Bronco's first news conference

BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall held his first Monday morning Q&A with reporters. He said Saturday’s game against Washington is “an exciting start to the season” and that he’s “excited to play at home in our opener.”

Mendenhall said he’s grateful to be starting the season at home with such a young team to minimize at least some uncertainty with travel and other factors.

Mendenhall addressed the position battles that are continuing — at quarterback, inside linebacker and tight end. While Riley Nelson will start at QB, freshman Jake Heaps will play. He said he expects as many as five different inside linebackers playing (Shane Hunter, Aveni Leung-Wai, Zac Stout, Austen Jorgensen and Brandon Ogletree) and three or four tight ends (Mike Muehlmann, Richard Wilson, Devin Mahina, Marcus Mathews). Mendenhall said by the third quarter of the first game he and the coaching staff should have a better idea of who is emerging at those spots.

Asked about the independence issue that everybody’s wondering about, Mendenhall said athletic director Tom Holmoe and the rest of the school’s administration is “working hard” on BYU’s options. “They’re exploring every possible option to get the most exposure,” Mendenhall said.

For now, there’s no information about a news conference or any sort of announcement about whether the Cougars will go independent or remain in the Mountain West Conference through 2011. The deadline is Sept. 1, which is Wednesday.

The Cougars will hold a practice closed to the media late this afternoon.