Bronco hasn't always been big on the Big Easy
The Cougars will practice in Provo this afternoon, then depart Friday morning for New Orleans in preparation for Saturday's game against the Tulane Green Wave in the Superdome.
Like I mentioned in Wednesday night's post-practice post, BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall is familiar with New Orleans, having spent considerable time recruiting there while he was on the staff at Louisiana Tech.
Mendenhall shared a story with reporters about how he took his wife, Holly, on a spring recruiting trip to New Orleans once and called it a "very unique experience."
He said he was in a high school and she was outside waiting in the car when the lunch bell rang and students began pouring out of the school in what was apparently a rough part of town.
"When I came out, Holly was in the car, and kids were surrounding the car," he said. "So we both learned our lesson. Yeah, it is a unique place. A little faster than what I am accustomed to, I would say."
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Here's what Mendenhall said when I asked him for his thoughts on the place:
"It's, it's, uh, I am trying to think through what I ought to say here," he said. "It's not Alpine, Utah. Let's put it that way. There's a lot of culture, and with Bourbon Street, etc., it took awhile for me to feel comfortable."
When the game was scheduled, Mendenhall saw the trip as a chance to do some service for the people of New Orleans who had their lives turned upside down by Hurricane Katrina.
"There were a couple of things that intrigued me about the game," he said. "At the time, if I am remembering correctly, there seemed to be a chance for some goodwill, because of the storms and the hurricane, etc. There seemed to be a chance for our presence to help. It seems now that has come and gone, so I didn't know how long the lingering effects would be. But that had something to do with my thoughts about it."
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Wednesday marked the last chance for print reporters to talk to Mendenhall until after the game. However, driving home from practice, I was able to catch part of the coach's radio show on KSL radio.
Along with repeating what he told us about Harvey Unga (probable) and Matt Bauman (will play), Mendenhall said redshirt freshman cornerback Garett Nicholson has left the program due to academic struggles. He may try to work his way back and re-join the team next August, which is what Manase Tonga did.
Also, offensive lineman Jesse Taufi is still trying to complete some schoolwork and could re-join the team prior to the Florida State game next week.
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Mendenhall said Tuesday's practice went well, but the Cougars weren't "quite as sharp as I would have hoped [on Wednesday]. The energy was good, but a little bit sloppy for what I would have hoped for a Wednesday. But I see the team, in terms of eagerness and mindset, really interested in playing."
Asked for a progress report on freshman offensive lineman Braden Hansen, who played most of the game against Oklahoma, Mendenhall said:
"I think he did really well. He certainly was capable and I think we have said that all along that he was capable. But none of us knew how the unit would perform against a very good front. We certainly weren't dominant. They had some sacks and we had a hard time running the football. But in terms of being assignment sound and technically sound, I thought he did a nice job."
Like I mentioned in Wednesday night's post-practice post, BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall is familiar with New Orleans, having spent considerable time recruiting there while he was on the staff at Louisiana Tech.
Mendenhall shared a story with reporters about how he took his wife, Holly, on a spring recruiting trip to New Orleans once and called it a "very unique experience."
He said he was in a high school and she was outside waiting in the car when the lunch bell rang and students began pouring out of the school in what was apparently a rough part of town.
"When I came out, Holly was in the car, and kids were surrounding the car," he said. "So we both learned our lesson. Yeah, it is a unique place. A little faster than what I am accustomed to, I would say."
------------------------------
Here's what Mendenhall said when I asked him for his thoughts on the place:
"It's, it's, uh, I am trying to think through what I ought to say here," he said. "It's not Alpine, Utah. Let's put it that way. There's a lot of culture, and with Bourbon Street, etc., it took awhile for me to feel comfortable."
When the game was scheduled, Mendenhall saw the trip as a chance to do some service for the people of New Orleans who had their lives turned upside down by Hurricane Katrina.
"There were a couple of things that intrigued me about the game," he said. "At the time, if I am remembering correctly, there seemed to be a chance for some goodwill, because of the storms and the hurricane, etc. There seemed to be a chance for our presence to help. It seems now that has come and gone, so I didn't know how long the lingering effects would be. But that had something to do with my thoughts about it."
-------------------------
Wednesday marked the last chance for print reporters to talk to Mendenhall until after the game. However, driving home from practice, I was able to catch part of the coach's radio show on KSL radio.
Along with repeating what he told us about Harvey Unga (probable) and Matt Bauman (will play), Mendenhall said redshirt freshman cornerback Garett Nicholson has left the program due to academic struggles. He may try to work his way back and re-join the team next August, which is what Manase Tonga did.
Also, offensive lineman Jesse Taufi is still trying to complete some schoolwork and could re-join the team prior to the Florida State game next week.
-----------------------
Mendenhall said Tuesday's practice went well, but the Cougars weren't "quite as sharp as I would have hoped [on Wednesday]. The energy was good, but a little bit sloppy for what I would have hoped for a Wednesday. But I see the team, in terms of eagerness and mindset, really interested in playing."
Asked for a progress report on freshman offensive lineman Braden Hansen, who played most of the game against Oklahoma, Mendenhall said:
"I think he did really well. He certainly was capable and I think we have said that all along that he was capable. But none of us knew how the unit would perform against a very good front. We certainly weren't dominant. They had some sacks and we had a hard time running the football. But in terms of being assignment sound and technically sound, I thought he did a nice job."
9:37 AM
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1 Comments:
Bronco should get out and see Magazine street, St Charles Ave, Uptown, the Marigny, Audubon Park, the Mississippi River, etc, etc, etc.
New Orleans is a beautiful, family friendly city everywhere outside of the 5 blocks known as Bourbon Street.
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