BYU

Cougar Cuts and Quotes: April 13th, 2015

Opening Segment:

Criddle: “Coach Rose said today during his media roundtable that he has NEVER had a player decommit.”

How We See It:

Criddle: “Nebraska had 78,000 fans show up to their spring game this past weekend.”

Criddle: “Compare Bronco to Bo Pelini over the last 5-6 years and they are very similar in wins, program status, etc.”

Harmon: “I don’t think that BYU could do something like that, the community is split into segmented into Utes, Cougars, and Aggies. Then Saturdays are the most hectic day of the week. It’s just not going to happen.”

Mahe: “I remember when Dana White wanted to bring UFC to Utah and have the event on a Sunday. A lot of people told him not to set it on Sunday but he did. Let’s just say it never happened.”

Mahe: “BYU has had bad luck over the years with injuries and they aren’t really putting on a real scrimmage. That and the culture just make it so no one is going to show up.”

Harmon: “Around the time that Reno graduated, in the early to mid-2000’s, the scrimmage started to be watered down. This isn’t a competitive game anymore.”

Mahe: “Not to mention that there is a QB who won’t even be playing in the fall running the offense.”

Criddle: “Back when I played, there were times when no one was in our stands for games and it was hard to get up for a game.”

Harmon: “When Taysom Hill and Tanner Mangum won’t be playing then there isn’t really much to see.”

Mahe: “What makes BYU unique is that Bronco encourages kids to go on missions. If he wasn’t encouraging people to go on missions then it would be much different.”

Mahe: “There isn’t anyone to really blame, it’s just the culture of the team and it definitely puts them in the predicament.”

Harmon: “BYU has become much more challenging academically. These football players have to try to keep up with kids that have 3.9 GPAs and 28, 29 on the ACT.”

Criddle: “Academics is a major reason why you see so many people transferring out of the program. These football players feel like they’re spread thin.”

Mahe: “There are a lot of good guys up there. I took it for granted at the time.”

Mahe: “As a scholarship athlete at BYU, there is a lot to deal with. You’re tired, you’re beat up, but with all that going on, we are very well taken care of.”

Mahe: “The U is playing with a lot more money. Being in the Pac-12 they get 20+ mil a year that they are handed, they don’t have to work for it.”

Mahe: “As an athlete, you are wired that when you make a mistake you go back and do it again. You say, ‘I got the next one.’ Sometimes, that makes them a little complacent in their studies.”

Mahe: “They have guys that track players to make sure they’re in class. If you don’t do well in school, that’s on you.”

Reno Mahe Interview:

Criddle: “BYU has missed out on quite a few Polynesian football players as of late, granted there are more playing today.”

Harmon: “I think the Polynesian pipeline is on the upswing. You have Mark Atuaia who has a law degree and can go in those homes and sell BYU.”

Mahe: “Dick, I absolutely agree. The secret is out about Polynesian players. When LaVell was the head coach, no one really knew about them.”

Mahe: “The first kid that I remember choosing Utah over BYU was Kautai and after that, Mack started getting those kids.”

Mahe: “Now you have these kids at Michigan, LSU, UCLA, and Oregon.”

Harmon: “There is a new generation of Polynesian athlete where they have a broader view than they once did. The last generation had parents who were going to BYU-Hawaii and sending their kids to BYU once they came to the mainland.”

Mahe: “I think when it comes to recruiting Polynesian kids, it’s an art. You don’t recruit the player, you recruit the family member that makes decisions.”

Harmon: “A lot of these Polynesian recruits don’t like to say no. Reno said yes to both LaVell and Ron McBride.”

Mahe: “I used to be all about the U, I was completely committed to their school. I only went and took the trip to BYU cause it was free.”

Mahe: “After the trip, I woke out of the room and my Mom tells me to turn around and tell LaVell that I was going to BYU. So I went in and said, ‘Coach, I’m coming to BYU.'”

Harmon: “I remember when Haloti Ngata was being recruited, his Mom kept saying that he was going to BYU, but the decision maker was the Uncle.”

Cougar Insider Report:

Harmon: “I think it’s easy to make mistakes in the Polynesian community. Look at when Norm used to go to Kahuku HS and they’d lose kids to Utah.”

Harmon: “Bronco went away from recruiting

Criddle: “Rose stated today that he has never had a player decommit, and he still hasn’t.”

Criddle: “I would have to say that if Duke offered, he would be there.”

Harmon: “BYU has two coaching vacancies right now and have to bring in a Director of Basketball Operations.”

Harmon: “I would have to say there is a 60-70% chance that BYU hires Quincy. He applied for and thought he had the job at UVU.”

Harmon: “Maybe Dave knows something that we don’t know and is just hinting towards it.”

Nate Soelberg Interview:

Harmon: “You have a staff in place right now. If you bring someone that doesn’t get along with them, your staff is ruined in a week.”

Criddle: “Have you run the fastest 100 m at BYU ever?”

Soelberg: “I did run a 10.3 but there are guys down in the 9’s. I’m still in the top-10.”

Criddle: “Nate, you trained Brian Kehl in his starts and form. He would’ve liked to do a little bit better, but it was good for a 7-year veteran.”

Soelberg: “Yeah, I thought he looked good. He did injure himself but was really close to his original time.”

Soelberg: “I talked to someone who was at the Utah Pro Day the day before, and they said that BYU looked much better overall as a group.”

Soelberg: “I heard back that my time at my Pro Day was high 4.2’s, low 4.3’s.”

Soelberg: “I broke my arm the first game of the season and played a whole season with that cast. I broke my 2nd arm the 5th game of the season.”

Harmon: “Who was behind you that you had to play with two broken arms?”

Soelberg: “My journey to BYU is very strange. I came into BYU as a WR and ended up being moved to DB.”

Criddle: “If you line Rob Daniel next to Nate Soelberg, you’d have to say Nate is just as athletic as Rob.”

Soelberg: “I ran good 40 times because I was in track then football then track then football.”

Soelberg: “Mechanics are the most important part of running. There are so many little things that can be tweaked.”

Soelberg: “At my junior day, I ran a 40 and the times were 4.16, 4.18. 4.19, all my teammates pulled me aside and asked what I was doing so I gave a quick lesson.”

Criddle: “Bronco announced that the staff hired a combine events trainer.”

Criddle: “If you’re training for these combine events throughout your collegiate career you are going to be familiar with it and be more successful.”

5:30 Segment:

Criddle: “Hine is a linear guy that is really fast where Burt is a really fast guy with good vision and instincts.”

Criddle: “Curtis Brown is one of the best athletes in BYU football history, but you ask him to back pedal and you wouldn’t believe it.”

Soelberg: “At that size, speed, and power. Burt is a lot like Staley coming into BYU. Don’t make him play DB.”

Soelberg: “When Bronco took over the team, everything became black and white for me.”

Soelberg: “I’ve heard everything about the older alumni being upset, and the newer alumni thinking nothing is wrong.”

Soelberg: “I was there when Bronco first took over the team. He really has grown so much during his time as the head coach.”

Soelberg: “The bottom is an 8-5 record, anything less than that is unacceptable.”

6:00 Segment:

Criddle: “A little bit of news about BYU Basketball from the media roundtable, Cody Fueger is leaving to join Mark Pope’s staff at UVU.”

Criddle: “Noah Hartsock is a name that has come up as the most likely replacement.”

Harmon: “A lot of times these names that get thrown in are from fans. They don’t realize how hard of a job it is and they aren’t compensated well. A lot of times these guys are up until 2-3 am cutting film.”

Criddle: “And a lot of times, they can return and it ends up tarnishing their legacy.”

Criddle: “There will also be 14 players on the roster next year and Nate Austin will be giving up his scholarship, he hears back in a few weeks.”

Criddle: “BYU will be going to Spain in August to play some games, there will be only 10 players that will make this travel roster.”

Jay Drew Interview:

Drew: “I really like the sit-down interview with Coach Rose. There aren’t any other local coaches that do that with the beat writers.”

Criddle: “The big thing coming out was that Frank Jackson hadn’t decommitted from BYU.”

Drew: “I asked him, ‘You just had a decommit, was that the first one during your tenure at BYU?’ Rose replied, ‘I’m not allowed to talk about the individuals but I’ve never had a decommit.’ I asked, “Still?” He said, ‘Still.'”

Drew: “The way I took it was that he never called BYU’s coaches and said that he was decommiting or the recent news isn’t quite accurate.”

Drew: “BYU is over 1 on scholarships from my count. They will need to cut a player loose or have someone play as a walk-on this year.”

Drew: “Matt was kind of a cancer in the fact that he wasn’t happy with the position he was playing. He wanted to play PG but was moved to SG.”

Drew: “Carlino was by far a better defender than Chase, but Chase didn’t turn over the ball and try to press too much.”

Harmon: “What you would’ve traded would be some chemistry for a little bit of defense.”

Harmon: “In the trade off you would lose KC’s triple-doubles and Halford’s contributions.”

Drew: “Coach Rose said that they are still about 3 weeks from finalizing the staff. Cody Fueger joined Mark Pope’s staff at UVU.”

Drew: “Because Tyler was born in Belgium and speaks another language, he’s very attractive to foreign teams but he’s holding out for the draft.”

Drew: “It sounds like Jake Toolson won’t be going on a mission and will be at BYU for 4-straight years.”

Drew: “Aytes injury hasn’t quite healed up and he’s back to non-weight bearing. Nate Austin’s injury is still lingering a bit as well.”

Random Thoughts:

Criddle: “Dick, you were there, Nate Soelberg ran a 4.1 40. That dude is White Lightning.”

Criddle: “You think that there’s a good chance that Quincy Lewis stays at BYU. Another guy who could come in his Madsen who interviewed at UVU.”

Criddle: “When Carlino wasn’t in a rush to shoot and squared up and elevated he was money.”

Harmon: “I think it’s an interesting time for BYU. This is an interesting and important hire for Coach Rose. Also an important time for BYU Football. We’ll have to see.”

Harmon: “I think that it’ll be time for BYU Basketball to start weeding out players and tell them to go elsewhere if they want to play.”

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