Mendenhall reveals one key to this team
There is a debate out there about how much physical work a coach should dish out in practices leading up to a game. Some coaches believe you cannot prepare for a game without contact that is duplicated in a game setting, you monitor it, but you have to step into it to get better.
Others disagree.
Bronco Mendenhall has changed his approach since he first came to BYU. Where he once believed in setting the dogs loose, he’s been very careful to pick and choose how much live contact his team does and he’s had a standing rule that when hitting, you hold up the other guy and nobody goes down, especially receivers and running backs. He doesn’t like receivers taking down secondary people when blocking down field.
Tom Holmoe said when he earned three Super Bowl rings with the 49ers, that their practices were always in helmets and shells, that no heavy hitting took place, keeping bodies fresh to avoid injuries while the drills were designed for execution and timing rather than delivery of brute force to make a point.
BYU is headed in that direction. It is debatable if this would be the case if the opener would be against Washington and not Northern Iowa, that Mendenhall is gambling, protecting his guys at the expense of physical preparedness. On the other hand, if he gets a guy hurt, what good is he in that first or second game?
So far, there has been two serious injuries in camp. Dan Van Sweden broke his leg in a scrimmage and center Tom Sorensen had a sore shoulder that required exploratory surgery. While Ian Dulan has a sore shoulder, he will play this Saturday. All other starters are expected to be ready and healthy.
Contrast this with UCLA. The Bruins are nursing all kinds of injuries. They’ve lost two quarterbacks including Ben Olson and the O-line is hurt. They have been physical in practices.
Matt Ah You is one of those BYU guys who did get banged up when the pads went on in BYU camp. A guy known for his physical play, he bruised his sternum.
It is fine line here. On one hand, a coach wants to prime and stoke the physical aspect of practice, building it into a peak at game time. But he also has to keep bodies off crutches and the training room.
“I’m excited, It’s been three years,” said Ah You. ” I can’t wait to step into the stadium, looking forward to it. It’s good to play against our team but you can’t really hit like you want to hit against your teammates, but on Saturday, we can let loose we are going to make them feel what you want them to feel.”
Ah you said his personal goals are team goals, a mantra coaches have hammered in to this squad.
“Just do my job . As long as you do your job we do well. Nobody’s job is any more important than the other, so as long as we do what we’re supposed to do, we’ll be OK. I got cleared last week. This is my first full week. We are blessed we didn’t go in pads, so I felt relaxed in practice all week long.”
Relaxed, sore or chomping at the bit.
How should they be?
Maybe you handle different teams according to their personality. This is a mature team and perhaps Mendenhall doesn’t need some things proved to him and his staff as individuals go out and try to mark their territory. Football is actually nothing but an organized fight with rules. One guy tries to dominate the other.
I caught Mendenhall for a second at Wednesday’s practice and he repeated several times, the same word when I asked him what he thought about his team’s readiness.
“I trust them. I have great trust in what they will and can do,” he said.