The obligatory "does BYU really only practice for 50 minutes?" thread

[oxcoug]

Apparently it's true - they do. Practices run around 50 minutes, maxing out at around a 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Meanwhile the Utes - I am told, please confirm or refute - practice 2-3 hours.

My question on this would be.....

WTF?

Or put differently...

WTFF?

50 minute practices = 50% investment. I knew intramural football teams at BYU who had 50 minute practices.

And for the people wondering how to explain our shoddy tackling and pass-dropping frenzy, look no further.

I am and have been - even before he was hired - a big Bronco fan. I believe he's done an exceptional job if you look at the big picture. But this simply makes no sense. Someone needs to slap Bronco a few times to make him realize that if you practice HALF of the time that other teams practice you will be HALF as ready, HALF as effective. I don't care how "efficient" your 50 minutes are.

[il Padrino Ute]

I may be wrong, but my understanding is that BYU doesn't hit during practice. Is this true? If so, that would be more of a concern than the length of the practice.

[oxcoug]

I may be wrong, but my understanding is that BYU doesn't hit during practice. Is this true? If so, that would be more of a concern than the length of the practice.

This has been the case - though Bronco broke from it long enough to disprove his own practice by doing longer full-contact practices leading up to Oregon State in the LV Bowl last year. And the results were what was probably the best overall defensive performance ever of a Mendenhall defense against a healthy and dangerous offense.

So you'd think he would have changed the practice, but apparently it's resumed this year.

[Non Sequitur]

It's my understanding that the length and number of practices is mandated by the NCAA. So either Kyle is practice more than is allowed or Bronco is practicing less than he is allowed. I'm not sure I believe either is true.

[oxcoug]

It's my understanding that the length and number of practices is mandated by the NCAA. So either Kyle is practice more than is allowed or Bronco is practicing less than he is allowed. I'm not sure I believe either is true.

Pretty sure the latter is true.

Unless 3-4 people on TBS who attend practices and don't troll are making stuff up.

[oxcoug]

It's my understanding that the length and number of practices is mandated by the NCAA. So either Kyle is practice more than is allowed or Bronco is practicing less than he is allowed. I'm not sure I believe either is true.

I do know for a fact that BYU used less than half of its NCAA-allotted practice hours leading up to the 2008 LV Bowl vs Arizona. So it would be consistent with that.

[pellegrino]

It's my understanding that the length and number of practices is mandated by the NCAA. So either Kyle is practice more than is allowed or Bronco is practicing less than he is allowed. I'm not sure I believe either is true.

as per NCAA bylaw 17 student athletes can practice no more than four hours a day, no more than 20 hours per week, no more than six days a week.

Our players have firesides to plan so we have to cut ours short.

[Brian]

I may be wrong, but my understanding is that BYU doesn't hit during practice. Is this true? If so, that would be more of a concern than the length of the practice.

Wasn't Ronnie Mac doing that for a while, too?

[il Padrino Ute]

Wasn't Ronnie Mac doing that for a while, too?

I haven't heard that.

[U-Ute]

Wasn't Ronnie Mac doing that for a while, too?

If so, it was probably out of some folksy paranoia that the Air Force Academy was using satellites to spy on them.

[UtahDan]

If this is all true it can't be new. No one cared while BYU was winning and no one will care later this year if BYU can string a couple wins together here.

[Non Sequitur]

as per NCAA bylaw 17 student athletes can practice no more than four hours a day, no more than 20 hours per week, no more than six days a week.

Our players have firesides to plan so we have to cut ours short.

If Bronco is allowed 4 hours a day and is only using 1, that's a serious problem.

[pellegrino]

If this is all true it can't be new. No one cared while BYU was winning and no one will care later this year if BYU can string a couple wins together here.

I was pretty pissed about it when we lost to AZ in Vegas. We didn't even take advantage of the time to develop younger players, which is the only tangible benefit to going to a bowl that pays you squat.

I think if Bronco can get away with less practice then that's great. A team like this year's with so much inexperience and youth would probably benefit from longer practices, at least initially.

[oxcoug]

If this is all true it can't be new. No one cared while BYU was winning and no one will care later this year if BYU can string a couple wins together here.

Actually Dan - not so. I posted about this a few times elsewhere even while BYU was winning back in 2008 when I felt that the defense, in spite of the wins, felt soft.

Even in the midst of a winning streak against the softer stretches of the MWC schedule it will be a concern because with Utah coming up at the end of the year it will, by that point, have piled up 100 hours or more of additional performance-perfecting practice.

So maybe not other fans, but I'll keep caring even when we're winning.

But it just feels like a more serious problem when you're seeing obvious execution problems like tackling and catching passes.

[UtahDan]

Actually Dan - not so. I posted about this a few times elsewhere even while BYU was winning back in 2008 when I felt that the defense, in spite of the wins, felt soft.

Even in the midst of a winning streak against the softer stretches of the MWC schedule it will be a concern because with Utah coming up at the end of the year it will, by that point, have piled up 100 hours or more of additional performance-perfecting practice.

So maybe not other fans, but I'll keep caring even when we're winning.

But it just feels like a more serious problem when you're seeing obvious execution problems like tackling and catching passes.

Fair enough.