Mendenhall makes clear Y.'s recruiting approach

It was supposed to be a brief meeting but turned into more than an hour stopover behind closed doors.

LaVell Edwards stopped in BYU's football office and when invited to sit down with Bronco Mendenhall, both men used the opportunity to compare notes. Edwards was on his way to Jacksonville, a special guest of Eagle coach Andy Reid. It will be his first-ever visit to a Super Bowl. "I've always been recruiting," Edwards said.

Mendenhall was in the thick of recruiting, finalizing his first recruiting class as a Division I football coach Tuesday the day before prospects could sign letters of intent.

Mendenhall, loyalists say, is leaving few things to chance in his first 60 days as BYU's head coach. They say he's worked hard, has been a non-stop recruiter and shored up a plan to target recruits who can play and survive BYU requirements.

In the short term, Mendenhall talks the talk. People believe he'll deliver the walk.

After losing seven players from last year's recruiting class, plus hyped sophomore lineman Ofa Mohetau, it won't be easy. It is tougher when Mendenhall frankly upped the ante, asking every existing player to step up physically, academically and spiritually. And if they don't, they're welcome to find a more comfortable nest.

In a matter of days, Mendenhall "changed the philosophy of recruiting at BYU," senior associate athletic director Tom Holmoe said.

Bronco was a soldier his last two seasons at BYU. A quiet one, but "that doesn't mean he didn't have his own ideas," Holmoe said. "Bronco is kind of silent. He listens carefully. He's very attentive. He's had his opinions but he doesn't tell people. We discussed his philosophy, and it wasn't the same as last year in how they recruited. We had some frank discussions. I took some of them to heart, dismissed some and he basically put together his program."

Holmoe, who was fired at Cal, was one of the top recruiters in the Pac-10 and built the foundation of the Bear team that was ranked as high as No. 4 this past year.

One idea, which was all Mendenhall, was to have LDS recruits meet with the dean of students, Vernon Heperi, and non-LDS recruits to meet with new university chaplain James Slaughter. Adding to a layer of stringent explanations of BYU's honor code from three levels (coaches, athletic department and administration), a clear message is sent — the code is serious stuff; get on board or go somewhere else.