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Provo • Facing a daunting September schedule that includes Nebraska, Michigan, UCLA and Boise State, the BYU Cougars have hired the man they hope will make them a bigger, faster and stronger football team in 2015.

BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall announced Friday that Frank Wintrich, who has been at North Texas the past four seasons, will replace Jay Omer as the head strength and conditioning coach for football.

Wintrich "is an experienced and passionate coach who is extremely dedicated to preparing athletes to be their best and masters of their sport," Mendenhall said.

Wintrich (pronounced: win-trick) has worked for six different college football programs, and has 12 years of experience, since graduating in 2002 from Kentucky Wesleyan College, where he was a two-time small-school All-American linebacker.

"I'm thrilled to be part of the staff at BYU working with coach Mendenhall," Wintrich said in a school news release. "This is a great fit both culturally and in the type of strength program I run. I follow a holistic approach to help the players master the game by training the total athlete, focusing not only on physical preparation but also on psychological, technical and tactical aspects." Wintrich began his career at Hardin-Simmons University in 2002 and has also worked for Arizona State (2003), Utah State (2004 and 2005), The Citadel (2006-07) and South Florida (2008-10).

Twitter: @drewjay