Houston Nutt practicing the excuses already

[SpiffCoug]

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From his press conference on Monday:

I wish I had a few more 25 or 26 year old guys. There is a difference when a guy is able to grow up and learn from life experiences with a commitment like they make. That's a great feeling as a coach to have that kind of maturity. We don't have that luxury. Some of these freshmen probably should be in a redshirt, but they have to play now. They are going to have to grow. The good thing is that they are athletic and I am glad they are here with us. It is what it is. BYU has a good thing going where they are able to do that.

The only players who could be 25 or 26 are seniors. Here are the seniors on this year's roster:
Terrence Brown - served mission, did RS, might be 24-25
JJ DiLuigi - non-LDS, did RS, 23 most
Ian Dulan - enrolled as a 17-year-old, no RS, likely turning 23 this year.
Corby Eason - non-LDS, may have RS, at most 23
Matthew Edwards - won't be a contributor, who cares
Hebron Fangupo - transfer from USC, may have RS, 23-24 at most
Jameson Frazier - served a mission, no RS, might be 24
Spencer Hafoka - served a mission, no RS, might be 24
McKay Jacobson - served a mission, no RS, might be 24
Bryan Kariya - served a mission, no RS, might be 24
Aveni Leung-Wai - served a mission, no RS, might be 24
Matt Marshall - served a mission, no RS, might be 24
Jordan Pendleton - no mission, did RS, might be 23
Matt Reynolds, served a mission, no RS, might be 24
Marco Thorson - served a mission, did RS, might be 24-25
Travi Uale - served a mission, no RS, might be 24
Simote Vea - served a mission, no RS, might be 24
Jadon Wagner - served a mission, no RS, might be 24

By my count that's two guys who might be 25 and none who are 26. And Coach Nutt is wrong, he does have that luxury. He's free to send his players to the Peace Corps for two years.

Just like some people are saying Ole Miss is an SEC team or the humidity will be awful they're trying to build in excuses as to why they lose, Ole Miss is already playing missionary card.

If BYU wins or loses, it won't be because of the missionary program or the humidity. It will be because Ole Miss was the better or worse team on that day. That one team made more plays when it mattered most.

[Kbear]

Saturday please come quickly!

[Ddawg]

I can hardly wait. There are no excuses. It's about athletic talent & execution. I fully expect this game to be very good.

[Cougs_Rule]

Things the Anti-Nutt (THink Anti-Nephi-lehis) would say.
Ya, I wish I could have players with any amount of character and honor.
Ya, I wish I could be in this profession and still maintain my ethics.
Ya I wish I had 4 white guys on defense and the rest colored boyz.
Ya, I wish I had boys on my team with such high GPA's.

[Ungoy]

I've said it before and I'll say it again... Missions are not advantages to a player physically. Anyone who thinks so needs to examine the body of LDS missionary service. I was in decent athletic shape when I left for the Philippines. I was about 6'0" and I weighed 185 lbs.

Over the course of my mission, I mostly walked, and ate lots of filipino food. The only heavy lifting I did was lifting a backpack full of Book of Mormons and service projects. My body lost much of its muscle mass, and I slimmed down greatly. When I came home I weighed in 40 lbs lighter at 145. In no way was I in any condition to compete for anything athletically.

It takes tons of post mission conditioning for these young men to regain a semblance of their former athletic selves. Some never get back to pre-mission form.

This is a myth perpetuated through the ages by coaches and teams looking for an excuse for losing to a "supposedly" inferior team. The reason no other school sends athletes into the Peace Corps for two years is that they know this player will suffer for it physically, and that will offset any mental or emotional advantage gained.

[OleMissInPeace]

I don't think he was making an excuse. It is nice to have 23-24 year olds instead of a bunch of 18 year olds. Your team is probably more focused at times, plus you really don't have to worry about them messing up too much. He respects the commitment that they make in their service.

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[SpiffCoug]

But that's the thing, Ole Miss isn't a bunch of 18 year olds. How many true-freshman are in the two-deep at Ole Miss?

[mizzoucoug]

I would argue that BYU teams tend to lose focus pretty easily actually. Football is never the #1 priority for the majority of our players. They are focused on missions, dating, and academics more so that the vast majority of our opponents. We've had plenty of undisciplined teams over the years that take stupid penalties, get overconfident week to week, and play with little passion.

There is no advantage.

[Schmoe]

Man, it's tough having your 23-year-old seniors play against 24-year-old seniors, what a disadvantage! (oh brother!)

[loonmj]

I don't think he was making an excuse. It is nice to have 23-24 year olds instead of a bunch of 18 year olds. Your team is probably more focused at times, plus you really don't have to worry about them messing up too much. He respects the commitment that they make in their service.

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

It would be a huge advantage if those players spent their missions working out or having anything to do with football. But they don't. From a purely football standpoint, missions are a headache with juggling scholarships and never knowing what you're going to get when they come back. Not to mention that while on missions, players can transfer without having to sit out another year (BYU has gained and lost players this way).

Like SpiffCoug already said, if it was such an advantage, coaches could encourage their athletes to spend two years in the Peace Corps. Have they? No. They must feel that any advantage gained by maturity would be negated by the disadvantages I mentioned. To then claim (or imply in Nutt's case) that BYU has some kind of unfair advantage is disingenuous or ignorant.