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PROVO — This week BYU sets out to accomplish something only four teams have done in the last 14 years: win a football game on the “smurf turf” of Boise State. The Broncos are 88-4 on their home field since 2000, and in Wednesday's radio broadcast of "BYU Football with Bronco Mendenhall," the head coach echoed his weeklong message that execution is the key to a competitive game Friday night.
The defense has taken a lot of the criticism this season, allowing 387.6 yards per game (the most since 2005). Coach Mendenhall says a lot of the defense’s struggles come down to inexperience and young players who haven’t yet mastered the art of assignment-sound football.
Mendenhall said he saw “giant” improvement in the secondary last week, and that he was encouraged by what he saw in the film room.
“I actually see a lot that I like and I’m very optimistic,” Mendenhall said. “I have a different view. I have the chance to look at every play, rewind it, fast forward, rewind it, fast forward. Most of the fans will see the score, and that is the ultimate outcome. In between all that, I can gauge whether there’s reason for optimism and hope or whether there’s reason for drastic changes and despair. There are things happening, we all just want it to happen faster.”
Mendenhall said his role with the defense changed this week. Without going into extreme detail, he said he’s anxious to help in any way he can.
“It is different this week. My No. 1 objective is to help every coach on our team, but I’ll also help our players have success. Really what I asked Coach Howell to do is take on a less experienced (with more injury) system of defense with one less coach and less experience … so do more with less is what I asked him.”
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Injuries have been a unique challenge for the Cougars this season, and one that Mendenhall said has taught him a lot about the importance of depth, contingency plans and making sure every player is prepared to handle game action.
Quick injury update: According to Mendenhall, Adam Hine and Brayden Kearsley are both out for Friday’s game. Jamaal Williams is hopeful. Both Alani Fua and Craig Bills are possible, and Algernon Brown is doubtful.
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Senior running back Paul Lasike joined the program as the Firehouse Subs "Firestarter of the Game." Lasike had 115 offensive yards and two touchdowns against Nevada.
A native of Auckland, New Zealand, Lasike’s road to BYU is a unique one. He came to Utah to play rugby with the Highland HS rugby program. From there, he served a two-year LDS mission to Alabama, where he received a football education in the heart of SEC country. After coming back to BYU to play on the rugby team, Lasike was picked up by the football team, and quickly found his footing in pads.
“Paul came over and learned the game on the scout team against that great defense we had,” Mendenhall said. “When some of our best players during the week were stepping out of his way because they wanted to be healthy for Saturday … I knew that this guy had their respect because those guys were fearless. He’d run, and they’d step out of his way, because he’s Paul.”
Due to a rash of injuries in the running back corps, Lasike’s seen a lot of snaps as the primary back, a role that’s he’s taken full advantage of.
“Our team loved watching him run the ball as the primary ball carrier the last couple weeks,” Mendenhall said. “He’s just destroying people … running over them and running hard … with humility, with great manners … kind of a gentlemanly brawler.”
Lasike has been on four national-championship rugby teams at BYU and is a four-time All-American in the sport, but he said he’s come to love football just as much as his native sport.
“Someone asked me if I would give up a rugby national championship for a football national championship,” Lasike said, “and I actually said I’d give up three rugby national championships for one football one. It shows how much I actually love the sport and have come to really appreciate it.”
In three years, Lasike has gone from not knowing the rules of football to being named team captain. Mendenhall says that’s the fastest ascent he can remember.
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In the question-and-answer portion of the show, Mendenhall was asked how he balances criticism from the fans with an appreciation for their passion. He said it’s difficult at times, especially when the team is struggling.
What I try to focus on as much as I can is what I can control, and that’s trying to run a program that means more than just football, that represents our church, that builds young men and wins a ton of games … and then hope that’s appreciated,” Mendenhall said. “If it’s not, I really don’t control that. I’m at peace with just the best I can do each day, and those that support that, I’m great with that. Those that don’t, it is completely their right … I just lend a lot more time to appreciate those that are with us than those that are against us.”
The coach ended with a few quick keys to the game: “Execute. Hold on to the ball. Prevent big gains.” Sydney Carlson is a KSL sports radio intern and producer at BYUtv Sports. You can follow her on Twitter @sydneykayc
