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Mendenhall versus Whittingham: Defense anyone? |
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Dick Harmon | Tuesday, December 10, 2002, 3:19 pm
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The two favorite sons of Utah County may be Gary Crowton
Bronco Mendenhall, New Mexico assistant head coach, perhaps an early leader. He deploys a gambling, pressure defense with changing looks and fronts with an emphasis on speed and quarterbacks attacks.
Kyle Whittingham, Utah defensive coordinator, a guy with a more simple, conservative, fundamentally sound scheme that blitzes and man coverages via a strong front but is uncanny at protecting the end zone. If not a serious candidate with an indepth interview and proper respect he should be.
Mendenhall is a guy with truck loads of relatives and friends in the valley, a former star at American Fork. Whittingham is equally connected in Provo with friends from bankers to real estate brokers across the valley.
While Whittingham has a more illustrious track record with Top 20 defenses, Mendenhall has consistently produced similar Top 20 rankings in a shorter time in Albuquerque. Both guys have dominated MWC defensive statistics since the league began out of the old WAC.
Whittingham |
