More than a few of the BYU football faithful cringed when Bronco Mendenhall invited Cougar fans to "join us in our quest for perfection" at halftime of a recent basketball game.

"The mission of BYU is to assist the individual in their quest for perfection," Mendenhall said. "There's great value in striving for perfection, John Wooden said that. So I was not talking about our record next year but the BYU mission statement."

Nevertheless, Mendenhall is well aware of the potential of a BCS run in 2008. As the Cougars open spring practice this afternoon, he knows the fans and his team are mulling the possibilities of a special season. Under the current format, the only way for a team like BYU to get to a BCS bowl game is to go undefeated.

"To say that it's not being talked about among the players and team would not be accurate," Mendenhall said. "We'd like to keep achieving and developing as a program but our focus is only on the day-to-day. I've already noticed the pressure and talk from the outside and how alluring it is to our team. I'll have to work as strongly as I can to help the players maintain their focus."

The optimism of BYU fans and players is to be expected. The Cougars have posted a 22-4 mark the past two seasons, including a pair of undefeated runs through the Mountain West Conference and two Las Vegas Bowl victories. Nine starters return on offense, including MWC Freshman of the Year Harvey Unga at running back and first team All-MWC players at quarterback (Max Hall), tight end (Dennis Pitta) and offensive line (Ray Feinga and Dallas Reynolds).

Defensively, BYU has some holes to fill left by linebackers Bryan Kehl and Kelly Poppinga, as well as the departure of most of an overacheiving secondary. But Mendenhall and his coaching staff feel like they have prepared, if not experienced, players waiting to step in.

"Our No. 1 goal is to win the conference championship," Mendenhall said. "That's where our focus will be."

Since the first of the new year, the 2008 version of the Cougars have been conditioning and attending volunteer 7-on-7 workouts. Mendenhall and his staff are allowed to watch a limited amount of that conditioning.

"This is the hardest we've pushed any of our teams yet," Mendenhall said. "This is the highest level of physical preparedness I've seen. They've responded very well. As was expected, reports are that the offense is ahead of the defense to this point."

The Cougars will hold workouts four days a week for three weeks, then two workouts the final week leading up to the spring game on April 12.

"One thing in particular we want to do is to identify the two deep," Mendenhall said. "The offensive side of the ball is much like the defensive side last year, with a lot of returners. Finding our backups there will be key, especially at our back up quarterback position. The defense has a larger volume of new faces, and we need to identify our backups there this spring, giving those players the right amount of work."

Because of the number of injuries on the offensive line, this spring will be much like spring two years ago: A limited number of team scrimmages. Instead, the Cougars will work more with individual and position group drills.

"I'm optimistic about the direction of the program and look forward to adding an increased level of consistency," Mendenhall said. "In some areas we have increased experience, so many facets will be identical to what we had before, other than the next wave of players working to fill positions that have opened through attrition."

• On the mend: Mendenhall said the following players will not participate in spring football because of injury but are expected to return for fall practice: Russell Tialavea (So. NT), Jaden Wagner (Fr. LB), Jason Speredon (So. OL), Travis Bright (Sr. OL), Nick Alletto (Fr. OL) and Garrett Reden (So. OL). Chris Warner (Jr. S) and David Tafuna (Sr. S) will do non-contact work during spring.

• Changing positions: Junior Vic So'oto, who has played tight end since arriving in Provo, has been moved to outside linebacker. Former Box Elder standout Matt Putman (6-7, 235) has also been moved to outside linebacker. Mendenhall said senior David Nixon is being moved to the field-side linebacker spot occupied last year by Bryan Kehl, who is expected to be chosen in April's NFL draft. The boundary linebacker spot is up for grabs.

"It should be quite a battle," Mendenhall said.

• Daily Herald Sports Editor Darnell Dickson can be reached at 344-2555 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it