We have the tools. We have the players and talent. We need to come together and play as a unit. Another big part is to stay healthy. Some of our main guys battled injuries last year and that hurt. – BYU defensive lineman Remington Peck
PROVO — BYU’s record the past three seasons have played like a broken record.
8-5.
8-5.
8-5.
The Cougars, who open fall camp Saturday, haven’t enjoyed being stuck in mediocrity. BYU is hoping to get out of a rut and exceed the eight-win mark for the first time since 2011.
“We’re excited to show what we can do,” said senior defensive lineman Remington Peck. “For a lot of us, it’s our last year. We want to finish on a good note.”
But it won’t be easy.
The Cougars will visit Nebraska, host Boise State and travel to UCLA and Michigan the first four weeks of September. Other opponents include Cincinnati, Missouri and Utah State.
BYU announced on Thursday that senior running back Jamaal Williams has withdrawn from school and will redshirt in 2015. “We plan on Jamaal returning for the 2016 season,” coach Bronco Mendenhall said in a statement.
Even without Williams, BYU’s offense is experienced and expected to be explosive.
“With what we did last year, now you can add 12 or 13 games of experience from key guys,” quarterback Taysom Hill said. “We can expect to raise the bar a little bit. Do what we did last year and a little bit more. If we do a little bit more, we’ll be one of the best offenses in the country, based on what we did last year.”
Besides running back, other positions that will be in the spotlight during August include backup quarterback and cornerback.
Hill, who is returning from a season-ending leg injury, has several inexperienced QBs behind him, including sophomore McCoy Hill and freshmen Tanner Mangum, Beau Hoge and Koy Detmer Jr.
At cornerback, sophomores Micah Hannemann and Jordan Preator, junior Michael Davis and freshman Michael Shelton will vie for starting roles.
Ultimately, what will determine a successful season for the Cougars?
“Everyone else will look at it as wins and losses but for us it will be to become the best we can be,” Peck said. “We have the tools. We have the players and talent. We need to come together and play as a unit. Another big part is to stay healthy. Some of our main guys battled injuries last year and that hurt.”
Last winter, BYU hired a new strength and conditioning coach, Frank Wintrich. The Cougars have benefited from Wintrich’s approach during the offseason.
“The workouts have been tough,” Peck said. “Coach Wintrich makes them tough for a reason. That’s been a weakness of our program for years. We train really hard up to spring ball, then after spring ball we kind of rest before fall camp. This year it was the opposite. That will be a big difference.”
Mendenhall has been looking forward to this season for a long time.
“We have a passionate, passionate fan base that is amazing. We have a good team and a really tough schedule, so that is a fantastic opportunity,” Mendenhall said at the end of spring practices. “We have a senior quarterback coming back that’s one of the best in the country and an offense that scored the most points since 2001. We have really good leadership on the defensive side and a proven system with proven staff, so it could be a really fun year.”
Meanwhile, the Cougars are hoping to end the streak of 8-5 seasons.
“I didn’t sign up to be 8-5. No one did. The coaches don’t. They don’t like it. I sure as heck don’t want to do it again,” senior wide receiver Mitch Mathews said. “Being in the leadership spot I feel like it’s my job not to let it happen again. I feel like we won’t because of the culture we have. Something is different. I can honestly say that.”
BYU kicks off the season at Nebraska on Sept. 5.