BYU News and Notes (Casey)

As August 31st draws closer and closer and as of today we only have.....

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.

2013 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREDICTIONS!!!

THE SEC (TYLER)

To polish off my 2013 College Football Predictions lets take a look at the South-Eastern Conference.

Everyone (including me) thought the SEC would continue as normal even with the additions of both Missouri and Texas A&M from the BIG 12. Boy were we wrong, Texas A&M proved that wrong with exceptional football played mainly by QB Johnny Manziel. However he is not the only solid quarterback to play in the SEC this year. This conference boasts Manziel, defending BCS Champion A.J. McCarron at Alabama, and Aaron Murray at Georgia, unfortunately this conference lost both Tyler Wilson at Arkansas and Tyler Bray at Tennessee. But even though the remaining teams in the SEC don't have that "star" quarterback, there are plenty of talented players that play football to the level only the SEC knows like Heisman hopeful DE Jadeveon Clowney at South Carolina, LB C.J. Mosely at Alabama, RB Todd Gurley at Georgia, LB Denzel Nkemdiche at Ole Miss and S HaHa Clinton-Dix at Alabama.

The recent past has been claimed by the Alabama Crimson Tide led by Head Coach Nick Saban, but watch out Bama for a Georgia Bulldogs team that has been right there to snag the title away if Alabama were to slip up. Is that all? Oh no, LSU is always right on their heels followed by the Florida Gators. And if anybody thinks they are going to get an easy game from teams like Mississippi State, Auburn, Arkansas, Ole Miss, and South Carolina you better think again. For me, Quarterbacks make or break a season as you will see by my predictions.

WESTERN DIVISION

Alabama 12-0

Texas A&M 10-2

Mississippi State 9-3

LSU 9-3

Auburn 6-6

Arkansas 6-6

Ole Miss 6-6

Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide are rollin' and who is gonna stop 'em?

EASTERN DIVISION

Georgia 11-1

Florida 9-3

South Carolina 9-3

Missouri 7-5

Tennessee 5-7

Vanderbilt 5-7

Kentucky 4-8

Georgia will make the closest push they can this year. Aaron Murray and Todd Gurley are going to be explosive but will ultimately fall just short of the Crimson Tide when they each other in the SEC Championship Game. Could it Saban win three BCS Championships in a row? We shall see

CHAMPION

Alabama

Does Bama repeat in your mind also? Let me hear why or why not.

Wow (Casey)

MiamiHerald.com

1. Quarterback Jay Heaps gets second chance at Kansas

   Yahoo! News ‎- 9 hours ago

   From Yahoo! Sports: LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -- Kansas coach Charlie Weis is following a familiar game plan and hoping for different results.

    

    

   It looks like Yahoo is not really familiar with former BYU and Current Kansas quarterback Jake Heaps so they wrote a story about his brother?

    

    

    

   Also your daily reminder 

   

    

    Another piece of BYU news, it looks like former BYU, TCU and current BYU student Tayo Fabuluje has been accepted to BYU and could play for BYU in 2014. It is looking like he will have to sit out a year or be released by TCU before he can join the team. An option I have heard is that he can walk on to the team and pay his own way but play on the scout team this year, because he is a current student he does not need to be released from TCU to join the team. But according to @gregwrubell his likely playing career could look like 2010 BYU redshirt, 2011 sit out (transfer), 2012 Play TCU, 2013 sit out(transfer), 2014 Play BYU. I hope for BYUs sake and for Fabuluje sake he can get that release or receive a hardship waiver so he can play right off the bat and contribute with this team. But when your relying on Gary Patterson and Mark Emerick good luck!

2013 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREDICTIONS!!!

THE PAC 12 (TYLER)

Time to move on and cover the self proclaimed "The Conference of Champions" The PAC 12.

Pre-Sanctions, USC was the face of the (then) PAC 10, but afterward they have struggled to hold of competition from Stanford, Oregon, and even up and coming teams like Arizona State, UCLA, Oregon State, and Washington. Overall the better competition throughout the conference has been a bonus and strengthens the conference as a whole. Gone are the days that there was only one "powerhouse" at the top.

This year in the PAC 12 features the strengths of the Oregon Ducks at the top in my mind, even with the departure of Head Coach Chip Kelly to the NFL i see a lot of good things happening within this team, they are going to be tough to beat and will continue their run towards the National Championship game. However, they will be challenged in their division by Washington and Stanford, and you know how hard Oregon State plays against Oregon the last game of the year. The South Division boasts the talents of Quarterback Brett Hundley who did some nice things for this team. They will have to watch their backs though for teams like Arizona State and USC.

There is definitely some really solid talent in the PAC 12 from all over the field and there is always great in-conference battles. Here is how i have the Divisions finishing.

NORTH DIVISION

Oregon 12-0

Washington 10-2

Stanford 9-3

Oregon State 7-5

California 4-8

Washington State 3-9

I'm officially on the train with Oregon. I like their new coaching staff, i like their scheme and their players. The Huskies in Washington will try their best this year to make their move toward the division championship and nearly get there but overtaking Stanford barely.

SOUTH DIVISION

UCLA 10-2

Arizona State 10-2

USC 8-4

Utah 4-8

Arizona 4-8

Colorado 2-10

Arizona State will do their best to overtake UCLA in South and it will have to go down to the 2nd to last game of the year where these two teams meet to decide the division with UCLA barely coming out on top. So that leaves a Conference Championship game between the Oregon Ducks and the UCLA Bruins. This game would be a lot closer if it was played at a neutral site instead of the best conference record holder's site. I predicted UCLA loses their game mid year at Oregon and i see the same fate again in the Championship Game.

CHAMPION

Oregon

The Ducks win the Conference Championship and await the ending of the year in hopes they are placed in the BCS National Championship Game. (Remember i already predicted Ohio State undefeated along with Louisville, and i haven't even got to the SEC yet)

How do you predict the PAC 12 playing out? Let me know in the comments section. No wrong answers. (until the season is over lol)

Latest BYU recruits and news! (Casey)

I'm a little late to post this but in case people didn't see, over the weekend BYU received 2 solid verbal commitments from 2 very talented players.

BYU commit Cedric Dale

On Saturday after the scrimmage BYU received there first commitment of the weekend by landing Cedric Dale. Dale is a 5'9" 175lb running back out of Hebron High School in Texas and is going to join a very talented backfield at BYU. In high school he also played corner so he could play either but he committed and was given a scholarship to play running back at BYU. Dale is a non LDS athelete but is a devout christian and has said that BYU fits with the standards that he wants to live and would be a perfect fit for him. He is entering his Senior year in High School this year and is currently a 3 star recruit according to Scout.com. Dale also held offers from North Texas as well as Texas Tech. Here is a link to his highlights.

 Cedric Dale Jr. Highlights

BYU commit Nick Kurtz

Now if that wasn't great news in and of itself, Sunday afternoon BYU received a commitment from Nick Kurtz a 6'6" WR from Grossmont Junior College in California. If you all remember Kurtz is the guy that received the tweet from Denver Broncos WR Wes Welker trying to persuade him to go play at Texas Tech. Well So far it looks like Wes's tweet hasn't worked. Kurtz is a very talented and Tall Wide receiver. If you add the height of Mitch Matthews and Nick Kurtz together next year for BYU you will have 13' of Wide receiver to throw to and that is gonna be a great luxury for Taysom Hill even after Cody Hoffman graduates. Kurts held offers from a lot of schools including: Akron, Cal, Kansas State, Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon, San Jose St, Texas Tech, and Utah State. He has plans of enrolling at BYU for the Spring semester and should be ready for spring ball in 2014. Kurtz is also a non LDS athlete but  is excited to come to BYU and take over for Hoffman when he leaves. I think with both of these athletes seeing that non LDS players can not only play but thrive here at BYU is helping them see that they to can survive the atmosphere and culture that is BYU. I also put a lot of this success on the new offensive coaching staff in Guy Holliday who is also not LDS and is African American as well and Garrett Tujague and his influence with JUCO kids (Was a head coach at a JUCO before coming to BYU) Here are some highlights of Nick Kurtz to enjoy.

This 2014 recruiting class is shaping up to be a very very good class especially on the defensive side of the ball. With names like Fred Warner (OLB), Sione Takitaki (DE), Kavika Fonua (S), Tyler Cook (OLB), and  Zac Dawe (DE) all 3 star or above guys according to Scout.com. Also Cougar fans be on the lookout for a kid from Texas named Courtland Sutton. Sutton is Saftey prospect that will be making his official visit to Provo during the Texas game on September 7th. He has BYU very high on his list of schools and could possibly commit to BYU then if all goes well. Another name fans should watch for is 5 star Offensive lineman Damien Mama out of Bellflower California (St. John Bosco HS). Damien is 6'5" and 370lbs and is rated the #1 offensive lineman in the entire country and has BYU on his top 8 list. He made a visit to BYU over the Pioneer Day weekend and seemed to love it here. He is an LDS kid and would be a huge, no better yet a HUGE get for BYU if he came here. His top 8 list includes: Alabama, BYU, Florida, Notre Dame, Ohio State, UCLA, USC, and Wisconsin. With those names on that list it is amazing that BYU is on there, but I think it is unlikly that Mama would chose to come to BYU but stranger things have happened. I have heard that Mama and Coach Anea have a strong relationship that started while Anea was at Arizona. It might be a while till Mama commits, it could possible be at signing day that we find out. 

BYU recruit Courtland Sutton

BYU recruit Damien Mama

 Here is a little friendly reminder that there is not much longer we Cougar fans have to wait till football.

Also here a Video that caught my eye today.

2013 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PROJECTION!!!

THE MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE (TYLER)

I decided to drop the former "Big East" Conference in favor of the Mountain West Conference due to the local interest of both Boise State and Utah State fans in this area... and the terrible teams in the "Big East"

After the Mountain West lost both BYU, Utah, and TCU to the BIG12, PAC12, and Independence respectively many thought the Mountain West was done for. Then the addition of Boise State almost backfires when Boise State and San Diego State almost jump to the BIG East. Luckily both Boise and San Diego State decide to stay, the Mountain West then goes active and brings in Utah State, Fresno State, Hawaii, San Jose State, and Hawaii to create a 12 Team Conference that actually provides intrigue and good competition. On paper Boise State is a clear cut favorite due to the exceptional coaching of Chris Peterson but don't sleep on team like Utah State, San Jose State, and Nevada that are bringing back excellent Quarterbacks and other skill players. And if you think you've got any easy games against Air Force and Colorado State then think again. 

Here's my break down of the Mountain West Conference by division.

MOUNTAIN DIVISION

Boise State 9-3

Utah State 9-3

Air Force 7-5

Colorado State 7-5

Wyoming 5-7

New Mexico 1-11

It's going to be a fun year to watch Boise State and Utah State battle for the division and push their way towards the Conference Championship. Will they have company at the top? Lets take a look.

WEST DIVISION

Nevada 9-3

Fresno State 8-4

San Jose State 7-5

San Diego State 7-5

Hawaii 3-9

UNLV 3-9

Good quarterback play from Cody Fajardo at Nevada, Derek Carr from Fresno State, and David Fales from San Jose State are going to make things very interesting in the West Division. However; the insanity of having former WAC rivals Boise State and Nevada playing for the Conference Championship is going to be intense! Who will win? Here's who i think.

CHAMPION

Nevada

Suprised? You should be. Head Coach Chris Peterson doesn't usually lose big games with Boise State. However, if you have seen QB Cody Fajardo play for Nevada, you will know why i'm picking the wolf pack to win. Most "experts" give Boise State the nod without much thought and i won't blame them, but the more i think about it the more i like Nevada's chances. Boise QB Joe Southwick has a lot to prove this year as a leader on this team and we will see what he can do.

Who do you think will win the Mountain West? And are you even interested in watching the Mountain West? 

LATEST BYU NEWS AND COMMITS (TYLER)
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It was announced today that for the remaining tenure of Head Coach Bronco Mendenhall the BYU Football team will sport uniforms that say "Tradition" "Spirit" and "Honor" on the backs instead of players names as depicted in the picture below.

I don't know how much i like the change yet, i would guess that the change is to focus the minds of the coaches, players and fans on what BYU Athletics is all about, but i have always liked seeing the names of players on jerseys

What are your feelings on the change. Like i stated, as long as Bronco is Head Coach he says this will stay put, and you never know this could be permanent.

UPDATE: After discussion with his coaches and players Bronco Mendenhall has decided to use the new jerseys for the Homecoming game Oct 12 against Georgia Tech ONLY!

NEW COMMIT (VERBAL)

OLB TYLER COOK #88

BYU has received a verbal commitment from outside linebacker Tyler Cook.

Cook is from Vista Murrieta High in Southern California and is good friends with fellow BYU OLB commit Fred Warner. Cook checks in at 6-3, 215 pounds and reportedly runs a 4.51 40. The talented outside linebacker is graded as a 3-star in the 247Composite rankings. Cook grades out as the 87th best player from the state of California, the 71st best outside linebacker in the country. 

Cook held offers from as many as 16 programs at the time of his commitment, including offers from Washington State, Hawaii, Boise State, Arizona and Miami (Fla.) according to scout.com.

Cook is LDS and plans to serve a mission. He becomes BYU's 11th commitment for 2014