The leg break isn't the part of the injury that I would expect to limit his mobility. It is my understanding that he also tore every major tendon in his knee. The recovery from that, I would expect, is substantially longer than the recovery from the leg break. From what you write it seems like he is closer to 100% than I'd expect, so maybe he'll be just fine, but I'll be surprised if he isn't at least a little limited or even just rusty.
And I'm sorry, but the suggestion that even the worst offenders of that brawl could earn his way out of a suspension is, if not gamesmanship, then something perhaps more offensive.
Memphis has already announced suspensions and without any possibility of avoiding punishment altogether with good behavior. BYU announced it wouldn't make an announcement regarding punishments. Link If that isn't "gamesmanship" I don't know what is. I certainly understand the strategy behind not announcing the suspensions, like Memphis did, and it's not to say that "gamesmanship" is bad, but that's what it is.
So the shredded ligaments thing comes from something Salt Lake Tribune BYU beat writer Jay Drew tweeted. He tweeted that Bronco Mendenhall told him that the injury was worse than expected and that every ligament was shredded. I am not sure where the miscommunication was but Hill refuted that story a month later in an article actually written by Jay Drew. Hill said that there was some ligament damage (read: sprain), but no replacement of ligaments. I am not saying he is close to 100%. I am saying he is 100% and has been for a month and a half.
As for the gamesmanship, I don't see it in that article you link. BYU established a policy, announced at media day last year by AD Tom Holmoe, that BYU would no longer comment about student athletes and issues related to the Honor Code. If any of you recall, when Jimmer was leading BYU, Brandon Davies was disciplined for an honor code violation and not allowed to participate in the NCAA tournament. That was met with national attention and many complained about the way it was handled feeling that Davies was unneccessarily shamed. As a result the new policy states that the school will not comment at all on such matters. Ironically, many of the same people (mostly local media) who complained about the shaming, are now complaining that BYU isn't being forthright. It's a lose-lose situation really. But BYU has decided that any punishements stemming from the Miami Beach Bowl brawl fall under that policy and will not comment on who will be suspended, for how long they will be suspended and why they're suspended. The comment from Bronco I shared earlier came from him directly in one of the numerous media day interviews last week. For what it's worth, when these kind of things happen, Bronco typically gives the players impossibly high requirements for the players to meet to be able to play if they're facing potential suspension. This is why I said, it's a slim chance that nobody is suspended for the game. An incident last summer resulted in a number of suspensions for the opener against UConn. Bronco made a similar comment then that there were ways for the players to work themselves out of missing the game, but those conditions were obviously not met by the players who didn't see the field.
This kinda surprises me. I always thought BYU was a very strict school (Honor Code and all that). This seems like a total win at all costs move, something that a Florida St would do. Haven't guys got kicked out of school for having sex with their girlfriend?
Maybe not being in a conference helps here. The Big Ten has stepped in before and suspended players before for various acts.
Student athletes are disciplined all the time for violations of the honor code. BYU doesn't have a win at all costs attitude, even though selfishly I wish BYU would trade compliance offices and police departments with Florida State. If that were the case 4 starters including running back Jamaal Williams and both corners wouldn't have been suspended for the opener last year. Or Spencer Hadley getting suspended for 4 games as a senior the week of our rivalry game with Utah. Or Brandon Davies missing the NCAA tournament cost what many BYU fans feel was a Final Four team.
There is no benefit here of not being in a conference. Through an agreement with the CFO, the Big 12 handles all officiating reviews for BYU. Two seasons ago they suspended a BYU player for targeting after review. Last season, All-American center Tejan Koroma was ejected for what officials deemed a punch (that did not hit anyone) in the 2nd half against Houston. It was reviewed by the Big 12 and the penalty rescinded.
Can we hear about any weaknesses the kid has? I can only assume his long ball isn't quite a strength only due to the fact that I haven't seen it, and his long TD passes aren't very long at all.
What about the kid makes BYU fans nervous? Heck, what about BYU makes you guys nervous?
Taysom has weaknesses for sure. He's the best running back on the team, but his passing needs improvement. As others have noted he's pretty good in the short and intermediate game. He has some trouble though with the deep ball. He has an arm and often puts too much on the ball than necessary. His biggest weakness is that he doesn't have much touch. If he could learn to put some air under the ball on some of his deep throws he'd connect on more. Against UConn last year he had a perfect touch pass on a rollout to the left lofting over the coverage to receiver streaking down the sideline. It made me think he turned a corner. He did show improvement, but we only got a third of the season in before he was hurt so it's difficult to tell if the improvements in his passing game are legitimate.
I also think that he needs to trust his receivers more. He needs to buy time in the backfield with his feet while keeping his eyes downfield. He needs to consistently go through his progressions. Too often he sees 5 yards he can take, so he tucks and runs. And many of those turn into 10, 15, 25 yard runs so it is difficult to fault him. But it puts him at risk of getting hurt and with two season ending injuries already it makes me wish he'd not put himself in harm's way if it can be avoided.
The defense makes BYU nervous. BYU has a good front 7. Bronson Kaufusi has moved back to the DL after a disastrous experiment at OLB last year. But more than anything it's good to have Bronco back as DC. Whenever he's been DC he's had a top 20 defense. The two times he reliquished control to someone else have resulted in disasters. He took back the reins after last season's porous defense. So I expect it to be better. However, the secondary is thin and lacks talent. It's never been a strong suit for BYU as we typically struggle to recruit good defensive backs. Bronco can usually mask those deficiencies through scheme and getting pressure in the backfield. He'll have his defensive chops tested this year, because the secondary could be as bad, if not worse than last year's which was abysmal.
