 #10 BYU Cougars Preview BYU was one of the hottest teams in the nation coming down the stretch in 2007 and the offense that gelled so well is bringing back nine of its starters for 2008 so expect more of the same firepower from the Cougars. DJ Boyer looks at BYU and fills us in on if they duplicate their impressive 2007 campaign.
#10 BYU Cougars
Head Coach – Bronco Mendenhall
2007 Record – 11-2
2007 Review If you were caught off guard reading above that BYU finished the 2007 campaign with 11 wins you are not alone. BYU started the season 1-2 and wound up winning 10 in a row including a win in the Las Vegas Bowl against UCLA (one of the two teams to hand them a loss earlier in the season). BYU was one of the hottest teams in the nation coming down the stretch and the offense that gelled so well is bringing back 9 of its starters for 2008 so expect more of the same firepower from the Cougars.
Team MVP
Alex Hall was an unproven transfer heading into the season trying to pick up the pieces after the graduation of John Beck. Now Cougar fans have a hard time remembering who the quarterback was before Hall. Hall passed for 3,848 yards and 26 touchdowns as a sophomore and he has plenty of help running the football and along the line. The pieces are there for Hall to be successful and the rest of the country will soon find out just how good he is.
Offense
Quarterback
Max Hall hoped he had silenced his critics last year with a phenomenal season and the fact that he was able to stay healthy was a huge plus. Standings just over 6-0 and at 200 pounds there were many that had questioned the durability of Hall and thought that at some point backup Brenden Gaskins would take over the offense but Hall stayed healthy and Gaskins threw a total of four passes for the entire season. Hall is on the Walter Camp watch list and if BYU is the team from a Non-BCS conference that pushes for a BCS birth than you may have to consider Hall for another award….The Heisman.
Running Back All 246-pound Harvey Unga did was gain over 1,200 yards running the football last year as he went on to be named Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year. As many BYU running backs before him his biggest asset could be his work catching the football out of the backfield as he added another 655 yards on 44 catches. With 1,900 yards from scrimmage Unga showed himself as one of the most valuable running backs in the nation, not just freshman and BYU has other weapons they can rely on besides Unga. Fullback Fui Vakapuna is a 250 pound bulldozer that runs the 40 in 4.5 seconds and incoming scatback J.J. Di Luigi gives the offense another dimension.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
BYU has a great compliment of receivers and they are led by Austin Collie. The 6-2 210 pound junior may be the best receiver in the country that nobody has heard of. Exactly half of Collie’s receptions last year went for 15 or more yards as he led the team in yards (946) and touchdowns (7) and was second in receptions (56). While the numbers are gaudy for Collie the tight end Dennis Pitta opens things up for a lot receivers around him. Pitta actually led the team logging 58 receptions with an impressive 813 yards and 5 touchdowns. Even better is the fact that Pitta is far from being one-dimensional as he has proven to be a solid blocker against the pass and run. With the multiple tight end sets that BYU likes to employ you have to be weary of the other tight end Andrew George. George is a big target who runs more like a receiver and can stretch the field. Michael Reed is the other starting receiver and will act as more of a possession/slot type.
Offensive Line
Four of the five players starting along the line started a year ago and among them Travis Bright who is listed at 331 pounds is the smallest of the bunch. New center Tom Sorensen tips the scales at close to 310 so there is no question that size is not a problem for BYU. The left side of the line is as solid as you can imagine with seniors Dallas Reynolds and Ray Feinga both looking like they will taking their game to the NFL. There is a lot of able bodied youngsters in backup roles that were highly recruited like Garrett Reden and Matt Reynolds (yes he is the brother of Dallas). This is not only a good line, it has the potential to be the best in the Mountain West Conference. Defense
Defensive Line The defensive line is about as solid a group as BYU has seen in the last 15 years at the University and they are led by Jan Jorgensen, a player who would be in the headlines if he played for a high profile school or one that specialized in defense. Not many lineman can boast about having 77 tackles last season with an incredible 20 coming for loss and totaling 14 sacks. Jorgensen is durable and is equally effective against the run as he is the pass. Although he is just a junior there is a chance that we could see Jorgensen leave early for the NFL, something seldom seen from BYU players. Ian Dulan platooned as a starter a year ago and will start on the other end opposite Jorgensen. The base 3-4 setting will see a number of players seeing time at nose tackle but this is a team that was 9th nationally against the run and 10th in overall defense. BYU is always thought of as an offensive juggernaut yet they were only 25th in total offense a season ago.
Linebackers
With Bryan Kehl and Kelly Poppinga both moving on what was once viewed as the strength of the defense now may be viewed as the weakness as there are no returning starters at linebacker. Newcomer Grant Nelson could be the next big impact player coming out of the Cougar camp while david Nixon and Matt Bauman will be the other starters but expect Coleby Clawson and Matt Ah You to see the field a lot and make significant contributions. There is an abundance of young linebacker talent but with the lack of experience at the position we could see BYU use more traditional 4-3 sets.
Secondary
The secondary has just as many returning starters as the linebackers…..zero. The Cougars look like they have some very nice players who will come in and play but the depth just isn’t there and they are paper thin. The lack of experience is evident as there is no player in the secondary returning that had more than 1 interception a season ago. Andrew Rich has worked his way into the starting lineup after impressing since coming over from the JUCO ranks. Kellen Fowler is a solid safety who is going to make things easier for BYU. The lack of experience just makes the pass rush even more important for this team as they try to ensure they are “covered”….yeah that was bad….for 2008.
Special Teams
C.J. Santiago is a very steady punter and this is the year we should start to see Mitch Payne start connecting from distance. Spencer Hafoka seems to have won a job as a return man as BYU tries to improve upon it’s terrible return game from a season ago. BYU only had 2 kick returns go over 40 yards and no punt return more than 25. Payne will also need to work on his kickoffs as he had no recorded touchbacks in 2007. The special teams are a big area for concern moving into the season.
2008 Outlook
There is no question in my mind that the one team from a non-BCS conference that has the ability to get a birth to a BCS Bowl is BYU. The defense may not be as strong as it was last season but they haver some amazing athletes up front that should alleviate some of the pressure on the remaining seven or eight behind them. The leadership at quarterback seems to be there and there are targets galore both running and catching the football. This could be an 11 or even 12 win campaign in Utah.
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