How We See It:
Criddle: “The coaching staff said, ‘Had Christian Stewart come back, we wouldn’t know how good the offense was.'”
Dickson: “The team knew what was going on with Taysom that he wasn’t going to be 100% but the plan was to bring in McCoy Hill and Hunter Moore. McCoy goes down the first day and they brought in Christian Stewart to help out the team on both sides of the ball.”
Dickson: “A lot of it can be blamed on recruiting, or lack thereof.”
Dickson: “Stewart had to be convinced to come back to BYU, he left the team and went to Snow and was attending BYU as a student and was talked into playing for the team again.”
Criddle: “Coaches don’t know everything and they make a lot of mistakes.”
Dickson: “What would’ve been the best would be if Taysom would’ve been healthy enough to play in the spring because he’s the guy going forward.”
Criddle: “I think it was more detrimental. This is QBU and you have to go out and bring back a guy who is no longer in the program so you have enough bodies throwing footballs in camp.”
Criddle: “All those reps are hurting the team, the timing with the receivers, the reads that the defense gets, the way the offensive line blocks.”
Criddle: “Taysom is not a guy who makes plays downfield, he extends plays because he’s not great at making reads downfield.”
Criddle: “What hurts more than anything is that you don’t have a QB in the system who is prepared to step up in case Taysom doesn’t step up.”
Criddle: “Why would Troy Warner commit to Oregon opposed to BYU?”
Dickson: “I don’t know that if Troy was sitting in front of me and told me why he committed that I’d believe him.”
Dickson: “His brother has been in the program for a year so I’m sure Fred has told him what the BYU experience is and maybe he doesn’t want that.”
Criddle: “BYU develops NFL-caliber OLB’s and Oregon develops NFL-caliber DB’s.”
Paul Gustavson Interview:
Gustavson: “Bronco said that they missed out on a number of former players whose sons had gone elsewhere. They were in those homes doing everything they could to bring them in but it ended up not working out.”
Gustavson: “Bronco said that outside of Stanford and Harvard, BYU has the highest ratio of kids who are accepted and actually enroll.”
Gustavson: “Only 5 coaches have won more games than Lavell Edwards and only 11 have won more than Bronco did since 2005.”
Gustavson: “Bronco laid it out to the group and said that if you’re a P5 school you’re bringing in $20-$27 million a year, and while he couldn’t reveal the numbers they are no where near that.”
Gustavson: “Bronco laid it on the line and said that they need help, help with funds to support the program going forward.”
Gustavson: “He also talked about the quality of the staff, and said we compete on the quality of the athletes that we have within the budget we have.”
Gustavson: “He talked about each of the coaches that we have and what they bring to the program and said frankly, we don’t have the money to do what these other schools do.”
Dickson: “What does it mean when Bronco says the team is flat? How does it apply to the whole team opposed to an individual?”
Gustavson: “I think a lot of this comes down to leadership. I remember when Cameron Jensen played that he would scream at players if they were doing something wrong, I also remember going to practices where guys would make a mistake and no one would say anything.”
Gustavson: “If you’re flat and the team recognizes it then they will come out flat, but if you have the right leadership then it impacts that team.”
Criddle: “As a former football player, with 3 straight 8-5 seasons, do you think this is a healthy program?”
Gustavson: “I remember playing in the 70’s and we were happy to go to 7-4 but I don’t think Bronco is satisfied.”
Gustavson: “The schedule that we have next year is brutal, there needs to be improvement to get to the next level.”
Cougar Insider Report:
Criddle: “I’m friends with a lot of punters or potential punters.”
Criddle: “Since I was a walk-on, I made sure to reach out to a lot of young men to make sure they were appreciated.”
Criddle: “I do know that BYU has a potential punter based on health, and what’s going on with other sports. All I can say is, get excited Cougar fans.”
Dick Harmon Interview:
Harmon: “I saw the handprint of Bronco on the defense, they aren’t quite to where he wants to be but are getting there.”
Harmon: “I also saw the WR’s, their timing is getting impeccable and I think the sky is the limit.”
Harmon: “Tell me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think there was any pass rush, Taysom went through his reads and Hannemann made a great read on the ball and picked it off.”
Harmon: “Hanneman has good hips, good hands, his top end speed is there, his mid range speed is as well, changes directions, has good DNA.”
Harmon: “I wouldn’t hesitate to put him out at corner, let alone start him.”
Harmon: “Brian Logan is pumping up Michael Shelton, calling him a ‘mini-me’.”
Harmon: “Mathews is really improved, he is receiving the ball better, getting up for balls, his speed is good.”
Harmon: “Coach Wintrich has a program to help bring back guys, it’s taken slowly but closely monitored so they can be limited in injuries.”
Harmon: “Bronco gets these guys attention, when he speaks they listen. Now he’s trying to get them to play at a certain pace and rhythym.”
Dickson: “I wonder what Howell’s relationship is with Bronco now that he’s had the DC title stripped from him.”
Harmon: “I think part of the problem that happened is making Nick the DC took one body away.”
Harmon: “Bronco taking over the defense brings another body, another set of eyes in the film room. It helps them out a lot.”
Dickson: “I feel like if the secondary comes out and is improved this year then Howell doesn’t get any credit.”
Harmon: “BYU’s weaknesses were many last year, they struggled to get pressure, the linebacker play wasn’t great.”
Harmon: “I think bringing Christian in was a brilliant move, he is a guy that epitomizes everything BYU stands for.”
Harmon: “BYU has struggled to bring in guys to back up Taysom, they had JC QB’s lined up but they didn’t want to sit around for a year, and they struggled to keep guys in the program.”
Harmon: “Mangum has an elite arm. We saw that before he left but he needs to get reps so he can improve. Wake up every morning with some receivers and throw routes to build up the strength and timing.”
Harmon: “You need to remember that there are players who have gone to Oregon and Oregon State and ended up coming up to BYU.”
Harmon: “You don’t know what happens with kids, but people can have a change of heart.”
Talking Points:
Criddle: “Our intern, Zak Hicken told me about his time at PGHS when a girl tried out for the football team, the coaches lined her up at slot receiver and had her run a pattern across the middle and she was laid out by the MLB who is a current BYU Cougar.”
Criddle: “It reminds me of when I played at Mountain Ridge HS and a girl came out to play MLB. The line backers were the only position groups running hitting drills and I remember her being sprawled out on the field from getting hit so many times.”
Jared Lloyd Interview:
Lloyd: “I don’t think they wowed me in any form as to what they did on the field but it confirmed a lot of what I saw throughout the spring.”
Lloyd: “In order to get better I think bringing back an experienced QB helps the team get better.”
Lloyd: “Besides Taysom, it’s clear that there already wasn’t a ton of depth in Moore and M. Hill, they had very little experience in games.”
Lloyd: “They originally had Ammon Olsen and Billy Greene but those guys decided to go elsewhere and find an opportunity that works for them.”
Lloyd: “I don’t know that losing out on Troy hurts BYU. I think that they will do what they can to find someone else but you never know.”
Lloyd: “Recruiting ends up being such a toss up, you don’t know if he’s going to be a stand out for Oregon or if he ever develops.”
Lloyd: “The hope is that these guys are going to get more precise in their routes and be able to get more open for Taysom.”
Lloyd: “You look at Kurtz, he could’ve been a great weapon last year. Blackmon is coming on and is looking forward to a big fall. Mitchell Juergens is a guy that just keeps getting better and better.”
Lloyd: “Having guys with reliable hands that can haul in passes are huge in helping the offense.”
Lloyd: “The two guys that can be physical runners for BYU are Algie and Ho’Ching.”
Lloyd: “What we’ve seen from the OL and if they continue to progress they will be able to open holes for the running game.”
Lloyd: “The running backs need to be able to catch passes out of the backfield to give the offense another dynamic.”
Lloyd: “There are a lot of good rugby teams out there but BYU is too deep and too good for other teams to compete.”
Lloyd: “If UCLA is able to stay within 50 that’s a moral victory for UCLA.”
Lloyd: “St. Mary’s is a really good team as well, I hope to see another BYU-Cal matchup in the final.”
Lloyd: “Both teams have size, speed, intimidation. When the championship rolls around, that’s what I’m looking to.”
Preston Hadley Interview:
Criddle: “You come from a JC in Snow College, I think your background will help out these young men in getting recruited.”
Hadley: “Yeah, I think I understand what you have to go through. I understand what they have to go through financially and academically, they’re all there for the goal to be able to play football.”
Hadley: “There’s a time where you have an opportunity and it’s all about the right time and the right opportunity and I think this is it.”
Hadley: “I’m excited for the opportunity to coach the secondary. It’s what I played in HS, JC, and here at BYU. My experience can help them out.”
Hadley: “I currently coach the slot receivers at BYU and it helped give me an understanding of what the offense is trying to do.”
Hadley: “Hopefully Coach Mendenhall wasn’t too upset with us in calling him by his nickname ‘White Chocolate.'”
Hadley: “I love Coach Mendenhall, I love what he does for the program and it’s hard to see how much he does looking from the outside in.”
Hadley: “It was good to show everyone that he can have fun and let his hair down.”
Hadley: “It means a lot to the players to know that he could get outside of his comfort zone.”
Hadley: “I’m grateful for the opportunity I’ve had to coach with Brandon Bradley, we barely missed each other since I came from Snow after his final year but we always say we would’ve created some havoc.”
Hadley: “Being a GA I learned that Bronco is faced with a difficult task, much more difficult than I thought it was as a player. All our coaches are very passionate about their jobs.”
Hadley: “I feel like our coaches do a great job handling people and relationships all while understanding the players.”
Random Thoughts:
Criddle: “Let’s just hope you’re not like a hot pocket that is scorching on one side and cold on the other.”
Criddle: “I think it’s huge to have young coaches who bring in life and energy to the football program like Brandon Bradley and Preston Hadley did.”
Dickson: “I just found it awkward watching Bronco trying to dance up on stage.”
Dickson: “If it helps within the program that the players realize that their coach isn’t a robot.”
Dickson: “Asking questions is a very unique skill that you have to build up from experience.”
