With spring scrimmage a week away, Mendenhall pleased with team's progress


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

The third week of spring practices has come to an end, and BYU football head coach Bronco Mendenhall is excited about the progress that the team has made. Two more weeks of practices remain for the team, which is preparing for a spring scrimmage in one week, next Friday, March 27.

Mendenhall spoke with the media following Friday’s practice, which was a coaches clinic. Coaches from surrounding high schools were invited to watch and participate in the practice.

“I really liked our practice today, probably the strongest practice of the spring,” Mendenhall said. “Maybe it was just moving inside, maybe it was the extra coaches. … Whatever it was, we had a really strong practice today that I was excited about. A lot of positive things today.”

One of the specific players Mendenhall talked about was Safety Eric Takenaka, a transfer from Snow College. During spring practices, Takenaka has played three different positions: nickel, free safety and cat on the defensive side of the ball, and has been a bright spot.

“A story that’s worth talking about now is Eric Takanaka. … He keeps making play after play after play and carving out a really nice reputation for himself,” Mendenhall said. “To be able to play him at three different positions in his first spring, and now in eight practices, that’s crazy.”

Wednesday, the SEC conference announced that they now consider BYU non-conference Power 5 opponents, and just following that, BYU announced a two-game series with Mississippi State from the SEC, beginning in 2016. Mendenhall talked about the impact of that announcement, and what it means going forward.

“The announcement by the SEC is great news for us, for BYU. It’s exciting to be acknowledged,” Mendenhall said. “We consider ourselves a Power 5 opponent, it’s fun to have that now weigh in to strength of schedule in really every major conference to and be recognized at that level.”

Regarding the series with Mississippi State, Mendenhall said, "The announcement of the series with Mississippi State, coming off the heels of the SEC announcement, is cool ... playing them in October, starting in Provo ... it's great to get that caliber of team to play home and home."

When asked about how the announcement affects his view towards getting into a P5 conference in the future, Mendenhall said, “As far as I’m concerned, I would still like to head in that direction (joining a conference).”

Quarterback Taysom Hill spoke with the media about how he feels as he continues his recovery from the injury that ended his junior season after just more than four games in 2014.

“I feel really good, each day I feel better and better. Yesterday was probably the best that I’ve felt … since the injury,” Hill said. “I feel like through spring, I’ve developed. I’ve gotten better health-wise, but timing and chemistry with the guys have also improved.”

During Friday’s practice, Hill threw three touchdown passes to Mitch Matthews, one of which was a 60-yard throw. Hill talked about Matthews and their chemistry during spring.

“Honestly, I think Mitch is one of the top receivers in the country,” Hill said. “He continues to get better and better and where he’s really developed is he’s become extremely smart with his route-running. He doesn’t run himself out of windows, and he’s really quarterback-friendly. I have a lot of trust in Mitch, knowing that he’ll be where he needs to be.”

Mendenhall also praised Matthews' play during spring, and said, “(Matthews) may be having the best spring of any receiver I’ve coached since I’ve been here at BYU. He’s looking really, really strong.”

Senior Linebacker Jherremya Leuta-Douyere also spoke to the media about how practices have been for the defense, particularly since Mendenhall has taken over during this offseason.

“Practice is going well, it’s very demanding, a lot of running to the ball,” Leuta-Douyere said. “ Mendenhall is back on the defensive side. It’s a lot more precise, a lot of people are wanting to show what they can do. There’s a point system now where everyone is accountable, if they make a mistake it affects everybody.”

He added, “It’s a lot different, a lot more focus on technique, seeing who can try hard, people who are willing to battle for each other.”

Leuta-Douyere is part of a defense that ranked 56th in the country in overall defense in 2014. They are anxious to make changes and learn from mistakes entering 2015.

“We learned a lot from last year, there’s a lot of mistakes that we made and this year a lot of people are just more hungry to get better,” Leuta-Douyere said. “We just want to prove to everyone that last year, we’re not that same group. We’re going to do a lot better, be more vocal, be leaders and go out there and ball out.”

The spring scrimmage will begin at 6 p.m. MST next Friday, March 27. It is open to the public and admission is free. Spring practices will continue through April 3.

Most recent Sports stories

Related topics

SportsBYU Cougars
Jaren Wood

    ARE YOU GAME?

    From first downs to buzzer beaters, get KSL.com’s top sports stories delivered to your inbox weekly.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast