Players-only meeting helps BYU address bye-week concerns, prep for Utah State


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PROVO — There’s been a lot of malcontentment around the BYU football program after a 1-3 start.

None more than from senior linebacker Fred Warner, either.

The team captain, with help from BYU director of football operations Russell Tialavea, called a players-only meeting at LaVell Edwards Stadium during the Cougars’ bye week and opened up an hour-long discussion about improving BYU’s fortunes as they prepare for an in-state rivalry game Friday against Utah State (6 p.m. MDT, CBS Sports Network/KSL Newsradio).

“It’s been frustrating for me. We haven’t been playing the way we should be. I take that upon me and the players,” said Warner, who leads the team with 33 tackles, three tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.

“We need to have more self-discipline within the team every week so we can put the product on the field.”

Warner spoke to the team, as did fellow captains Butch Pau’u and Tanner Mangum, who sat out the Cougars’ 40-6 loss to No. 10 Wisconsin with a foot/ankle injury.

But Warner hoped the discussion would be more collaborative and invited any player to say what they needed to say — from freshmen to seniors to scout team-only players. Defensive end Sione Takitaki spoke passionately to his teammates, according to punter Jonny Linehan, and the players adjourned after an hour with a cleared picture of how to turn their season around.

“We really needed that, because I wasn’t going to continue to go every week without saying anything and have a season where we don’t live up to expectations like I want to,” Warner said. “The meeting was really good.”

Added Linehan: “We know we haven’t played as well as we could have. But we are not going to roll over and die. We’re BYU; we’re going to get up and fight.”

Head coach Kalani Sitake noticed a change around the program during the Cougars’ only bye week of the 13-game regular season. While Sitake and several assistant coaches were spending extra time on the recruiting trail, the players led practice all week — at times alongside no one but a handful of graduate assistants.

“That’s what we have been trying to promote with our players: to lead this team,” Sitake said. “This is their team, and I want them to feel like they have a say in what we do as a program.”

Coaches can only say so much to motivate 18-24 year old players, Sitake added.

“It’s different when it’s an old man whose job is to yell at you versus when a friend tries to hold you accountable,” the second-year head coach said. “It’s a good dynamic, and good for the team.”

The players-only meeting wasn’t a chance to sing “Kumbaya” around a campfire, either. While Warner said the group came together, there were points in which the call came to mistakes for a team that ranks 128th offensively and 82nd defensively out of 129 teams in the NCAA.

“Guys are getting on each other,” Warner said. “You can’t be afraid to be the bad guy sometimes. We are all flying around and making sure we do what we are supposed to do. If that involves smack talk to get guys going, then that is what needs to happen.”

Mangum update

After Mangum left the 19-13 loss to No. 23 Utah with an injury, Beau Hoge earned the first start of his BYU career against Wisconsin.

The redshirt sophomore completed 11-of-20 passes for 111 yards with two interceptions against the Badgers, but Sitake wouldn’t say if he earned the job for another week.

Hoge is currently listed as a co-starter on the depth chart with Mangum, who Sitake said is improving in his recovery.

“He’s not on a scooter anymore, so that’s a positive,” Sitake said. “He’s improving, but it’s still too early to make a definitive decision on this weekend.”

Budding country music star

The Cougars have won five of the last six meetings with Utah State, and hold a 48-35-3 advantage all-time that includes a 17-18-2 mark in Logan.

But Linehan, a native of New Zealand, said the team takes the “Old Wagon Wheel rivalry” as serious as any other on its schedule.

“We feel as a team that we haven’t performed like we want to perform. We’re playing for pride. We don’t like what we’ve put out on the field.

“It doesn’t matter if there’s a Wagon Wheel; we need to perform for ourselves.”

His motivation for the Old Wagon Wheel rivalry, though? Darius Rucker, and a potential budding country music career.

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