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Deseret News 2008 Mr. Football: Craig Bills

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BYU | 4:04 p.m. Dec. 4, 2008

We're excited to have him

Congrats | 4:04 p.m. Dec. 4, 2008

Great job Craig and good luck at the Y.

Craig Bills | 4:10 p.m. Dec. 4, 2008

The Deseret News got this one right! This kid is a great football player with a very bright future. I firmly believe you will be watching this kid on Sundays. I have watched him play for the last 3 years and he never takes a play off. Craig Bills is very deserving. You can argue for other players but there should be no one who complains about this selection.

Comments continue below

HSFAN | 5:00 p.m. Dec. 4, 2008

Congrats Bills,

See you after the mission!

Right choice | 5:19 p.m. Dec. 4, 2008

Considering what he's done for three years, I think he's the guy who deserves this award.

The Bills Family is | 5:23 p.m. Dec. 4, 2008

The type of LDS family we all should strive to be. Forget about football. Congrats to Craig and his parents!

Travis | 5:57 p.m. Dec. 4, 2008

Be Serious? Wow, talk about REALLY stupid comments

how big is this kid? | 5:57 p.m. Dec. 4, 2008

Height / weight?

Craig Bills | 5:58 p.m. Dec. 4, 2008

We follow Craig's football all the way from North Carolina. He is a great player and a fine young man. He comes from a very special family. Congrats Craig and best of luck the rest of your career. You are MR. FOOTBALL!

We need good safties | 7:38 p.m. Dec. 4, 2008

"Bills will play next for BYU...He's hoping to remain a safety at the next level, but many predict he'll grow big enough to play linebacker."

NOOOOOOO!!! Not linebacker! We need some really good safeties, we have plenty of linebackers already.

not an Alta three-peat?? | 7:49 p.m. Dec. 4, 2008

Parker Webster and Ammon Olsen both were worthy candidates for this award. That being said, I believe Bills was the right pick. It would have been nice to see another Alta player get it (since that's my homies), but as much as Shak and Boo were the cream of the crop for 2006 and 2007, I think the same could be said for Bills this year.

Alta | 7:59 p.m. Dec. 4, 2008

Alta Vs Timpview. What's keeping this game from happening? Alta always has a 4A opponent scheduled their first game of the season. Why not make that first game THE game that everyone wants to see? Even bigger than Alta vs. Bingham.

Anonymous | 8:19 p.m. Dec. 4, 2008

Is Craig related to former BYU player KC Bills?

How come | 9:07 p.m. Dec. 4, 2008

Most of the past "Mr. Fotball" players have gone on to excel at the U and not the Y? Just noticed that. Curious..

player | 9:16 p.m. Dec. 4, 2008

i am proud to say that mr. football laid me on my bum! :)

Re: We need good safties | 9:18 p.m. Dec. 4, 2008

100% agreed. We have a number of other good players, potential linebackers who will fill in just fine at those positions. I was even disappointed when they switched Daniel Sorensen to linebacker. Right now the safties BYU has are better than the corners. What we are really in the most dire need for without question are CB's. There will be other guys who can fill in at linebacker like Michael Alisa and Austen Jorgensen, and other promising future players like Jerry Bruner who was recruited at running back, but I think will serve better as a linebacker based on his size and speed together. So the future is promising at the Y in terms of talent, but safties and especially corners are needed desperately.

observation | 9:20 p.m. Dec. 4, 2008

Timpview ought to rise to a higher level at 5A. They are way to good for 4A and need to be tested more at a higher level.

Yes related | 9:25 p.m. Dec. 4, 2008

Craig is related to KC and Kelly Bills. Both brothers played at BYU but ended their careers early due to injuries. Great Family. We miss them in Colorado. Hi Robin.

yes! | 10:22 p.m. Dec. 4, 2008

We need great Defensive players at the Y--and keep him at safety or CB, where he can use his skills to play some pressure defense. He could get some serious playing time in his freshman year if he shows up to camp with the same tenacity and work ethic. I'm SOOO gald BYU is getting a guy like this; we need someone covering passes with a great work ethic and a bit of a swagger (like Kehl last year).

hahaha | 11:25 p.m. Dec. 4, 2008

he'll get lost in that bad byu defense so don't get your hopes up cougar fans.

even utah state exposed how slow you are.

re: ha ha | 7:02 a.m. Dec. 5, 2008

you hae had one good year in three and now you thinkd you can run the mouth...we will really see what you have left in the tank, losing 19 seniors, your D' coach etc..so sit down and watch instead of run the mouth..

something cool | 7:34 a.m. Dec. 5, 2008

I would love to see the 2006 Mr. Football go up against the 2008 Mr. Football. Sausan Shakerin (Shak) is at the U. Bills will be at BYU. I personally don't think one man can bring Shak down. (I'm sure there's lots of people that played him that would agree with me). Would really love to see the two of them go head to head. Anyone agree?

Congrats | 7:41 a.m. Dec. 5, 2008

It has been fun watching recievers arms get shorter with each game. No one want to come across the middle with you back there. I will be keeping my season tickets at the Y up to date just to enjoy watching your progress for the next few years. To the previous question, yeah KC is his brother, they play exactly the same, Kamakazi!! Don't forget about Kevin he will be at the Y also. Great family, great football players.

Utah is the place | 8:01 a.m. Dec. 5, 2008

More Mr. football's have gone to the U than any other college in the state in the last 12 years. The U probably gets first pick on the best recruits in the state lately for the most part. BYU gets some really good recruits from in state too, its just Utah gets a little more.

Family | 8:08 a.m. Dec. 5, 2008

Why do commenters keep bringing "great family" into this? This is about Craig, and how he played football. How many Bills' aunts and uncles are out there?

Anonymous | 9:53 a.m. Dec. 5, 2008

To poster at 8:08am

This really bothers you, eh? That his family has been mentioned. What a silly comment you have made.

Who cares? It's funny that this seems to upset your apple cart, my friend.

The comments about family are simply attributing some of his success as a player and person to his family. Seems like a very normal thing to me and others.

And your comment about aunts and uncles? What's your point?

KJ - BIG HITTER!!! | 10:21 a.m. Dec. 5, 2008

BIG HITTER!!!!I have watched this kid play for 4 years and all I know is he is a playmaker and I wouln't want to be hit by him. My prediction is he will start or play a lot as a freshman at BYU. His brother Kevan who is on a LDS Mission in Argentina is also a great player too and I can't wait until he gets back and is playing for the Cougars as well.

Bills is Nasty! | 10:28 a.m. Dec. 5, 2008

craig is 6'1-6'2 and 210lbs! he has riduculous speed and just kills all runnings backs and receivers on the field. i remember two years ago as a sophmore when they played east who had 3 huge running backs that ran over everyone that year. he had a couple of nasty hits on them and made stops on 3rd and 4th down that help them win state. this year he not only stopped people, he destroyed people. this kid is crazy! big hit after big hit and he keeps coming. as was stated earlier he never takes a play off. he is and exciting player and hopefully does awesome with the cougs.

His point | 10:33 a.m. Dec. 5, 2008

I think the point that whoever it was that wrote it was making is that only aunts and uncles say such goofy things.

football fan | 10:45 a.m. Dec. 5, 2008

Mc's soph QB made him look bad in the semis but he is still a great player.

worried | 10:46 a.m. Dec. 5, 2008

he hasn't really needed to worry about his tackling technique because he punishes people with his hitting. im worried that he will be another tafuna or fowler that have big hit ability but can't tackle. bills has much more speed and is more aggressive that either of them but hopefully he can add sure tackling to his devastating hits. if so he could be the most dominant defensive player byu has seen in a minute!

Alta v TV will never happen | 11:32 a.m. Dec. 5, 2008

Stop dreaming. TV will only play 5A schools that are in UT county. They have not played a 5A school outside of UT county in like 7 years. Region 4 is BY FAR the weakest of the 4 regions in 5A every year.

Before TV fans jump all over me and start posting lame comments about 7 on 7 flag football or Price Camp, I am just stating a fact. I never said they could not compete or beat Bingham, Alta, Jordan, Skyline, Syracuse, Layton, N'Ridge etc. I just stated that they will not play Region 1,2 or 3 teams, let alone the elite teams in those regions.

TV v. Atla | 11:33 a.m. Dec. 5, 2008

Also...TV fans don't even give me the Bingham, Jordan and Alta are scared. That is why they go out and play national powerhouse programs all over the country. Grant HS is 12-0 and Alta gave them the best game of the year, and even beat them last year. Bingham is playing Trinity and ND is Sherman Oaks. 2 of the top programs in the Nation. Yep...you are right. They play Alta, Jordan and Skyline every year and are going to TX next year to play the #1 team in the country, but they are terrified of the #1 team in UT county

Good Luck | 12:26 p.m. Dec. 5, 2008

Leaving on a mission then coming back to believe that you will be the same as you were, sorry won't happen. Serve a mission later, it doesn't make you lesser of a member. I promise that even at BYU your position won't be held for you to return to.

Most of Utah Recruits to the U | 1:22 p.m. Dec. 5, 2008

That will change with Anderson going to USU. Real athletes want to play football and not hold clip boards on the sidelines. With a top recruiter in the country goes an impressive following. It's declared that USU will recruit in state first, even Missionary athletes. If that's the case, there just might be a new Blue with some of Utah's top athletes. WAC has had a strong showing in the polls over the years and players that want to make a difference will follow.
Congrats to Bills and no, Olsen and Webster are not "Mr Football" material. Although, IMO, Webster is way underrated.. he should share a piece of the 5A MVP. He was the "Spread" in Alta's rendition of a spread offense.

In-State Recruiting | 1:45 p.m. Dec. 5, 2008

As someone who follows recruiting rather closely, let me just say that Mr. Football is not always the most recruited or best football player in the state. This year I actually think that it was although Sua'filo and Martinez might disagree.

However, in years past the award has gone to the leader of one of the state champs. In 2007, for instance, Boo Anderson was a great leader for the Alta state champs team, but he wasn't even close to the best football player in the state and I think Utah was his only scholarship offer. Austin Holt, David Kruger, Shakerin, and Justin Sorensen were all much bigger recruits and better all around football players.

To say that Utah gets the best of the in-state recruiting is really not accurate at all. I would say that it is fairly even with BYU maybe having a slight edge on the nationally recruited guys like Richard Wilson, Sua'filo, Bills and Timo this year.

Anonymous | 2:22 p.m. Dec. 5, 2008

Re: Good Luck. This kid could easily leave on a mission and come back as good as he was before. Look at Austin Collie, he had an amazing freshmen season, went on a mission and came back to be better than he was before. There is no reason why BYU wouldn't hold a spot for him, they have no depth at all at safety.

National Ranking????? | 3:03 p.m. Dec. 5, 2008

We have seen that national rankings aren't always that significant. These are simply players that have stood out in their areas and have received alot more exposure than the next kid. The more camps you attend the more exposure and higher rankings are given. The number of stars mean nothing to recruiting coaches. We have examples of "highly ranked" national players here in the state that didn't make MVP or even the 1st team All State that you would think from a highly ranked player. Placing too much stock in the stars and outside agencies isn't always the best investment in rating a player.

ALTAFAN | 4:35 p.m. Dec. 5, 2008

RE In-State recruting,

This doesn't answer for all of the rest of the people in your post but Shak was Mr. Football in 06. they cant really give it to the same person 2 years in a row. He is playing for the U now though.

RE something cool, I think that would be way cool to see.

Bills great hopefully T'eo also | 4:49 p.m. Dec. 5, 2008

Great pick up by the Y, I am still crossing my fingers in hopes that the Y can get T'eo out of Hawaii.

Anonymous | 6:18 p.m. Dec. 5, 2008

To clarify, it's not "7 on 7" at the camp between Bingham and TV.

It's full on pads, 11 on 11. To be fair, there is some 7 on 7 going on but the main scrimmage is full contact.

Lastly, I don't see where MCs soph QB made him look bad as was stated earlier on this blog. I know you want to think that but it is not true.

I re-watched the game on Comcast and this is an entirely false statement. He did turn his ankle (watch it on Comcast. It's sick!) on a play and was in and out during the 2nd half of the game.

As a Region 6 fan, I have watched Bills over the past years and am very impressed. Congratulations!

OH YEAH | 7:35 p.m. Dec. 5, 2008

It is good to see BYU finally going after a good defensive secondary man to fill up the giant holes in the team. Good job Bronco.

JaWilla | 8:32 p.m. Dec. 5, 2008

If he is going to play in BYU's secondary he can't be that good and I have never even seen him play. BYU can't recruit top DB's talent. They won't get T'eo from Hawaii either, he is going to USC where all the top DB talent in the west go to play football.

@ JaWilla | 9:02 p.m. Dec. 5, 2008

What an absurdly idiotic comment! Craig committed to the Y 3 years ago as was previously stated, so the team's current defensive secondary situation has absolutely no bearing on Bills' talent level. Having played with him since 8th grade, I will say that while he is extremely gifted athletically, he is also one of the most physical players I have ever seen. You are going to be eating your words when he turns out to be a far better player than Te'o.

MC TV game | 10:03 p.m. Dec. 5, 2008

MC had probably the best game of their whole year. TV had probably their worst. MC QB lucky to have receivers they had and have an injured Bills playing through the pain.

jawilla | 12:21 a.m. Dec. 6, 2008

teo plays linebacker bro. might want to know what your talking about before you start running your mouth.. have you seen teo play? no didnt think so

Never Seen Him Play? | 12:00 p.m. Dec. 6, 2008

And you make a comment? Awesome that sure means you have a lot of credibility on an issue.

Timpview's talent | 8:28 p.m. Dec. 6, 2008

I hate TV and their fans. I am so tired of their claims that they are better than ANY team in the state, when they play all UT county teams and honestly do not play anyone. I watched the CW game and it looked like Bills was injured. He missed on a few tackles, but for the most part he was in perfect position on almost every play, he was fast, hit hard. I do think Bingham and Alta would beat them by 2 TDs, maybe 3. They looked like college teams. That being said the 2 kids that impressed me the most from the playoff games I saw, were #60 and Bills. He deserves the award!! Congrats kid. btw-there is still time to change your mind and go to th U. :)

RE: Timpview's Talent | 8:59 p.m. Dec. 6, 2008

Well Bills was injured during that game and just fans think that we're the best of the best. Otherwise, everyone that knows the team and is on the team knows we didn't have a challenging team this year expect the last two where they were more equal to us playing wise. So i wouldn't go running my mouth if you don't know the whole story behind the scenes. And #60 is Xavier Su'a-Filo.

Timpview's Talent | 7:01 p.m. Dec. 7, 2008

Timpview's talent or "UTAH COUNTY'S" Talent! I am so tired of TV, their parent's comments, and their "fans".
Every team in the STATE should refuse to player the "UTAH COUNTY" team.
#60 is PG's talent!!

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