Opening Segment:
Jorgensen: “One time I went a group date with Nick Alletto and this guy would get his driver , line up, blast the driver out of the tee box and he would shank the ball 90 degrees and it would go flying over the heads of the other golfers on the range.”
Jorgensen: “It’s always a good day when you beat some Utes.”
Criddle: “The NFL Veterans Combine used a new technology that cause times to be between .2 and .3 slower than usual.”
Nitty Gritty:
Jorgensen: “Wait, you mean to tell me that’s an actual quote, that Robert Anae said, ‘The defense is a stud.'”
Jorgensen: “When it comes to Mitch Mathews, don’t get me wrong, I think that he should add 20 lbs to his frame and move to the interior.”
Jorgensen: “Coach Anae said that, ‘Now is the time in spring ball where we can throw stuff at them.'”
Jorgensen: “This is a veteran offense, when you have guys that know things inside and out, that know the entire offensive playbook, nothing is being learned so they can try a bunch of new stuff to see if it works.”
Cirddle: “Sae Tautu sets the edge very well, almost as good as Jan Jorensen, but he’s a very talented linebacker. He is going to help lead the defense.”
Jorgensen: “Why did the defensive secondary struggle? What can they do to improve.”
Criddle: “The defense is talented, and the majority of their talent is up front. They are missing three guys at middle backer right now who aren’t with the team during spring practice because they are trying to work on their academics.”
Criddle: “Vic So’oto belives that this defense will be a top 20 defense once again.”
Criddle: “We know what the guys up front are all about, but the real question lies in the secondary where we have a bunch of guys like Garrett Juergens, Eric Takenaka, and the Washington State transfer who are performing well and getting some love, but the only guy who has separated himself is Kai Nacua.”
Jorgensen: “I believe that a lot of the problems get thrown at the secondary, but a lot of the problems could be attributed to the lack of pressure coming from the front 7.”
Jorgensen: “This was also a very undisciplined secondary, probably the most undisciplined since Coach Mendenhall took over the defense.”
Jorgensen: “This was probably the most athletic secondary that BYU had, but they were very undisciplined.”
Anae: “Happy? That is a term that I don’t know much about.”
Wayne Tarawhiti Interview:
Tarawhiti: “When I teach our players how to do the Haka I teach them to do the words first so they understand how it’s done, after that we teach them the actions.”
Jorgensen: “Everyone is familiar with how heated the rivalry is in football and basketball, what’s it like for rugby?”
Tarawhiti: “On the field, the rivalry is like BYU vs. Utah, but after the game is over, it’s over. We actually go out and get a bite to eat and talk about the game of rugby.”
Tarawhiti: “BYU and Utah could play marbles and it would be intense.”
Tarawhiti: “We play UVU on Wednesday and USU on Saturday.”
Tarawhiti: “Our goal is to get back to a national championship game and handle business in that game.”
Jorgensen: “If you love the speed and physicality of football, you need to go to a rugby game and watch it in person. There is nothing like it.”
Jorgensen: “Rugby is a lot of fun to watch in person.”
Criddle: “There’s something much different about watching football on the field, but with rugby, there is nothing like it.”
Cougar Insider Report:
Criddle: “We will get to Austin Heder’s sound later on in practice, but I will get to what we said, that it is the exact same defense. Tee difference the guy who is calling the plays, while Nick is a chip off the Bronco block, there is a little more effort given when Bronco is running the defense.”
Criddle: “When Coach Mendenhall tell’s you to do something, you get it done. But if Coach Howell makes the call you may hesitate.”
Jorgensen: “There are a lot of great coaches out there, but there’s only one Bronco Mendenhall.”
Jorgensen: “He may give you the eye during practice, but there’s nothing like when you’re in the film room and he rewinds a play that you did wrong and he just turns and gives you that look. There’s nothing like it.”
Jared Lloyd Interview:
Lloyd: “With Bronco Mendenhall taking over the defense I think that there is a level of trust being brought because of the experience he has.”
Lloyd: “It doesn’t matter if Nick Howell is the most brilliant guy out there, if he doesn’t have experience then the team won’t trust him.”
Lloyd: “The defense is trying to establish the culture that they want to get better on every drive.”
Lloyd: “The players on defense are taking a lot of accountability to become better.”
Lloyd: “I always thought Nick Kurtz was a guy that uses his hands very well.”
Lloyd: “Nate Carter is a guy who is a little undersized, he’s not the fastest, but he hits the hole hard and he’s a fun guy to watch in practice.”
Jorgensen: “One thing I like to look for is the name that is on the lips of all the coaches, kind of a dark horse guy, who have you seen that’s been mentioned a number of times?”
Lloyd: “I’ve notice that the guys have been the outside backers like Sae Tautu and Sione Takitaki who are stepping up.”
Lloyd: “Nate Carter isn’t a guy who’s quick enough to make up for his size but he can get behind the offensive lineman and be explosive through the hole.”
Jorgensen: “Hows Taysom Hill looking? Is he bright and shining like always?”
Lloyd: “It’s hard to tell in skeleton’s but he did throw a pick-6 today, it looked like the receiver went the wrong way. But when you’re in skeleton, you’re not getting the pressure and aren’t being forced to make decisions so it’s hard to tell.”
Jorgensen: “What do you think about a guy like Brian Sampson at TE who’s been brought up as a guy who can block and be flexed out?”
Lloyd: “I think that BYU needs guys like Brian Sampson and Colby Jorgensen involved in the offense to be successful. They can block or slip behind the linebackers in those 5-10 yard routes and help move the chains.”
Criddle: “Anae may not know happiness, but I know what it is. Being a BYU fan is happiness.”
NFL Veterans Combine:
Criddle: “There was a new mechanism that the NFL employed that was worn on the wrist that was used to time your forty.”
Criddle: “If this new technology is employed, then the records will no longer be broken. It could be more accurate than what they used before, but it is certainly slower.”
Criddle: “Why are you trying a new technology on the old guys?”
Jorgensen: “You need to realize how important that time is to a football player. The way you feel your ability is directly correlated to what you believe your time is.”
Jorgensen: “If you told me I ran a 4.6, then I’m believing I would have 15 sacks that season. If you told me I ran a 4.9 then I’d be thinking I’d have 6 sacks that season.”
Harvey Unga Interview:
Unga: “To be honest, I felt great. There were 10 guys in the running back group and they put us through the 40 and position drills really fast. I’m not sure that it’s a good thing or bad thing, but it made me wonder if they hurried us because they didn’t care.”
Unga: “I felt that I did really well in the drills, the 40 was rough, but everyone performed about the same.”
Jorgensen: “Before you heard the times, what did you think of your times?”
Unga: “Before I heard that, I was kind of upset. After I heard the other numbers it made more sense.”
Unga: “The wristbands looked like the power balance bands, you had to get your wristband scanned and once it flashed green you were ready to go. When you lined up you placed your hand on this bar and your time started when you raised your hand off the ground.”
Unga: “I guarantee I could’ve ran a 4.5 if I ran from a 2-point stance.”
Unga: “I spent a lot of time working on my bench, my L-drill, and my 3-cone drill and it was all a bunch of wasted time because I should’ve just worked on my 40.”
Unga: “I think one thing that helped me out a ton was that I was one of the heaviest guys there. With the back drills I felt that I kept up just fine with all the other guys. I felt smooth in doing the drills.”
Unga: “Not to knock on the other guys, but I was the only one who was sprinting to get a drink and sprinting back to the drill.”
Unga: “A lot of the guys I saw looked like they were really stiff when running while others looked really fluid but they weighed in around 190 lbs.”
Unga: “Max is doing good. He looks like he’s put on about 20 lbs of muscle, he says that he wish he would’ve lifted more in college.”
Unga: “He’s been out coaching again, he’s working with a few different QB’s who are going to college.”
Unga: “We all know what Jamaal brings, I’m excited for what both him and Algie are going to do this season.”
Unga: “Algie’s a stud, he’s a student of the game, he’s a humble kid, I’m excited for him this season.”
Unga: “One thing that I really miss is being in Coach Anae’s meetings, his analogies, it’s mind boggling how he comes up with some of that stuff.”
Austin Heder Soundbite:
Heder: “As MLB’s we aren’t looking at who’s missing but we are focusing on developing our younger guys.”
Heder: “As a group we are trying to put in the extra work we need to improve.”
Heder: “On defense we’ve had a lot of young guys stepping up. That’s what spring ball is all about, is guys stepping up to make plays and we’ve been making some big stops in the last couple of weeks.”
Heder: “Coach Mendenhall’s defense is the same as Nick Howell’s, but the difference is guys making a choice and guys have chosen to buy in.”
Heder: “Obviously Bronco is famous for accountability, he’s all about making every rep count. Last year it felt like a lot of time guys would let stuff get by.”
Heder: “There’s a lot more leadership in not only the coaches, but also in the seniors.”
Jorgensen: “It’s good to hear Austin talking and using those ‘Bronco-ism’s. When you play at BYU you have to buy in and you have to drink Coach Mendenhall’s Kool-Aid and do what he says to succeed.”
Jorgensen: “I have a lot of respect for Coach Howell, when I played there he was a GA and I had a lot of respect for him.”
Jorgensen: “Brainwashing is a negative connotation, but it’s what you have to do, you have to be completely bought in.”
Criddle: “Coach Mendenhall doesn’t want his guys being tossed t0-and-fro in the wind by fans, the media, and other players, they need to stay focused.”
Criddle: “Coach Mendenhall’s style is to focus on US, and all will be well.”
Jorgensen: “People hear all the time that football is the ultimate team game, and Coach Mendenhall’s defense is the ultimate team defense.”
Jorgensen: “It’s one of those defenses where everyone has to buy in and do their job. That everyone has to buy in and be apart of the team.”
Random Thoughts:
Criddle: “I heard that the GM from the Kansas City Chiefs came and talked to Vic So’oto, gave him a little wink and said ‘Good job.'”
Jorgensen: “You know when you get online and you go down that rabbit hole of articles and youtube videos. I saw a video of the 410 lb Baylor TE. Baylor said that they have even flexed him out to slot receiver.”
Jorgensen: “It baffles me that a 6’7″ 410 lb guy can go out and catch a pass.”
Jorgensen: “His hand is a cubit.”
Criddle: “I think all Mormon’s are a fan of the movie Princess Bride. My girlfriend thinks I need to be more domestic, she says that I need to learn how to cook.”
Criddle: “If you watch the Princess Bride backwards, it’s about a man who learns his place in the home.”
