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Meet the Loyal Cougars staff

Many of the names who you will see frequently on our site are names you have come to know as legitimate voices on BYU sports.

Here is a rundown of the Loyal Cougars staff.

BRETT HEIN (@bhein3)
MANAGING EDITOR
Brett is a graduate of Weber State with a degree in Organizational Communication and has been writing about BYU as an editor of various sites since 2009. As a child, Brett became hooked on BYU upon his first visit to then-Cougar Stadium when he saw Omarr Morgan block a key field goal in a three-point win over New Mexico, preserving what became a special 1996 season. Brett, also a former newsdesk writer for SBNation.com, has been a journalist since he began writing satirical news stories from his computer during word processing class in junior high.

ZACH BLOXHAM (@zbloxham)
Zach is a law student at Gonzaga, finishing his J.D. with a focus on Constitutional Law after graduating in Political Science at Weber State. Zach has had his hand in managing several college sports sites since 2009. Zach’s favorite in-person BYU sports memory was Doman-to-Pittman x2 against the Utes in 2000. In his next life, Zach plans to be a film critic.

STEVE PIERCE (@PostJimmer)
Steve is the former founder and editor of Post-Jimmer, an independent BYU basketball blog. Steve holds a degree in journalism from BYU and will receive a Masters in political management from George Washington in 2014. His day job is as a strategic communications consultant and he lives in Washington, DC with his long-suffering wife, who mercifully tolerates his basketball obsession.

ADAM MANGUM (@byu_riseshout)
Adam is a former journalist for the Provo Daily Herald who can’t get the bug out of his system. With a degree in communications from BYU and an MBA from Purdue, Adam has hosted the Rise & Shout Podcast since 2010 and has blogged about BYU since blogging was a thing — when he’s not busy doing his day-to-day marketing thing.

AARON TAYLOR (@bluebloodartist)
CARTOONIST
Aaron is a graduate of BYU and the creator of the BYU sports webcomic Blood Runs Blue. Aaron is the former staff editorial cartoonist at the Provo Daily Herald and at BYU’s Daily Universe. He currently works as a creative director in Salt Lake City and freelances as a graphic designer and illustrator, and enjoys the creative outlet that Blood Runs Blue provides.

SPECIAL ANALYSTS

BRIAN LOGAN (@BrianLogan7)
Brian is a former BYU cornerback and is now a proud dad and an analyst for BYUtv. A two-year starter from 2009-10, Logan became known as an elite open-field tackler. Logan recorded 95 tackles (6 for loss), and 5 interceptions in his two seasons at BYU, and in 2009 was 2nd nationally in passes defended with 17.

JACKSON EMERY (@jacksonemery04)
Jackson holds BYU’s all-time steals record with an iron fist, his 249 thefts a good 54 ahead of #2 Danny Ainge. While Jimmer was in the spotlight, the former Utah’s Mr. Basketball was busy being the glue for BYU’s sweet-16 team of 2011. He now works for a Utah County business software company.

CONTRIBUTORS

MATT MANGUM (@matt_mangum)
Matt has co-hosted the Rise & Shout Podcast with his brother Adam since its inception. Professionally, Matt has worked in regulatory development and inter-agency agreements for the federal government. Recently, he completed an MBA at Purdue University and now works in business development for a major energy company in Houston. Growing up in Massachusetts he remembers watching football games on the church satellite. His first live BYU football game was in 1996 when BYU hosted Texas A&M. He is an avid college football fan and also spends excessive amounts of time following the NFL and MLB.

GEOFF JOHNSTON (@geoffjBYU)
Geoff joined the BYU blogging fray in early 2012. With a degree in music from BYU and an MBA from San Diego State, Geoff runs a small internet consulting business with a specialty in mortgage banking. He is also co-founder of the Mormon blogging portal ldsblogs.org. Geoff’s favorite BYU sports memory was watching Ty Detmer carve up opposing defenses his senior season.

RYAN TEEPLES (@SportsGuyUtah)
Ryan Teeples is a respected marketing and technology expert, entrepreneur and full-time sports fan. He has served as an executive in large and small public and private companies and was a cofounder of LearningMarkets. He attended BYU, earned a degree from Utah Valley University, and dropped out of Harvard Business School in his first week to pursue an entrepreneurial whim. But his first loves were always sports and writing. He contributes sports-business commentary to The Deseret News in Salt Lake City. Buy him a Coke Zero and Ryan may just be your friend.

GREG WELCH (@ArtDirectorBYU)
Greg is an associate creative director with an ad agency in Iowa. After a degree from BYU and a Masters at Virginia Commonwealth, his career has also taken him to New York City, Dallas, and Irvine. Greg’s writing has been published by FoxSports.com, KSL.com and the Deseret News. He is also known for his guerrilla design work for the very successful 2006 Wear Blue project and the somewhat unsuccessful 2012 Chicago to Provo project.

SEAN WALKER (@RealDSean)
After graduating from BYU in the Year of The Max Hall, Sean has completed a Master’s degree in journalism from Syracuse University. A lover of soccer, volleyball and Las Vegas prep sports, Sean lives in Provo, Utah, where he is usually trying to peek over the fence at BYU football practices and find the next big thing in Cougar Soccer.

CHARLES KANO (@CharlesKano)
Charles Kano’s work has been featured on DeseretNews.com, KSL.com, and TrueBlueCougars.com. He is an unabashed BYU fan who, along with his wife, is passing the BYU tradition to his 4 children.

PRESTEN NORTON (@P_Norton)
Hitting the road approximately 90 times in the past five years to attend both football and hoops road and postseason games, Presten has staked his claim to being the Cougar roadie. Presten will spice things up with travel guides and post-travel reports. He is a business school graduate of BYU and has worked for Goldman Sachs and the Royal Bank of Scotland.

BEN WAGNER (@ben_wagner)
Ben is previously the sports director at BYU Radio from Dec 2011 – Aug 2013. He is now pursuing a Masters in English at BYU where he will also teach Writing and Rhetoric. In addition to his radio prowess, Ben has also interned for the sports wing of KSL and is the co-creator and producer of the PB&J Report Podcast and is a Post-Jimmer-ite.

JAKE WELCH (@BYUAllBlue)
After graduating from BYU in 2011 with a degree in communications, Jake began a career in advertising by moving to Boulder and getting in touch with his inner hippie. While working in Boulder he helped teach advertising strategy classes at the University of Colorado and coached a 5th grade boys basketball team to a combined record of 3-15 over a 2 year span. Jake now lives in Los Angeles working on advertising campaigns for Microsoft. He was born a Cougar fan but his love for BYU was confirmed when he witnessed Chad Lewis leap over defenders at will. Jake still claims he was the original creator of the Wildcat offense in his high-school notebook sketches.