Merril Hoge’s son is distancing himself from his father’s criticism of the BYU coaching staff.
Hoge, a former NFL running back and ESPN analyst, joined BYU Sports Nation for an interview Wednesday in which he talked about his son’s role on the Cougars. Beau Hoge is a junior at BYU and made a big position switch this year from quarterback to running back.
In the interview, Merril called the position change “dumb” and said his son told him he wasn’t a fan of the change either.
Merril said that when his son called him about the change, his reaction was, “Well that’s stupid. I thought [Beau] was messing with me.
“When he called me up he said, ‘I didn’t come here to play running back; I want to play quarterback.’ He went and talked to them and that fell on deaf ears. It’s kind of disturbing. They put him off for so long, they wouldn’t even talk to him. I just think it’s weird that you’d do that,” Merril told BYU Sports Nation.
Merril thinks that the move is a “waste of talent.”
“They’ll claim that they’re maximizing talent but I’ll claim it’s a waste of talent. I don’t think it’s a smart move. And I don’t even know why the linebackers coach is even a part of the evaluation.”
Merril was upset that Ed Lamb, the linebackers coach and an assistant coach, seems to be behind the move. Hoge suspects that Lamb was trying to help out quarterback recruit Joe Critchlow by having Beau move positions.
“This is as bizarre and smelly as anything I’ve ever seen,” said Hoge. “They’ve said a lot of things and lived up to nothing.”
Merril also says that BYU didn’t give his son the opportunity to compete for the starting quarterback position this year.
After Merril’s comments made headlines, Beau decided to address things by distancing himself from his dad in a statement on Twitter:
Beau said he was “at peace” with the position move and wants to help the team. He also says he didn’t share all his feelings with his dad, which suggests he’s now fine with the move.
Beau has completed 29 of 56 passes for 394 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions in six career games. He was 3-for-10 for 51 yards in a game at Fresno State last year.
Here is Merril’s interview:
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