“I’ve been hurt," informed McKenzie as to why he hasn’t been present at many camps and combines this summer. “I hurt my leg and as soon as it got better I went to BYU’s padded camp the first day and was knocked down by someone doing some drills early in the day and I broke my collarbone, so with that, I was done.”
Bryson McKenzie is a 6-foot, 215-pound running back prospect from Timpview High School and has received a BYU offer very early on during the recruiting process, as Cougar coaches were impressed enough with his prospects as a sophomore. McKenzie will star at running back for the Thunderbirds this coming season and hopes to emulate the sort of output that former Thunderbird Harvey Unga put forth while he was at Timpview.
“Harvey Unga is the man," expressed McKenzie when asked if he looked up to Unga. “He’s the guy I want to be like. I want to be that sort of runner and hopefully this year and next I can come close to what he did while at Timpview.”
Due to being injured, McKenzie wasn’t able to ride the wave of his initial offer from BYU while showing his wares at the various camps and combines where most juniors-to-be make names for themselves. McKenzie is obviously disappointed with his inability to show at camps this summer, but realizes he has plenty of opportunities to prove his worth before signing a letter of intent in February of 2011.
“I have a lot of time," stated McKenzie. “BYU wants me and I love BYU, I always have, so that may be the school I pick, but I definitely want to get my name out there and get some more offers. It’s nice to have options and I plan to work as hard as I can, have a good year and then show what I got at camps next summer. I have time.”
McKenzie’s workouts have focused on his speed. He claims a 4.6 forty currently, but is working hard to get that time under 4.6.
“I’m not happy with my forty time,” said McKenzie. “I need to get faster. I know that’s the best thing I can do to get better and I’m working hard at it. This past month because of my collarbone injury I’ve pretty much only been able to work on my legs and my speed, you know?”
McKenzie works out with Anthony Heimuli, who signed a letter of intent with BYU this past February. McKenzie has been seen at many practices with Heimuli and they have become fast friends.
“We’re real tight," related McKenzie. “I just started working out with him and we do a lot of stuff together. He’s a cool guy and he’s going to do real well at BYU. I’d love to play with Anthony at BYU, along with a lot of my former teammates at BYU [such as] Bronson Kaufusi. I have a lot of friends going to BYU or are at BYU right now.”
McKenzie has mission plans and isn’t in any hurry to commit as he waits for his options to come in. TBS will keep tabs on McKenzie throughout the recruiting process.