I wanna report on some things that I have heard about in fall camp that I find interesting and also give me a glimmer of hope for the future of BYU football.
First lets talk about Defense. There have been a lot of turnover on the defensive backfield. Corners are getting injured or drafted into the MLB and this trend has brought the what looked like great depth at corner to almost nobody back there. BYU is going to have to rely on talented but inexperienced corners to step up this year. I have been asking on Twitter who some of the BYU insiders think will start at Corner and @drewjay said in his opinion the starting corners if there was a game today would be Robertson Daniels and Skye PoVey. Daniels is a 6'2" 205lb JUCO transfer and looks like the starter at the Field Corner position. Skye PoVey is a 5'11" 200lb senior that should know the playbook and what Bronco and Coach Howell expect. Jay Drew also thinks that its really going to be a toss up between PoVey and true freshman Dallin Leavitt who will be the starter come the actual game day. Leavitt took over the starting Boundary Corner spot before he injured his hip but he has been practicing and in fact got into a little scuffle with Mitch Matthews yesterday at practice. When it comes to game week however I do think that the starters at corner will be Daniels at FC and PoVey at BC but Leavitt will see playing time. Another thing coming out of fall camp is the fact that BYU has an overabundance of very talented Linebackers and wants to get them on the field. Well when I asked Jay Drew he mentioned that the starters as of right now are KVN, Spencer Hadley, Tyler Beck, and Uani Unga. This is an awesome starting 4 but I have also heard that yesterday Coach Mendenhall and Coach Poppinga moved Hadley inside with Unga and started Alani Fua on the Outside. This might have been on just a test and see basis but I think that would be a very interesting thing to do. Hadley to me seems a little small to be an inside linebacker but Fua has been really impressive during Fall camp, so possibly look for something different with that linebacking core. Jay also said that when it comes to the Buck Linebacker spot Tyler Beck and Minoa Pikula are neck and neck and because Beck is the senior he would get the nod. Along the defensive line it looks like its going to be Kaufusi, and Manumaleuna, as the Defensive Ends and at Nose tackle Marques Johnson has solidified himself the starter but I have heard that his backups have been making a push to see if they can get some playing time. Watch for there to be some rotation at that Nose Tackle spot this year early but I still think when its all said and done a healthy Marques is going to be the starter at the end of the year.
The Offense looks like as long as the officials will place the ball in time this Go Fast Go Hard mantra will come to fruition. As charted by 1320 KFANs Ben "Napoleon" Wilson BYU was running plays every 12-15 seconds with completed passes and runs and 18-22 seconds between plays when incomplete. That said BYU is going to be rotating out offensive lineman a lot. I think the first and second team and even possibly some of the 3rd string O-Line needs to be ready to play and contribute. Coach Anea and Coach Tujague have said they are going to sub out there entire line (including center which I disagree with) regularly. This will keep the big uglys fresh and ready to go all game and all season long. There has been a lack of fire with this BYU offensive line for a long time but from what I hear that is changing and its all starting with true freshman Center Brayden Kearsley. Yesterday During practice Kearsley took a run at a guy that was taking shots at one of his lineman and that really didn't sit well with Kearsley. Brayden ran over and hit the guy way late and according to Bronco he committed a foul that would have got him kicked out of a game so he was kicked out of 11 on 11 drills. Although it was a cheap shot I love the fire and the mean streak shown and so did his team mates. This will take him far and i think he should be the starter and ONLY center for the cougars this year and for the next 3. The running backs are looking good as ever. Jamaal Williams is for sure the man back there but his partner is a different story all together. Mike Alisha is still injured and that forearm is not looking like he will be ready till week 1 or 2. I would love to see Adam Hine get some reps along with Jamaal. Hine is a fast and strong running back and would be a great complement to Williams back there. Wide Receiver at BYU is gonna be a strength for this squad. I think Ross Apo is going to be a dominant force opposite Cody Hoffman this year. He has created a relationship with Taysom Hill over the summer and should be more of a weapon this year. I think Skyler Ridley and Mitch Matthews will be amazing and dangerous weapons along with Apo and Hoffman. It looks like Coach Anea is moving to keep his Tight Ends in as blockers more which has taken possible catches away from Kaneakua Friel. Friel has mentioned that he has taken on more of a blocking roll and has not be out catching the ball, but who can blame the coaches for keeping the Tight Ends as blockers with all that depth and speed and height at Wide Receiver. So with only 11 days till BYU vs Virginia its looking like things are starting to fall into place for the Cougars and I for one can not wait.
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