{"id":880080,"date":"2026-10-12T20:58:21","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T20:58:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/880080\/"},"modified":"2026-10-12T20:58:21","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T20:58:21","slug":"byu-football-who-should-be-college-gameday-guest-picker-deseret-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/880080\/","title":{"rendered":"BYU football: Who should be \u2018College GameDay\u2019 guest picker? \u2013 Deseret News"},"content":{"rendered":"

The eyes of the college football world will be upon Provo this weekend.<\/p>\n

Hours before No. 8 BYU hosts No. 2 Notre Dame on Saturday in one of the most anticipated matchups of the college football season, ESPN will broadcast its \u201cCollege GameDay\u201d pregame show live from the BYU campus for the first time in 17 years.<\/p>\n

Hosting \u201cGameDay\u201d is a major treat for the Cougars, but it raises a pressing question:<\/p>\n

Who will be BYU\u2019s guest picker?<\/p>\n

Each week, \u201cCollege GameDay\u201d invites a celebrity or sports figure associated with the host school to appear on the program and predict the winners for some of the day\u2019s notable contests. Guest pickers this season have included Morgan Freeman, Glen Powell and Caitlin Clark.<\/p>\n

When \u201cGameDay\u201d last visited Provo in 2009, legendary BYU head coach LaVell Edwards handled the guest-picking duties.<\/p>\n

Whether they once starred for the Cougars or currently shine in the entertainment world, here are 12 candidates to represent BYU on \u201cGameDay\u201d this week.<\/p>\n

Athletes from BYU\"FormerFormer NFL quarterback and football analyst Steve Young throws a ball to a fan prior to an NFL game between the Chicago Bears and New England Patriots, Monday, Oct. 24, 2022, in Foxborough, Mass. | AP <\/p>\n

Steve Young: With a Super Bowl ring, a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and decades of television experience, Young feels like a no-brainer. But if ESPN wanted to get really crazy, they could invite his former 49ers teammate \u2014 and Notre Dame legend \u2014 Joe Montana to join Young as a second picker and create further drama for the weekend.<\/p>\n

\"\"San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner (54) reacts during game against the Los Angeles Rams, Thursday, December 12, 2024, in Santa Clara, Calif. | Scot Tucker, Associated Press <\/p>\n

Fred Warner: He\u2019s arguably the NFL\u2019s best linebacker<\/a> and would be a first ballot Hall of Famer even if he retired tomorrow. With his 49ers playing Monday Night Football two days after BYU-Notre Dame, Warner would theoretically have time for a trip to Provo to appear on \u201cGameDay.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Utah Jazz CEO Danny Ainge speaks during an end-of-season press conference at the Zions Bank Basketball Campus in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, April 12, 2023. | Spenser Heaps, Deseret News <\/p>\n

Danny Ainge: In addition to his status as a household name in the basketball world, Ainge owns an iconic game-winner<\/a> against Notre Dame in the 1981 NCAA Tournament. Perhaps inviting him as a guest picker would provide some luck for BYU against the Irish.<\/p>\n

\"\"Former BYU running back Jamaal Williams lets out a yell during Fox\u2019s \u201cBig Noon Kickoff\u201d show at Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News <\/p>\n

Jamaal Williams: There\u2019s never a dull moment with Williams, BYU\u2019s all-time leading rusher who became a fan favorite in the NFL for his various viral antics. If ESPN wants the most possible laughter on Saturday morning, he\u2019s the perfect choice.<\/p>\n

\"\"Minnesota Vikings linebacker Kyle Van Noy (17) leaves the field following a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa, Fla., Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. | AP Photo\/Peter Joneleit <\/p>\n

Kyle Van Noy: His Minnesota Vikings have a bye this weekend, freeing up the newly-minted BYU Hall of Famer to return to campus. Van Noy is already a frequent guest on Pat McAfee\u2019s show, and that preexisting chemistry could be a boon for \u201cGameDay.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Washington Wizards forward AJ Dybantsa poses for a photo during the NBA basketball team’s media day, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, in Washington. | AP Photo\/Nick Wass <\/p>\n

AJ Dybantsa: Considering he\u2019s yet to play a regular-season game in the NBA, it may be too early for Dybantsa to get the \u201cGameDay\u201d treatment; however, it wouldn\u2019t hurt BYU to flex its first-ever No. 1 NBA draft pick to the world again.<\/p>\n

Entertainers with BYU ties\"\"Donny Osmond is photographed inside Harrah’s Showroom prior to his show at Harrah’s Las Vegas on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News <\/p>\n

Donny Osmond: The entertainment legend, Latter-day Saint and longtime Provo resident has sold more than 100 million albums across the past six decades, and his Vegas showmanship<\/a> would undoubtedly bring some flair to \u201cGameDay.\u201d Truthfully, Osmond is the only non-sports figure who could appear on the show with similar clout to Coach Edwards.<\/p>\n

\"KenKen Jennings is the host of the 2026 “Jeopardy!” Masters tournament. | Disney <\/p>\n

Ken Jennings: Before he was a prolific \u201cJeopardy!\u201d contestant and the show\u2019s current host, Jennings was a brilliant BYU student<\/a>. Given his track record, he would probably break the \u201cGameDay\u201d record for most accurate game predictions.<\/p>\n

\"\"Keynote speaker Luke Nichols, JD ’09, founder of the Outdoor Boys channel on YouTube, speaks as part of the Antonin Scalia Law School commencement ceremony, held at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va, on Saturday, May 16, 2026. | The Den Photography <\/p>\n

Luke Nichols: Nearly 4 billion people have watched Nichols\u2019 \u201cOutdoor Boys\u201d YouTube videos, where he and his sons documented their adventures camping, hunting and fishing in the Alaskan wilderness and beyond. He may have recently stepped away from the YouTube spotlight<\/a>, but the BYU graduate and Latter-day Saint making a surprise \u201cGameDay\u201d appearance would be a thrill for his millions of fans worldwide.<\/p>\n

\"\"U.S. actor Aaron Eckhart arrives at the European Premiere of The Dark Knight, in central London, Monday July 21, 2008. | ASSOCIATED PRESS <\/p>\n

Aaron Eckhart: The BYU alum and former Helaman Halls resident is best known for his role as Harvey Dent in \u201cThe Dark Knight\u201d \u2014 he\u2019s automatically a Cougars legend for starring in one of the greatest movies of all-time. You won\u2019t cast a more charismatic choice for the \u201cGameDay\u201d desk than Eckhart.<\/p>\n

\"\"Rylee Arnold arrives at ABC’s End of Summer Soir\u00e9e on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, at Cecconi’s West Hollywood in West Hollywood, Calif. | Jordan Strauss, Associated Press <\/p>\n

Rylee Arnold: If \u201cGameDay\u201d wants to cast a wider net than its typical audience, look no further than Rylee Arnold and her 1.5 million Instagram followers. The \u201cDancing with the Stars\u201d pro is a prominent Latter-day Saint<\/a> \u2014 and her boyfriend, Walker Lyons, is BYU\u2019s starting tight end.<\/p>\n

\"\"Dave Portnoy is photographed with Cosmo the Cougar during Fox\u2019s \u201cBig Noon Kickoff\u201d show at Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News <\/p>\n

Dave Portnoy: If everyone else is unavailable, why not call \u201cProvo Dave?\u201d The Barstool Sports founder became the Cougars\u2019 most vocal \u2014 and surprising \u2014 supporter last season upon visiting Provo for the first time<\/a>, and with his recent exit from Fox\u2019s \u201cBig Noon Kickoff,\u201d maybe Portnoy would want to dunk on his ex-employer by appearing on its direct competitor.<\/p>\n

On second thought, a show with both McAfee and Portnoy may be too much to handle. ESPN should just play it safe and pick Osmond.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The eyes of the college football world will be upon Provo this weekend. Hours before No. 8 BYU…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":880081,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[399,398,396,397,8793,99],"class_list":["post-880080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ncaa-football","tag-football","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-football","tag-ncaafootball","tag-news-feed-national","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=880080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880080\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/880081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=880080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=880080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=880080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}