Football: BYU won't change recruiting ways, Mendenhall says
Anyone who has watched BYU's football team play the last two games has undoubtedly noticed that the Cougars had difficulty keeping up with the talented athletes that UNLV and TCU put on the field.
BYU's defensive backs have looked especially vulnerable against quicker, faster and, in many cases, stronger receivers.
However, coach Bronco Mendenhall reiterated Monday that he will not overhaul his recruiting philosophy to get more athletic, faster athletes at BYU.
Generally, but not in every instance, that means that he will not go searching for non-LDS, African-American athletes across the country if he feels like those players will not "fit in" at the Mormon Church-operated school.
"We have put a lot of work into who we recruit here," he said. "Athleticism isn't the first thing we look at.... the institution is so very distinctive in what would draw a young man here, that will always be what we look at in terms of the fit for the young man, and our program.
"If not, I think then it just becomes exploitation, to bring a kid here just to play ball," he continued. "This university's purpose is far greater than that. The burden, and the opportunity, then shifts to the coaches to continue to find the right scheme to deliver what the players are capable of, which has worked very effectively for arguably one of the best stretches in ths league or any team in quite some time."
Seeing as how BYU has won 27 of its last 30 games, it is hard to argue with Mendenhall's recruiting blueprint. But TCU, UNLV and even Utah State, on occassion, exposed a lot of BYU weaknesses in terms of speed and athleticism.
"I don't ever see the philosophical nature of whom we are recruiting -- in terms of athleticism -- change," Mendenhall said. "We will recruit whom we can recruit that fit best at BYU and then our coaches are responsible to have them in the right place at the right time and to do the things that they are capable of, which we have done, again, at least leading to the 7-1 record at this point.
"And again, we will manage each game as best we can -- not really considering ourselves against anyone else in our league, in unit or production....And that really is, I think, the best way that we can go."
-- Jay Drew
BYU's defensive backs have looked especially vulnerable against quicker, faster and, in many cases, stronger receivers.
However, coach Bronco Mendenhall reiterated Monday that he will not overhaul his recruiting philosophy to get more athletic, faster athletes at BYU.
Generally, but not in every instance, that means that he will not go searching for non-LDS, African-American athletes across the country if he feels like those players will not "fit in" at the Mormon Church-operated school.
"We have put a lot of work into who we recruit here," he said. "Athleticism isn't the first thing we look at.... the institution is so very distinctive in what would draw a young man here, that will always be what we look at in terms of the fit for the young man, and our program.
"If not, I think then it just becomes exploitation, to bring a kid here just to play ball," he continued. "This university's purpose is far greater than that. The burden, and the opportunity, then shifts to the coaches to continue to find the right scheme to deliver what the players are capable of, which has worked very effectively for arguably one of the best stretches in ths league or any team in quite some time."
Seeing as how BYU has won 27 of its last 30 games, it is hard to argue with Mendenhall's recruiting blueprint. But TCU, UNLV and even Utah State, on occassion, exposed a lot of BYU weaknesses in terms of speed and athleticism.
"I don't ever see the philosophical nature of whom we are recruiting -- in terms of athleticism -- change," Mendenhall said. "We will recruit whom we can recruit that fit best at BYU and then our coaches are responsible to have them in the right place at the right time and to do the things that they are capable of, which we have done, again, at least leading to the 7-1 record at this point.
"And again, we will manage each game as best we can -- not really considering ourselves against anyone else in our league, in unit or production....And that really is, I think, the best way that we can go."
-- Jay Drew
2 Comments:
"Generally, but not in every instance, that means that he will not go searching for non-LDS, African-American athletes across the country if he feels like those players will not "fit in" at the Mormon Church-operated school"
WHAT OKAY!!!
he's just tellin it how it is haha
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