BYU coach hammers mantra for offense: ‘Line up and go’

In an effort to give the team plenty of time to learn the offense, coach Bronco Mendenhall is lengthening the time between the start and April 5 conclusion of spring drills.

“We will take a little more time with more meeting space,” Mendenhall said.

BYU was 60th in total offense and 64th in scoring last year.

Mendenhall fired his entire offensive staff and rehired former Cougars assistant coach Robert Anae as offensive coordinator and offensive line coach.

“Robert brings a clear identity, simplicity, toughness, a drive and exactness,” Mendenhall said. “I need to make sure he has all the practice structure and time necessary for that side of the ball to get caught up as quickly as possible.”

Anae is eager to get started.

“I hope they take ownership in the brand of offense, and I’d like that brand to characterize BYU football,” Anae said. “We are going to go fast and hard, and we have to keep it simple. If you go fast, you cannot have a multiple formation arrangement. You cannot have shifts and motions and movements. You pretty much have to line up and go. Just line up and go.”

Anae inherits question marks. Sophomore-to-be quarterback Taysom Hill is recovering from knee surgery and will be held out of 11-on-11 contact drills. Senior Jason Munns and redshirt freshman Ammon Olsen will compete for playing time.

A makeshift offensive line that lost six starters to injury last season must wait until summer before reinforcements arrive. The Cougars signed eight linemen in February’s recruiting class.

The upside for Anae is the talent returning at the skill positions — Cody Hoffman, Ross Apo and JD Falslev at receiver, Kaneakua Friel at tight end and Jamaal Williams at running back. Hoffman and Williams combined for 24 of BYU’s 47 touchdowns last season.

“We are not going to throw a lot at the guys this spring,” Anae said. “If we can go 12 plays really fast and really hard, that would be a nice starting point. I know it’s hard to say ‘12 plays, you are crazy.’ But if the guys know that like the back of their hands, that’s a starting point.”

Anae coached the offense at BYU from 2005 to 2010. He spent the past two seasons at Arizona as running game coordinator and offensive line coach.

“The two most important fundamentals of football are ball security and blocking,” Anae said. “If we do that at a high level, the brand should be eight yards a play, 90 plus plays (per game), 40 plus points. That’s usually what happens when you secure the ball and block. Fundamental football is usually what leads to outstanding results.”

■ KICKING QUESTION — The Cougars remain committed to senior place-kicker Justin Sorensen, who made only six of 12 field-goal attempts last season, including key misses in close losses at Boise State, Utah and Notre Dame.

“We didn’t have another scholarship for a kicker. Our eggs are in Justin’s basket,” Mendenhall said. “He has to continue to grow and help us win football games. Our coaching and his focus have to increase.”

■ WCC TOURNAMENT — BYUtv will broadcast 10 games next week in the West Coast Conference men’s and women’s basketball tournaments at Orleans Arena. BYUtv (Cox 352) will carry all games Wednesday and Thursday, the women’s quarterfinals Friday and the women’s semifinals Saturday.

Dave McCann is a news anchor for KSL television in Salt Lake City and the play-by-play voice for BYU sports on BYUtv. He also is the host of True Blue, which airs at 5:30 p.m. Mondays on BYUtv. He can be reached at dmccann@ksl.com or on Twitter @DaveMcCannKSL.