Breakfast with Bronco
Because of Labor Day, BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall's weekly press conference was pushed back to today. Us reporters were given a double dose when we also listened to his weekly MWC telephone call.
Below are some of the points he covered:
- Much is always made about an opponent's advantage in athleticism and speed whenver BYU plays a BCS program like UCLA or Arizona. Mendenhall and his players take no issue with being "slower, smaller and less athletic" but they don't believe SPARQ testing results or 40 times win football games. They feel they can counterbalance any athletic advantages with position mastery, competitiveness and sound fundamentals. He also belives this BYU team is the most physically prepared of any he has been a part of, and that conditioning level is a factor late in games.
- Manase Tonga returns to the backfield after his one-game suspension, and Mendenhall expects his versatility to be a big boost. He views a shared workload between Tonga, Harvey Unga and Fui Vakapuna. Tong and Unga will also fill roles in special teams. BYU kept Unga out last weekend because of his increased reps on offense. But Mendenhall's philosophy is always put your best players on special teams, and Unga showed he is by far one of BYU's best players.
- Mendenhall is playing down the Rose Bowl hype. It's just another stadium on the list of stadiums this season. He says the players greatest experience is playing in LES. An Oregon State alum, Mendenhall never coached or played in the Rose Bowl - the Beavers skipped that rotation each season he was in Corvallis. The only time he was there was to watch his brother play in the Super Bowl.
- BYU's secondary will have to be on higher alert this weekend with UCLA displaying an equally potent run-pass balance against Stanford. Covering, tackling, play recognition and providing run support will be emphasized.
- Mendenhall said his decision to go for it on 4th and 1 against Arizona - which failed - was partly attributed to his lack of faith in the field goal unit's ability to put points on the board. He said that will become even more crucial in the coming weeks. BYU can't afford to leave points on the field.
- The notion that players get worse once they return from a mission is bogus in Mendenhall's mind. He believes their added maturity and worldly experiences actually led to an increased performance level and make them more complete players. He feels they typically exceed their pre-mission status.
- The Ben Olson saga questions: Mendenhall never met Ben Olson, but did speak to his dad Rick before Ben decided to transfer. Mendenhall had a feeling Ben was going to leave after researching the situation once he was hired. He believes Ben is a good player, a fine man and thinks it worked out best for both parties. As fast as Mendenhall hung up the phone once the moderator said there were no more questions, you can tell the Olson questions have already gotten old. And it's only Tuesday.
That's all she wrote today folks ... until the afternoon practice.
Below are some of the points he covered:
- Much is always made about an opponent's advantage in athleticism and speed whenver BYU plays a BCS program like UCLA or Arizona. Mendenhall and his players take no issue with being "slower, smaller and less athletic" but they don't believe SPARQ testing results or 40 times win football games. They feel they can counterbalance any athletic advantages with position mastery, competitiveness and sound fundamentals. He also belives this BYU team is the most physically prepared of any he has been a part of, and that conditioning level is a factor late in games.
- Manase Tonga returns to the backfield after his one-game suspension, and Mendenhall expects his versatility to be a big boost. He views a shared workload between Tonga, Harvey Unga and Fui Vakapuna. Tong and Unga will also fill roles in special teams. BYU kept Unga out last weekend because of his increased reps on offense. But Mendenhall's philosophy is always put your best players on special teams, and Unga showed he is by far one of BYU's best players.
- Mendenhall is playing down the Rose Bowl hype. It's just another stadium on the list of stadiums this season. He says the players greatest experience is playing in LES. An Oregon State alum, Mendenhall never coached or played in the Rose Bowl - the Beavers skipped that rotation each season he was in Corvallis. The only time he was there was to watch his brother play in the Super Bowl.
- BYU's secondary will have to be on higher alert this weekend with UCLA displaying an equally potent run-pass balance against Stanford. Covering, tackling, play recognition and providing run support will be emphasized.
- Mendenhall said his decision to go for it on 4th and 1 against Arizona - which failed - was partly attributed to his lack of faith in the field goal unit's ability to put points on the board. He said that will become even more crucial in the coming weeks. BYU can't afford to leave points on the field.
- The notion that players get worse once they return from a mission is bogus in Mendenhall's mind. He believes their added maturity and worldly experiences actually led to an increased performance level and make them more complete players. He feels they typically exceed their pre-mission status.
- The Ben Olson saga questions: Mendenhall never met Ben Olson, but did speak to his dad Rick before Ben decided to transfer. Mendenhall had a feeling Ben was going to leave after researching the situation once he was hired. He believes Ben is a good player, a fine man and thinks it worked out best for both parties. As fast as Mendenhall hung up the phone once the moderator said there were no more questions, you can tell the Olson questions have already gotten old. And it's only Tuesday.
That's all she wrote today folks ... until the afternoon practice.
11:27 AM
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