BYU foes cry foul over age issue


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PROVO — Rich Rodriguez distinctly remembers the last time he coached against BYU, probably because his team beat the Cougars in the Liberty Bowl.

Now Arizona’s head coach, Rodriguez was Tulane’s offensive coordinator during the 41-27 victory in 1998. Somewhat humorously, one of his memories had no connection to the actual game.

“We had a function at the hotel and there’s all these little kids running around and I said, 'Man, (the BYU) coaching staff has a lot of kids,'” Rodriguez recalled earlier this summer. “They said, 'No, those are the players’ kids.'”

Yes, Rodriguez played the old-man card, a refrain often repeated when new teams or coaches line up against the Cougars. Next week’s season opener between Arizona and BYU at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, will be the first time as a head coach Rodriguez goes against the old-timers.

As much as it may come off as whining, Rodriguez has a point. Compared to their opponents, BYU’s players often are much older.

“They’re grown men,” he said. “We’re going to have 18-year-old kids – some of our guys haven’t shaved yet — and we’re going up against some guys who got families and kids; they got to get daycare stuff. It’s going to be a different challenge for us.”

BYU provided Rodriguez even more ammunition this week. On the same day offensive coordinator Ty Detmer announced Taysom Hill as the starting quarterback, the fifth-year senior celebrated his 26th birthday.

In college football terms the oft-injured Hill, who used a redshirt season last year to recover from his third season-ending injury, is an old man. Five years at BYU combined with Hill’s two-year LDS church mission has left him much older than several potential NFL starting quarterbacks.

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Jared Goff, the first pick in last season’s NFL Draft and the presumed starter for the Los Angeles Rams, is 21 years old. The 25-year-old Brock Osweiler, the starter for the Houston Texans, is in his fifth NFL season.

Arizona’s returning starting quarterback, Anu Solomon, is 21 years old. Hill’s backup at BYU, Tanner Mangum, turns 23 next month.

Resurrecting the ghost of the late Michigan coach Bo Schembechler, who voiced his concern about the age of the BYU players before the 1984 Holiday Bowl, having an older roster does seem like an advantage. Added age, which usually is the result of many BYU players serving church missions, often is accompanied by wisdom and maturity.

In preparing for the BYU game, former longtime Air Force coach Fisher DeBerry once said: “It’s a typical BYU offensive line. They’re 30-years-old and weigh 400 pounds.”

Without question, when monitored correctly, the missionary program is a distinct advantage for BYU. Using Hill as an example, few players in the NFL can match his maturity. At 26, he’s long put away childish things. The same goes for many of his teammates.

If Hill manages to finally stay healthy and plays up to his capability, his age undoubtedly will become a national issue if BYU can successfully navigate a schedule front-loaded with Power 5 teams. The critics will again cry foul over the LDS Church’s missionary program and its impact on BYU football.

By NCAA rule, an athlete’s eligibility is put on hold during the time of missionary service during the standard two years. And adjustment to the rule would have a serious negative impact on BYU sports.

In the end, the NCAA doesn’t need to change the rule. As former coach LaVell Edwards said when BYU won the national championship in 1984: “When we weren’t winning, nobody said anything about the missions. But once we started winning championships, why did people all of a sudden make it an issue? They used to say we couldn’t win because of missionaries. Now they’re saying we win because of missionaries. I wonder where all those people were when we were losing.”

That quote is old by any standards. Truth is, it was correct then and correct now.

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