Anae speaks on return


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Robert Anae returned to the ranks of the BYU football coaching staff last month after a two-year absence from Provo, and welcomed questions from reporters on National Letter of Intent day.

"I want you to know that I come with a sense of urgency," Anae said at a press conference. "I come back with the single purpose to do two things on the offensive side of the football. One is to play fast, the other is to play hard."

Anae was limited in his comments on his departure from BYU two seasons ago. He mentioned how Bronco Mendenhall did not want Anae to resign, but that he felt the situation was one that would allow BYU to improve.

"I took that opportunity as the offensive coordinator to do that, and it turned out to be an unbelievable opportunity for me," Anae said.

Anae repeatedly spoke on his desire to "prove something," in his return to Provo.

"I come with the intent to prove something, and one thing that I wish to prove is that offensive football at BYU, with the leadership of Bronco, can mimic some of the same things the defense does," he said. "I want to prove that if we can get an offense that plays with the same passion that they have done on the defensive side of the football."

Anae was surprised to be contacted by his previous employer, but did not waste any time giving an answer back to his alma mater.

"When you leave a job, you don't leave walking backward looking at the place you leave, you leave looking forward," he said. "I was surprised, but I didn't hesitate at the opportunity."

Anae had top ten offenses during his tenure at Brigham Young, and helped create an offense at Arizona that finished fifteenth overall nationally in points scored and rushing yards in 2012.

Anae spoke about one of the things that will change with his return, a new wrinkle that was inspired by his experience under current Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez.

"One of the things I'd like to do different is to utilize the quarterback in the run game," he said. "This I did learn, to get your quarterback to go the distance, you've got to be very discerning, you've got to be able to be very wise in your approach of that, otherwise you could overdo that and expose your quarterback. The quarterback run game looks fascinating, to see the ground level of that."

This bodes well for returning quarterback, Taysom Hill, who is recovering from an injury suffered in October against Utah State. Hill started two games during the 2012 season, a win over Hawai'i and the aforementioned win against Utah State. In his two starts, Hill threw for 347 yards, while rushing for 223 yards on 34 attempts.

Anae concluded by addressing the incoming recruits and their impact on the roster, but was hesistant to make statements regarding the upcoming season.

"I don't know, I look forward to fall camp to see that," he said in response to the question.

Anae is looking forward to returning to BYU with a clean slate and the opportunity to transform the culture of the football team as they seek a return to the top 25 ranks of division I football.

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Dan Lewis

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