Bronco Mendenhall Will Look To Blend Influence And Results At Utah State
Dec 9, 2024, 3:02 PM
LOGAN, Utah- After a turbulent 4-8 season under Interim Head Coach Nate Dreiling, the Utah State Aggies are starting a new era in Logan with the hiring of Bronco Mendenhall. The former BYU head coach is making his return to the Beehive State after a ten-year journey that took him to the University of Virginia and the University of New Mexico before agreeing to become the next head coach of the Aggies.
RELATED: Utah State Finalizes Hiring Of Former BYU HC Bronco Mendenhall
Following his introductory press conference, Bronco joined Hans Olsen and Scott Garrard on the KSL Sports Zone to talk about his goals for the Aggies and what the future looks like as Utah State prepares to make the jump to the new Pac-12.
After leaving BYU, Bronco Mendenhall coached at Virginia from 2016 to 2021 before taking a break from coaching and moving to Montana. After a three-year hiatus, Mendenhall returned to the coaching ranks in Albuquerque, New Mexico where, despite missing bowl eligibility, he helped the Lobos win their most games since 2016.
After only one year in New Mexico, Bronco filled the vacancy at Utah State. After a four-win season in Logan, many Aggies fans are hoping that Coach Mendenhall can deliver the same sort of immediate success, but wins are not the only thing Bronco is focused on.
𝐀 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐄𝐫𝐚 𝐎𝐟 𝐀𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐁𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲!
Welcome our newest Head Coach, Bronco Mendenhall!
➡️ https://t.co/iKHSQiOLVk#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/6uEujZpELt
— USU Football (@USUFootball) December 6, 2024
A Culture Of Development At Utah State
“Besides the hire, the immediacy of the results and a tangible outcome is super important,” Mendenhall said, “but how the outcome happens also, that ends up filling stands with people that not only love the result but what’s going on.”
Bronco talked with Hans and Scotty about messages that he has gotten from former players over his nearly 20 years as a head coach, and how most of them haven’t been about games, wins, or seasons, but rather memorable moments with the team where connections were made. This is a pattern that Mendenhall talked about cultivating at each of his coaching stops, and how he wants to continue the pattern of not only developing great players but great men also
“Ya the outcome really matters, but if we’re not doubling down on the influence and impact part,” emphasized Bronco, “We’ve worked really hard to blend those two, the results with that other part…”
Logan, Utah And Its Place In College Football
Mendenhall also discussed the state of college athletics with new factors like NIL money and the transfer portal.
“The idea of a true college town, I love that for college football currently,” Bronco said about Logan and the appeal that the community and destination will have on recruiting. He continued saying, “I think it’s one of the coolest destinations in college football, one of the most unique.”
Stadium of the Morning 🥞
🏟️ Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium
☑️ Capacity: 25,100
📍Logan, UtahHome of @USUFootball pic.twitter.com/011mJT1GXi
— CFB Home (@CFBHome) January 14, 2024
Bronco Mendenhall On Recruiting The State Of Utah
Not only did Coach Mendenhall touch on the beautiful backdrop that Northern Utah has to offer, but also the increase in football talent that the state has seen as a whole.
“From the time I left where I could sense it happening when I was finishing my time at BYU… the emphasis on football, the quality of the coaching, the programs, the new high schools, you could just sense, ‘here it comes’,” Bronco told Hans and Scotty about the rise of young talent in the Beehive State. “This program can predominantly fill its roster yearly if I do a good job selecting, and assessing, and attracting, the majority of this roster yearly can come from this state.”
Mendenhall said that recruiting heavily within the state of Utah will not only bring talent to Logan, but it also aligns with the uniqueness that he already sees and intends to continue to build at Utah State. “Possibly there’s a supplement from Texas and California, but where else do you really need to go other than what I’ve seen here, and man does that fit well with the identity of this institution.”
“It might be the thing I’m most excited about,” Mendenhall admitted, “is putting together a roster with that emphasis.”
Bronco Mendenhall’s Coaching Staff
Coach Mendenhall also walked Hans and Scotty through the process of building his coaching staff that Coach says has only one spot yet to be filled. He has assembled his crew predominantly from the pool of players that he used to coach at BYU and Virginia.
“The last count at New Mexico was 15,” Bronco said about the number of his staffers who used to play under him, “All these guys that are now coaches have come through how I coach, the systems that I run, the unique way and expectations that are a part of that… the alignment is so fierce and it is so fast… The BYU and Virginia guys on my staff, they feel like they played on the same team even though it was two completely different places because the leader and the methodology was similar.”
With that familiarity and culture already built within the coaching staff, Mendenhall hopes to pick up right where his group left off.
RELATED: Utah Utes Football Name Jason Beck New Offensive Coordinator
“The job is to transform and continue this program growing and becoming,” Bronco said about Utah State’s past, “There’s been great teams here and lots of success and bowl games and ten-win seasons…”
The Aggies’ last ten-win season was in 2021 when they went 11-3 with a win in the LA Bowl. However, in the last three years, Utah State has failed to win more than six games, but Bronco Mendenhall is on a path to quickly bring success back to Logan.
Tanner Tripp is a sports writer for KSL Sports covering all teams across the state of Utah. Follow him on X @tanner_tripp and Instagram @tanner.tripp here.
