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In eight years as a head coach, Bronco Mendenhall and the BYU football team have played in a lot of different venues — ranging from small, comfortable confines to enormous NFL palaces.
But the long-time defensive coach knows Saturday's game at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisc., will prove to be an extra challenge. And he's looking forward to it.
"That's one of the great things about traveling to the stadiums we play in: to play teams that leave a significant impact, then come back and examine your own culture and fan base," Mendenhall said at Wednesday's weekly coach's show at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
"It's really interesting to go out for warmups and have the entire stadium full. That's a strange phenomenon and a great one. And then it's still different to leave the stadium and still have it full.
"There are different habits and different cultures built and passed on, and it's great how a team does things. It's fun."
To prepare for the new environment--BYU's first visit to a Big Ten venue since the Cougars' 1980 trip to Madison--BYU coaches spent the final 90 minutes of practice Wednesday with the speakers at full blast and set to the eponymous House of Pain single, "Jump Around," a staple of the Badgers' Camp Randall gameday routine.
"Our team was jumping around, and at the end they were snarling," Mendenhall said of the Wednesday session in the team's Indoor Practice Facility.
The Badgers will also prove to be difficult on the field. Wisconsin's traditional power run game has been in full effect all season under first-year head coach Gary Andersen, who re-entered the college coaching game after accepting a mid-1990s job offer facilitated by Mendenhall, then Northern Arizona's co-defensive coordinator.
"It's going to be a great matchup," Mendenhall said. "We certainly know we have our hands full. However, we're not afraid and we're looking forward to the game."
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Wednesday's show featured a comical back-and-forth exchange with sophomore running back Jamaal Williams, who has rushed for more than 700 yards on the season.
Williams, protected from the biting Provo winter by a stocking cap, thick sweat pants and light brown Ugg boots, said he feels completely recovered from a concussion suffered in the Cougars' loss at home to Utah.
"I feel good," Williams said. "I feel like it's just football, so when that happens you have to overcome it and play the same."
The injury particularly affected Mendenhall as much as it did Williams, who was focused on getting the team a first down during the play.
"I care a lot about Jamaal, and I think we have a special relationship," Mendenhall said.
"I didn't like what I saw. There are players who when they go down, there is a different level of alarm."
Williams also spoke highly of another influential figure in his life, mother Nicolle, a stalwart supporter of her son's college decision.
"She pretty much just backed me up, and said it was my choice," Williams said. "I'm just glad to have her. She said she would support me where ever I went, and she has."
Nicolle also accepted an invitation, via Twitter, to appear with Williams on a future episode of the coach's show.
"I would be honored," she tweeted, "I'm actually at the nail shop getting blinged out [with BYU football colors]."
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Williams' admiration of Mendenhall has only grown since the then-17 year old first stepped foot on campus as a college freshman. And it's about more than X's and O's on the gridiron.
"He's a strong, but compassionate man," an emotional Williams said. "He really cares for us all. He wants us to be good at football, but also great men for our families, our wives and our kids. I know the true meaning is to take care of my family, and show them that I can be a true man to them.
"I just want to stay under coach Mendenhall so he can teach me more how to be a great man, like he is."
Mendenhall admitted the feelings were mutual.
"Jamaal is a fantastic person," he said. "I like being around optimistic people ... and Jamaal has every reason to feel great about his status and his role, and that might be different or above the team. But there is zero of that; he loves to play football, on our team and a part of our team and in our program. It's a rare young person who can handle a unique role and all the attention, and who want to be a part of and contribute to the team. I love being around him."
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Tight end Kaneakua Friel was named the Firehouse Subs "Firestarter of the Game" in the win over Boise State.
The senior Friel, who saw an increased work load with the absence of tight end Brett Thompson, helped jump start a passing attack that kept the Broncos off balance for most of the night.
"He came in and ran people over, and put Boise on its heels early on," Mendenhall said.
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During the fans' question-and-answer segment, Mendenhall shared relationship advice based on his years of courtship with his wife, Holly.
"I think the simple answer is that I really value her health and well-being and my family's more than my own," he said. "Once you become a good partner, it's what you can give to the relationship, not what you can get."
He also mused on wide receiver Cody Hoffman, BYU's all-time leader in receptions and touchdown catches who can become the all-time leader in receiving yards this weekend.
"He has really strong hands, fantastic ball skills, and he's also one of those players who wants the ball in critical situations," Mendenhall said of Hoffman. "I think that's reflective of all the preparation he puts in."
