Mendenhall praises team resilience, previews dangerous Virginia


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PROVO ‐ Wednesday night on “BYU Football with Bronco Mendenhall" the BYU head coach gave insight into what has contributed to the early season success of the No. 21 Cougars (3-0) and how they need to carry that into their bout with Virginia at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

Mendenhall credits some key bench marks for last week’s 33-25 win against Houston, including scoring first, leading at halftime and scoring on defense. He pointed out BYU has never lost when they’ve had a defensive score. One concern against Houston was squandering the lead after a fast start, but more important, Mendenhall said, was the attitude the team showed despite the turn of events.

“Our team could’ve been frustrated, they could’ve been angry, they could’ve, but they just came in at halftime and you know we got this and finish strong," he said. "I like the mental resiliency.”

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Virginia returns 17 starters and Mendenhall knows the Cavaliers are a formidable opponent. He cited Virginia's win over then-No. 21 Louisville last week and confidence it has given the team, and the chemistry of a team that has returned so many players and has gone through a tough season together. The position where they have not had consistency is at quarterback and Mendenhall called the Cavaliers' situation “volatile” after having played three quarterbacks already this year.

Last week BYU was minus-3 in turnovers and Mendenhall said his team needs to protect the ball. He sees the most strength in Virginia’s aggressive defense with a good four-man pass rush and likes to mix in an extra man on the blitz. He called that strategy “risk reward” and though it has been successful so far this year Mendenhall has a question on adopting that mindset this week.

“The interesting thing will just be do they acknowledge Taysom (Hill) is different, he is special? Or do they think they are different and special and can just do what they do?”

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The player guest this week was BYU’s leading receiver in catches and yards, transfer student Jordan Leslie, who came to BYU after playing three years at UTEP. During part of his stay there he worked under current BYU receivers coach Guy Holliday. Though he is new, Leslie is already seen as a leader, and he credits hard work, the culture at BYU and his upbringing.

“My mom always instilled in me to be a leader and show with my actions," he said. "When I came in here I wanted to work hard and show just because I’m new doesn’t mean I’m not used to this, and show that even though I’m from another program, I am here to help anyway I can."

Mendenhall named Leslie the fire-starter of the week and praised his experience and leadership, calling him another major threat defenses have to be concerned about. He spoke about how with any incoming transfer BYU studies film, but always talks to former coaches and looks at character of the player. Mendenhall really likes that in four years Leslie earned an engineering degree, showing diligence, persistence, intellect and ability. After the tough end to the first half against Houston Leslie was a leading voice of calm and optimism among players.

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Here are some quick hits from the weekly fan Q-and-A segment:

-- If Mendenhall could have and home-and-home series with any team it would be Alabama.

-- Mendenhall would love to coach as long as it feels right for he and his wife. He would like to accomplish enough after football that former BYU head coach is a secondary title.

-- He is not concerned about the penalties and has been working for a more aggressive culture. He wants to go hard and clean it up as they go.

-- There is a great chance that pizza for Roc fans camping out could become a tradition.

-- On hype and the prospect of going undefeated distracting players Mendenhall said they keep the team grounded by dedicating time in every meeting to reminding them to stay in the present. He understands the excitement but they will continue to hold down the perspective.

Mendenhall's final words: run the ball, protect the ball and win the game. Mitchell is a KSL Sports Radio intern and Broadcast Journalism student at Brigham Young University where he anchors and produces sports. Find him @mitchellive on twitter.

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