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Here’s who will be BYU’s ‘College GameDay’ guest picker

ESPN names former BYU and 49ers legend Steve Young as a guest picker for ESPN’s “College GameDay.”

FILE - ESPN Monday Night Football commentator Steve Young is seen before an NFL football game between the New Orleans Saints and the Baltimore Ravens, Monday, Nov. 7, 2022, in New Orleans. Jeff Van Gundy, Suzy Kolber, Jalen Rose and Steve Young are among roughly 20 ESPN commentators and reporters who were laid off on Friday, June 30, 2023, as part of job cuts by the network. (AP Photo/Tyler Kaufman, File)

FILE - ESPN Monday Night Football commentator Steve Young is seen before an NFL football game between the New Orleans Saints and the Baltimore Ravens, Monday, Nov. 7, 2022, in New Orleans. Jeff Van Gundy, Suzy Kolber, Jalen Rose and Steve Young are among roughly 20 ESPN commentators and reporters who were laid off on Friday, June 30, 2023, as part of job cuts by the network. (AP Photo/Tyler Kaufman, File)

By https://author-service-images-prod-us-east-1.publishing.aws.arc.pub/sltrib/YGNQZWECGZBDBKMGVEYYVTVAWA.jpg Shreyas Laddha
 | Oct. 15, 2026, 11:58 a.m.
| Updated: 1:08 p.m.

A former BYU legend will be in town this Saturday to watch his No. 8-ranked Cougars take on No. 2 Notre Dame.

That legend? None other than former BYU star quarterback and Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Young.

Young will be the “College GameDay” guest picker this Saturday, with the show in town for the BYU-Notre Dame contest.

Young was a longtime ESPN analyst before being let go by the network in 2023. So it doesn’t appear there’s too much — if any — bad blood between them.

Speaking of potential bad blood ... there’s no word on whether Young’s former rival Joe Montana, a famed Notre Dame quarterback, will make an appearance on the show. (Yeah, unlikely, but dreams are free.)

The last time the show visited Provo was in 2009, when former BYU coach LaVell Edwards was the guest picker.

Young played for the Cougars from 1980 to 1983 and amassed 7,723 passing yards and 74 total touchdowns. He also rushed for 1,084 yards.

He won WAC Offensive Player of the Year twice and finished runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 1983.

Young was inducted into the BYU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005.

Despite an impressive college career, Young wasn’t picked in the NFL Draft. Instead, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected him in the 1984 supplemental draft.

He was eventually traded to the San Francisco 49ers in 1987. And the rest was history.

Young threw for 32,124 yards and 232 touchdowns in his NFL career. He earned a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005.

Kickoff for BYU-Notre Dame is set for 5:30 p.m. Meanwhile, “College GameDay” will be held on the lawns of Heritage Halls on BYU’s campus. Fans can begin lining up at 3 p.m. on Friday. The show will run from 7 to 10 a.m.

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