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SALT LAKE CITY — BYU is coming off its worst season since 1955, but change is in sight for the Cougar football program that went 4-9 a year ago.
New offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes is bringing a culture of accountability to the program after its uncharacteristic year in 2017, and a new offensive staff that includes former Utah offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick at quarterbacks coach has brought a new wave to Provo.
"You're used to some disappointment, but I don’t think you are used to things falling apart like that," BYU coach Kalani Sitake said as he enters his third season at his alma mater. "I think that we learned a lot about ourselves, and I definitely learned a lot about myself as a head coach.
"Being in this position is not something that can’t be overcome. We’re excited about the challenge, and really focused on getting through the adversity and back to where we think we can play."
The players have owned their mistakes from a year ago — and those that remain are determined not to let it happen again.
But bouncing back won't be easy.
"With a year as bad as it was last year, nobody should feel like they are above criticism," assistant head coach Ed Lamb said. "I thought Coach Sitake, from the very first meeting with the team, on a Monday after our last game — another coach might’ve come in and tried to keep the momentum going. But he came in and presented a completely different head coach to the players. They loved him before and through the season, but he has a completely different approach.
"It was an implicit challenge to all of us to find self-improvement as players and coaches for the benefit of the team. It wasn’t going to be about pointing fingers or coaching changes, which are part of a process, but the answer was within us all — to improve individually."
A schedule that includes five matchups with Power-5 opponents, including the season opener Sept. 1 at Arizona and the season finale at Utah, will test a team that still hasn’t settled on a starting quarterback.
Speaking of the quarterback derby, Tanner Mangum is back after missing nearly half of his junior season, eager for one final go at his last season in a Cougar uniform. Competing with him to start at quarterback are signal callers Beau Hoge, Joe Critchlow and incoming freshmen Zach Wilson and Jaren Hall.
If BYU is to have success this season, a leader has to emerge from this group to help turn around an offense that ranked in the bottom 10 nationally in 2017.
"(Last season) was disappointing, just because we had really high expectations," said Mangum, who appeared as a slimmed down athlete at BYU media day after undergoing Achilles' tendon surgery. "We were really excited. We had worked hard all offseason, and we were looking forward to a good year. Obviously, that didn't happen.
"Now it’s transferred over to motivation for improvement."
Click the video above for SportsBeat’s annual BYU football preview, as well as the 2018 pump-up video to get you ready for kickoff in six weeks.
