This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
As you can read here, BYU's football program officially opens 2017 training camp this afternoon with a practice around 4 p.m., followed by some media availability afterwards.
Media members can watch, record and take photos of the last half-hour of practice, but it is not open to the general public. BYU announced Wednesday that fans can get a "sneak peek" at the team during a public practice at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 17, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Gates open at 3:30 p.m.
Other August activities for fans include a Movie Night (Moana) on Aug. 4, the Cougar Kickoff and Cougar Sale on Aug. 15 and the Big Blue Bash on Aug. 19 at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy.
While preparing to write the aforementioned article previewing training camp, I went back and re-listened to some of the interviews I did during BYU football media day in June.
Here are some comments from Ty Detmer, Kalani Sitake and Tanner Mangum that I found noteworthy, and newsworthy:
Sitake on whether Mangum is ready to take control of the team:
"If you look at the approach that he has had, and he's been a great teammate and a great support to Taysom last year. But he is going to benefit from having the headsets on. And he also knows what Ty expects. I think for him, he's been ready for this moment.
Compared to his freshman year when he was thrust into it right away unexpectedly. Last year in camp, it didn't go his way, but he was very humble and very supportive of all his teammates. Now, he's the leader. The only thing about it is he had not been able to let loose on his talent throwing the ball because when we played in the bowl game it was horrible weather.
Every time he has wanted to throw the ball, it hasn't gone his way. And then in the spring game it was bad weather. So I hope it rains in August against Portland State. That would be so cool. The football Gods are against him. He can't show off his arm.
I have been really impressed with his leadership skills. Better than I thought he would be. And the team has actually gravitated to him. It has been really contagious for me to just watch him do this.
I have been around teams that have a quarterback that is talented and then has really good leadership skills. That usually means pretty good things. So, we will see."
Sitake on the abilities of this team compared to last year's team:
"I think we have better depth at line. Our O line returns four starters out of five. But I really feel good about the newcomers, the guys that we redshirted, the guys who are going to be on the depth chart. We are going to always battle. It is not like the depth chart is set right now. Every position, we have to battle. It is a fight for playing time.
I think we proved last year that we will play the best guys regardless of what class they are at. I think thats the way you have to handle it and feel good about this program, is that every guy competes and the best play.
I think for us, the O line and the D line, we had to bulk them up a little bit for what we are trying to do, and our mentality and philosophy as a team, it has to begin in the trenches. I think we have committed to that position with recruits, with our O line and D line, and I think we will see how well that works the next few years."
Sitake on getting transfers into the program:
"It would be crazy for me not to take a great player. If great players want to come here, and they want to be part of this program, and they want to be part of this school, then yeah, I will take them. If that scares everybody, I don't get it.
If a player comes home from his mission and doesn't want to come back to BYU, I will release him. If people want to transfer, we will release them. The last thing I want is a player that doesn't want to be there. So why would any other coach want that? To me, it is pretty easy. If a kid doesn't want to be a part of your program, then let him go somewhere so he can have a great experience and do well, and then you can bring in someone else who wants to be a part of your team.
Right now, there are guys who want to be a part of this team, and love what we are doing, and I am going to take them. That's what is going to happen.
I am not actively choosing and eyeballing missionaries. They serve, and they want to be here, so yeah, we will talk."
Detmer on the tight ends more involved in the offense this year:
"I think just naturally their numbers will go up, whether they are called or not. Some of the called passes last year became runs, so naturally that number will go up on its own. With the different personnel groupings and different guys now at the tight end position, you will probably see more passes.
We still want to be balanced. We want to give defenses something to think about, no matter the down and distances. So, you would like to think we will come out and throw it a little more, but we've got four experienced offensive linemen up there and we feel we can go downhill if we want to run the ball and that is what is working.
But every game will be different. I think naturally with Tanner not [running as much] — Taysom kinda became his own check down sometimes. It was one-two-run. With Tanner, maybe it is one-two-three [run]. So that will naturally bring the passing numbers up."
Detmer on how Mangum has picked up the offense:
"It has been good. I haven't put in any scripts for him in the offseason. He's just been calling it, running it, which tells me he understands it and is able to put plays and formations together, where last year that would have never happened. So, he's put a lot of time in during the spring, has a really good grasp of it. It is night and day difference for him, year one to year two."
Mangum on this finally being his team:
"There is pressure, but I like it. It is a good pressure. It is motivating, it is exciting, it is feeling like everything is coming together as an offense.. It is year two now with the coaches, so I feel good. From a leadership standpoint, I am feeling confident. I am really excited about the guys that we have playing for us. I feel like it is not all on me. I accept my role as the leader of the team, being the quarterback, and being an upper classman now. But like I said before, it is a good pressure. It is a good role that I feel like I can fulfill. It is something that I am embracing."