Drop-off substantial if Johnson can't play
One of the questions that might not be answered until kickoff on Saturday -- along with who will get the opportunity to boot the first kickoff -- is whether or not BYU safety Scott Johnson will play against the Seminoles.
Johnson took a knee to the jaw, suffering his second concussion in three weeks, against Tulane last Saturday.
BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said Wednesday it is "possible" that Johnson could play, and fellow safety Andrew Rich said Johnson has seemed coherent almost from the time he suffered the blow.
However, Mendenhall said Tuesday that coaches will err on the side of caution when it comes to playing Johnson.
"It will be the same protocol [to pass]," Mendenhall said. "All that happens is, because it is his second, [the] recovery to be non-symptomatic takes longer. And so the threshold we are using is well-established and very sound, but my guess is it is just going to take him longer because this is his second one. "
Mendenhall said Johnson had not shown any symptoms as of Tuesday evening that would be troubling doctors.
"There is a scale they rank the symptons on, and they've been mild. So we are hopeful.
But obviously the first concern is not the game. It is Scott and his well-being. So we are measuring that first and foremost. If it happens that he can play, that's great. If not, it might be the next week, it might be the week after that, but his well-being is still first and foremost."
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The coach called Johnson "invaluable" to the defense and said the "drop-off is big" if Johnson can't play.
"It doesn't mean that any of us aren't replaceable, but certainly the drop-off is big, and we saw that last year after the way we played defense the first six weeks, and then without Scott [double groin pull] and, it is not necessarily sheer athleticism. It is that he is in the right spot -- not some of the times, but all the time, and he helps others get in the right spot. And I think there is a security and comfort with him out there .
"We already proved last week that we can play and play good defense with the other tandem of safeties we had in there. But we will miss him if he is not playing."
If Johnson can't go, sophomore Shiloah Te'o will likely start at Kat safety and Andrew Rich will move over to Johnson's customary spot, free safety.
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Obviously, Mendenhall has proven to be a great fit as BYU's coach -- and not just because he has had an excellent winning record.
A writer at ESPN.com, Bruce Feldman, has noticed. He ranks Mendenhall No. 1 on his top 10 list of best fits among college football coaches.
I won't link to Feldman's article, because it requires an ESPN insider subscription, but it was interesting to see that at least one national writer has picked up on Mendenhall's fit with the institution he coaches at.
Johnson took a knee to the jaw, suffering his second concussion in three weeks, against Tulane last Saturday.
BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said Wednesday it is "possible" that Johnson could play, and fellow safety Andrew Rich said Johnson has seemed coherent almost from the time he suffered the blow.
However, Mendenhall said Tuesday that coaches will err on the side of caution when it comes to playing Johnson.
"It will be the same protocol [to pass]," Mendenhall said. "All that happens is, because it is his second, [the] recovery to be non-symptomatic takes longer. And so the threshold we are using is well-established and very sound, but my guess is it is just going to take him longer because this is his second one. "
Mendenhall said Johnson had not shown any symptoms as of Tuesday evening that would be troubling doctors.
"There is a scale they rank the symptons on, and they've been mild. So we are hopeful.
But obviously the first concern is not the game. It is Scott and his well-being. So we are measuring that first and foremost. If it happens that he can play, that's great. If not, it might be the next week, it might be the week after that, but his well-being is still first and foremost."
----------------------
The coach called Johnson "invaluable" to the defense and said the "drop-off is big" if Johnson can't play.
"It doesn't mean that any of us aren't replaceable, but certainly the drop-off is big, and we saw that last year after the way we played defense the first six weeks, and then without Scott [double groin pull] and, it is not necessarily sheer athleticism. It is that he is in the right spot -- not some of the times, but all the time, and he helps others get in the right spot. And I think there is a security and comfort with him out there .
"We already proved last week that we can play and play good defense with the other tandem of safeties we had in there. But we will miss him if he is not playing."
If Johnson can't go, sophomore Shiloah Te'o will likely start at Kat safety and Andrew Rich will move over to Johnson's customary spot, free safety.
------------------
Obviously, Mendenhall has proven to be a great fit as BYU's coach -- and not just because he has had an excellent winning record.
A writer at ESPN.com, Bruce Feldman, has noticed. He ranks Mendenhall No. 1 on his top 10 list of best fits among college football coaches.
I won't link to Feldman's article, because it requires an ESPN insider subscription, but it was interesting to see that at least one national writer has picked up on Mendenhall's fit with the institution he coaches at.
2:44 PM
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