PROVO -- BYU head football coach Bronco Mendenhall discussed the Cougars' bye week and Saturday's conference opener against TCU as he spoke at the weekly media luncheon at Legends Grille on Wednesday.
"Good afternoon. It's a pleasure to be with you again after a week's absence, and we're looking forward to playing a game. The bye week came at a great time, as almost all you have asked me what my impression of the bye week was, and I thought with the new coaching staff and a team that had played two football games, it came just at the correct time. It gave us a chance to evaluate every single play that we played and look at our performance, both personnel and scheme, and look for game management issues that we might be able to handle better and more effectively for our football team with most of the season still to go. In addition to that, it gave us a chance to develop some young players and to give us some exposure to our first conference opponent and get multiple practices. I thought the bye week was beneficial and came at the right time, and now we're looking forward to playing our first conference game at LaVell Edwards Stadium, then going on with the rest of the season. So with that, what questions can I answer?"
Q: Can you give an update on injuries?
BM: "Cameron left practice about three-quarters of the way through yesterday with a hamstring injury on the same hamstring he's been fighting since two-a-days. I wouldn't say it was strained, but it was pulled to a different level than it has been. Most likely we'll limit his practice reps all the way into gameday at this point. We've done enough scheme work on TCU that he knows what to do, and I don't question his desire, effort or ability to make plays, so we'll protect him a little bit. Dustin Gabriel is similar. His hamstring is still pretty tight. Do not expect Kayle Buchanan back, even though he's practiced at a higher level this week; it still doesn't seem that it's fully healed. Our offensive linemen Eddie Keele and Ray Feinga look like they're progressing with their MCL injuries, and it looks like they'll play. Whether they're 100 percent or not, I couldn't tell you that, but they're close. Jonny Harline will play; he's been out of the red jersey all week and practicing in full. We're anxious to get him back. He's a step closer than what he was, and I think he'll have a good game.
Q: Are you going to try to take away TCU's ability to run and force them to throw?
BM: "Every plan we go into starts with stopping the run, other than in past years against San Diego State or Wyoming where they didn't make any attempt to run the ball. That's changed now, but in most instances defensively when we start our personal preparation game plan, we start with what's called the 'favorite run cut-up' and we simply figure out a way to play the run first. Over the last 10 years, statistics show that if you hold an opponent under 85 yards rushing, you'll average nine wins per year. I believe there's a demoralizing effect when you can't stop the run. If you know the opponent is going to run it and you make the best call to stop it, and still they get four or five yards, there is really an effect it has on your football team in terms of physical play and losing one-on-one battles. We know that this week, after watching them run the ball very effectively against Utah and being the difference in the game, and with the new player at tailback (Aaron Brown), we've put a lot more focus on that. In my opinion, if we play the run effectively, we'll have an excellent chance to win the football game.
Q: What is your opinion of Curtis Brown's comments in the newspaper? He said he's not going to compare TCU based on the Utah game because BYU's offense is better than Utah's offense, and BYU's defense is better than Utah's defense. What is your opinion on having confidence like that as opposed to providing bulletin-board material for the other teams?
BM: "I think it's just that. I just told my players to say what they think, and I think that's what Curtis feels. I'm glad he's confident and I'm glad he's himself. I think when you try to act outside of who you are, that ends up ultimately causing you more problems than saying what you think. I think that's what Curtis did and I respect him for that. I think TCU will play the same regardless of whether he said that or not."
Q: After the Eastern Illinois game, you made a comment that the players still have a tendency to look to the coaches as leaders. What can you do to get them to be leaders? Who are your leaders, and what are you looking for in your leaders?
BM: "I'm glad you asked that. I met with our leadership council last night almost in direct regard to what you just asked. We have a group of players elected by their peers by position, so the running backs will elect a player to represent them, the quarterbacks and defensive line will do the same, etc. When I assess this program--and in fact I just met with our coaching staff this morning on this very thing--clearly I need to be at the front to establish the vision, direction and expectation for the program, and I'll still do that day by day. As the players then use their free agency to choose if this direction is something they believe in and something they can commit to, then there's a transfer of ownership that happens at a different level. My hope is that when that ownership is transferred that I'm called in on occasion to correct or re-establish something. But regarding day-to-day practice, the players are managing themselves and holding themselves to a high standard, maybe if not higher than what I've already established. It's a work in progress, and I don't think we'll reach our goals as a program or game by game until that transfer of power is made at a more complete level. I'm seeking to do everything I can do to expedite that process.
"To follow up, I think what Curtis said is a form of leadership. He's bold, he's saying what he thinks, and he's backing it up by the way he practices. Often, a player or a coach will make comments that are controversial, but if they're in alignment with what we truly think, then I can't fault him for that. Again, from what it sounds like, that's what he did."
Q: How have you resolved the game management issues you addressed following the Boston College game? Are you still tweaking some things?
BM: "I think it will be tweaked each and every week as long as I'm the head coach. I don't know if I'll ever reach a perfect status. I made the comment after the Boston College game that I would have made the fourth-down call differently. Against Eastern Illinois I thought we were much better. The communication was better, and I thought the decisions and management of the game as a whole were cleaner and more precise as our team played cleaner and more precise. I would expect both those things to mutually exist and continue to go on from here on out. I don't expect not to make any more mistakes; there will be a few, and there will be things that can be viewed either way. That's how I see our staff's development and our team's development.
Q: Knowing that the first two games certainly count in the standings, is there a sense at all of a fresh start or a second season this early in the season?
BM: "Not necessarily. It could be viewed as that by some, but as I continue to talk to our team about the end in mind and returning this program to the status it once was week in and week out, TCU--and this shouldn't be taken wrong--is just the next opponent in our quest to do that. Is it more important because it's a conference game? It is, but this is still at the beginning of this road, not the end of the road. That doesn't mean I don't want our team to play well, it doesn't mean I don't want us to win, and it doesn't mean it's not important to me. We have a lot of work to do to reach our goals, and this is just the next one. Is it significant? For sure, and the rest will be significant, but this is one of many still to come.
Q: How is TCU's 4-2-5 defense similar to what your offense goes against in practice with your 3-3-5 scheme?
BM: "It's only similar in that there are five defensive backs. The coverage shell will be similar but the coverages themselves will be different. Coach Patterson does a good job with his defense and he's had success everywhere he's gone. Their scheme is sound and it's very effective, and they also have quality personnel. I think they're fast and athletic, and I think they play hard."
Q: You talked about TCU's team speed and athleticism? In which areas do they have advantages, and how do you plan to combat that?
BM: "I would say just team-wide, rather than say position by position. I would say if you put both teams together, they would have more team speed. The way to combat it is very clear and is in direct alignment with what I've talked about with our team, and that's execution. When we execute our schemes based on our knowledge of their tendencies and what they're going to do, and do it fast and effective, you end up beating an opponent to their spot. That's simply our preparation with the extra days we've had. Execution at a high level should put us there waiting for them; then recovery speed isn't a big factor. That's what our plan is."
Q: How important would a win be in terms of verifying the principles you have been talking about?
BM: "I think it would be very important. Whether it's this week or the next week, I don't think the coaches or the players question the principles. In fact, I think they have true conviction that the principles are right. Any success fuels a different level of conviction, maybe a deeper one. It's easier to practice because maybe you're a little lighter on your feet, knowing a win has a sustaining effect. However, it's the beginning of the road. As I told our leadership council last night, I want our football team to play well and I want them to be 100 percent invested in our cause. Executing at a high level will ultimately determine a win or not. When you put the number of plays we execute versus the number of plays they execute, that's going to be the difference in the game. The responsibility really comes right back to the coaches and the players, for us to teach them correctly and then to execute correctly. That will result in a win because we already know the principles are right. A win would make a difference because it would generate more momentum going in to the next one. Each win or each success makes it a hair easier."
Q: What is Matt Ah You's status?
BM: "We're going to redshirt Matt Ah You. He had surgery on his knee and they found significant damage. He'll be lost for the season and his rehab will be long and sustained, but we'll be glad to have him back."
Q: From Game 1 to Game 2 you were a little bit looser with the ball. How did you address that issue?
BM: "One of the pillars we have in terms of building our program is ball security and turnovers. Again, the statistics show that if you are plus-one week in and week out, you will win around nine games. As you look at our practices, every one ends with a ball security drill. There's nothing else I know how to do at this point other than to make sure that they saw that we were minus-one in that area. They already know that plus-one is what our goal is, and we know that we didn't meet that standard. In most cases right now when I point out something that's not quite right in our program--at a practice level or a game level--the players respond very well. I hope to see them do that and realize that it's not acceptable. In most cases, I don't think a lack of intent was there. Hopefully, we're acting in advance with as many of those things that we can predict by the ball security drills that we do."
Q: What makes TCU's Aaron Brown so successful?
BM: "He's fast and he's confident. A lot of freshmen will come in to a Division-I setting in their first collegiate game and are tentative and uncertain. He was everything and anything but that. He was confident with the football, certainly wasn't afraid of contact, wasn't looking to run out of bounds and was looking to gain positive yards. I think it's a combination of talent and confidence. Most freshman don't have the kind of confidence that I saw from him in that setting. He's a special player. "
Q: Why do you think Tye Gunn and the TCU passing game were so successful in Week 1 but not so strong in the last two games?
BM: "I think it was successful in Week 1 because they couldn't run the football. Oklahoma had a very nice plan to stop the run, so their throwing attack became what was necessary. The story behind the statistics has a lot to do with what a defense is doing. I think he (Gunn) is very poised and very confident, and his winning percentage as a starter is impressive. I think the approach is to make sure that you can dictate when the ball is thrown, and that's what I've seen from him so far.
"I appreciate it. Thanks for your time."