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There is no question that eyebrows were raised when BYU Head Coach Bronco Mendenhall announced a few months ago that he was joining Twitter. For someone that had been against such things for so long, it signaled a welcome change for Cougar fans everywhere.
Twitter has taken over the sports world; with more and more schools looking to connect with fans and potential recruits via the latest technology. The Cougars, like many other programs see the benefit of having another way to communicate.
The BYU Football team is really starting to embrace the benefits of Twitter. There usually isn't a day that goes by without one of the coaches giving fans an update on what's going on with team or with recruiting. Cougar fans love that stuff -- heck, I love that stuff! Fans want to know everything they can about the teams they cheer for. BYU has recognized the attraction and really started embracing it.
While it's fair to say that BYU has had much more of a Twitter presence over the past few months, Special Teams Coordinator/Outside LB Coach Kelly Poppinga says the Cougars have been on social media for some time.
"We've been Facebooking for two years now really hard," Poppinga said. "We've been on Facebook doing the same exact stuff we've been doing on Twitter; now it's just more visible to the fan."
Geoff Martzen, BYU's new Director of Player Personnel said that the football coaches move towards Twitter has been more about the changing landscape of technology than anything else.
"The move towards a more active Twitter presence is probably more about the way prospects communicate now and taking advantage of a resource that is widely used. The coaches have not been told to use twitter, and not all of them do, but the ones who do use twitter all tweet for themselves."
Of BYU's 10 football coaches, half of them are utilizing Twitter. The five coaches on Twitter are: Head Coach Bronco Mendenhall (@BYU_Football),Defensive Coordinator Nick Howell (@CoachNickHowell), Offensive Line Coach Garett Tujague (@Coach2J), Special Teams Coordinator/Outside LB Coach Kelly Poppinga (@pinga4445) and Running Backs Coach Mark Atuaia (@CoachAtuaia).
From a recruiting standpoint, the ability to contact an athlete via Twitter can pay huge dividends. With so many kids on Twitter 24-7, it's pretty easy for a coach to get in touch with a potential recruit by sending a direct message.
"These kids that we're recruiting are on this stuff all the time," Poppinga said. For us as coaches right now, for us to be able to stay in touch with these kids that we want to recruit and get to know them...if we are not doing it, we're probably behind the eight-ball on everything. It's keeping us having a good relationship with the recruits...and staying in better contact with them than we ever had before."
For those that think social media is just a "phase" and won't last, I think you'll be surprised. While social media may evolve, the idea of receiving and delivering information instantaneously is here for the long haul.
I love that BYU is utilizing Twitter like it is. While coaches can't divulge everything that's going on, it allows fans to feel closer to the program. For a fanbase that craves anything BYU-related, right now is a great time to be a Cougar!
