Here is more on the move of Balderree and Richards to TE:
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PROVO â Around the BYU football team, bandana-wearing tight ends Tanner Balderree and Steven Richards are known as the âBash Brothers.â
Just like their namesakes in âThe Mighty Ducksâ movies, they are fun-loving guys who enjoy being enforcers.
âThey gave us that âBash Brothersâ nickname because we like to hit hard,â said Richards. âWe have a few plays where we get to light some people up.â
âWe took on âThe Mighty Ducksâ persona,â Balderree said. âWeâve got the bandanas now and all. Itâs a lot of fun.â
The Cougars are hoping Balderee and Richards, who have switched from the defensive side of the ball to the tight end position, will provide the offense with a physical presence â as well as becoming occasional receiving threats. âTheyâre adding a nice dimension to our offense, being able to block and catch the ball on play-action,â said BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall.
The way the Bash Brothers see it, they are going to be the âsecret weaponâ on offense this season.
âThere are two types of tight ends that we have,â Richards said. âOne is a stand-up, pass-catching tight end and one is a hand-in-the-ground blocking tight end. What they are doing with us is, theyâre seeing how well we can block and then allowing us to going out for passes. Itâs nice for us because everyone thinks weâre going to be blocking but then we run a route and weâre open. For this offense, itâs kind of like a secret weapon. Itâs the only way to explain it. Weâre blocking, blocking and blocking, then we go out for a pass and weâre open.â
At the start of the year, coaches approached Richards, a 6-3, 230-pound redshirt freshman from Sandy, and Balderree, a 6-foot-2, 250-pound sophomore from Sherwood, Ore., and asked them if they wanted to move to tight end.
They jumped at the chance.
âWe were switched to tight end at the same time and we started training together,â Balderree said. âI like to do extra work. Stephen wants to work just as hard afterwards at our position. During winter workouts, we spent extra hours catching. We got to know each other well.â
âI got off my mission in the summer and Tanner has always been super strong. Heâs good with his technique,â Richards said. âHis strength is phenomenal so I wanted to train with him so I could get back in shape quicker. Ever since then, weâve really clicked. We help each other out a lot. We bonded.â
On the first day of spring ball, the equipment personnel grabbed two No. 89 jerseys for Balderree and Richards to wear. Up until the spring game, they both sported No. 89, creating some good-natured confusion.
âWe were purposely dressed the same way â the same towels, the same cleats, so we could mess with coach on film and they couldnât tell who was who,â Balderree said. âIt was fun.â
This season, Richards will wear No. 89, and Balderree will wear No. 98.
Balderree and Richards took to their new position like ducks to water, simply because they are familiar with playing tight end. Itâs the spot both played in high school.
âOn the first day of practice, we didnât have any doubt or confusion about the plays. It seemed simple so we were able to go hard and go fast from Day One,â Richards said. âAll I played (at Alta High School) was tight end. When they recruited me they were going to move me to the defensive line, but I lost a lot of weight on my mission. I played outside linebacker then they moved me back to tight end. Itâs super-comfortable for me. Iâm loving it.â âI played tight end in high school in Oregon. We ran the Wing-T (offense), so all I did was block,â Balderree said. âThatâs what Iâm good at right now. Stephenâs teaching me how to be a good receiver because in my whole high school career I caught like three passes. We didnât pass that much. But I know how to block. During winter workouts, we would go outside and spend 45 minutes to an hour catching passes. That helped me be more confident.â
Balderee and Richards credit fellow tight end Bryan Sampson and graduate assistant coach Matt Edwards for helping get them up to speed on the position.
âWe have the goal to hit as hard as we could and make people see we could play,â Balderree said. âCoaches tell us that first and foremost, we need to be good blockers before we can be receivers. We have plenty of people who can catch passes. Then we can catch an occasional pass and get yards when we need to.â
At BYU, tight end has been a glamour position that has sent players like Dennis Pitta, Itula Mili and Chad Lewis to the NFL.
Wide receivers coach Guy Holliday said dual-threat tight ends like Pitta, Mili and Lewis are difficult to find.
âHigh school offenses are going to the spread, college offenses are going to the spread. There is a place in this offense. It has grown and really changed the dynamics of it. Whenever you can get a guy that can do both, thatâs a special player. You look at a hybrid guy, a big receiver and you try to put them down. Sometimes heâs not tough enough to put his hand in the ground. Sometimes the guy that has a hand in the ground doesnât have the speed or skill set. I donât think people appreciate who that guy is. It takes a special cat to be able to do both. We probably need to use two to get one.â
The Cougars are counting on Richards and Balderree â the Bash Brothers â to provide the offense with that kind of impact.
