Running game in good shape

PROVO — Curtis Brown shed fat cells, and Fahu Tahi simply grew layers of meat panels on his upper torso. Together, they represent the most experienced punch the Cougar backfield has had in years.

Both have turned into workout leaders for Bronco Mendenhall the past 250 days.

Whether either can gain a thousand yards for Mendenhall this year remains to be seen. But, in the name of the Governor of California, they both pass the get-off-the-bus test with T-shirts stretched like balloons.

In preparing for his senior season, Tahi has been teased by teammates after looking at his beefy arms and shoulders.

"They're teasing me that I've been taking steroids, but it's all just me, all natural, just me working out hard as I can," Tahi said.

It's not just Tahi's size, going from 235 to 250 pounds since 2004. When he ran 4.55 and 4.57 times in the 40-yard dash for NFL scouts in June, he turned some heads and ignited some clipboard scrawls. That should leave the former Granger High star on some NFL watch lists if he and his Cougars teammates are successful this season.

"I actually feel better at this weight, better than I did last year at this time," Tahi said. "I'm just in better condition to do what is required in Bronco's system."

Brown has never looked more physical than this summer. He claims his situation is a case of turning fat into muscle tissue.

"There is weight, then there is weight," he said. "I took off some fat and exchanged that for muscle."

Tahi has increased his lifts in the weight room significantly. Brown has also posted bigger numbers. Tahi benches 405 pounds, cleans 370, squats 505 and has increased his eye-popping repetitions in the NFL combine 225-pound press to 38 times.

"Coach (Jay) Omer told me the NFL combine record for running backs and fullbacks is 36 reps," Tahi said. "I've got that already."

Brown said he's been directed to increase the power in his legs, so his weight lifting gains have been in squats and leg presses.

Tahi is 23-years old. He enrolled at BYU when he was 17. Since that time, he has started for the Cougars as a freshman, went on an LDS mission to Jacksonville, Fla., and is now on his second year of marriage.

"It seems like 10 years since I came here and trading time with Luke Staley when we were both freshmen," Tahi said. "It's like I've been here forever."