In his State of the State message, Gov. Butch Otter said he and his staff visited with BSU's Coach Pete last summer to talk about success. "We asked how he's been able to build a national reputation for excellence with what's considered limited resources by today's college football standards," Otter said. "What I took away from his answer was this: Focus." That includes, he said, focusing on the challenges at hand; on leveraging strengths; on improving every day; and focusing on what can be controlled, along with "focus on helping individual players understand how they can help achieve team goals while reaching their own academic and athletic potential. That's a pretty good formula for success," Otter said.

---

---