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Cougar Sportsline, Vol. 28, Issue 1
by hb arnett 06 Aug '07

06 Aug '07

HB Arnett's COUGAR SPORTSLINE 801 372 0819 hbarnett(a)fiber.net and hbarnett@xmission <mailto:hbarnett@xmission.com> PO Box 50424 Provo, Utah 84605 Vol. 28, Issue 1, August 6, 2007 Click <http://www.cougarstreet.com/products/index.php?type-450&PCID=450:0:0:0:0> Here To Order Or Renew Your Subscriptions As a subscriber you are allowed to access our new blog. You can view it by going to www.cougarsportsline.blogspot.com <http://www.cougarsportsline.blogspot.com/> Just a reminder that we are now sending the newsletter via two separate email accounts to help solve distribution issues that many subscribers experienced last year. That means you may receive two identical letters. If that is the case, please just discard the extra. IT'S REALLY JUST A THREE-GAME SEASON The problem with Bronco raising the bar for BYU football is that he has also raised the expectations of Cougar fans. The 2007 season shows 12 games to be played by BYU. But with the bar raised, it is really just a 3 game season within a season that will make or break BYU football this year. How Bronco and his boys do in these three games will determine if BYU fans remain invested, invigorated and interested. Let's break down the schedule and see if you don't agree. The three games that really matter include one at the start of the season and two at the end of the season. In between is just busy work. Let's start with the busy work which totals eight games. They include five games on the road against Tulsa, New Mexico, UNLV, San Diego State and Wyoming. It also features Air Force, Eastern Washington and Colorado State at home in Provo. We can count at least 5 absolute gimme games against this group. Quite frankly, anything less than a 7-1 mark against these opponents would be extremely disappointing. If we had to pick a loss here, we would most likely check the weather forecast for a possible blizzard in Laramie in November or a quarterback in Albuquerque. If either of those things occur, BYU could stumble at either locale. Loss in Los Angeles We have already penciled in a loss to UCLA. The Cougars and Bruins will face off in the Rose Bowl on Sept. 8. With a loss to the Bruins and a law of averages loss to some team in the busy work section of the schedule, that puts the Cougars on track to a repeat record of 11-2. That means the meat and potatoes of the season and the measuring stick of the program in 2007 will be determined against the three remaining teams on the schedule. That would be Arizona on September 1 to start the season and TCU and Utah to close out the year in November. All three games are in Provo, and in our opinion, those three contests will make or break BYU football's 2007 season. Nobody really knows how good BYU will be this year. On paper, it looks promising, but in the history books, it looks suspect. When BYU rolls out a new quarterback, it has not been a banner year. The lone exception to that rule is 1984 when Robbie Bosco, in his first year as a starter, led BYU to a national championship. We like Max Hall, but we would like him better if he had actually taken a snap in a Division I football game. That is our early assessment of the season, but we expect it to change as fall camp unfolds and there is actually something to evaluate and report. Those assessments will start in next week's letter after BYU has a week of practice under its belt. FOOTBALL FLUFF AND STUFF Since Bronco Mendenhall has injected a little ecclesiastical element into the football program, so will we. We have a subscriber from Salt Lake that is a die-hard Utah fan. This guy is born and bred in Utah, but is not LDS. He is very successful in business and has many associates and friends that are LDS. Why he takes the letter is still puzzling, but we have had many interesting and enjoyable conversations during the years. The best came just last week when he confessed that after watching the BYU-Utah game last year and repeatedly being subjected to replays of the Beck-to-Harline finish, he finally can comprehend the LDS doctrinal concept of "time and all eternity". In case you missed it, Bronco Mendenhall was given a contract extension and pay raise by BYU. We thought BYU paying market value for a coach was a sure sign of the last days, but then we remembered that BYU administrators were probably just complying with the new minimum wage standards that went into effect last month. Bronco did a very nice job giving LDS firesides around the West earlier this year. Kyle Whittingham has followed suit. Well not exactly, but Whittingham and his family spoke in Sacrament meeting just a two weeks ago in their new ward where they recently moved. Again, according to a subscriber and former mission president who lives in that ward, they did a very good job. We know we are in a BYU minority in this opinion, but Whittingham is actually a very good coach and a very good guy. We now rejoin the BYU majority, however, because we still hope he loses every game he coaches at Utah. The fact that BYU plays Arizona to begin the season opens a few old officiating wounds for some Cougar fans. The Matt Allen td reception that was called offensive pass interference in Tucson last year comes to mind. It was a Pac 10 crew that worked that game. Pac 10 officials won't be working the game again in Provo, but apparently it won't be a MWC crew either. The officials will be from the Big 12. We have a family connection with one of the crew that will be working the UofA-BYU game. He lives in Nebraska and is a Big 12 official. A few years back, he also worked a Utah-Arizona game in Salt Lake. We don't know, but would be willing to bet that either Arizona or the Pac 10 in general have a clause in their game contracts with the MWC that calls for Pac 10 officials when the games are played at their venues and non-MWC officials when the venues are in the MWC. Just a guess. Ty Detmer will have his number retired during halftime of the BYU-Arizona game. Gifford Nielsen will also be honored in the same ceremony. Both wore #14 while playing for the Cougars. TELEVISION TIMETABLE BYU vs. Arizona Saturday, Sept. 1 at Provo Kickoff: 3:30 pm, Mountain Time TV: Versus Network BYU vs. UCLA Saturday, Sept. 8 at Pasadena Kickoff: 4:30 pm Mountain Time TV: Versus Network BYU vs. Tulsa Saturday, Sept. 14 at Tulsa Kickoff: 7:00 pm Mountain Time TV: CSTV SUMMER SUMMARY OF BYU BASKETBALL Now that BYU started football camp last Saturday, you can expect the next newsletters to be all football, all the time. It will take about a week and several days of practice before there is anything real to write. Before we do, now seems like a good time to catch up on BYU Basketball during the summer. The months of April and July are actually the two most critical months when it comes to recruiting. Forget the high school basketball seasons. They mean very little these days. When it comes to recruiting and evaluation and deciding who will get precious scholarships, that was basically decided last month during the AAU tournaments held around the country. Summer Squatting If you want know where BYU's recruiting interest lies for the future, all you need to do is follow Dave Rose around in July and see which summer tournament games he attends. The last two weeks of July says plenty about where Rose and BYU's focus is in recruiting. He and his assistant coaches attended every game of 6-9 Jeremy Olsen. He is at Collins Hills HS in Atlanta and will be a junior this coming season. This LDS prospect was playing on the Worldwide Renegades AAU team. He was also playing against some of the elite AAU teams in the country. It was a little hard to get a handle on him because in the three games we saw, he probably had less than ten touches. His teammates were reluctant to get him the ball. He does have a mid-range game, but against the elite athletes we saw, he is a mediocre rebounder and has some serious defensive liabilities against bigs who have quickness. That said, he is a player who would flourish at BYU. His recruitment will not be a slam dunk. He has programs like Ole Miss, Xavier and Utah involved. In games we saw he had at least one of his family entourage who attended the games in Las Vegas wearing a t-shirt that said, "Friends don't let Friends Go To BYU" Michael Boswell is another 6-9 player that BYU bird-dogged in Las Vegas. He is from Aloha HS in Beaverton, OR. He played for the Oregon Rebels. We can see why BYU is interested, but we thought he played soft. Hot On Haws There is no question that BYU's biggest recruiting target for the near future will be Tyler Haws, the 6-5 guard from Lone Peak HS in Highland, UT. The reports we get is that both BYU and Utah have already offered scholarships. His summer play include a Lone Peak team stop at North Carolina and appearances in Long Beach and a late stop in Las Vegas in July where Dave Rose was front and center for all seven games. Of course so was Jim Boylen, the new coach of Utah. Haws also spent time this summer at Ben Howland's UCLA camp and the Bruins have been on Haws' heels since. Haws will be a junior this coming season and based on his play this summer, will definitely end up being a national recruit. He was at his best late in July when he played for the Salt Lake Metro Prospects in Hal Pastner's Las Vegas Summer Classic. The SL Metro team had just seven players, four from Lone Peak HS and three from Pleasant Grove HS. They were coached by Marty Haws, the former Cougar basketball player and father of Tyler. They breezed through pool play without breaking a sweat and then dominated in bracket play, which is basically a one and done tournament which featured all other undefeated teams from their respective pools. Playing in the top Platinum bracket, they defeated the Fairfield Ballers from Northern California 75-67, beat a very talented Arizona Stars Bibby team from Arizona 95-84 and also whipped a good local Las Vegas team in Dogcatchers Elite 87-78. That got them to the championship game against Cecil-Kirk, a team from Baltimore. Salt Lake Metro, after having a 60-49 lead midway in the second half, eventually lost 83-85 in double overtime. Because of only having seven players and experiencing foul problems, they played the second overtime with just four players on the court. Here are Haws' stats for those last four games: Ballers; 3pt=0-0, 2pt=10-17, FT=4-6, Total Pts=24, Rebs=4 Arizona; 3pt=0-2, 2pt=18-28, FT=11-14, Total Pts=47, Rebs=11 Las Vegas; 3Pt=2-5, 2pt=13-23, FT=3-5, Total Pts=35, Rebs=15 Baltimore; 3pt=0-0, 2pt=14-22, FT=5-11, Total Pts=33, Rebs=9 The players from Lone Peak HS on the Salt Lake Metro Prospects team included Haws, Josh Sharp, Kimball Payne and Nate Austin. Austin reportedly played well enough in Las Vegas and other AAU venues to make himself a prospect. He will be a junior this coming season. He is thin, but being 6-10 makes him interesting. Keep your eye on him. Another Lone Peak player made himself a Division I prospect this spring with his play. Justin Hamilton played a lot in the spring, but his summer play was limited because he accompanied his mother, who is Serbian, to visit family overseas and won't be back until school starts. Hamilton will be a senior at Lone Peak this coming season. He is also 6-10. Also on the Salt Lake Metro Prospects team were C.J. Wilcox and his cousin, LeSean Wilcox from Pleasant Grove HS. Both played well in Las Vegas. They are both juniors this coming year. C.J. is the son of former Cougar basketball player Craig Wilcox. He signed out of Georgia and played for Roger Reid. C.J. is 6-4 and LeSean is 5-10. While this appears to be a lean 2008 recruiting class for LDS basketball prospects, there is no question that it picks up dramatically from here with top junior LDS prospects Haws and Olsen. Throw in Sean Carey of Bountiful, whom BYU coaches also watched this summer and the future is bright. You can even go one class deeper to find top notch LDS prospects. BYU spent time watching and have already expressed major interest in a player who has yet to play a minute of high school basketball. Last year Jordan McLelland, a 6-3 shooting guard, played at Stapley Jr. High in Mesa, AZ. This year he will be a sophomore at Mountain View HS. He has already made a name for himself this past spring and summer while playing for the Arizona Magic Blue AAU team. BYU, Utah and Stanford are all currently involved. European Tour Dave Rose and his BYU basketball squad will embark later this month for France and a ten-day exhibition tour. This is part of the NCAA rule that allows teams to tour internationally once every four years. Rose will take his staff and seven players. New incoming recruits or those who have never been on the roster are not allowed to participate. Those headed to France include Trent Plaisted, Jonathan Tavernari, Lee Cummard, Gavin MacGregor, Sam Burgess, Ben Murdock and Chris Miles. Vuk Ivanovic could go, but he opted to play for the Serbian National team this summer and forgo the trip to France. Miles returned last Wednesday from his LDS mission to Seattle. He was able to be released about a month early from his normal release date to help get back in shape and make the trip. Miles, a 6-10 post player saw significant minutes as a freshman in 2004-05. There had been some rumblings that he was not happy at BYU during his freshman year and even some talk that he might return and enroll elsewhere, but the hiring of Dave Rose and the success the Cougars have enjoyed in Rose's first two season, cured all those potential problems. The trip to France is nice, but the main benefit for BYU is that it allows the team to officially practice with coaches in preparation for the trip. Official practices normally don't get underway until October. Because the official practices cannot involve new incoming recruits, and because the Cougars only have seven players, former Cougars have been recruited to help scrimmage and participate in practice. Jimmy Balderson, Mike Hall, Keena Young, and Derek Dawes are just a few former Cougars who are helping out with practices. New Recruits There are eight new recruits that are already on campus who have been playing in organized pickup games. Most of those eight recruits have already been enrolled in school for this last summer semester. Only six will show up on the official roster because they are on scholarship, but two others are here and participating as invited walkons. The six new players with scholarships include Chris Miles, a 6-11 post from Timpview HS in Provo (Okay, he is a returning player from an LDS mission who played as a true frosh), James Anderson, a 7-0 post player who signed two years ago out of Page HS in AZ and just enrolled for the first time after serving an LDS mission and Chris Collinsworth, a 6-9 forward from Provo HS. He signed with the Cougars last fall during the early signing period. Lamont Morgan, a 5-10 point guard from Saddleback JC in California, also signed early with the Cougars last November. The two remaining scholarship players include Archie Rose, a 6-5 wing from the Bahamas. He signed this past spring after playing two seasons of juco ball. His first year was spent at Northeast Colorado in Sterling, CO and his sophomore year was at Lee JC in Baytown, TX. Rose also spent this past season at Baytown, getting his academics in order to facilitate his moving on to Division I basketball. Consequently, he has no redshirt remaining. The last scholarship player is Michael Lloyd, a 6-2 guard from Palo Verde HS in Las Vegas. The two non-scholarship players who have been participating in workouts are Matt Pinegar, a 6-2 guard from Timpview HS, and Nick Martineau, a 6-1 point guard from Davis HS. Pinegar is returning from an LDS mission and Martineau will play as a non-scholarship walkon this year, go on an LDS mission and then return to play with a grant-in-aid. Impressions We have watched the newcomers play this summer in pickup games against the returning players. Here are some of our evaluations. We have always like what we saw of Jimmer Fredette on tape. We weren't disappointed in person. He has tried to fit in and curtailed his shooting attempts, but our scouting report on him remains the same. He has great range on his outside shot and can also create his own shot. He is strong and can also get to the basket. He will play this year. Chris Collinsworth has been able to consistently hit a mid-range jump shot this summer. That ability will make him a very good player because he can post up, run the floor and has some athleticism for his size. The sleeper and surprise for us is Archie Rose. This guy is a player and will see minutes this year. He has some size for a guard and is strong going to the basket. Our biggest surprise was how well he shoots it from outside. In our opinion, this guy is the surprise of the recruiting class. Michael Lloyd and Lamont Morgan are both guys who will struggle offensively, but both can penetrate and get to the basket. Their playing time will be situational and depend on how well they can defend opposing guards with quickness.

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Get A Free 1/2 Year Subscription to Cougar Sportsline
by hb arnett 03 Aug '07

03 Aug '07

Let Bronco and BYU Help Pay For Your Subscription Last year BYU football had a terrific season, going 11-2 on the year. After that fantastic finish, Bronco Mendenhall told Cougar fans that the best was yet to come. If he is right, his prediction could help pay for your Cougar Sportsline subscription. Here is how it works If Bronco and the Cougars can duplicate or surpass last season's football record, we will give you a free one-half year subscription to Cougar Sportsline. That means 20 free issues of our weekly newsletter and 20 weeks of free access to our Cougar Sportsline Blog. For you to be eligible to cash in on another great BYU football season, all you need to do is order, renew or extend a current subscription with our new half-year subscription for 20 issues. This new half-year subscription will only be available during the month of August and costs $25. The Cougars have 12 regular season games and bowl game in front of them. If BYU goes 11-2 or better in this new 2007 football season, we will add an additional one-half year or 20 issues to your subscription and 20 weeks to your blog access at no additional charge. You do the math. If BYU has another great year, that means you get a full year subscription for half price. That's right! You have nothing to lose and plenty to root for this coming football season. You get the 20 issues you paid for when you renew, order or extend with our special half-year subscription, and if BYU duplicates or betters last season's 11-2 football record, you get another half year subscription free. This really is our best offer yet! Even if Bronco's prediction of the better things to come doesn't happen this year, and BYU doesn't win 11 or more games, you can still cash in on the Cougars. If BYU only wins 9 or 10 games, we will still give you 10 free issues to add to your subscription. Order, renew or extend for a half-year Cougar Sportsline subscription now for just $25 and let Bronco and BYU win you another one-half year free. You believe in Bronco. Why not let him and his team pay for part of your subscription? The more they win, the more free issues and blog access you receive. Order today online by Clicking <http://www.cougarstreet.com/products/index.php?type=450&PCID=450:0:0:0:0> Here. You can also send a check or credit card to: Cougar Sportsline PO Box 50424 Provo, UT 84605 Or call 801 372 0819 This one-time offer expires August 31, 2007

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Let Bronco and BYU Help
by hb arnett 31 Jul '07

31 Jul '07

We are starting our weekly publication schedule again for the newsletter. Our first issue for the new year will go out this coming Monday, August 6. The blog will also begin updating more frequently now that football season is here. Also, below you will find our latest subscription offer for those who need to renew or just want to take advantage of this great deal. Thanks and see you Monday, hb Let Bronco and BYU Help Pay For Your Subscription Last year BYU football had a terrific season, going 11-2 on the year. After that fantastic finish, Bronco Mendenhall told Cougar fans that the best was yet to come. If he is right, his prediction could help pay for your Cougar Sportsline subscription. Here is how it works If Bronco and the Cougars can duplicate or surpass last season's football record, we will give you a free one-half year subscription to Cougar Sportsline. That means 20 free issues of our weekly newsletter and 20 weeks of free access to our Cougar Sportsline Blog. For you to be eligible to cash in on another great BYU football season, all you need to do is order, renew or extend a current subscription with our new half-year subscription for 20 issues. This new half-year subscription will only be available during the month of August and costs $25. The Cougars have 12 regular season games and bowl game in front of them. If BYU goes 11-2 or better in this new 2007 football season, we will add an additional one-half year or 20 issues to your subscription and 20 weeks to your blog access at no additional charge. You do the math. If BYU has another great year, that means you get a full year subscription for half price. That's right! You have nothing to lose and plenty to root for this coming football season. You get the 20 issues you paid for when you renew, order or extend with our special half-year subscription, and if BYU duplicates or betters last season's 11-2 football record, you get another half year subscription free. This really is our best offer yet! Even if Bronco's prediction of the better things to come doesn't happen this year, and BYU doesn't win 11 or more games, you can still cash in on the Cougars. If BYU only wins 9 or 10 games, we will still give you 10 free issues to add to your subscription. Order, renew or extend for a half-year Cougar Sportsline subscription now for just $25 and let Bronco and BYU win you another one-half year free. You believe in Bronco. Why not let him and his team pay for part of your subscription? The more they win, the more free issues and blog access you receive. Order today online by Clicking <http://www.cougarstreet.com/products/index.php?type=450&PCID=450:0:0:0:0> Here. You can also send a check or credit card to: Cougar Sportsline PO Box 50424 Provo, UT 84605 Or call 801 372 0819 This one-time offer expires August 31, 2007

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Save One For Shak and More Big Ben and Hartsock
by hb arnett 12 Jul '07

12 Jul '07

We have updated our Cougar Sportsline blog. Go to www.cougarsportsline.blogspot.com <http://www.cougarsportsline.blogspot.com/> to see the latest updates hb

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Free Access To BYU Blog
by hb arnett 11 Jul '07

11 Jul '07

Dear Former Subscriber, Since you last subscribed to Cougar Sportsline, we have made some additions to the newsletter. It now includes an on-line blog which features videos, photos and updated and timely information. Access to this blog is limited to those who have current subscriptions to the newsletter. You already know about the newsletter which is published 40 times a year, beginning with the start of fall BYU football camp. You probably are unfamiliar with the blog, so we are giving you a free limited-time look. Go to www.broncom.blogspot.com <http://www.broncom.blogspot.com/> and see what you think. We think you will like it. Be sure to check out the archives on the left hand side of the blog to view all of our previous posts. To insure you receive all future issues of the newsletter and other updates, videos and postings on our blog, which is free to subscribers of the newsletter, Click <http://www.cougarstreet.com/products/index.php?type=450&PCID=450:0:0:0:0> Here To Renew. If you prefer, you can email us a credit card or send a check to the address listed below. You can also give us a call. The cost of a subscription, which includes yearly access to the blog, still remains $50 per year or $90 for two years. Thanks, HB Cougar Sportsline PO Box 50424 Provo, Utah 84605 801 372 0819 hbarnett(a)fiber.net

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Big Ben and BYU Bigs
by hb arnett 10 Jul '07

10 Jul '07

We have updated the blog again. In case you forgot, to access the Cougar Sportsline blog go to www.cougarsportsline.blogspot.com <http://www.cougarsportsline.blogspot.com/> Then use byublog as the user name and lavell as the password. You might have a little problem if you had an existing Google account that you were using to access the blog. If so, go to Google.com and sign out of that account. Then go to www.cougarsportsline.blogspot.com <http://www.cougarsportsline.blogspot.com/> and use byublog as the username and lavell as the password. hb

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We have updated the Cougar Sportsline Blog
by hb arnett 06 Jul '07

06 Jul '07

Dear Cougar Sportsline subscriber, We are still having some subscribers that are having trouble accessing our Cougar Sportsline Blog. The address is www.cougarsportsline.blogspot.com <http://www.cougarsportsline.blogspot.com/> Once there, it will require a user name and password. The user name is: byublog or you can also use byublog1 (the 1 at the end is the numeral one, not a letter.) The password is: lavell ( as in the former BYU football coach) All are lower case. Many of you already had Google accounts you were using to access the blog. Those will no longer work. Beginning now, your user name is: byublog and your password is: lavell If you are one of those still having problems accessing the blog, Click <https://www.blogger.com/blogin.g?blogspotURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cougarsportsl ine.blogspot.com%2F> Here. This should take you directly to the login. You still need to put in the user name and password, which is still byublog for the user name and lavell for the password. We have added another update today for your perusal. Thanks, hb

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Easier Access To Our Blog and Duplicate Newsletters
by hb arnett 05 Jul '07

05 Jul '07

Some subscribers have e-mailed with concerns about receiving 2 copies of the newsletter. They are worried that they have duplicate accounts etc. We mentioned a while back that we are now sending the letter from two separate mailing lists from two different ISP's to insure more consistent delivery. Both letters are identical. Just delete one. As for the Cougar Sportsline Blog, we are still tweaking the access to it. As a subscriber to the newsletter, you are entitled to access to the blog. If you are a current subscriber, you no longer have to be invited to view the blog or register with a google account. We have done that for you. All you need to do is go to the website at www.cougarsportsline.blogspot.com <http://www.cougarsportsline.blogspot.com/> We suggest you save it in your favorites list. Once there, it still requires a user name and password. Use the following: USER NAME: byublog1(a)gmail.com PASSWORD: lavell Write this down and don't lose it. Once we start our regular publication schedule in August, we will send out a new password with each weekly newsletter. We will also occasionally send out a new user name also.

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Cougar Sportsline, Vol. 27, Issue 40
by hb arnett 02 Jul '07

02 Jul '07

HB Arnett's COUGAR SPORTSLINE 801 372 0819 hbarnett(a)fiber.net and hbarnett@xmission <mailto:hbarnett@xmission.com> PO Box 50424 Provo, Utah 84605 Vol. 27, Issue 40, July 2, 2007 Click <http://www.cougarstreet.com/products/index.php?type-450&PCID=450:0:0:0:0> Here To Order Or Renew Your Subscriptions WHAT MENDENHALL HAS DONE IN JUST TWO SEASONS REALLY IS AMAZING It is no secret that we were highly skeptical of Bronco Mendenhall and his unique approach to running the BYU football program when he was first hired. We really didn't think it would fly. It looks like we were wrong. We started to realize that this guy may be for real when he did something that very few other coaches have done or would ever do. He threw his baby out with the bathwater last season when he scrapped his personal preference for his 3-3-5 defense and chucked it for the benefit of his team. That showed us that this guy may really be head coach material. Here are other things that he has done in just two years that appears to have BYU on the fast track to success. He established discipline. This was something that was lacking for the last 10 years. He brought former players into the program and let them embrace their heritage and legacy. With their involvement, he created a recruiting network with those same former players and has them involved in locating players all across the country that will fit the new BYU football mold. More Palatable He has been proactive in the public relations department. "Violation of team rules" certainly sounds more palatable to the public than "Honor Code" violations. The only time you ever hear that phrase used any more is when it is mandatory because something has hit the police blotter. The biggest thing that he has accomplished, however, in our opinion, is that he has taken what was the biggest weakness of the BYU football program and made it the strength of the program. Stay with us on this one and let us explain. Until Mendenhall, in our opinion, the biggest weakness of the program was its affiliation with the LDS Church and the concomitant code of code for athletes that came with it. This is not a debate about The Church and its beliefs, tenets and teachings, it is about how in the past they realistically made recruiting very talented football players, both LDS and non LDS an extremely difficult proposition for BYU football. It is amazing that in just two short years, Mendenhall has now branded BYU as a premium product because of those same perceived liabilities. The school of management doesn't have to look very far for a good case study for their students. Nature of Business BYU won't always win 11 games each season. We can guarantee that there will be years when fans start to wonder just how good of a coach Mendenhall really is. That is the nature of the business and his coaching acumen will fluctuate with the win-loss record. But while there will be occasional doubts concerning his coaching abilities, based on what he has done so far, there should be no doubts about his marketing abilities. Fans and supporters are embracing his stoicism and steadfastness. With his foray into summer firesides and his exceptional organization of his summer camps, he has somehow found a way to successfully couch Cougar football within the parameters of the Church. People have been waiting an entire lifetime for this. Mendenhall's approach to BYU football and the 11-2 season last year has given him a lot of football capital in the bank. We see that capital for the Cougars increasing. All Mendenhall has to do is consistently win 7-8 games a season and then about every third or fourth year, when he has a senior dominated team with a proven quarterback, turn in a big 10 or 11 win year. That is a formula that will give Mendenhall leg up on becoming a legend and also put some real money in his personal bank account. In our opinion, this year Mendenhall will have a seasoned and veteran team, but he doesn't have a proven quarterback. Seven or eight wins is how we see it, with the big money to be made the following year by BYU in the 2008 season. RECRUITING RIVER KEEPS RISING BYU added another five verbal commitments since our last newsletter. They include: Shiloah Te'o, 5-11, 190, Safety, Kahuku HS, HI Seta Pohahau, 6-0, 205, RB, Aragon HS, CA Brock Stringham, 6-6, 280, OL, Mountain Vista HS, CO Garrett Nicholson, 5-10, 180, DB, West HS, UT C.J. Santiago, 6-2, 215, punter, Orange Coast College, CA That brings the total of early commitments to 18. Others that have already given a verbal include: Kevan Bills, 6-3, 225 LB, Timpview HS, UT Jesse Taufi, 6-5, 330, OL, Long Beach City College, CA...Returned LDS missionary Masi Tuitama, 6-2, 210, LB, Pacifica HS, CA. Michael Alisa, 6-2, 210, LB, Timpview HS, UT. Atem Bol, 6-2, 205, WR, Bell HS, TX. Michael Yeck, 6-8, 260 OL, Keller HS, TX. Tolu Moala, 6-1, 230, LB, El Camino JC, CA, Returned LDS missionary Tevita Hola, 6-1, 310, DT, Snow College, Returned LDS missionary Jerry Bruner, 6-3, 225, RB/LB, Evergreen HS, Vancouver, WA Daniel Sorensen, 6-1, 200 Safety, Colton HS, CA Cameron Comer, 6-1, 180, DB, Springville HS, UT Justin Sorensen, 6-2, 215, K, Bingham HS, UT Austin Holt, 6-5, 230, TE, Bingham HS, UT Three Sophomore Commits BYU already has 3 commitments fro the 2009 recruiting class. They include: Adam Timo, 6-1, 175, RB, Snow Canyon HS, UT Jray Galeai, 6-0,185, Safety, Timpview/Kahuku HS Craig Bills, 6-2, 190, Safety, Timpview HS, UT REINING IN THE RECRUITING REVERIE If you haven't been keeping track, BYU already has 18 verbal commitments in the fold for the 2008 football recruiting year. They have at least three commitments in the bag for the 2009 recruiting class. This follows the new recruiting model instituted by Bronco Mendenhall beginning last year when he made a concentrated push to offer scholarships early and then get those early commitments. Bronco's method involves targeting recruits that can meet his stringent criteria for those who will represent the BYU football program, the university and the LDS Church. Recruiting has never looked so rosy. BYU fans have never been more excited. The model appears to be succeeding in all areas, except one, which remains to be proven. Based on what we have seen on paper, it is highly likely that this last test will also be passed, but in reality, no one really knows. We should start to get a clearer picture this season. The one question that seems to be forgotten is can any of these new Bronco recruits play? Coming off a remarkable 11-2 MWC championship season and a glittering Las Vegas Bowl win over Oregon, the sun is shining brightly on Mendenhall and the BYU Football program. The biggest evidence of that is the demand for tickets. Bought The Model We have bought into the infrastructure and organizational model that Mendenhall has instituted. How could you not be impressed? Before we go totally giddy and gaga, however, we still want to exercise some due diligence and see one or two more seasons of the system in action. That is because we still hold to our number one principle of college football: It is all about the players. If you don't have enough good ones, performing at a high enough level, you won't consistently win. BYU and Bronco Mendenhall certainly had enough good players performing at a high level last season. It turned what had been a four-year disaster into a fairy tale season. We give Mendenhall credit for working his magic with those players last season. Now we want to see him work that same magic in the next season or two, with his own players. Nobody wants to rain on the parade, but the magic of last year was accomplished almost entirely with Gary Crowton's players. It probably is a testament to how good a coach Mendenhall really is that he was able to take players that had underachieved and made them big winners. We think there is some validity to that, but we also think you have to keep talented players in the equation. Urban Meyer reaped the benefit of players left in the cupboard by Ron McBride at Utah. He rode those players to two big seasons and a BCS bonanza at Florida. We would have loved to see if he could have maintained that same level at Utah with players that he and his staff recruited. We will never know. We will know, however, in about two seasons, just how Mendenhall will fare with a roster of only players he has recruited. On Paper Again on paper, it is very exciting, but on the field, we still know nothing. That will start to change slightly this coming season and then we can truly judge whether we should fasten our seatbelt on the BYU bandwagon. Here is list of players from last year's championship team on both offense and defense that were all recruited and signed by Gary Crowton or walked on during his tenure: John Beck, Fui Vakapuna, Curtis Brown, Jonny Harline, Daniel Coats, Michael Reed, Matt Allen, Nate Meikle, Bryce Mahuika, Zac Collie, Dallas Reynolds, Ray Feinga, Jake Kuresa, Travis Bright. Only Sete Aulai, Mckay Jacobson and Manase Tonga, on offense, were signed by the new staff. On defense, we had some promising glimpses of Mendenhall recruits. Almost the entire defensive line was his. Ian Dulan, Romney Fuga, Jan Jorgensen and Russell Tialvea were all early Mendenhall recruits. The linebackers were almost all holdovers from the Crowton era. Cam Jensen, David Nixon, Bryan Kehl, Aaron Wagner and Markell Staffieri were Crowton guys. Kelly Poppinga came in under Mendenhall. The starting safeties from last year, Dustin Gabriel and Quinn Gooch were Crowton guys, while the corners, Justin Robinson and Ben Criddle started their BYU careers with Mendenhall. We definitely feel that recruiting under Mendenhall looks promising and maybe even a little exhilarating, but it still lacks two more years before it is proven. That will be done by the players on the field. It's A No Brainer, Cade Cooper Transfers Cade Cooper, the highly-touted jc quarterback transfer from Snow College in Utah, has decided to transfer again. It was a no-brainer. Cooper, who enrolled at BYU in January, will not be in the program this fall. Where he lands is still up in the air, but why he transferred isn't hard to figure out. He battled Max Hall for the starting job this past spring. He came in second. He still may have had a chance at unseating Hall this fall, but when he seriously injured his foot during the spring game, those chances went out the window. Instead, Cooper will be rehabilitating his foot this coming season at another school. Had Cooper been a John Elway or Tom Brady type qb, he may have been able to give Hall a run for his money in 2008, but he is no John Elway. He is good, but not an elite quarterback. For that matter, neither is Hall or his new backup Brendan Gaskins. There is no way that Cooper, coming off an injury and missing a year was going to overtake Hall or Gaskins, both of whom were going to gain a year of D-1 experience over Cooper. These are all competitive guys and they all want to play. It wasn't hard to read the cards and see that barring injuries to Hall and Gaskins, Cooper wasn't going to be in the BYU qb picture. It was a bad break, literally, that cost Cooper, but in our opinion, he is doing what is best for him and his departure from the program will have no impact this fall or beyond. Attrition in any program, including BYU's, is normal, but when that attrition is a quarterback, it attracts attention. BYU has had its share of qb attrition, especially this season. Besides Cooper, Jacob Bower also left the program and will play a year at Bakersfield JC and them more than likely surface again in 2008 at another Division I program. Before Cooper and Bower, it was Ben Olson transferring to UCLA. Other BYU qbs to transfer from Provo to other schools over the years are Drew Miller, to Montana, and Todd Mortensen to University of San Diego. Attrition at quarterback is normal for BYU. Here are some other quarterbacks that signed with the Cougars and didn't last: Kevin Gilbride, Lance Pendleton, Danny Southwick, Paul Shoemaker, Brian Vye and Gym Kimball. FOOTBALL FLUFF AND STUFF BYU released its fall roster last week. We noticed they have already switched incoming freshman Eathyn Manumaleuna from the offensive line to the defensive line. That says to us that there could still be some depth issues at that position. Manumaleuna will join David Angilau as the other freshman defensive lineman joining the team this year. BYU signed Star Lotulelei this February as a defensive lineman, but he isn't on the roster. There is no official word on why he isn't on the roster, but there were some previous concerns about him qualifying academically. There was some hope that Matangi Tong, the talented lineman and brother of running back Manase Tonga, would be back on the team this fall after some "violation of team rules" problems earlier this year. We would be willing to bet a bag of ipods that he won't be back this fall or any time soon. We are also not holding out any hope for Brian Soi and his academic issues. Of the most recent recruiting class, seven signees will be serving LDS missions before enrolling in school. They include; Famika Anae, Braden Brown, Aveni Leung Wai, Devin Mahina, Marcus Mathews and Houston Reynolds. Despite having plenty of recruiting suitors from the Pac 10, Big Twelve and other BCS teams, we have people telling us now that Sausan Shakerin, the extremely talented running back prospect from Alta HS in Sandy, UT, will likely stay in the state to play his college football. Those same people are now telling us that he will either choose Utah or BYU. We still think he is a long shot for the Cougars to land, but he certainly is worth the effort BYU has and continues to put forth in trying to land him. BASKETBALL BRIEFS Dave Rose announced that Terry Nashif will replace Walter Roese as a new assistant coach for the BYU basketball team. Nashif had been the director of basketball operations. His spot was recently filled by Tim LaComb, who comes from Utah where he worked in similar capacities for former Utah coach Ray Giacolleti. Mike Hall, the former Cougar player, was also interested in that job, but it went to LaComb, who also served as a manager for Rick Majerus. BYU has announced its non-conference schedule for the coming season. Sat Nov 10 Long Beach State at Long Beach Wed Nov 14 Idaho State at Provo Fri Nov 16 Jackson State at Provo Tue Nov 20 Hartford at Provo Fri Nov 23 Louisville at Las Vegas Sat Nov 24 either North Carolina or ODU at Las Vegas Sat Dec 1 Portland at Portland Wed Dec 5 Weber State at Provo Sat Dec 8 Michigan State at Salt Lake Wed Dec 12 Lamar at Provo Sat Dec 15 Pepperdine at Provo Fri Dec 21 Southern Utah at Provo Sat Dec 29 Boise State at Boise Thu Jan 3 Loyola Marymount at Provo Tue Jan 8 Wake Forest at Winston-Salem You might notice that Utah State is not on the schedule. It looks like Dave Rose won this scheduling war with the Aggies. He wanted to play them in Salt Lake City instead of going to Logan again. That is what will happen. BYU and USU will face each other in 2008 at Energy Solutions Arena. In 2009, they will play in Logan and then again in Provo in 2010.

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It Only Takes Two Clicks!
by hb arnett 21 Jun '07

21 Jun '07

It Only Takes Two Clicks! Now you can see for yourself if our new Cougar Sportsline Squared blog is any good and something you might be interested in. All it takes is two clicks. CLICK HERE <http://www.maxcast.com/ssquared> to see snippets of some of the videos we have on our new blog, which is separate from our regular Cougar Sportsline newsletter. It's a free look and will give you an idea of what you are missing. If you like what you see, CLICK <http://www.cougarstreet.com/products/index.php?type=450&PCID=450:0:0:0:0> HERE to subscribe and get your private user name and password and a one-year access to the blog It is only $29.95 per year. And best of all, we have a money back guarantee. If after 60 days you don't think it is worth it, just let us know and we will gladly refund you money. Remember, it is a no lose situation. If, after two months, you are dissatisfied for any reason, just say the word and we will gladly refund your money.

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