Bronco’s quote of the Century
Players that want to be coddled and want to be catered to don’t come, and some are good LDS players,” Cougars fourth-year coach Bronco Mendenhall said. “We want them to be passionate about the chance to play at BYU. I really don’t have much time for those that want to be convinced.
“I think it’s degrading as a coach to try to convince an 18-year-old young man why he should come to your place. I know that’s contrary to most recruiting thoughts, but I like young men that know what they want and are willing to pursue it, and they convince others of where they’re going in life.”
This isn’t a new phrase for anyone who has been in the program. Coach Mendenhall feels very adamant about recruiting and signing players that have a real and sincere desire to play for BYU. Is it any wonder that this statement came from a coach that gives a couple scholarships a year to walk-ons. He feels that in the long run the best players are those with internal motivations to represent the University both on and off the field.
Don’t miss understand the quote, Bronco is still heavily involved in recruiting the best possible players he can. Where he differs is in his approach when sitting down to talk with recruits. Instead of merely talking about positions, playing time and depth charts, Coach Mendenhall talks about personal goals, spiritual topics, educational opportunities, character and how his team is not only winning games, but effecting the communities they live in. He leaves no questions about off the field expectations. If I were a parent with a strong religious background I wouldn’t want my son to play anywhere else. BYU is the place for athletes that want to excel on the field and off.
Year in and year out BYU’s average team GPA is -if not the highest in the country- among the top 5 in the country. Coach Mendenhall has a very high graduation rate, his teams donate hundreds of hours in service to the community and he does this while fostering a top-25 program.
I agree with Coach Mendenhall, it would be hard to sit down with a recruit who is trying to choose between USC and BYU. But BYU has to use it’s competitive advantages in order to continually get the best LDS players. What are those competitive advantages? They are our Universities Traditions, Spirit, and Honor.
BYU has a tradition of winning, a spirit both among the players and on campus that is nationally unmatched and our team carries themselves with honor wherever football or life takes them. Yes, we have other competative advantages and our recruiting is conducted in a way to highlight those advantages. But make no mistake football isn’t the only thing being talked about with recruits.
I am a true believer you can tell what kind of Football player you are with what kind of Football Helmet and Football facemask you are wearing. Just look at these players on the team that wear this kind of helmet Kellen Fowler, Scott Johnson, Jordan Pendleton, Matt Bauman, Lona Pritchard, Daniel Sorensen, Russell Tialavea and Brett Denney. They all are playing soft and playing scared and playing that they are afraid to hit someone or go and make a play! What do they all have in common? They are all wearing the Riddell Revolution Helmet with the girly facemask! I also like to call this the Riddell Revolution Helmet curse! Look at this past Cougar that wore this Revolution Helmet Todd Watkins. He had a avenge season with TONS of drop balls and did not make plays when we needed him to. Yes it was because of the Riddell Revolution helmet curse. Cameron Jensen wore this kind of helmet one game against Arizona and quickly changed his helmet into a real linebacker helmet and he went on to have a great season! I was very happy to see that Fui Vakapuna saw the light and changed his facemask and now looks like a true running back and he had a great game last weekend! Really take a look at the past couple of games and see which players are not making plays and those are the ones that are wearing Riddell Revolution Helmet! I have never seen a good Football player wear a Revolution Helmet! Please someone tell BYU to take all those helmets and throw them away and man up and get real helmets with real facemasks like Nixon, Vakapuna, Pitta, Clawson, Hafoka, George, Tafuna, Putman, Alisa, Kariya and Jorgensen! Those guys are your play makers and they are making plays! Because if you look good you will play good!!!! The curse of the Riddell Revolution helmet is real!!!! Also notice none the players of that team up North are wearing them because they know of the curse! Go Cougars!!!!
Hey #25! Hey do you believe in the Riddell Revolution Helmet Curse?
That’s an interesting opinion. I just hated the way they looked.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t Peyton Manning wearing a Riddell Revolution when he won the Super Bowl?
I used to prefer the look of the Revolutions to the Schutt DNAs, though I will say that it appears that Schutt change the facemask this year, because Max Hall’s helmet looks a lot less goofy this year than it did last year. It doesn’t hurt that they could actually properly center his helmet logo this year.
Oh the weaping and wailing we will hear when the Schutt Ion 4D becomes more popular.
Not true…I don’t think Scotty is scared, (Remember he was voted “Most likely to challenge Tank Summers to a Head on Collision)…and the most fearless football player I ever knew, Justin Leuttgerodt, wore the revolution. This is the same guy who said when he put his helmet on he felt “Invincible” and that is how he played, with no regard for life or limb.
I wore one too and used my head a lot more because you can’t feel anything.
hi Quinn…regarding your point on the following: “Coach Mendenhall has a very high graduation rate…”
I believe someone here mentioned before that BYU, (Bronco) has the HIGHEST graduation rate in the nation…do you know if BYU has the actual highest graduation rate? If we actually have the highest graduation rate out of 119 D1 football teams, that is amazing?
I didn’t want to sound like I knew those things for real, but I think we have one of the highest graduation rates and I think we have the highest GAP in the nation.
But that’s just the word on the street, I didn’t check the statistics.
Statistically you won’t see BYU having a high graduation rate because the statistics are based on gradutating in 5 or 6 years and because of missions, you don’t see many from BYU graduating in that time frame.
Yea Justin Leuttgerodt wore the Riddell Revolution Helment, but he really did not have a good career at BYU. Yes he was a hard hitter, but really he was cursed with the Riddell Revolution curse! Look at Gooch! He think that they are ugly and if you feel ugly you are going to play ugly! Come on someone talk to Mick and get them out of PROVO!
Bronco’s recruiting philosophy is one of the things I like the most about his style. How many “blue chip” recruits that everyone gets so amped up about actually end up making a difference at BYU?
I follow the team as much as anyone else but when it comes to talking about all the recruits I have to admit it is hard to get excited or stay interested. Most of the BYU players I have admired over the years were players that were never talked about during recruiting.
I think Bronco is right on the mark. One of the best indicators of possible success at BYU is a person’s desire to be there and to play for the team and not themself. If you are person who wants the coaches to fawn over you and beg you to come then BYU is not the place for you.
Keep it up Bronco and thanks for the blog Quinn, Staff and all the rest who make comments.
Question to Quinn, Staff, Matt or any of you other former players who happen to frequent this site: How were you recruited? What was your “star rating”? Did you get recruited with guys who were rated higher that you eventually beat out? Did the high profile recruits pan out better than the ones who came in under the radar? Did the blue chip guys have more ego to deflate?
Most of you guys that make comments here from Kehl to Nate to the rest of you had great careers at BYU and became icons of what a BYU player should be. What was it when you were a senior in High School that would have earmarked you for that success? Was it apparent then? Were any of you guys recruited by BCS schools?
Bangs, Do you work for Riddell’s competition?
Staff or Gooch,
Bronco has been talking about G Pittman and his academic problems being the reason he is not playing. Can you comment on how the coaches keep track of that and how it gets to this point? Also isn’t that why Manase is not playing this year? Just curious how the coaches monitor that and if someone dropped the ball or if G is just not being “fully invested”
Thanks
Sorry, one last comment. This kind of recruiting creates an atmosphere where “band of brothers” becomes more than just words. It’s not hard to notice that many former players have contributed to this site and the way they have contributed, the comments they make between themselves, the experiences they have shared bear out that they were more than just a bunch of prima donna athletes. You guys bought into Bronco’s team mentality and I think it made all of you better players and better people. It’s easy to tell that you all had each other’s backs and went to war each week together.
As a fan let me say that I can’t think of any other scenario that would be more fun to get behind and root for than what you created the past couple of years. Thanks for the “teams” we have been able to watch and for the example they have been to my sons and many others.
Gary,
I walked-on at BYU, so did Nate, so I guess it would be safe to say we beat out the guys that were rated higher than us.
I was recruited by SDSU, Oregon State, USD and Hawaii from the Big Schools. Most of my recruiting was from Ivy League Schools though.
What set me apart in High School was studying, studying, studying. I could play any position and that helped me be on the field all the time, (Offense and Defense). Studying continued to be the key to my success at BYU.
Do any of you have regular contact with John Beck? I am just wondering how he is fairing with his situation in Miami?
I just heard today Pittman is going to transfer out, does anyone have the scoop on why? Is it the academic standard he has been held to?
Gene there will be an update on John Beck later in the week.
What the hell is up with all of the helmet talk?!
I think we should go back to leather helmets with no face mask. That will separate the men from the Utes.
Since this has degraded into a discussion about equipment, I think they are being weanies on the helmet thing. All we go to do was pick a size and if it was brand new hat, we could choose which face mask with no down bars, one down bar or two. (Linebackers wore just one.) Then the coach jiggled it on our head to see if we got thicker cheek pads.
And while we are at it, we also ought to get rid of receiver gloves and bring back pine tar. Fred Biletnikoff just reached out and the ball would stick to his forearms. So, how can we have a Biletnikoff award with receiver gloves and no pine tar?
Players who want attention are not necessarily poor performers or the wrong kid for BYU. BYU won two MWC championships on Gary Crowton recruits.
I remember reports that Crowton was a master recruiter Crowton’s problem was background checks — meaning is this guy a BYU kid? Injuries will always be part on a season’s success.
That and understanding how to win without bringing ego into the equation, out-coaching yourself and putting the right players in the right position to win. High School recruits also WANT to be wanted–its a natural human tendency. If a coach wants a player to want to come to his school, then conversely a player wants a coach to want him THERE.
I do not disagree with Mendenhall. Its refreshing to hear. I despise spoiled athletes. They disrespect the game and their school. However, within the mindset of a coach’s recruiting process must be who he wants and his desire to go after a kid. Begging isn’t attractive, but courting is.
That said, a D-1 athlete is usually so unbelievably talented that he may be one of very few from his high school—unless he went/goes to Timpview.
BYU has tremendous talent.
I have to agree with Bangs about Justin Leuttgerodt. That guy kind of underperformed. For all his fearlessness, I didn’t see him make many big plays. Of course, he’s still 1000 times better than me. But still.
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