Football: BYU recruit will delay mission to play in '08
Spencer Hadley, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound linebacker from Connell High in rural Washington, signed with BYU in February.
But the high school senior figured he would not be playing for the Cougars until after his LDS Church mission.
That all changed Wednesday when Hadley stopped by the coach’s offices to say hello.
He is with his family in Utah this week because his high school is on spring break.
Coach Mendenhall saw me [at the football offices] and asked me to come talk to him, Hadley said.
He told me they were going to be kind of thin at my position [inside linebacker] this fall and asked if I would consider delaying my mission for a few months and play this fall, Hadley said.
It was an easy answer.
So, instead of leaving in October, when he turns 19, Hadley is going to leave in December or January with a season of Division I college football under his belt.
Presumably, Hadley is going to use the scholarship that was reserved for junior college linebacker Tolu Moala. He signed with BYU in February, too, but was apparently released from his letter of intent and will attend Oklahoma State because he did not meet the entrance requirements at BYU, according to an article in an Oklahoma newspaper.
Hadley told me via telephone Thursday night that he went to spring practice today, but this time he tried to soak up as much as he could because he will be in uniform this fall, rather in a coat and tie.
Hadley’s cousin, Austen Jorgensen, is also on the BYU football team. He has two siblings that attend the school.
It is the only place I have ever wanted to play, he said.
Now he gets to do it sooner than he ever expected.
The senior made 15 interceptions and had 13 sacks for his small-school team last fall, and was largely ignored by recruiters outside of BYU, he said.
But the high school senior figured he would not be playing for the Cougars until after his LDS Church mission.
That all changed Wednesday when Hadley stopped by the coach’s offices to say hello.
He is with his family in Utah this week because his high school is on spring break.
Coach Mendenhall saw me [at the football offices] and asked me to come talk to him, Hadley said.
He told me they were going to be kind of thin at my position [inside linebacker] this fall and asked if I would consider delaying my mission for a few months and play this fall, Hadley said.
It was an easy answer.
So, instead of leaving in October, when he turns 19, Hadley is going to leave in December or January with a season of Division I college football under his belt.
Presumably, Hadley is going to use the scholarship that was reserved for junior college linebacker Tolu Moala. He signed with BYU in February, too, but was apparently released from his letter of intent and will attend Oklahoma State because he did not meet the entrance requirements at BYU, according to an article in an Oklahoma newspaper.
Hadley told me via telephone Thursday night that he went to spring practice today, but this time he tried to soak up as much as he could because he will be in uniform this fall, rather in a coat and tie.
Hadley’s cousin, Austen Jorgensen, is also on the BYU football team. He has two siblings that attend the school.
It is the only place I have ever wanted to play, he said.
Now he gets to do it sooner than he ever expected.
The senior made 15 interceptions and had 13 sacks for his small-school team last fall, and was largely ignored by recruiters outside of BYU, he said.
6 Comments:
I love hearing about church taking a backseat to football when it suits Mendenhall's needs. He's always 'church this' and 'scripture that' but when it could mean the difference between a win or a loss, that stuff all gets pushed to the back burner. If this kid gets a lot of playing time this year, I would bet that he 'postpones' his mission even longer, like until he is old and gray. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that everybody has to go on a mission or that it's not ok to wait, but when your reason for not going is someone elses and not your own, it looks bad.
The timing of a mission is an individual decision and Mendenhall's request that the young man consider delaying it a few months takes nothing away from the decision or its timing. Get a better life Uteblunder.
If it's an individual decision, why then was it made by the kid AND Mendenhall?
And I'm not saying that it takes anything away from the mission or its timing. The only point I am making is that for Mendenhall to preach that faith comes first, development of young men comes second, and football comes third only to reverse the order of those things because he could lose some games this year if he doesn't bolster his defense, is awfully hypocritical.
How about you get a life, period, vanloser. Your acceptance of Mendenhall's hypocrisy only validates Mormon-Ute fan's belief that BYU-Mormons can't think for themselves. They just do as they are told, no questions asked. That is both sad and pathetic.
Your bitterness clearly has deep roots which I cannot address but please re-read the article. It says he was "asked to consider" delaying the mission. Best of luck to you in the future in coming to grips with things.
Right, he was asked by Mendenhall to delay his mission, meaning the kid did not think about waiting to go on his own. Had the kid decided on his OWN, I wouldn't have said anything. However, Mendenhall did have an influence on his decision, which contradicts his own philosophy that faith comes before football. In this case, Mendenhall is clearly putting football before faith, which I wouldn't have a problem with if he didn't preach the opposite with such regularity. If you can't wrap your mind around that, then there is no hope for you ever figuring things in this life out.
And I'm bitter? If it makes you feel better to think that, than you go right ahead.
Vancougar is not worth the time to argue with Utethunder. He is your typical zoobie loser that has blinders darker than the dark side. I do agree with you in that I thought the church mission was a calling from above. But the man upstairs must be making exceptions and communicating with the great Coach Mendenhall(expert at the 3-3-5 defense that got Crowton fired, not bright enough to realize that experience is needed at QB when the starter goes down, and recruiter of athlete's who have yet to go through puberty). The big guy in the sky is all about Y football, just ask Collie about living right. What a joke.......you are right on the money Utethunder, sounds like things are getting pretty desperate down south for the coach thinking perfection is coming.
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