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PROVO -- As BYU continues to build its team for the future, Coach Bronco Mendenhall has the difficult task of managing players that have decided to take two years off to serve a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Lineman Ian Dulan will return next summer to play for the Cougars.
"A lot of players come to BYU not considering a mission first and foremost or are undecided," Bronco said. "Sometimes after a year they make the decision to go and other times it's two. In Ian's case, it was three years."
Dulan started his first game with BYU when he was 17 years old, matching up with the University of Arizona. He was the youngest player on the field. Prior to his senior year, after starting for three straight years, Dulan decided to serve a mission.
"To start three years playing significant football and deciding to take a break and go out and serve," Bronco said. "It's maybe even more compelling than the traditional way."
Bronco believes that Dulan is a "dedicated infantry type of servant, not seeking a lot of accolades. [He] just [does] the work."
