Nelson takes long route to senior season at BYU

Six years after he played his first college football game, Brigham Young quarterback Riley Nelson will open his senior season tonight when the Cougars host Washington State at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah.

The 7:15 p.m. game will be broadcast on ESPN (Cable 30).

Nelson's career began at Utah State, in his hometown of Logan, where he started the final eight games of the Aggies' 2006 season as a true freshman. He then set football aside for two years to serve a Mormon church mission to Barcelona, Spain. After his mission, he transferred to BYU, where he backed up Max Hall in 2009.

As a starter in 2010, Nelson suffered a season-ending injury in the third game of the season at Florida State. He then began 2011 as the backup to sophomore Jake Heaps, but won the job back in the fifth game after leading BYU to a come-from-behind victory over Utah State.

"I'm not one to discredit luck or the coming together of circumstances," Nelson said. "(But) I'm a believer of the cliche, 'The harder you work, the luckier you get.' "

Nelson is featured in an hourlong interview today on BYUtv (Cable 352) called "The Life of Riley," where he reveals his first choice of football programs coming out of high school was not BYU or Utah State but Utah.

Following are a few excerpts from that interview:

On recruiting: "I wanted to be a Ute. I was calling down to the football office, sending them tape after tape. I was one of those annoying kids. I called the secretary three or four times just trying to get through to a coach."

The Utes finally called back, but the coach that came to visit Nelson at his high school was not head coach Kyle Whittingham or then-offensive coordinator Mike Sanford. Instead, it was Gary Andersen, the defensive coordinator at the time. The Utes wanted Nelson to play defense. He eventually chose Utah State to play quarterback.

On God and football: "I kneel down and say a prayer before every game and say, 'If I'm called on, help me to be calm.' "

BYU put Nelson into last year's game against Utah State, and he led the Cougars on a 96-yard drive in the final 2:36, throwing a touchdown pass with 11 seconds remaining to lift BYU to a 27-24 victory.

"My chest didn't start to pound. My palms didn't get sweaty. I feel like there was a little bit of perhaps divine help to calm me down. Not to throw touchdowns, but just like, 'Riley, you are going to be OK, even if you go in and throw four picks. Just relax. Whatever the outcome may be, you are ready to accept it.' No way was there divine help to complete balls or run to first downs. Heavenly Father isn't interested in that. But I feel like he cares about his children, and I felt his support during that."

On taking the field at LaVell Edwards Stadium: "You just say to yourself the whole time, 'Keep it cool. Keep it cool. Don't trip!' It's a special experience."

"The Life of Riley" will air today at 5 p.m., followed by the "Countdown to Kickoff" pregame show at 6.

Dave McCann is a news anchor for KSL-TV in Salt Lake City and the play-by-play voice for BYU sports on BYUtv. He also is the host of "True Blue," which airs Mondays at 5:30 p.m. on BYUtv. He can be reached at dmccann@ksl.com or on Twitter: @DaveMcCannKSL.