Comments about ‘RMs cover football landscape’

Michael Marquardt played for ASU in the Holiday Bowl. Daniel Marquardt finished his senior season at BYU a couple of years ago.

Hold on. I don't get this article. According to Bronco and all BYU fans, only the best Mormon athletes go to BYU. Maybe we should have Dick Harmon use his investigative duties to figure out how this article was even written. You can tell this wasn't reviewed by him before it was printed.

Next you are going to tell me that the University of Utah has Mormons on their team. Or even worse, their coach is Mormon. That just doesn't make sense.

Arizona's all Pac-10 linebacker Spencer Larsen served a mission in Osorno, Chile.

Quit putting words in Bronco's mouth that were never even close to being said.

What kind of moron, coaching at an LDS school that requires its student to live by strict LDS standards, wouldn't recruit good athletes who are LDS? You know, kids who already know and are most likely already living the standards?

But wanting to recruit those kids and having a monopoly on them are two completely different ideas, one of which has never been said nor implied. Except by idiotic Ute fans who brag about showing all of their "unholiness" come rivalry day. Then they are the ones who tend to forget they have RM's and therefore "evil marmons" playing on their own team.

Homer: I will state the obvious. Not all Mormon athletes are actively recruited by BYU. There are only so many slots. For example, Boise State's football team is usually about 15 percent LDS, and I am not aware of any on last year's BSU team, who were recruited by BYU. I would be so bold to say, that many if not most of the LDS players on the Utah team, were not actively recruited by BYU.

Jim McMahon's first college choice was Notre Dame, since he was Catholic, but ND did not come calling. ND can't actively recruit every good Catholic athlete. Too many players, and not enough openings. Also, the rating of high school players is not an exact science. Many go on to achieve greater success in college ball than expected, while others with higher ratings often don't measure up.

There can be no doubt however, that BYU does have success recruiting most of the Mormon athletes they decide to go after.

What is going on!? These RM's should be ashamed of themselves! Don't they know that they are letting the ENTIRE church down by not going to BYU? Everybody knows that ALL GOOD Mormons are BYU fans and that everyone else is just jealous of the holiness that exudes out of the BYU athletic department. GIVE ME A BREAK! I know not all BYU fans are like this, but all Utah fans are not evil, so don't pretend that they are (I am a fan of neither).

However, I am glad to see that Bronco's propiganda is not working on every young LDS athlete. BYU is not the place for every Mormon college student, otherwise it could not handle the enrollment. I hate to hear the complaining that happens when BYU loses out on a top LDS recruit. Perhaps they felt inspired to go elsewhere.

I think a good follow-up story to this would be how many athletes at BYU (particularly the basketball team) are LDS and are NOT going on missions. I know the "bar was raised", but if they are righteous enough to go to BYU, shouldn't they be able to serve a mission?

Homer I missed the part the talked about BYU and Bronco Mendenhall. Please point it out to me.

for highlighting all the good LDS athletes at other universities. With the small but extremely loud segment of idiot fans at the Y that denigrate other universities, they make the Y and the church look bad. I am certain that the lack of openings at BYU provide many opportunities for others to succeed in some great schools in the SEC or anywhere else and I think it is by design that these guys have an opportunity to shine outside of Utah County!

The small but extremely loud segment of idiotic ute fans that denigrate the Y make themselves and the u look bad as well. It's on all sides.

If I were looking at a potential NFL career and was highly recruited out of high school I would have a hard time turning away offers from BCS conference schools to go to BYU. Some athletes have looked forward to playing and going to BYU their whole lives (hence a very strong walk-on program there), and others have the opportunity to play for a Nat'l Championship. I'm willing to bet, though, that some of these impressive athletes would be more interested in going to BYU if BYU had the opportunities that BCS Conference schools had (and the same could be said for the utes to a large degree).

I've never heard any such comment from Bronco that all the best Mormon athletes are coming to BYU, but his focus is on recruiting quality Mormon athletes. The best news is that there are enough of them out there that no one has a monopoly on them. Best of luck to all of them, and Go Cougars!!!

It is interesting to see the bashing of one school by the other. For some reason, when I hear a Ute bash... I see a state school fan speaking for a state school. When I hear a Cougar bash, I see a Church school speaking for a church. Cougar fans don't seem to get that. You represent much more than a fan opinion and reflect poorly on yourself and your school and your church. That is the difference between the bashing of the U of U vs. BYU is that the LDS take a beating and show up in the mirror.

It is just plain amazing that all those programs out there in the country that are or will benefit from the presence of returned missionaries in other programs besides BYU.

In other words it is fine and dandy for programs like LSU, Boise State and who-ever else to remind BYU and the the Cougar faithful of how unfair it is to have 23 or 24 or 25 year-old men playing college foosball for the Cougars. But when it comes to nenefiting thier particular program, whoever it may may...welll hey we're doing doing just what those Mormon guys at BYU are doing. Right?
Plu-lezzzzzzzzz?

Leave BYU alone then. The critics of BYU are nothing but a bunch od HYPOCRITES, especially those to the the north of us. But no morelet's feel sorry for the rest of the country that has RM's and keep tight-lipped about it. Either take the heat or get out of the kitchen. And if you critters at LSU and Boise or wherever maintain your silence in the ake of having quality football players that have served LDS missions....then you are nothing more than Hypocrites. Just shut-up and let us play and see where it all finishes out!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey, I only criticized the idiotic Ute fans. The ones with a functioning brain are okay.

I will admit there are idiot Y fans who trash a kid being recruited by BYU if he chooses not to go there. To this small segment of "fans", he becomes a spiritual neanderthal who wants nothing but to drink and have sex all day long.

The problem is, you can't educate idiots. Remember, they have a non-functioning brain. But even without a brain, they manage to run their mouth louder and longer than anyone else. To the untrained eye, it makes their segment of the population appear larger than it is.

I liked the article. It wasn't that long ago that any team in the southeast would've suspended a guy's scholarship had he chosen to serve a mission.

Please provide one quote from an official from LSU or Boise State talking about the unfairness of the missionary athletes.

Also, there has to be some unfairness. Since the Lord steps in and helps those that live right on and off the field win ball games, the debate is over.

Joey Mack kicked 2 FG's for Memphis in the New Orleans Bowl. He played at Snow and then to SUU. He transferred to Memphis after his first year. He was not recruited by BYU and they could have used him this year. He didn't serve a mission, but his an outstanding young man and example of the church. I am sure Havili is as well at USC.

I'm not sure why this article surprises anyone. There are Mormon athletes that don't play for a school based in Utah just like there are Mormon business people who don't work for NuSkin, Novell, or JetBlue, politicians that don't represent Utah, etc. I don't know why this discussion (like so many others on DN) regress into this pathetic discussion of BYU & Mormons vs. Utah and non-Mormons. Get over yourselves.

That has to have been the real Homer Simpson all right'ie. No Brain but access to a computer.
This was a superb article, I have no idea how you ran down all these kids. Unfortunately BYU can only have 85 kids on scholarship, There are three times as many great missionary athletes out there as BYU and Utah can bring in and gratefully college coaches are finally coming around to allow LDS kids to leave a program and then return with a scholarship available to them. USC, ASU, and a few east coast and Big 10 schools are they only Div 1 teams that still won't allow a guy to come back after a mission. Sadly Stanley H. the great running back from Cottonwood had to choose which dream he could fulfill.
It doesn't matter where they go to school, they are a tremendous asset to
those you serve.

This was a nice article. Let's remember that the focus on this article was on LDS returned missionaries (RM's) who played in bowl games. It's not about BYU vs Utah recruiting. Athletes go to other schools for different reasons that include the fact that the academic programs they seek are not available at BYU or Utah. Some want to play close to home in front of family or play at a BCS school. They live the honor code and are ont disloyal to the church because they go somewhere outside of Utah to play. Dan Robinson, who played QB for June jones at Hawaii, was an RM (Taiwan) who was instrumental in their turnaround year, and was a positive influence for the church to his teammates and the entire state of Hawaii because of his example and his maturity. That's why most Div 1 coaches now allow athletes to go on missions and keep their scholarsihps. Years ago, I forfeited my scholarship when I chose to serve a mission. As a BYU parent, I'm proud of all these LDS athletes no matter where they choose to play, including the UofU.

And believe you me, if one Star athlete gets away from BYU then the administration, the coach, the AD all get the what for for not getting the kid! JC Carroll is a prime example. Coach Dave Rose was asked why he didn't get this LDS kid from Evanston, Wyoming? rose was asked this by Tom Holmoe, and by Pres. Samuelson. Rose got racked over the coals, and so then what did he do. Not play USU this year so he wouldn't have to field more questions as to why wasn't JC playing for BYU? Now, any good all knowing basketball fan would realize that the Y would have beat my Aggies this year had they played them at the first of the year! Right now, I am not sure if the Y could eek out a win, especially at the Spectrum, where Rose took himself and the embarrassment out of the equation of not playing USU. Don't tell me that losing a Regional top notch athlete who is LDS just eats at anyone associated with BYU! As for JC Carroll, he found the TRUE religion in LOGAN! The Religion of "IN STEW WE TRUST"!

Go AGGIES!

Your Y bashing is getting extremely old. What a joke if you really feel that that is the reason BYU didn't play your aggies this year. Many other factors are involved in those decisions, among which is money. It isn't very cost-effective for the Y to play your lowly Aggies on the football field. Bball is different, but schedules are put together long before the season in which they are actually played.

As for JC Carroll, I'm from Wyoming, know him personally, and watched him play in High School. Just like most people in Wyoming he doesn't like BYU any more than you do, and said in a fireside a few years ago that the best thing about his Freshman year was beating the Y. He didn't want to go there. He would've liked to go to Wyoming, but Steve McLain didn't show much interest in him and didn't want to mess with the RM thing either. He's doing well and I'm glad for that and I hope he has a great season- but people like you and your incessant ripping on BYU has nearly changed my attitude about the school my father started out at (USU Aggies).