Friday Mailbag: Bronco’s Comment About Entitlement and Other Recruiting Questions

Welcome to the Friday Mailbag where once a week I answer your questions and respond to your comments about Brigham Young Cougars football. As a quick reminder, there are three ways to submit a question:

1. Email: bluecougarfootball@gmail.com
2. Twitter: @BlueCougarFball and use #BCFmailbag
3. Leave a comment at the end of a BLUE COUGAR FOOTBALL article.

On to the mailbag.


On signing day, Bronco [Mendenhall] made a comment about entitled players. Everyone is saying he was taking a shot at Jake Heaps. Do you agree and was Bronco wrong for saying this?

I don’t know exactly what Coach Mendenhall was thinking when he said this, but it didn’t come across well. His exact words were, “What a refreshing thing to have someone that highly recruited come in and be thankful to get an offer at BYU. Not entitled to get an offer at BYU, but thankful to get an offer at BYU. And that was so refreshing, because in this world of college athletes—families in general—it’s a big deal to handle all the attention.” The fact that he said this when talking about quarterback Tanner Mangum can make it very easy to imply that Mendenhall thought Heaps felt entitled to be at BYU.

To his credit, Mendenhall was careful to not to qualify it as “a quarterback that highly recruited.” Mendenhall has recruited several players that were “that highly recruited.” Manti Te’o, Vince Biegel, Brandon Fanaika, and Jared Afalava quickly come to mind. I am not accusing them or their families of feeling entitled, but pointing out Heaps was not the only highly recruited player Mendenhall has tried to get at BYU.

The way Mendenhall has talked and the stories he has told recently can lead you to believe that he has had to deal with entitlement from other players on the team this past season. I won’t name names, but he told one player he would never play a down if he didn’t change his attitude, and he frequently mentions how he is very careful not to gush about another player to his face like he does in interviews with the media for fear that this player will not handle the praise well. There was also an incident recently with a player returning home early from his mission. BYU wasn’t prepared for that and didn’t have a scholarship available for him. Rather than wait, he transferred to another school. That sounds pretty entitled to me.

I can understand some people’s ire over this comment, but I don’t think Heaps was the sole case that led Mendenhall to say what he said. However, Mendenhall would have been better off if he had just said, “I really like Tanner’s attitude and his gratitude to have an opportunity to play at BYU.”

What I find interesting is that Mendenhall made this comment about entitlement in the same presentation that he said he thought BYU had done enough during his tenure as coach to warrant more recognition, as opposed to the criticisms raised by some groups. Self-proclamation of greatness? That comes across as being a little entitled.

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On a national scale, very average class. Let’s be honest. We'll need to do a lot more than this to entertain any hope of a BCS bowl and don't get me started if by some miracle we get into the Big12.

I know the excitement level is down for signing day this year, but let’s not get too down on ourselves. BYU signed a very, very highly rated quarterback, a fantastic wide receiver, and a highly touted linebacker from a great program in California. Sound familiar? The Tanner Manugm-Josh Weeks-Butch Pau’u trio is strikingly similar to the Jake Heaps-Ross Apo-Zac Stout trio from two years ago. Also, how often does BYU sign two All-Americans?

As far as the all-state players that I pointed out, let me try and put that into perspective. Not every all-state honor is equal. Two of those players were all-state players in California. That is a big deal. Not only is California the most populous state in the nation, it is one of the three biggest recruiting hotbeds. Phillip Amone was not all-state in Florida, but he was All-Metro West Conference. Metropolitan Orlando has over 2 million people, or roughly the same number of people in all of the state of Utah. It is pretty fair to say that Amone being named to the All-Metro West Conference team is equivalent to being first-team all-state in Utah.

BYU will never be able to compete nationally in recruiting on a star-for-star basis. Thankfully the star system and all-state citations aren't the be all and end all of college football. BYU has had zero star walk-ons be named All-American and have great NFL careers. BYU has repeatedly taken it team of lesser star players and beaten teams with five-star players from top to bottom on their roster. This recruiting class appears to have some of the right personnel to help BYU continue its excellent tradition and move up to, or get closer to, the next level.

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I know you will give your opinion on who will have an immediate impact when the poll ends, but what about a sleeper in the class?

Recruiting is such an inexact science, which makes this a very difficult question. Of course, every member of the class should have high expectations. That is why they received scholarships, as opposed to being required to walk on. To answer the question, I think Austin Hoyt will be one who isn’t being talked about much, but will have a really good career. He is going to change positions from tight end to offensive line, which will make him less visible. His athleticism could lead to him having a big impact at that spot. Maybe it is just a matter of times changing and different schemes being used, but it has been a long time since I have heard about a great pulling guard/tackle leading the way and creating daylight for a back out of the backfield. Hoyt could be that kind of lineman.

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I noticed Sawyer Powell isn't included in your list of signees. Technically, he's not a signee because he's already enrolled. Anyway, I heard that he was recruited for his pure athleticism and has no football experience. What do you think we can expect from him? Also, what do you think of Bronco's strategy of recruiting athletic people in hopes of coaching them up to be competitive in football? He's done experiments like this before. Ezekiel Ansah is the only one who comes to mind.
I am hearing that Sawyer Powell is greyshirting this year before leaving on a mission, and won’t be on scholarship this year. Hence, he didn’t need to sign a letter of intent.

He is, supposedly, a “project” player. Although he played organized football in high school, unlike Ezekiel Ansah, Powell’s greatest asset is his athleticism. I don’t know how much we can expect from him. I was hoping to see more from Ansah by now. I think a lot of it has to do with the position Ansah plays, which is the same position Powell will play—linebacker. BYU already has great talent and depth at that position it is very difficult for a “project” player to play a significant role.

In the past, BYU has had athletes who didn’t really fit one position make an impact, but it is usually on offense or special teams. James Dye and Jaron Dabney come to mind. On defense, it is much more important that a player fit a certain skill set, but on offense there is more flexibility. Offenses can be tailored around the strengths of each player.

We will have to wait and see what happens with Powell. In general, I think this type of move should be reserved for offensive players.

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Thanks to everyone for the great questions. Keep them coming for next week.

The Editor appreciates all feedback. He can be reached via email at bluecougarfootball@gmail.com

Comments

  1. I was listening to Bronco live when he made the entitlement comment, and assumed he was talking specifically about Jake Heaps. Did I have a problem with it? Not at all. No player is going to be successful on a team, if they put themselves above others. Jake could have had a wonderful career at BYU, had he reshirted this coming year, shown some toughness and worked on his leadership skills. He would have improved in each of these areas, working being Neslon this coming season. 2013/2014 could have been an incredible experience for him, here at BYU.

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