BYU is getting a familiar face for a huge Saturday morning on campus.
Steve Young, the former Cougars quarterback and Pro Football Hall of Famer, will serve as the guest picker on ESPN’s “College GameDay” when the show comes to Provo for No. 8 BYU’s matchup with No. 2 Notre Dame.
Young has been a longtime ESPN analyst, though the network let him go in 2023. Even so, his return to the ESPN stage for this one doesn’t look like it comes with any lingering issues.
There’s also been no indication whether Joe Montana, Young’s former rival and a celebrated Notre Dame quarterback, will show up on the show as well. That remains a long shot, but the possibility is out there.
This will be the first time “College GameDay” has visited Provo since 2009, when former BYU coach LaVell Edwards was the guest picker.
Young’s place in BYU history is secure. He played for the Cougars from 1980 to 1983, piling up 7,723 passing yards and 74 total touchdowns while adding 1,084 rushing yards. He won WAC Offensive Player of the Year twice and finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1983.
His college career led to a spot in the BYU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005.
Young’s path to the NFL didn’t begin the usual way. He wasn’t selected in the draft, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took him in the 1984 supplemental draft. He was later traded to the San Francisco 49ers in 1987, and everything changed from there.
In the NFL, Young threw for 32,124 yards and 232 touchdowns, earning his own place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005.
Kickoff between BYU and Notre Dame is set for 5:30 p.m. “College GameDay” will air from the lawns of Heritage Halls on BYU’s campus, with fans able to begin lining up at 3 p.m. on Friday. The show runs from 7 to 10 a.m.
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