From Deseret News archives:
Great expectations: Mendenhall says Cougars aren't going to settle for second place anymore
Nobody, not even Mendenhall, knew what to expect.
On Saturday afternoon, the Cougars reconvened for fall practice with a frame of reference, and a much clearer picture of what they want to accomplish in 2006.
"I would expect that starting right from the start of fall camp that we know who we are," Mendenhall said.
Following a 6-6 season that included a second-place finish in the Mountain West Conference and a bowl appearance, BYU is setting its sights much higher as it prepares for the season-opener Sept. 2 at Arizona.
"We just have a distinct goal this season, that's to be conference champions," said senior linebacker and team captain Cameron Jensen. "We have to practice like it every day. We've got to improve on what happened last year."
"We have a high-powered offense that's capable of doing a lot of great things. I think as an offensive unit, we plan to build on last year," said senior running back Curtis Brown. "We didn't score enough points last year. We want to go out there this year and just blow teams away . . . We won't settle for second place anymore. We won't settle for a loss in a bowl game. The expectations are for greatness and the plan is to have an undefeated season, go to a bowl game and win."
Fall camp opened with the newcomers — freshmen and junior-college transfers — participating in drills for 30 minutes before the veterans took the field. They all spent a couple of hours together, in helmets but without pads, in the season's first practice.
"I like our team. They have more confidence than they did at this point last year," Mendenhall said. "They're executing at a higher level for the first day, and I don't think they're satisfied with what we did last year."
During practice, coaches pitted the offense against the defense, with the first-team and second-team positions based on the depth chart at the end of spring ball. But as practices continue next week, the competition will heat up. Only Jensen has a starting job locked down on defense, Mendenhall said.
Even before camp opened, the Cougars received some bad news. Cornerback Brandon Bradley, who signed with Louisville before serving a mission and transferring to BYU, injured his knee during a voluntary workout on Wednesday and is expected to miss the entire season. Bradley, who watched practice from the sidelines, was expected to make an immediate impact on a beleaguered defensive secondary.
