NFL Agent and BYU O-Line

A friend of mine has been very good friends with an NFL agent for years and they went to lunch the other day. The topic of BYU was discussed (as my friend is a BYU fan so they always spend some time discussing BYU).



The agent told him that after Matt Reynolds wasn't drafted the BYU coaching staff contacted some NFL teams to find out what happened. They were told that BYU O-Lineman were overweight, slow, and didn't have the passion for the game. Some of the offensive lineman when interviewed by NFL teams were saying that they wanted to play in the NFL but if it didn't work out, they had a good degree and would be fine. This isn't what they want to hear.



This coincides with the public statements made by Doman about the O-Line. I hope they make some changes, but I have to say it concerns me that it took Reynolds not getting drafted to figure this out.



I've seen this for years and I am a football idiot compared to the coaching staff. Why was this so difficult for our coaches to figure out. This never happened with Roger French. Never.

I wonder if this was a problem with the O-line for Beck and Hall? I would blame the o-line players first, then the position coach, then the HC, and lastly the team leaders (capt of o-line and QB in this case being that they are o-linemen).



Pretty embarassing I say.

Many years ago, a potential BYU first round or certainly an early round draft pick opted to pass on the NFL draft entirely because he did not want to play on Sunday. This was way before Bronco came along and is indicative of the priorities returned missionary football players might have.



In this day and age of football 4th or 5th and balanced priorities - this is not totally shocking - disappointing if it was really that wide spread - but not shocking.



The fat part bothers me most. If the model for successful OL has changed from fat to lean, mobile, fast, quick - BYU coaches should know this and recruit and train accordingly.



If a player does not want an NFL lifestyle for their family - who am I to judge. Same for a musician that does not want a rock star lifestyle or an actor that feels Hollywood and family life are rarely compatible.



But fat and out of shape should only be acceptable of a player if the coaches told them to add the girth - but then it would be on the coaches if they could not protect the QB.



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It was Eli Herring. He did not want to break the Sabbath day. He wanted to work in Church Education. Now he is a teacher and coach and former bishop. Good man.

Raiders drafted him notwithstanding his wide spread declaration that he would not play in the nfl. They thought they could throw money at him. And they did and he did not bite.

However, it did not keep him from all out effort at BYU. Iirc, he received conference 1st team honors.

dmcougar wrote:
It was Eli Herring. He did not want to break the Sabbath day. He wanted to work in Church Education. Now he is a teacher and coach and former bishop. Good man.

Raiders drafted him notwithstanding his wide spread declaration that he would not play in the nfl. They thought they could throw money at him. And they did and he did not bite.

However, it did not keep him from all out effort at BYU. Iirc, he received conference 1st team honors.

He was a prime draft candidate before making it clear that he would not play on Sunday and even then, The Raiders offered him half a million iirc.



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The lack of passion for playing is an issue for the NFL and it should be. I don't have any problem with a player, especially after a mission, having their priorities change. That happens to a lot of people. But as an employer the last thing I want to hear is that an employee isn't too excited about the job. That is a huge red flag for me.



The slow and fat parts are fixable and should be. The lack of passion is fixable too but more difficult. I watched some of the Hawaii game on Saturday and our O-Line was pushed around all day.



The real issue here is the massive fail by our coaching staff. This starts with the HC and moves on down. Unbelievable it took this to get them to realize there is a problem. Massive failure.

This crap drives me crazy. It is so obvious but not addressed until something like matt not getting drafted happens.

I don't think it's a stretch to assume this attitude pervades the rest of the team as well. I mean, look at some of the blowout losses we've sustained in the last 5 years. For some of these guys the killer instinct is not what it once was and having a wife, kids, and bills tends to bring you back from the NFL or bust mentality. This is simply a by-product of having so many kids serve missions.

All I can tell you is that door to the Strength & Conditioning room over at Legacy Hall now reads "Strength & Conditioning & Nutrition". Saw it with my own eyes on Saturday.

mizzoucoug wrote:
I don't think it's a stretch to assume this attitude pervades the rest of the team as well. I mean, look at some of the blowout losses we've sustained in the last 5 years. For some of these guys the killer instinct is not what it once was and having a wife, kids, and bills tends to bring you back from the NFL or bust mentality. This is simply a by-product of having so many kids serve missions.

Yes, but it's one thing to go on a mission come back and get thrown into a football-or-nothing atmosphere vs. a football isn't everything environment. The latter tends to encourage apathy.



The players, particularly the RMs, that have succeeded recently have been players that took a football-or-nothing approach. They still got married. Some still had kids, but the focus and mentality wasn't lost. Problem is they were the exception, not the rule.

Gunk wrote:

I don't think it's a stretch to assume this attitude pervades the rest of the team as well. I mean, look at some of the blowout losses we've sustained in the last 5 years. For some of these guys the killer instinct is not what it once was and having a wife, kids, and bills tends to bring you back from the NFL or bust mentality. This is simply a by-product of having so many kids serve missions.

Yes, but it's one thing to go on a mission come back and get thrown into a football-or-nothing atmosphere vs. a football isn't everything environment. The latter tends to encourage apathy.



The players, particularly the RMs, that have succeeded recently have been players that took a football-or-nothing approach. They still got married. Some still had kids, but the focus and mentality wasn't lost. Problem is they were the exception, not the rule.

And I don't think anyone is expecting that aspect of BYU football culture to change anytime soon. I almost get the sense that practices with Bronco sound more like "Do this or that to get better and achieve your maximum potential" rather than "The guy across from you at the U likes to use this move so here's what you need to do to dominate him this Saturday."

mizzoucoug wrote:

mizzoucoug wrote:
I don't think it's a stretch to assume this attitude pervades the rest of the team as well. I mean, look at some of the blowout losses we've sustained in the last 5 years. For some of these guys the killer instinct is not what it once was and having a wife, kids, and bills tends to bring you back from the NFL or bust mentality. This is simply a by-product of having so many kids serve missions.

Yes, but it's one thing to go on a mission come back and get thrown into a football-or-nothing atmosphere vs. a football isn't everything environment. The latter tends to encourage apathy.



The players, particularly the RMs, that have succeeded recently have been players that took a football-or-nothing approach. They still got married. Some still had kids, but the focus and mentality wasn't lost. Problem is they were the exception, not the rule.

And I don't think anyone is expecting that aspect of BYU football culture to change anytime soon. I almost get the sense that practices with Bronco sound more like "Do this or that to get better and achieve your maximum potential" rather than "The guy across from you at the U likes to use this move so here's what you need to do to dominate him this Saturday."

I certainly think it isn't very opponent oriented. I understand the "all games are important" mentality, but all games are not equal.



Bronco is solid and you really can't complain about 10-win seasons; however, you rack up a decade worth of 10-win seasons and your fan base is going to start to get a little restless as it becomes the norm. LDS are ambitious folk. We have high expectations and people are starting to feel their expectations aren't being met (they aren't). Changes are in order...

Gunk wrote:

Gunk wrote:

I don't think it's a stretch to assume this attitude pervades the rest of the team as well. I mean, look at some of the blowout losses we've sustained in the last 5 years. For some of these guys the killer instinct is not what it once was and having a wife, kids, and bills tends to bring you back from the NFL or bust mentality. This is simply a by-product of having so many kids serve missions.

Yes, but it's one thing to go on a mission come back and get thrown into a football-or-nothing atmosphere vs. a football isn't everything environment. The latter tends to encourage apathy.



The players, particularly the RMs, that have succeeded recently have been players that took a football-or-nothing approach. They still got married. Some still had kids, but the focus and mentality wasn't lost. Problem is they were the exception, not the rule.

And I don't think anyone is expecting that aspect of BYU football culture to change anytime soon. I almost get the sense that practices with Bronco sound more like "Do this or that to get better and achieve your maximum potential" rather than "The guy across from you at the U likes to use this move so here's what you need to do to dominate him this Saturday."

I certainly think it isn't very opponent oriented. I understand the "all games are important" mentality, but all games are not equal.



Bronco is solid and you really can't complain about 10-win seasons; however, you rack up a decade worth of 10-win seasons and your fan base is going to start to get a little restless as it becomes the norm. LDS are ambitious folk. We have high expectations and people are starting to feel their expectations aren't being met (they aren't). Changes are in order...

Is that a hope and change comment or are you in the know about changes?