Mendenhall inspired after tough overtime loss to UCF


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PROVO — BYU head football coach Bronco Mendenhall used his Wednesday night show to express disappointment with his team's most recent loss, but also to pull positives from the Cougars' 31-24 overtime setback at UCF.

The margin between victory and defeat is always narrow in extra time, but Mendenhall said if the team executes all night they don’t have to dwell on a single play, or put the game in anybody else’s hands.

Case in point: BYU's final offensive play of overtime, in which an apparent fourth-down pass interference call was missed by the officiating crew. In the days that followed, the officiating supervisor in charge of reviewing questionable calls acknowledged that the field officials missed the play.

“We were so close, the kids played so hard,” Mendenhall said. “We made just enough mistakes to make it that close and...dang it. I was inspired actually. I thought they tried really hard and our team we learned a lot and grew a lot, and didn’t make quite enough plays to win the game.“

Mendenhall's repeated emphasis on effort coincides with the recent spate of injuries--most notably the season-ending loss of quarterback Taysom Hill--that have contributed to consecutive losses after a 4-0 start. Mendenhall is not making excuses, but his team's composition is considerably different than it was only a couple of weeks ago.

Aside from applauding the team-wide effort, Mendenhall credited several individual players who stepped up against UCF.

“Paul Lasike and Algie (Algernon Brown) were just punishing, down after down, play after play,” Mendenhall said. “What was really fun also is to see some of the players step up. Devin Mahina...has been laboring in the background and all the sudden there’s a couple of touchdowns, a critical third-down catch, and he’s blocking well. So it’s great to see him emerge.”

According to Mendenhall, the injury-hampered personnel lineup against Nevada will look very similar to the one that played at UCF, discounting players injured during that game. Cornerback Jordan Johnson was lost for the season with a broken arm, while safety Craig Bills suffered a concussion and is not expected to play this week. Linebacker Alani Fua, safety Dallin Leavitt and offensive lineman Brayden Kearlsey are all doubtful.

Mendenhall complimented the replacements in the secondary including Skye PoVey and Kai Nacua, who proved a lot to the coaches this past week. One player Mendenhall said will see more action at multiple secondary spots is Harvey Jackson.

***

True freshman Tejan Koroma, the Firehouse Subs "Firestarter of the Game," was the player guest on the show. Koroma is out of Texas and spoke about his recruitment and his experience seeing BYU play at Houston last year. Mendenhall said Koroma came in and worked harder than anybody else and was lifting with the strongest guys on the team. True freshman starters are rare especially at center. Koroma was asked how he won his spot.

“There were some great centers before I got here and all I can do is what I can do," he said. "I just tried my hardest in practice and things worked out.”

According to Mendenhall, Koroma isn’t quite six-feet tall, but the rookie is pretty adamant that he is in fact exactly six-feet tall. Less hotly debated was Koroma’s mental ability to shift the line and make adjustments. He is working on playing till the whistle … and stopping. Koroma was thrown out of a preseason scrimmage (he said he did not initiate that skirmish) and ejected from this season's Houston game for a missed punch. The penalty was later redacted by an officiating committee.

***

On Nevada, Mendenhall said the Wolf Pack offensive is dynamic with great receivers and a prolific pass game. The concern with the rush also comes from their dual-threat quarterback, Cody Fajardo. Mendenhall also said he thinks BYU has seen teams like Nevada this year and the game will be close.

***

Quick hits from the weekly audience Q-and-A segment:

-- Mendenhall was asked about serving an LDS mission. He did not serve and said that is because his priorities were football first and that is wrong. Serving is one of very few things he would change. He said 80 percent of his players have served and he always strongly encourages faith as a priority.

-- On his role change Mendenhall said he has had to bite his tongue on defense and he has spent his time in offensive meetings giving the defensive perspective on finding weaknesses.

-- Asked about national exposure and recruiting Mendenhall said he always tries to represent the right things with the team and is very pleased with the amount of national exposure. He also said ESPN filmed an all-access segment on BYU and it will air on ESPNU next Tuesday night.

-- On Nevada’s pass game Mendenhall said he expects the Wolf Pack to throw and throw and throw. His defense is hard to run on and Nevada’s strength is in its quarterback and receivers. 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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Mitchell Marshall

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