BYU

Cougar Cuts and Quotes: May 20th, 2015

News and Notes:

Criddle: “I remember a defensive stand against UNM where I was absolutely exhausted and I broke up a pass on the last series of the game and I just collapsed into the arms of Jan Jorgensen.”

Jorgensen: “Ben, that defense we played on in 2007 was so good. We were a top 15 defense and took a lot of pride in it.”

Jorgensen: “I remember that, usually after a big play you are all pumped up and celebrating and I remember just walking up to you and grabbing you.”

Criddle: “New Mexico had two good receivers that year, one was so good that Jaime Hill would draw rockets coming out of his butt during film sessions.”

Criddle: “Bronco was ranked the #33 coach in the nation, what do you think about that?”

Jorgensen: “A lot of people may disagree, he’s viewed better from a national perspective, but those who are close to the program may see his warts.”

Criddle: “I think that Bronco Mendenhall has one of the toughest jobs in the nation.”

Criddle: “Granted, BYU does have smarter, older, more dedicated players. It does help him a little.”

Criddle: “Bronco is under appreciated and he has a very tough job.”

Jorgensen: “I think you’re getting to the point where BYU fans are getting fed up with Bronco and they need to lay off a little bit.”

How We See It:

Twestion: Is football the last Bastion of toughness in America for men?

Jorgensen: “HBO did a real sports special on Jim Harbaugh and it really gets down to the nitty gritty.”

Jorgensen: “I think he’s right, football players are asked to do a lot and it is very tough.”

Criddle: “I think a lot of coaches get yelled at by parents who are told how to do their job.”

Criddle: “The fear of failure is crippling and I think it’s come to a new level in all levels of sports.”

Jorgensen: “Kids are mentally weak, they get a little ding on the field and then they say they can’t play.”

Jorgensen: “When things get hard or physically difficult they give up.”

Quincy Lewis Interview:

Lewis: “One of the most talented players I’ve coached was Talon Shumway, who will be getting back from his mission today.”

Lewis: “Doing two sports in college is tough, I don’t think it’s the best idea to try and do that.”

Lewis: “I played for Coach Rose a long, long time ago and I feel that familiarity helped out.”

Lewis: “Coach Rose has his staff together and we’re trying to figure out where everyone fits best.”

Lewis: “I looked at it like telling Coach Rose about the experience I could bring. I’ve played and coached at a lot of areas and gained experience that I feel is a benefit.”

Lewis: “We worked really hard at Lone Peak and I feel like that helped out with our success.”

Lewis: “They may look at it like, ‘Oh man, it’s another 4 years.’ but I think they’re excited.”

Lewis: “From an academic standpoint and a weight room standpoint, I would handle it all at LP. Now I just focus on coaching.”

Lewis: “There are a few question marks that have to be answered like if Nate Austin is healthy, before looking at bringing in new guys.”

Lewis: “The number of guys going to Spain is undetermined, players need to get their passports and we have some RM’s who will be coming in who could be going.”

Lewis: “There are a lot of good kids in state and we’re gonna take a swing at getting the best ones we can.”

Lewis: “One of the first things when I got to LP was that I wanted to leave the program better than when I got there.”

Lewis: “I know that there are some really good candidates to go to LP, the ones I’ve heard could do a really good job there. There will be an announcement on either Friday or next Tuesday.”

Cougar Insider Report:

Criddle: “You need to learn some Danish, that would be so impressive.”

Jorgensen: “When I look at Mitch Mathews, I see him more like Jimmy Graham then like a ‘Megatron’.”

Criddle: “Running 15 yd splits is a completely different story than doing a 40. People who have explosiveness are able to do really well.”

Jorgensen: “I’m very interested to see what kind of player Harvey Langi turns out to be. He is such a specimen.”

Mike Littlewood Interview:

Littlewood: “I’m not a fan of any team in particular, if anyone it’s the Yankees but I just love seeing what decisions managers make in late innings.”

Littlewood: “I’d like to give some of our success to Coach Craig Manning, he helped us out a whole ton with Mental Strength Training.”

Littlewood: “One guy that struggled early on was our closer Mason Marshall, we stuck with him and let him get back in his groove and he performed well for us.”

Littlewood: “Shaver hits like a 3 hitter. He is so mature for a freshman and he will hit balls into the road during BP.”

Littlewood: “I’m so proud of Dillon Robinson, he was moved to C my first year here, got hurt, quit baseball for 5-6 weeks then became the best hitter in our league.”

Littlewood: “Hayden is one guy who kind of flies under the radar, he is so talented defensively and really leads our team.”

Littlewood: “Bronson Larsen is a guy that I feel got snubbed. He got a hit in 19/20 conference games and threw out a number of runners.”

Littlewood: “Pepperdine will hit and run and do what they need to do to win games.”

Littlewood: “When I coached at Dixie State, we weren’t the best team but we were the hottest team for a week.”

Littlewood: “Jarrett is a guy who plays catcher and not really anywhere else, if we DH we have to take Shaver out of the line up.”

Littlewood: “Jarrett struggled early in the year so we took him out of the lineup and he kept working hard and cheering for the guy ahead of him. I’m so proud of him for hitting that HR.”

Littlewood: “Brandon Kinser will start the game for us and we expect him to come in and set the tone and help us win the game.”

Littlewood: “If we were playing San Diego, we probably would throw Mike Rucker because they haven’t seen him.”

Jorgensen: “Ben, I have issues with your Dad because he’s a Dodgers fan.”

Jorgensen: “I like the pace of play rules for baseball, I feel like fans want things to be faster.”

Jorgensen: “I think there should be collisions at every base.”

Criddle: “As long as they aren’t spearing each other.”

5:30 Segment:

Criddle: “If you’re getting a knee brace or sleeve make sure you get…”

Jorgensen: “…One with copper infusion.”

Criddle: “I want to talk about the similarities between Jim Harbaugh and Bronco.”

Jorgensen: “I think Bronco is much more like Jim than people think.”

Jorgensen: “I say that because of their approach to their game. They are intense, detail oriented, and organized.”

Jorgensen: “If you don’t do things in the right way, even if it is finished, Bronco will make you do it again and again and again until you get it right.”

Jorgensen: “Jim Harbaugh is crazy about minute details and I think that’s pretty similar.”

Criddle: “I think that Jim’s favorite show is Judge Judy and Bronco’s is Naked and Afraid.”

Criddle: “Judge Judy lays down the law in every show, all about the letter of the law.”

Criddle: “As a coach, you can choose the message that you want to send out by the way that you answer questions.”

Criddle: “Jim [Harbaugh] finds a way to get out the message he wants about his team and himself in a good way. He is always in the news.”

Jorgensen: “There are people who know how to harness the media and I think that is the only way that Jim and Bronco are different.”

Jorgensen: “Jim’s upbringing was very strict and his Dad taught him hard work and no nonsense.”

Criddle: “Attack this day with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind.”

Criddle: “I think that Bronco has gotten tired because of all the issues that he has to deal with all the time at BYU.”

Criddle: “I feel that Jim is enthusiastic, so much that some of his players say that he is clinically insane.”

Criddle: “Maybe tired is too strong of a word, but I think there is a unique nature of BYU and you have to deal with the bureaucracy.”

Criddle: “The IPF and LES aren’t run by the football team and it is a power struggle for the football team to use those facilities sometimes.”

Jorgensen: “There were times that we would get kicked out of the IPF because someone was doing an FHE or intramural game.”

Jorgensen: “I think that one thing that has helped Jim is the change of scenery. In the time that Bronco has been at BYU, Jim has been to 4 places.”

Criddle: “I remember sitting down for a leadership counsel w/ Bronco and he asked if we wanted him to be a ‘business’ coach or ‘buddy buddy’ we all said “business coach”.”

Criddle: “I remember one time I patted him on the shoulder and he just looked at that hand like, ‘GET. IT. OFF. OF. ME.'”

6:00 Segment:

Jorgensen: “I’m going down to UFC 180 in Las Vegas this weekend.”

Jorgensen: “I was excited for this fight because there are supposed to be two title fights. When one of the cards dropped I was thrilled. It was supposed to be Jon Bones Jones, until he got into a little bit of trouble.”

Jorgensen: “I think one thing that is very important is how a coach can go into a recruits home and establish a relationship and sell to the kid that they can come to the school and win.”

Jorgensen: “I think Quincy will bring toughness to this team which is something that they’ve lacked recently.”

Jorgensen: “Lee Cummard was one of the skinniest dudes out there but he was scrappy and fought hard.”

Jorgensen: “They were so tough back then. They were able to run and gun but they played so hard.”

6:30 Segment:

Criddle: “When I have someone tell me why they didn’t get something done, I say that it’s an excuse, let’s find a way to get it done.”

Criddle: “Has the NFL changed so much that it’s that much more difficult to get draft picks in the NFL?”

Criddle: “There are more college football players than ever that are trying to live out that dream yet the numbers in the NFL are only gradually increasing.”

Criddle: “At BYU there is the stigma that they are older and don’t perform at as high of a level.”

Criddle: “I feel that Bronco and his crew are very rule oriented and only does the work outs when they are allowed to.”

Criddle: “I think the ability in the weight room to customize workouts has been something that is somewhat difficult to execute due to time restraints.”

Criddle: “There are positives to what they do. If you work on position specific drills it makes a difference.”

Criddle: “What happens if big, massive men are working on plyometrics, you just get shin splints, there are pros and cons to each time of work out routine.”

Criddle: “BYU wins 70% of their games every year because of great coaching and the type of players that they get.”

Criddle: “You’d like to see more BYU players go to the NFL but the NFL is going to the younger players.”

Criddle: “Throughout the last 40 years of BYU football, has the talent of BYU players increased, decreased, or stayed the same, I think it’s stayed the same?”

Random Thoughts:

Criddle: “There are so many reasons that BYU is such a tough job.”

Criddle: “It is the greatest place to coach and play because of the people that you are working with though.”

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