This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

OK, let's play a little Jeopardy! as the Cougars continue preparations for Middle Tennessee State on Saturday at Floyd Stadium in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

The answer: Mediocre players.

The question: Why has BYU lost four-straight games since star quarterback Taysom Hill hobbled off the field against Utah State with a broken leg?

That's my take, and I wrote as much in this analysis piece in The Salt Lake Tribune today. My theory is that, although coaches have made some mistakes along the way, the biggest reason BYU is 4-4 against a fairly weak schedule two-thirds of the way through the season is that, well, the players just aren't that good.

It's that simple. It's the players — good guys, hard workers and all that, but just not talented enough collectively to post a 10-win season for the foreseeable future.

Back when BYU was 4-0, I wrote that the Cougars were an average team with a great quarterback. I may have been giving the team too much credit then, and Hill not enough. His play was masking some major flaws.

If you ask me, Mendenhall's biggest blunder the past few seasons has been talking about national championships and top-25 rankings and undefeated seasons and the like, then failing to deliver. His second biggest shortcoming: recruiting.

Hopefully, I presented enough facts to show that the talent level the past seven years or so — basically guys that Mendenhall recruited — has dropped off considerably. There's just one former BYU player in the NFL right now that Mendenhall recruited — Kyle Van Noy. Ziggy Ansah was pretty much a walk-on.

Check out the chart that accompanies the story that shows where Scout.com and Rivals.com have rated BYU's recruiting classes the past seven seasons. Not good.

Is there a player on BYU's roster right now who is a sure-fire NFL draft pick? I can't think of one, although Hill's a possibility if he returns from his second major injury. Granted, freshmen Fred Warner and Tejan Koroma have been impressive, considering their college careers are just starting.

Here are a few more tidbits and quotes that I wasn't able to get into the story:

* After the 55-30 loss to Boise State last Friday, I asked Mendenhall in the hallway outside BYU's locker room if he has the right players in the program to produce wins against quality teams like the Broncos.

"I think we do," he said. "We are still struggling to find the right players, in the right combinations, at the right time, and them develop them with the execution necessary. And again, that is my job to do all that, to put the right players out there that know what to do, and are capable.

And this evening, Boise looked like a much better football team than we did."

* I asked offensive line coach Garett Tujague if the offensive line (perhaps the most consistent unit on the team so far) is talented enough to win games.

"Absolutely," he said. "We have won four games this year. They are absolutely talented enough. So yeah."

* I mentioned in the article receivers coach Guy Holliday's response to a question about talent level at the places he's coaches compared to what he found at BYU. I could only use parts of it in print. Here's his complete reply:

"To be fair, the skill set, we have been a little deeper in other places I've been, a little more athletic. But here, we have individuals [who are really skilled]. We are in the process of trying to upgrade that.

I think that one thing that people make a huge mistake in, whether it is going from high school to junior college, to Division I, athleticism is important, but you still have to have great work ethic and understand the game.

Here's the catch-22 that you can be in: Do you play a guy because he is more athletic, and has potential, but you may have 30 percent missed assignments? And that missed assignment could come at a critical time. Or do you play a guy that you know is going to be at the right place at the right time, every time out, but may not possess the big-play ability?

A lot of people will get caught up in saying potential, potential. Potential will get you fired in this business. That's my philosophy.

We are upgrading. Our problem still is just the overall quality of depth, is what I would say the difference is. The less you have a drop-off at every position, the better you will be. And that's the key in this. People find out every day that's normally the difference between a lot of really good teams and the top five teams and everybody else, is your ability to lose a player or two and how good will you be?

Players win games, guys, and coaches only lose them. Trust me on that one."

BYU has six players on its roster who began their college careers at schools in power-five conferences. Linebacker Harvey Langi came from Utah; Receiver Keanu Nelson came from Stanford; Receiver Devon Blackmon came from Oregon via Riverside (Calif.) CC; Safety Harvey Jackson came from Nebraska; Safety Chris Badger came from Notre Dame (considered a P5 caliber school) and kicker Andrew Mikkelsen came from Oregon State.

I sought out three of the six (Langi, Nelson and Jackson) and asked them if the talent level at BYU — which I defined as players who are bigger, stronger, faster and more athletic — was comparable to the talent at their previous schools.

Their replies don't necessarily jive with my theory (what are they supposed to say, right?) but here they are:

Here are their replies:

Nelson on whether BYU's talent is on par with Stanford's:

"Yeah, I mean, BYU is just as good as any other team. That's why you play the game of football — just line them up and put your stars in against their stars. We do a fine job of that. I think when you start getting into upper echelon football, talent evens out and it comes down to other external factors. I think we can line up and play with anybody."

Jackson on whether BYU's talent is comparable to Nebraska's:

"Probably. Moreso in some [positions], maybe not as much in others. I was surprised at first by how hard we work here, how hard the coaches go in practice. It took me some time to get in shape, and I thought I was in pretty good shape. BYU's [starters] are just as good as [Nebraska's], I will say that."

Langi on how he would compare BYU's talent level to what Utah had:

"You know, we are all D-I players. We all have talent. We all love this sport. We have all been blessed to play this sport. The U. guys, they all have great talent, and they are all hard workers. I could say the same for my team. They are hard workers. They have talent. They are here, and being a Cougar just establishes that you have that dedication, that determination , that will and that talent to be here."