind of blew that comment out of proportion. As a player, he says that, and you're like, yeah, obviously. Everyone thinks he said this crazy thing about BYU, but he said he wants to win? To us, it's just like, whatever."
As the veteran leader of the offensive line, Pay has a lot more to worry about than what an opposing quarterback thinks of his team. He knows, for instance, that the offense will have to play better for the Cougars to improve on last year's mark and get back to a bowl game in 2024.
BYU ranked 90th nationally in scoring offense a year ago with 23.1 points per game, 118th in rushing with 104.3 yards per game, 90th in passing (205.4) and No. 128 out of 130 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision with a 28% third-down conversion rate.
Much of that inconsistency fell on the offensive line, which also brings back guard Weylin Lapuaho, tackle Brayden Keim and versatile Caleb Etienne to add returning starts alongside Pay with newcomers like Colorado transfer Isaiah Jatta and returned missionary Joe Brown.
Quarterbacks Kedon Slovis and Jake Retzlaff could only do so much with a stocked cupboard of wide receivers that returns all but one pass catcher from last year, and the run game relied heavily on freshman tailback LJ Martin after Hinckley Ropati suffered a season-ending knee injury in training camp. Both backs are back, along with speedster Miles Davis, for the 2024 season.
Retzlaff, too, is also back and aims to improve his level for his second season in Provo after redshirting the 2023 campaign. But to help elevate the offensive play to the levels experienced by NFL quarterbacks like Zach Wilson and Jaren Hall, as well as Atlanta Falcons running back Tyler Allgeier and a pair of NFL linemen in Brady Christensen and Blake Freeland, among others, the Cougars brought in veteran quarterback Gerry Bohanon Jr. to compete for the starting job.
Bohanon hasn't played in over a year due to a shoulder injury, but when he was fully healthy at Baylor, he helped lead the Bears to a Big 12 title and Sugar Bowl championship before transferring to South Florida. There's no reason to worry about that injury, either, he told ESPN radio.
"I'm feeling amazing," Bohanon said. "I've really just been grinding to get my body together, studying plays, and getting to know the guys outside of football."
Now healthy again, Bohanon — like Retzlaff, who ended the season on a four-game losing skid in his starts — feels that he has something to prove.
"I was told that I wasn't going to be able to be the same, and the man above did some special things," he said. "A doctor or any person can tell you anything about how things are supposed to shake out. But if you keep your faith in God, you never know what can happen. For me, that's what it was about.
"Individually, I couldn't do it by myself. But I took that time to grow my relationship with God. Every moment when I had some doubt, something positive happened to make me believe again. So I would tell anyone, believe; I'm blessed to be here, and thankful for the adversity. You don't always know why you're in it, but once you get out of it, you know that it makes you stronger."
