For footage of today's scrimmage and highlights of Steve Young's address to the team, click here: 
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PROVO -- Following a 43-play scrimmage to end Friday's practice, BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall gathered the team in usual fashion. As part of his efforts to reach out to former players, and embrace the great football tradition at BYU, he introduced future NFL Hall-of-Famer and former BYU great Steve Young.
Young spent the next several minutes explaining how he got his start at BYU, and how he almost left after things weren't going his way.
"I remember calling my dad, who was back in Connecticut," Young told the team. "I told him I wanted to come home. He told me if I quit the team, I couldn't come home."
Young went on to challenge the Cougars.
"I want you to know, no matter where you sit on the depth chart, there is something to dream about. You can't be denied if you don't want to be."
Like Mendenhall, Young talked to the team about the great tradition of BYU football, and called for accountability.
"When I think about BYU football, I think about excellence," he said. "It's a standard. There's accountability. You should leave blood on the field.
"This is where I grew up, this is where I became a man. This is where I learned how to take tough times and overcome them. I love BYU. Everybody who knows me, knows that. I want you to develop that kind of passion for this place. You're BYU. You have the best facilities in the country. You have everything you need. It's time to do the thing you came here to do.
"Playing at BYU comes with expectations. I have expectations for this football program. I have high expectations. I know you're coming off a tough season, but have an expectation in your mind and live up to it.
"We expect it. We expected it when we played here, and we expect it now. We won a lot of championships. I want you guys to get back to that. I can't tell you how much I want you to get back to that. Everyone who has ever played here wants you to get back to that. We're behind you, we'll do anything we can do support you.
"I can't wait to see you guys play this year. I can't wait to see Bronco coach this year. I'm really excited about it."
Following Young's remarks, Mendenhall said he believed it was his responsibility to reach out to the many players who have created the great tradition at BYU.
"It's a blessing for me to be coaching at a place that has Hall-of-Fame quarterbacks, players who won a National Championship, players who are part of 21 conference championships and 23 bowl games," Mendenhall said. "I've never had the luxury of coaching at a place with this much tradition and this many significant individual who are tremendous leaders. To not reach out to them, to not be accountable to them, would be a big mistake on my part.
During the scrimmage, the offense racked up 266 total yards, including 163 yards passing and 103 yards rushing. Senior running back Fahu Tahi led the offense with three carries for 92 yards. Tahi reeled off a 45-yard run, followed a few plays later by a 50-yard run.
John Beck led all quarterbacks, completing 8-of-12 attempts for 89 yards, including a scrimmage long 35-yard completion to Matt Smith. Smith led all receivers with three receptions for 55 yards. Tight end Dan Coats totaled two receptions for 19 yards, while Eric Watterson and Nate Meikle each had two receptions.
The defense also posted impressive numbers, recording five sacks, one interception and one pass deflection. The defense also forced three fumbles. Freshman linebacker Richard Nehring was credited with one sack and one pass deflection. Nate Hutchinson, who recently returned from a church mission, recorded the only interception of the afternoon.
"I was encouraged," Mendenhall said. "It sounded better and felt better, in terms of players wanting to play. It appeared like guys were playing football, and guys were competing. We're making an emphasis on execution. All I can tell you is that, as a coaching staff, every ounce of our effort is being made to emphasize execution. We're making sure the players understand that."
The Cougars will take the weekend off before returning to the practice field on Monday.