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Former BYU quarterback Steve Young has been doing a lot of interviews lately as he promotes his new book: "QB: My Life Behind the Spiral."

You can read Tribune columnist Kurt Kragthorpe's review of the book here, or grab a copy of Tuesday's Tribune and ready it the old fashioned way.

Kragthorpe got some one-on-one time with Young, and was able to ask him about the topic that is on almost every Cougar fan's mind these days — football independence and the recent Big 12 decision to not expand at the current time.

Friday, as many of you know, BYU AD Tom Holmoe said independence is working in an 11-minute message to BYU fans. Part of the reason it is working, Holmoe said, is BYU's relationship and contract with ESPN, the broadcast sports giant.

What does ESPN employee Steve Young think?

"I feel like one of my jobs at ESPN is to make sure that relationship stays really strong, and if there's any cracks, I want to know about it," Young told Kragthorpe. "And it's as strong as ever, and I'm really happy about that."

Regarding the possibility of future conference realignment, Young expressed this opinion:

"At some point, the music's really going to start — the whole thing that everybody knows is coming — and that's where I think a relationship with ESPN will be powerful and useful," he said. "And, hopefully, the music doesn't stop on us."

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My report from Monday's weekly press briefing with BYU head coach Kalani Sitake focused on the quarterback situation, and whether sophomore Tanner Mangum will see some significant playing time on Saturday when the Cougars host a really good FCS team, Southern Utah.

Sitake coached at SUU early in his coaching career, and said he still has fond memories of the school. While there, he coached current BYU defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki, who he called a good player.

Sitake said BYU's approach to the game won't change at all just because SUU is an FCS team.

"I have talked about it before — about respecting our opponents," Sitake said. "Looking at what Southern Utah did last year, and having the guys go on to the next level that they did last year, and actually knowing the guy [Ed Lamb] who was mostly responsible for that, and having him on our staff this year, we should benefit. But I've coached at that level before, too, and there are a lot of great players there, and a lot of great coaches. So, yeah, we are planning on just doing our best, and giving them our best shot. I know we will get theirs. And having that be the focus.

We rarely have just focused on what type of team [we are playing], or what conference they belong to, how many scholarships they have and stuff like that. That's not what we focus on. We focus on what we are trying to do as a team, and respecting the game, and part of that is respecting your opponents and preparing the right way."