News and Notes:
Criddle: “This guy laid the groundwork for guys like me by walking on and earning a scholarship.”
White: “I work at a company called Qualtrics, I’ve been in sales there for about 6 months.”
Criddle: “You are the Last of the Mohicans, along with Nate Soelberg in playing for LaVell, Crowton, and Bronco.”
White: “I remember being there when LaVell was toward the end of his career, we would stop and have popsicle breaks during practice.”
White: “He’d go and ride around in his golf cart and the Cougar Creamery would bring them by during our breaks.”
White: “About this time, the assistant coaches were running the show, I only remember one time during practice that he actually ‘coached’.”
Criddle: “Tejan being left off of the Watch List is a huge punch in the gut to me because he certainly deserves it.”
Criddle: “I don’t know if this is a coaching staff blunder, but whatever happened, this is a mishap.”
Criddle: “It’s a great thing to have for your program because the people who look at this are recruits, and the parents of the recruits.”
Criddle: “NFL.com says that Taysom Hill has OK Speed, whoever said that needs to lose their job because they didn’t do their research.”
How We See It:
Twestion: In 2004, BYU had an abundance of player with NFL talent, yet they went 5-7. How did that happen?
White: “I remember replaying games, after a loss you replay a game and there were 1-2 plays that just didn’t go our way.”
White: “We talk about the schedule now and how tough it is, but the experience to play some of these teams was awesome.”
White: “Turnovers were huge that year. Against UNLV we had like 5 fumbles in a game.”
White: “There were a lot of times that year that we worked on a short field.”
White: “What it comes down to was turning the ball over and executing in critical situations during the game.”
Criddle: “Nate Soelberg…In the 60 meters ran a 6.70, that is absolutely blazing.”
Criddle: “This may have been the toughest schedule that BYU had ever faced.”
Criddle: “There’s a lot of NFL talent on this years team. Could something like 2004 happen?”
Criddle: “The schedule might not be as close, you’re probably not going to get the #1 and #6 team in the country.”
White: “I thought that Crowton was a great offensive mind, but the prep the week before things should’ve been set but then he would change some things up the night before the game.”
Criddle: “It sounds like Brandon Doman would do something similar. They would plan on running the ball and he would then go to shotgun and start throwing the ball around.”
Criddle: “I think that Bronco brought in Anae because he knew that he would be consistent and stick to what he knew the team had practiced during the week.”
Colton Shaver Interview:
Criddle: “Who’s hotter right now, Bryce Harper or Colton Shaver?”
Shaver: “It’s for sure Harper, look at how he’s hitting right now.”
Shaver: “I expected myself to come in and work hard.”
Criddle: “Why’d you choose number 35 Colton?”
Shaver: “It was the only jersey that fit me.”
Shaver: “We were just dropped off at AT&T Park to watch the Giants and Dodgers play.”
Shaver: “I like the way the Dodgers play, they play hard.”
Criddle: “I like the way they spend money on their players, I’d like to see Colton Shaver on the Dodgers one day.”
Shaver: “I attribute being able to hit to all my coaches growing up and to my Dad, they pushed me to be the best I can be. I feel like catching has helped as well because it helps me know how to react when the ball comes out of the pitchers hand.”
Shaver: “I think that catchers in the bigs work a lot with their pitchers and it takes away a lot of time from working on hitting.”
Shaver: “I have a few cues I work on. I try to punch the ball with my hands by throwing the knob at the ball and finish high.”
Shaver: “I try to grip loose so that way I can generate more whip with the bat.”
Shaver: “It’s been cool to see the team rally each other. It’s not just friends saying they’re a family, they really are a family and we rallied around Jarvis and helped him out in anyway we can.”
Criddle: “I’m going to ask Spencer, what was the main difference between Coach Edwards, Coach Crowton, and Coach Mendenhall?”
Cougar Insider Report:
Criddle: “So tell me the difference between these three era’s.”
White: “LaVell was kind of that larger-than-life legend. I grew up watching him my whole life.”
White: “Coming off of my mission I was doing the whole post-mission routine, I felt there was a little bit of a division between the O and D.”
White: “I feel that Crowton struggled with the administration part of the job.”
Brandon Gurney Interview:
Gurney: “There are guys like Colby Jorgensen and Brian Sampson who I like, but I’m not going to buy it this year.”
Gurney: “I think you’re going to see less and less to the TE’s than we did any other year.”
Gurney: “Anae is going to put his best 11 guys on the field.”
White: “I always thought that it was more of a system thing than anything else.”
Gurney: “The only ‘true’ TE is Brian Sampson. I don’t know that anyone else is.”
Gurney: “If there was a true proven TE, then maybe I’d think it but I just don’t think so.”
Gurney: “Taysom could channel some Riley Nelson by scrambling on a broken play and chucking the ball up to a reliable receiver.”
Gurney: “For a breakout year, look to Mitch Mathews or Nick Kurtz. Trey Dye is a guy with a lot of upside as well.”
Gurney: “The players really bought into Bronco and his system and I feel like they didn’t in 2004.”
Gurney: “I remember when Jaime Hill was hired then fired in the 2009 season and there was an immediate improvement after Bronco took over.”
Gurney: “I think that there was so much respect because of him taking over and just being there to oversee everything.”
White: “Yeah, Bronco definitely has a presence about him. Guys want to run through a brick wall for him.”
Gurney: “I think that the talent in state is going to be very good. BYU is very focused in getting that talent in the state.”
Gurney: “Three guys I think BYU NEEDS to get his Drew Jensen, Simi Fehoko, and Sione Heimuli-Lund.”
Gurney: “I think Martzen did a good job opening new frontiers, but one of his weaknesses was ignoring your roots in the state.”
Gurney: “BYU did a good job getting guys they had no business getting like Kurtz and Warner by getting in there first and establishing the relationship.”
Gurney: “Everything is baseball right now. PG is probably the team to beat they have Easton Walker and Payton Henry. Easton signed with BYU and they may have a good chanced with Payton Henry.”
5:30 Segment:
Criddle: “I remember that you guys used to run a 3-3-5. There were a lot of points getting put up, what was up with that?”
White: “You need to have great, athletic, and deep DB’s to play that 3-3-5. I see why BYU switched to the 3-4 with all the LB’s they get.”
White: “Coach Mendenhall got us in that track stance so we could get low, ready, and play aggressive.”
White: “I wish there was more of a hybrid defense this season in place.”
Criddle: “According to Phil Steele, BYU’s Sept. schedule is the 1st or 2nd toughest in the nation.”
White: “It’s a tough schedule but they do have Taysom. It’s very road heavy but this is what they have to do to get these games.”
White: “I think 2-2 is what they’ll be at.”
Criddle: “The game against Nebraska scares me because of how powerful their OL is.”
Criddle: “These games against Boise St have been nail biters.”
Jared Lloyd Interview:
Lloyd: “Watch list’s are less than useless because they mean nothing and kind of create expectations that almost mean nothing.”
Lloyd: “I think that CFB will change in the next 5-10 years for this 15-yard PAT.”
Lloyd: “I think it’s good for the game of football. It won’t have a tremendous impact but will make a difference.”
Criddle: “One of my favorite things to do is take out the Deacon’s Quorum and annihilate them. It really helps me validate my athletic ability.”
White: “I remember that Bronco used to do this Sumo drill where two guys would square off, he did that until Travis Bright broke his leg.”
Lloyd: “If Taysom goes out and performs like an elite player then BYU will be really good. If he doesn’t, he doesn’t deserve the Heisman recognition.”
Lloyd: “I have my doubts about BYU’s consistency, they have had some success but haven’t done it enough times in a row to make me optimistic.”
Lloyd: “A lot of the times during those blow outs, we would just get Scheide tell some of his stories.”
Lloyd: “I love the Quincy Lewis hire, he has so many connections and has coached so much talent. He knows how to coach the game and get the most out of his players.”
Lloyd: “I heard that the reason the seats were crammed together because Ernest Wilkinson approved the seats, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was true.”
White: “I remember my parents told me during the Ainge era that they wanted to put as many seats as they could in there so they really crammed it in there.”
Criddle: “Typically, Varsity is made up of Jr’s and Sr’s so maybe they were starting to butt heads after that 2nd year.”
6:30 Segment:
White: “I don’t think that USU had any success in football until they had a good coach in Andersen.”
Criddle: “I don’t know what will happen with the Lone Peak basketball team. Do they drop off?”
White: “I would’ve lived at these speed training facilities during the offseason if we had them back when I played.”
Criddle: “A lot of guys said that recruiters love Utah kids because they work so hard, are high character individuals and high football IQ’s.”
Criddle: “I played well in the spring scrimmage and I felt like I made a name for myself and Brandon Bradley and Tico Pringle came in and I was completely overlooked.”
Criddle: “We had Chaz Ah You come in and kids say to him, ‘Oh you’re from Utah? I’d be a baller too.'”
Random Thoughts:
Criddle: “I was running my pro agility and Coach Mitchell made me redo it. He said “nah, redo it” I did it so fast that he didn’t believe it.”
Criddle: “I went to a BYU camp and got the Defensive MVP. Brian Mitchell wrote on my award that he’d be watching me this fall.”
Criddle: “My two favorite things from the show was that Spencer White and Camerson Jensen waltzed up to Tom Holmoe’s office and said that they want Bronco to take over as head coach in 2005, and that LaVell used to give out popsicle’s during practice.”
