Practice report: Bronco surprised by Long's resignation
BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall got the news that New Mexico coach Rocky Long had resigned unexpectedly about 20 minutes before the Cougars' practice tonight.
As he was leaving the indoor practice facility, Mendenhall said he intended to call Long right away and did not want to speculate on what Long's reason might have been.
"He has done a fantastic job. I think possibly he had had enough of being the head football coach. If that is the case, and again I am speculating, I am sure his players will miss him and the conference will miss him. He's done an absolutely phenomenal job there."
Coincidentally, Mendenhall said he called fired Utah State coach Brent Guy earlier today to express his support.
As for Long, school officials said in a release that his decision was not expected. The coach signed a contract extension earlier this season.
Long was the longest-tenured MWC coach. The dean is now TCU's Gary Patterson (eight years), followed by perhaps the next coach who will be replaced, Wyoming's Joe Glenn (six).
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The Cougars conducted a crisp, hour long practice in the IPF tonight.
The injured guys -- Andrew Rich, Ray Feinga, Dennis Pitta -- did not practice, but were present.
Running back Harvey Unga also didn't practice, but said after the session that he is "totally fine" and that trainers and doctors just want him to rest.
I asked him if he had any aches and pains, and he said no.
Hoping to duplicate Utah's offense, the scout team ran a lot of five-receiver sets against the first-team defense tonight. Matt Ah You and David Nixon had interceptions, but, obviously, the scout team is nothing like what the Cougs will face Saturday.
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Since tonight's practice was the only one this week open to the media, and because it is rivalry week, there was a throng of reporters waiting to talk to the players and coaches after practice.
Receiver Austin Collie tried to pull a little prank on reporters, trading jerseys with Tyler Kozlowski, a seldom-used fellow receiver. Collie almost made it out of the IPF wearing No. 7, but a BYU sports information official caught him and directed back into the building.
I am pretty sure Collie would have turned around and came back anyway; he just wanted to see if he could get away with it.
Once corralled, he patiently gave interviews.
Funny thing was, a couple of reporters approached Kozlowski and were just about to ask for an interview until he took his helmet off.
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This, quite possibly, is the last practice report I will file for a few weeks (until bowl prep begins), with the remainder of BYU's practices closed. I think I have done one for every practice we were allowed to watch since fall camp began on Aug. 1. Hope you've enjoyed ‘em.
As he was leaving the indoor practice facility, Mendenhall said he intended to call Long right away and did not want to speculate on what Long's reason might have been.
"He has done a fantastic job. I think possibly he had had enough of being the head football coach. If that is the case, and again I am speculating, I am sure his players will miss him and the conference will miss him. He's done an absolutely phenomenal job there."
Coincidentally, Mendenhall said he called fired Utah State coach Brent Guy earlier today to express his support.
As for Long, school officials said in a release that his decision was not expected. The coach signed a contract extension earlier this season.
Long was the longest-tenured MWC coach. The dean is now TCU's Gary Patterson (eight years), followed by perhaps the next coach who will be replaced, Wyoming's Joe Glenn (six).
-----------------
The Cougars conducted a crisp, hour long practice in the IPF tonight.
The injured guys -- Andrew Rich, Ray Feinga, Dennis Pitta -- did not practice, but were present.
Running back Harvey Unga also didn't practice, but said after the session that he is "totally fine" and that trainers and doctors just want him to rest.
I asked him if he had any aches and pains, and he said no.
Hoping to duplicate Utah's offense, the scout team ran a lot of five-receiver sets against the first-team defense tonight. Matt Ah You and David Nixon had interceptions, but, obviously, the scout team is nothing like what the Cougs will face Saturday.
------------------
Since tonight's practice was the only one this week open to the media, and because it is rivalry week, there was a throng of reporters waiting to talk to the players and coaches after practice.
Receiver Austin Collie tried to pull a little prank on reporters, trading jerseys with Tyler Kozlowski, a seldom-used fellow receiver. Collie almost made it out of the IPF wearing No. 7, but a BYU sports information official caught him and directed back into the building.
I am pretty sure Collie would have turned around and came back anyway; he just wanted to see if he could get away with it.
Once corralled, he patiently gave interviews.
Funny thing was, a couple of reporters approached Kozlowski and were just about to ask for an interview until he took his helmet off.
---------------
This, quite possibly, is the last practice report I will file for a few weeks (until bowl prep begins), with the remainder of BYU's practices closed. I think I have done one for every practice we were allowed to watch since fall camp began on Aug. 1. Hope you've enjoyed ‘em.
8:24 PM
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4 Comments:
I have enjoyed the work you do on the blog. I like your approach to the situations that you report on. I look forward to reading your blog multiple times each day and will continue to do so. Thanks.
Great work Jay. It's been nice having you along this season.
Good work, thanks for the reports!
Jay, if your single I want to set you up.
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