Training under Bronco
As the countdown to the next football season begins, the new Utah State University coaching staff is adopting a rigorous strength and conditioning protocol, with goals to focus on what head strength and conditioning coach Kody Cooke called “the details.”
“The culture has been the biggest change,” Cooke said. “It’s about us, about our team, not one individual player.”
To ensure every player starts from the same point, head coach Bronco Mendenhall introduced a tiered gear system that emphasizes equality and rewards hard work. Cooke explained players earn higher levels of team apparel, progressing from white to gray, blue and ultimately black, the elite level.
The gear is based on their performance in testing cycles, fostering competition and motivating the players to push their limits.
“We’re not just training to test. There are specific goals to meet to be elite,” Cooke said.
He emphasized attention to detail, from how players warm up to their foot placement, believing these small details will pay off in the long run.
“The way he came in and the demand that he started with the program — the way that coach Mendenhall, the strength staff, coach Cooke came in and put us straight to work day one was definitely something I’ve never experienced,” senior safety Ike Larsen said.
After being with the USU Football program since 2021 and seeing three different coaching staffs, Larsen went on to say he feels more pushed and challenged with the current coaching staff than ever before.
The biggest change for sophomore Noah Flores has been “the sense of urgency.” He said the team is tired of losing and they’re ready to build a foundation for something greater than themselves.
Using their guiding principle of “will before skill,” Cooke said it has been about the daily challenge from not just the coaching staff and the whistle but “peer to peer leadership.”
“The stuff we’ve been through the last couple of weeks has definitely formed a brotherhood, and now we’re all really good friends,” Larsen said. He and Cooke agreed these friendships are made to challenge each other and demand effort in their practice and execution.
Dedication to four or more strenuous workouts a week has been a commitment not all returning players were willing to make. A few players decided to part ways with the team, to whom Larsen said, “We wish them the best.”
As other programs in college football take a lighter approach to the offseason, USU hopes to be a step ahead when summer comes, Larsen said.
Keeping the players motivated, especially as they practice on the Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium in winter weather, has been key.
“Transparency,” Cooke said. “This is what we expect of you, and this is how you can get there.”
With that transparency, the players know what their coaches expect of them, they understand the details are noticed and as Flores said, they’re all starting from ground zero to earn their spot.
Flores and Larsen both echoed Cooke’s sentiment, noting the culture change has pushed them to want to be their best for their team and Utah State.
“We’re going to give it our all every single day, no matter what, for our future, our future kids, future family, our family now,” Flores said. “It’s bigger than just football, and it’s going to carry us for the rest of our lives.”
This level of discipline is something Cooke has praised the players for, noting how they bought in to the new standards set by Mendenhall and the coaching staff quickly.
With their first game not until September, Larsen said the work they’re doing now will be something Aggie fans can recognize in the upcoming season.
“I can’t tell the season if we’re going to win 10 games or we’re going to win five games,” Larsen said. “I do know is when that ball snaps, we’re definitely going to be the most conditioned team and the most physical team.”
Aggie Nation can expect a “different team,” Flores said. “We’re going to be hungry.”