PROVO -- Heading into his first road contest as a head coach, Bronco Mendenhall addressed his team's preparation for Saturday's game at San Diego State during the weekly media luncheon at Legends Grille on Wednesday.
Opening Comments:
"Good afternoon. It's my pleasure to be with you again. Basically we're coming off a completely invested and hard-fought battle against TCU. Our players look to redeem themselves and play at a higher level as we come against San Diego State. We're looking forward to our next conference opponent and our team is preparing well through the course of this week. I'm proud of their work and their attitude, and I'm optimistic about the future. So with that, what questions might I answer for you?"
Q: You talk about each game being a step in a large progression. What are your thoughts about San Diego State being a big game for the state of the program?
BM: "The same as when I was asked if last week's game was a huge game. Each game is tremendously significant, and this is just the next one. Is this more important than last week? Each one is most important as we play it, so this one coming up is a huge football game for us. Is it a desperate situation, as someone mentioned to me the other day? Are we in dire need? This is just the next step in our progression with the end in mind, but it is an important game."
Q: Could you describe the threshold for some of the injured players? What would it take to get them back on the field?
BM: "I'm not sure. To this point, the seven players we lost who weren't able to practice on Monday are still out and we don't expect them to practice today, and I'm not sure if they'll practice tomorrow. The injury report basically refers to each one as day-to-day, but day-to-day in my experience has meant they still won't practice. Manaia Brown, who has a concussion, must pass a protocol before he is allowed to practice, and he hasn't cleared that protocol to this point. Vince Feula also has protocol that he hasn't passed yet, and Daniel Marquardt is the same. So when it comes to protocol, you can apply the same to (Paul) Walkenhorst, (Cameron) Jensen, Nate Soelberg and Justin Robinson. With each injury, there is an established protocol. Once they pass that at an acceptable level, then they can practice. Not one of them has passed the protocol to this point. "
Q: Pressure is very important for your defense, and when your first-string players were injured you didn't get as much pressure against TCU. Was that a matter of the backups not being prepared, or was it in their ability, or were they just not performing at the expected level?
BM: "I would say all three. Also, I was more conservative in trying to protect some of the coverage players who were in. After Dustin Gabriel had missed the tackle on (Cory) Rodgers on an all-out pressure at a defining moment in the game, that was in correspondence with the realization that not only was the team getting fatigued. There were some injuries out there, both up front and on the edges that I thought demanded that I start calling things differently to try to protect them. With that approach, the pressure wouldn't have been the same. The points that the question acknowledged were correct, and that's one other point that has to be made."
Q: With all these injured players, how many of them do you feel comfortable playing if they don't practice at all this week?
BM: "My approach when you talk about a starter is he's a starter and can't lose his position because of injury. I trust every one of these players who are out. They know the scheme well enough, and as I've watched them rehab two or three times a day, that to me is the same as practicing as they sit out there and watch practices and sit in their meetings. So they're still invested and they're still starters. If I could get them back for any part of Thursday, I'd feel comfortable. If I could get them back and be assured they'd pass protocol by Friday, most likely they would play. "
Q: After such a dramatic loss on Saturday, what is the mindset of your team right now?
BM: "It's good. They're warriors and they want to play. They know that they played from beginning to end, no matter how long it was, no matter how many plays, and they were in contention at the end and it had to go to review. We all know what the review showed. They're upset and disappointed that it didn't go in our favor, but they know it wasn't because of lack of effort, will and competitive spirit, and playing until the very last play was over. They're anxious to do it again, and so am I.
Q: You showed a lot offensively last week and had a lot of success, especially with the long passes. Do you anticipate that being more difficult to achieve this week?
BM: "I would think so, but one of the things that we were criticized for the first couple of games was not distributing the ball effectively to those players who might have the most impact in terms of Todd (Watkins), and Curtis (Brown) and Fahu (Tahi). As this offense learns to use our personnel more effectively, like we did the other day, what has happened now, as we prepare for San Diego State or New Mexico or anyone else in our conference that we have coming soon, is the establishment of the deep threat. So the acknowledgement in your planning has to take place, which, with a higher level of execution underneath, really puts a lot of pressure on a coordinator and someone calling the defense to decide when you take those chances on leaving someone on the outside in single coverage. I think that did more to help us in terms of our offense than to alert teams to prepare for the long ball. I think it's opened up and is making the hours of preparation longer for everyone else we're going to play from this point. I credit Coach Anae for the plan that he used and its relationship to use of our talent on our team. That was the most effective we've done that yet this year.
Q: Can you give some general thoughts on San Diego State's strengths?
BM: "It's a unique opportunity to play this team. I think they have perimeter athleticism, much like TCU has. They're based in four wide receivers a majority of the time, but what's interesting is they're running the quarterback, running him effectively and running him often. Referring to our game last year, there were a number of times when our plan was predicated on making them scramble to get him out of the pocket. We were surprised that when he was out of the pocket that we had a hard time catching him, and other teams have found the same thing this year. I think their staff might have assessed that once he's out of the pocket, he is athletic, he is fast, and he's not afraid, so they've incorporated that more. Defensively, you're still talking about one of the best schemes over the years. The past number of years with ourselves, San Diego State and New Mexico, those have been the predominant defenses, and (San Diego's) coordinator is still there. The coaching staff is still there. They've lost some players to graduation, but the scheme is still sound and they have players being experienced now through games where at the front end rather than in the past they'd have players who were at the tail end of experience getting ready to go to the NFL. But the system is still exceptional, and I think they're playing with more confidence now as I watched them against San Jose State than what they had maybe earlier in the year.
Q: You mentioned the hard work and good attitude in practice this week. What have you told your players to get them to respond?
BM: "I meet with the team daily in a team-meeting setting, and really those comments to them are intimate and private. But I do know that what I'm asking and when I ask them correctly, as I've said before, they respond to it. And I don't need to say much to this team. Their habits and their work ethic and their expectations of themselves show that they want to win and work as bad as I do. I think we're unified in that goal, and it hasn't taken much in terms of motivation on my part, other than daily reminders and a consistency that they know what to expect and that I'm not going to get tired, and I think they're the same. They are fantastic in terms of their attitude and will, and I expect that to remain throughout."
Q: How good are San Diego State's two primary receivers, Jeff Webb and Robert Ortiz, relative to what you've seen this year?
BM: "Two years ago, Webb had over 250 yards against us with three passes over the top, so we made a concerted effort last year to make sure we had him contained. I believe he had three or four catches for not nearly the yardage, but that was after the fact of being exposed to what kind of an athlete he is. He shows that week in and week out. The combination of both (Webb and Ortiz), if too much of your time is devoted to one the other is certainly capable of hurting you. When you look at their quarterback who can run and Hamilton their running back, they have solid skill. This conference has tremendous parity. There won't be a time when you flip on the film and watch the next opponent and say 'they aren't any good.' This is week in and week out everyone battling to earn a conference championship."
Q: How will the impact of the injured players affect your play calling?
BM: "It's reflected in the game plan and the play calling. I have to prepare like they're not going to be back. To say that's going to be a normal plan, that wouldn't be accurate. When you're talking about seven starters, what kind of coach would I be if I thought everything would be the same. I think we've done a good job in trying to plan appropriately."
Q: How do you get your players to go from hoping to win to expecting to win?
BM: "I think our team expects to win now and all the way until the game is over. Making that happen, each successive time builds confidence. I don't think there's a confidence issue right now. I think our team thinks they have a great chance for a conference championship. I think they think they have a great chance to return this program to the status that it once knew. I think they realize that we're close. I think they're anxious to play every down until it's over. With wins and consistency of wins, that's when you start to see a team and a program carry themselves differently, and we're somewhere in between in that regard."
Q: Comment on the progression of John Beck and Todd Watkins.
BM: "I think we've seen it. I think if you look at Boston College, three points, 45 against Eastern Illinois and 50 against TCU. And if you were to look and assess John's and Todd's performance in each one of those games, I think they've both improved in each one. I don't think statistics are the only gauge of that. I think John's decision making, his delivery of the football, his patience and composure in the pocket are the most noticeable things to me. And I was very impressed with the two-minute drive at the end of the game. That looked like practice, and he was very calm and directed the offense exceptionally. I think when you look at Todd starting from the Eastern Illinois game and his investment and the selling out that happnes in going up for footballs with the passion that he knows how to do, and the precision that now his routes are being run with, besides just the posts and verticals, and his efforts to become a complete receiver in all regards. That's where I'm most proud of him and his desire to become a truly exceptional player. Those are the things in both cases I've noticed just in these three weeks, and I expect it to continue."
Q: With that said, do you think you need another deep threat besides Watkins?
BM: "I don't think so. Because of the distribution and the number of touches, when you have a deep threat, that basically controls an entire side of the field. Because the ball is being distributed to so many places, with the addition of the vertical element, I'm not sure if I were defending our offense what indeed I would focus on. That's become the frustration of a lot of teams now as they assess where to start, based on the comments I've heard from other coaches. I don't know if they know where to start, and that's exactly why the offense is difficult to defend."