'BYU Football with Bronco Mendenhall' season opener

PROVO — The first "BYU Football with Bronco Mendenhall" show of the season aired from the Cougar Room at LaVell Edwards Stadium Tuesday night. The Cougars are preparing for their season-opener against Nebraska on Saturday afternoon in Lincoln. The matchup features two of the five winningest teams in college football over the past 40 years, with Nebraska having the most and BYU the fifth most victories over that span.

Nebraska enters the game hoping to extend some very impressive streaks. BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall reminisced about one that will definitely remain active come Saturday.

"Even at that point [the last time he visited Nebraska as a graduate assistant at Oregon State] there was this amazing streak of home sellouts I was just marveling at, something from like the 1960s," he said.

Including Saturday's game against BYU, Nebraska has sold out 341 consecutive home games dating back to Nov. 3, 1962, by far the longest active sellout streak in the nation.

The Cornhuskers currently boast of another streak BYU hopes to end this weekend. Nebraska has won 29 straight home openers, their last loss coming in 1985 versus Florida State.

Mendenhall said the team is not focusing on Nebraska's prestige, but is preparing similarly to other games it has played at historic venues in the past. "We've been approaching it the exact same way. We feel fortunate to play the game of college football, but we also know it's a lot more fun when you play well and you win."

Not only will this be the first time BYU and Nebraska square off, but the Cornhuskers also feature a completely new coaching staff. Mendenhall said the Cougars are focusing primarily on improving themselves.

"Certainly our focus is on us," Mendenhall said. "I'm never positive exactly what kind of team we have going into the opener until we play. I don't think anybody is regardless if they say they are or not. So we're still trying to eliminate any concerns we have with our team. Then you have to take that and match it against an opponent like Nebraska."

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Tuesday's player guest on the show was starting quarterback Taysom Hill. He said he's ready to go just 10 months after suffering a season-ending leg injury.

"I'm excited to go," Hill said. "I feel prepared. I feel healthy. Everything is all lined up."

Hill said this was the best fall camp experience he has had during his time at BYU.

"A lot of it has stemmed from our spring and summer workouts," he added. "The team has just bonded; I don't know how else to describe it. The enthusiasm was higher than I had ever seen, and I think a lot of that was because of coach (Frank) Wintrich, and it just all translated into fall camp. I think it's the most unified team we've ever had, and the most prepared."

While he's optimistic, Hill remained realistic about the preseason hype.

"All this stuff right now is just hearsay," Hill said. "Like coach (Mendenhall) mentioned, we won't know until Saturday. We'll find out on Saturday how prepared we are. Having been here three years I have a pretty good idea of what we can expect. I've seen the film on Nebraska and seen their personnel the best that I can, but we don't really know what to expect there either."

He also offered high praise for the challenging schedule this year, especially in September.

"A lot of people talk about the schedule and say things like, 'wow, your September is crazy,' but honestly I wouldn't want it any other way," Hill said.

Hill mentioned some of the leaps he's taken this offseason at the quarterback position.

"In order to become elite, it's about good decisions and throwing on time," Hill said. "I think I've been able to make a jump in both of those areas. A lot of quarterbacks talk about the game starting to slow down, and I've started to feel that."

Part of that good decision-making will involve avoiding injury this season.

"I learned a harsh lesson last year," Hill said. "While I'm willing to do everything I can to win the football game, I know I'm more beneficial to the team healthy rather than sitting on the couch in a cast. I'm trying to find a way to balance that."

A quarterback of Hill's caliber, coupled with many weapons at his disposal, could signal a lethal BYU offense in 2015.

"I have not played with this much talent before at BYU," Hill said. "You get the combination of Mitch (Mathews) and Nick (Kurtz) on the outside, with Devon (Blackmon) who's a change-up speed guy, and it's really pick your poison. If you want to load the box to try and stop Algie (Brown), Adam (Hine) and myself in the run game, well great, we've got some 6-foot-6 guys on the outside. We have an answer for whatever they bring."

Hill is also seeing improvements on defense since Mendenhall took over the defensive play-calling duties.

"The defense is great," the senior quarterback said. "Honestly, I'm excited to play somebody else because those guys bring it every play. I think that's the definition of a Coach Mendenhall defense, and I don't think you should expect anything else."

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Later in the show, Mendenhall offered his selections for the Firehouse Subs "fire starters of the game," who are players who lit the fire for the team in the previous game. Since the season hasn't yet started, he mentioned one offensive, one defensive and one special teams player who really impressed him during fall camp.

"Offensively, I was really impressed with a player who came in a little off the radar from his mission in Francis Bernard," Mendenhall said. "He's a big, physical running back who reminds me a lot of Harvey Unga."

On defense, Mendenhall noted Michael Shelton, a redshirt freshman defensive back.

"He reminds me a little bit of Brian Logan in terms of personality," the coach said, "but also by the way he plays."

And on special teams, Mendenhall talked about a player who flew a little under the radar last season despite making 12 of 14 field goals to set a BYU single-season field goal percentage record.

"I really like our field goal kicker Trevor Samson," Mendenhall said. "He's just been so consistent and done a great job all during camp." Samson also went 62 of 63 on PAT's last year. Blake Dorton is a KSL Radio sports intern and student at BYU studying broadcast journalism and French. He hopes to pursue a career in sports broadcasting following his graduation.

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