Instant BYU analysis: Hill's starting, USC in rotation, Bronco's extension


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SALT LAKE CITY — The Cougar Sports Saturday guys, Dave Noriega, Alex Kirry and Jason Shepherd, return from BYU Media Day to discuss Taysom Hill officially being named the starter, playing USC three times in the next decade and Bronco Mendenhall's three-year contract extension.

Bronco Mendenhall signs three-year contract

Kirry: Bronco did a whole directional change during this whole announcement. He said, "You know what? I said that I probably wouldn't want to do this very long — maybe only three more years." But now he says, "I want to be here a lot longer." That was a little bit more surprising to me.

Noriega: When he came in in 2005, his biggest job was to clean up the program because they were in absolute shambles. He thought he was a stop-gap and now he's signed through 2016.

Shepherd: I never understood the panic on whether or not Bronco would sign. It makes too much sense for Bronco to not be at BYU. He is BYU, right now.

BYU-USC series in 2019, 2021 and 2023

Kirry: This speaks to what BYU has to do as an independent. They have to look so far into the future and say, "Hey, we're going to start making these deals with teams much more into the future." They've got to score big games, because usually, who you have to fill on short notice is not somebody that you necessarily consider a big dog.

Shepherd: Two of the games are November games. What have fans been clamoring about? "We want better November games." Granted, they are going to be on the road, but you are playing USC in November; that's a pretty big deal.

Noriega: Is BYU over-scheduling? That's the worry. When you are playing in a conference you have four or five bottom-feeders. You don't need to defend why you are playing the Air Force's and New Mexico's of the world. Now, BYU gets criticized when they play those bottom-feeders. You have to have four or five must-win games that you don't even have to worry about.

Suspicions confirmed, Taysom Hill is the starter

Shepherd: The good news is he's 100 percent. Bronco said, "Taysom would probably say 95 percent." The fact that he has another month before fall camp starts and another month before the season, he has no problems saying he'll be ready to go.

Noriega: Taysom says he can get faster, but he needs to get in better shape to get faster, without being hampered by injuries. He hasn't been able to push it, he hasn't been able to train like he wants to train — that's the 95 percent. His body is 100%.

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