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PROVO — Every college football team sees a little bit of attrition every year, and BYU is no different heading into the 2015 season.
Only one player stood out for head coach Bronco Mendenhall when asked about players not returning to the team, though.
Isaiah Nacua has withdrawn from the program for non-injury related reasons, Mendenhall said at Wednesday’s annual on-campus Media Day. The sophomore-to-be defensive lineman is expected to enroll at Snow College, Mendenhall added.
“He wasn’t asked to leave, but he withdrew from the program,” Mendenhall said of Nacua. “I think he’ll be pursuing Snow College. I don’t think there are any others.”
The 6-foot-3, 250-pound defensive lineman came to BYU as a highly touted prospect who prepped at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas and Timpview High in Provo. He totaled 18.5 sacks as a senior at Timpview en route to the Thunderbirds’ 14-1 record and the Class 4A State Championship, a year after helping Bishop Gorman to a 15-1 record and its fourth straight Nevada state championship.
Nacua’s brother Kai is a defensive back at BYU and remains in the program.
DEPTH A CONCERN - Mendenhall said the biggest concern for BYU heading into fall camp is establishing depth, particularly across the offensive line, in the secondary and behind senior starter Taysom Hill at quarterback.
The return of Tanner Mangum at quarterback from his two-year LDS Church mission to Chile should help ease the backup concerns.
“He’s been back for three months from his mission, and he was on campus a few days after his return,” Mendenhall said of Mangum. “He’s already doing his part.”
ADMISSIONS STANDARDS INCREASED - Mendenhall and other sources in the BYU athletic department said academic admission standards have gone up recently at BYU, which provides a new challenge on the recruiting trail.
“They’re very similar for our football program as with the Northwesterns and those types of schools,” Mendenhall said. “It’s harder to get into BYU as a regular student, and so it’s also harder for student-athletes.”
Mendenhall said one advantage of the increased standards is the types of athletes his staff continues to recruit.
“The quality of students keep going up, and so the student-athletes' standards also have to go up,” he said.
