Found: Bronco's policy

The Bronco Mendenhall approach to handling football players on LDS missions who may end up in his program someday proved a heated topic this past week.

I want to thank my colleague Jeff Call for researching and finding a quote by Mendenhall that sheds light on his so-called policy, which I still do not believe he needs. Jeff took the time this week to go through a file in which he keeps actual micro-cassette tapes of interviews with football coaches and players. I say to Jeff, great job.

Jeff found a taped interview with Bronco from February 6, 2006 in which he met with reporters and responded to this issue of recruiting football players who are serving missions. The setting was a press conference announcing BYU’s recruiting class for 2006. At the time, I believe I was on a road trip covering Mountain West basketball and I did not hear the quote. This quote, however, is similar to what I have heard Mendenhall say, as I referenced in a Thursday column about this mystery policy or quote. In fact, I don’t think it deviated much at all from what I heard him say about an Austin Collie situation when the Cougar receiver was serving his mission in Argentina.

During his mission, Collie receiving recruiting attention through his family, from Oregon, Oklahoma State and UCLA. OSU was direct and sent him letters on his mission. The others worked with his family. The funny thing about this is the OSU coach that recruited Collie on his mission was former receiver coach, Todd Bradford. It is common knowledge around BYU’s program that it was Bradford who told his boss, Gary Crowton, to pass on Collie and use the BYU scholarship elsewhere.

Missionaries do get recruited.

I quoted from Jeff Call’s tape in today’s Deseret News story about Kahuku High RB Malosi Te’o publicly turning down UNLV for BYU while on his mission in New York City, here is the most enlightening Mendenhall quote, direct from tape we can find on the issue of recruiting missionaries.

To set it up, here is a preamble from Jeff.

JEFF CALL: :I went through some old tapes today and listened to some questions posed to Bronco about recruiting and his responses. This is Bronco responding to a question from the media on Signing Day, 2006, about the number of players from that class who had signed previously before going on a mission and transferring to BYU (again, I have this on tape):”

BRONCO MENDENHALL: “We have three players that committed somewhere else, Division I, served their mission, and while serving then decided to come to BYU. I think they were simply paying attention to what was going on. I think they see the program moving in the right direction, I think they see standards that are being enforced on a daily basis. I think they see a chance to represent what they believe, not only on the football field, but how they live and do it at a place that makes a different kind of statement than they would make — I won’t mention the other schools — but where they were. As they came to us, they came of their own regard. We will not recruit players while they are on their missions. That’s not our policy. But when do they contact us, we’ll certainly listen.”

Now, again, as per my Thursday commentary, I don’t think Mendenhall needs a policy. But the one he stated here seems conservative and respectful.

Some may disagree and believe he is a hypocrite. Is he, or is Mendenhall acting on this issue how he said he would?

What are your thoughts?