Riley Nelson is going to BYU. Shocked? You shouldn't be, even though Bronco Mendenhall said he would never recruit kids from other programs on their mission. It goes to show you how much character Bronco has, but beyond that, is this really a story? Who the hell cares what BYU does? I could see if it were Utah getting the shaft here, but they're not. Riley Nelson probably made a better decision, even if appears he and BYU did something that shouldn't be allowed -- recruiting kids on their missions.
So in my mind, this is a non-issue. Does it make BYU better? Probably, but not by much. Riley Nelson looked like a solid prospect in his first season with the woefully inept Aggie offense, so he should do extremely well at BYU if he as the opportunity to start. And right now, that isn't a given and until it happens, I'm not going to get uptight over something this trivial. The problem I have with this, of course, is that Utah State -- a football program I actually don't mind -- takes another smack in the family jewels.
I really feel bad for Utah State and Brent Guy, even though I don't think he's that great of a coach. This is a program that has yet to really find any semblance of success since John L. Smith bolted Logan for Louisville back in the late 90s. And while the prospects for Aggie football still looked fairly grim, there was a foundation of hope with Nelson. He was a real good get for Utah State and now he's gone, leaving the program clamoring for anything to hang on to. That sucks and it sucks more that Bronco managed to kick the Aggies when they were down.
I feel for Utah State because it's got to be tough knowing the future for their football program is extremely bleak. If I were the athletic department, I would seriously consider dropping the program to the Championship Subdivision, where I think they would be far more prosperous than they currently are, just look at the Montana Grizzlies. But what do I know, I'm just a delusional Ute fan.