The national media has finally caught on to the hype around BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier.
Bachmeier appeared on “SportsCenter” Tuesday night for a five-minute interview ranging from topics such as Saturday’s win over Utah and his centaur comparison.
Here is a recap of what Bachmeier said.
On his first rivalry game against Utah
Bachmeier was asked about his first game against and win over rival Utah, in which he completed 13 of 22 passes for 166 yards and a touchdown and added 64 yards and another touchdown on the ground.
“It was definitely intensified, crazy and just exhilarating atmosphere. I mean, there’s a lot of words to describe what it was, but it was a great team win,” he said.
On his ‘primitive nature’ and choosing the No. 47
In August, Bachmeier, who grew up playing running back and middle linebacker, told reporters the No. 47 “brings you back to your primitive nature, I guess, when you’re playing,” as the Deseret News previously reported.
Bachmeier was asked about the number again on “SportsCenter” and what coaches think about his “primitive nature” mentality.
“It’s a unique number, and my dad picked it out for me when I first started playing football. The coaches love it. Again, it brings back that primitive nature, and if they need a yard or two, or it’s third and long and you need to get a first down, they can always count on me,” he said.
Bachmeier said his “primitive nature” is a result of growing up rough housing with his siblings. He shared that when he and his siblings would play basketball together, at least one of them would end up with “a bloody nose or chipped tooth.”
On WWE reenactments with his brothers
With four Bachmeier boys sharing a room growing up, Bachmeier said there was a lot of rough housing and WWE going on.
“I was always Ray Mysterio for sure, doing the 619. We had this plastic WWE champion belt, and we’d hang it on the fan, the top fan, and we’d get like a little ladder. So, we’d all rough house or whatever, and whoever, you know, obviously gets the ladder on the fan wins the match. It was fun. It was awesome growing up,” he said.
On his centaur comparison
After BYU beat Portland State 69-0 in its first game of the season, Portland State head coach Bruce Barnum likened Bachmeier to a centaur in his postgame press conference, as the Deseret News previously reported.
Bachmeier was asked for his reaction to the comparison.
“That joke is still going on. I thought it would have died,” he said.
On playing with brother Tiger Bachmeier
Bachmeier said “it means so much” to have his older brother Tiger Bachmeier with him at BYU.
“Just his support and love that we have for each other, it’s second to none. I’m so happy that he’s here with me, and we live together and we do everything together. I love him so much and yeah, just very joyful,” he said.
Bear Bachmeier is looking forward to throwing a touchdown pass to his older brother. He told “SportsCenter” that they don’t have anything planned yet for that special touchdown celebration.
“We’ll probably just do a big hug or something. We’re still waiting on that, but when it happens, it’s going to be awesome for sure,” he said.
Bear Bachmeier’s full “SportsCenter” interview can be viewed below.