BYU Cougars College Football Pregame Quote, 08/26/2019

On opening the season against Utah:

It’s done its purpose in giving a sense of urgency to our players. I don’t know if we’ve ever felt this strongly about an opening game, but I think more than anything, I want our guys to remember what it’s like, so we had to simulate during this offseason preparation and try to get that feeling every year. I love the response our players have been giving, the ownership and leadership that we’ve seen. I’m really excited for the season and it just happens to be against Utah this Thursday, so I’m really excited about 2019.

On the team’s success in past season openers:

The first thing that comes to mind is health. If you’re looking at it from that statistic of winning 9 out of 10 season openers, it’s the fact that we have time to get everyone ready. For everyone coming off of offseason conditioning, surgeries and anyone that has any issues going on with their bodies, they can get that ready. The goal is to be ready by the time we open up for camp and then work at camp a little bit so they can get ready for the season. That’s for the guys that are recovering. For the most part, everyone uses that as a goal to get their body to 100 percent if possible. That weighs a lot into it, but we have to be able to do it 12 times. That’s what I’m focused on trying to simulate so we can give the best performance and be the best BYU that we possibly can this fall. It starts with the first game and hopefully it gets us the results that we want. Hopefully we can simulate that and do it every week from there on out.

On the plan for naming captains:

We have a large group of leaders on this team. I looked at a lot of different organizations and the team votes matters, but as you’re looking at the voting on our team, they would vote the same guys that I think are leading the team already. I don’t want to limit it to four people, our leadership group will decide the four that will go out there for the coin toss. I look at the structure of the military and things like that. They don’t vote to see who’s going to be in ranks, they assign them, and right now I have assigned a lot of leaders that have taken the initiative and become leaders themselves. They’ll be the captains and they’ll be the ones to decide who goes up for the coin toss. I’m just really pleased with the amount of leaders that we have on this time, young and old, and we’ll just keep building on that.

On if this game will define the season:

No, the season is 12 games long with the opportunity to earn more games. I don’t really focus on end result as I do the process and enjoying the opportunity to make memories. Sometimes you are so fixated on the result that you forget to stop and smell the roses and enjoy the process that you miss out on making the memories. I am really trying to find ways to make as many memories as we can this Thursday. We will enjoy them and see what the result is after. Our players have been really excited about this game because it’s the first game of the season.

On preparing for a team with a new offensive coordinator:

Well I worked with him for four years, so that helps out a little bit. The fact that I am familiar with him and same as Coach Tuiaki. We have coaches that have been around Andy Ludwig. We have seen what he has done and he’s been coordinating for a long time. We are able to look at a lot of that film. But, I think he is one that works with his talent. He works really well and is a great coach. He’s great at schemes and strategy so we will have to be ready for all of it. We have had a month to prepare for it so hopefully there won’t be too many surprises but we will see.

On how they have drown out the hype around Utah:

Our focus and our energy have been on us. I mean you can’t really discredit the fact that they are predicted to finish well. By focusing on us, we know that we are going to have a team to play against, so that is part of scouting our opponents. I have a great deal of respect, but at the same time we are focused on what we can do as a team. But, going into your game you haven’t to know your opponents and we see them. There is a lot of excitement and we are looking at the great opportunities that this season holds for us. Not just the first game but the whole season. These guys have worked extremely hard and I am excited to see some things happen.