Spring Football, Getting Back to Basics
For the most part this years spring drills have been fairly quiet -except for the fight, post Andrew George being planted by Scottie Johnson, but Andrew hung on…so, you win offense. With Coach Mendenhall closing the gates and keeping the public out. It has given the coaching staff and players the oppornunity to focus on fundementals. Keeping the crowds behind fences will also provide the coaching staff ample time to “encourage” young players to preform their best.
I was always frustrated when the crowds would congregate on the balcony and around the sideline of our scrimmages. Then without fail, cheer the offense on whenever they gained even the smallest amount of yardage. I guess I’m just bitter towards the offensive minded Cougar fans. Or was it simply the defense provided the crowd with little to become excited about?
This years team has a steep mountain to climb in order to establish themselves as the team to beat in the Mountain West. Looking at the conference, and how they recruited and improved themselves during the off season leaves questions in my mind as to our eventual preseason rankings.
I strongly believe that BYU, Utah and TCU will remain the “teams to beat”. Yet, with new coaching staffs in both San Diego and New Mexico I think those programs will be progressing towards the top -especially San Diego, with their talent pool they should never be out of the conference championship hunt.
The biggest problems facing the Cougars this year will be their obvious need for corners and their young -talented- and untested offensive line. Other problems could arise if we don’t find some depth at running back and quarterback.
The corner position will hopefully be addressed with the arrival of the two incoming JC corners. There has also been flashes of potential from Bradley, but the current corners are still too inconsistant to rely on week in and week out. I have been encouraged by our safties and their ability to cover up mistakes and make sound decision when checking coverages. Johnson and Rich will be the back bone of BYU’s defense. Which will rely on them heavily in both run support and passes between the hashes. Both Scottie and Andrew could have great years as they work with which ever corners step up and take the starting jobs. (The secondaries development throughout the summer and fall will be interesting to watch.)
Our offensive line will continue to develop throughout the year and by August should be ready. There are a number of players with some experience and they have enough talent where they should be able to preform above expectations.
Running back…well Harvey needs some help. Karyia and Deluigie need to step out of the shadows and move towards the… some kind of on field success. They have both been in the system for a couple of years and they will both be counted on towards the middle of the season. Deluigie has had a couple solid performances this spring and Karyia showed signs of potential last season, but Harvey’s body is getting beat up. He needs some needed support from a capible back up. One of these fellas needs to start living up to their hype and begin preforming.
I think our defensive line and linebackers have enough experience and ability were they will be able to compete at a high level. That first game against OK is going to be a giant test. I think Pendelton is going to be a great player by the time he leaves BYU. Hopefully this year he’ll get his feet wet and begin to develop into the play maker the defense needs. He has all the physical tools, but does have a tendency to be hard on himself.
I would also expect Russel, Jan, Putnum, and Denney -and well as Romney and Wolfley- to be stout against the run and hopefully develop some pass rush moves. Baumann will continue to make his plays and Hooks and Doman together will hopefully be able to make it through the season without getting too banged up. Clawson is a solid pass rusher and we need him to become as productive as Nixon -when he was on the weak side.
Wide receiver is still a wild card. BYU is so young on the perimeter that I don’t know what to expect. McKay will be a welcomed addition in the fall. While Chambers hopefully becomes somewhat of a “go to” guy. Having Pitta and George around is going to be Hall’s saving grace. I would also keep my eyes on Brown, who has an enourmous amount of potential -and hopefully he’ll see the light and move to the defensive side of the ball.
I also hope that the Cougars can find a slot reciever with some quicks that can stretch the box and possible create miss matches with outside linebackers. Please find someone, Please!
Max Hall, what can you say about the guy that has not already been said? He is definitely going through an adjustment phase as he gets used to throwing the ball to someone other then Austin. Max is a hard worker and a fearless competitor and he’ll work through all the rough patches of last season. I just hope he can become the leader that the offense needs. The best thing he has going for him is a solid coach that’s been through it all. If he can listen and adjust, he’ll redeem himself of his late season meltdown and restore that phenominal winning percentage.
The best thing about next years team is the strong nucleus of players that are returning. Spring drills and scrimmages are a great testing ground where players are discovered and pretenders are outed.
I pity the player that doesn’t take advantage of the spring practices. Every practice gives you the unique opportunity to be discovered and possible penciled into the 112 for the fall. And for the veterans thinking spring is just another chance to get injured. Nothing is promised, you never know when your last play could come along, so leave no doubts.
I’m glad I never took my reps for granted.
Go Cougars.
On the RB situation, I think they will get a real boost if Manase Tonga is able to return for his senior season. I’m also interested to see how good the special teams will be. We’ve lost Sorenson for a couple of years and we’ll need someone who can boot the ball real deep on kickoffs and a punter who can consistently get us favorable field position. I expect Chambers will be the main guy returning kickoffs now. On the question of the slot position that Meikle used to occupy, I think Covey would be a good candidate for it. He recently moved to WR. I’d love to see him utilized like Collie was with him in the wildcat formation and all that. I’m more excited about this team than I was at this time last year.
I don’t feel like the fans are necessarily pro-offense, it’s more just that it’s easy for the casual/uninitiated to notice and appreciate good plays on the offensive side of the ball. Understanding the defense is complicated at best, and not for those who don’t have the patience.
I admit, before really learning more about defensive Xs and Os and the strategies on the defensive side of the ball I was one of those fans that probably would have cheered the offense for gaining half a yard, instead of cheering the defense for holding them to half a yard. Please keep up the analysis and strategy, focusing on the defense.
Seasider:
Covey is indeed working out to take that spot. There’s a writeup in the Deseret News talking about it:
http://deseretnews.com/article/0,5143,705294867,00.html
It sure was lucky last year that BYU fans prefer good offense over good defense.
Also,
1- “DiLuigi”. “DiLuigi”.
2- T’eo seems like a strong 3rd option at RB right now, behind Harvey and J.J., and before Manase comes back.
3- Ashworth will catch more balls than Chambers this year, but less than Pitta, Unga, McKay, and George.
I’m excited for the season but become more and more worried as Spring carries on. Bradley seems to be very injury prone and the lack of depth at the position is sure to be a factor this year.
The offensive line is my biggest concern on offense.
I am disappointed about the Vic So’oto injury. He could still be a great addition at OLB, but my optimism is waning as I fear he could become a chronic injury case due to a freak accident.
One thing we might be hopeful about is the possible return of Tonga at FB. We can only hope he will be 1) eligible and 2) in shape. If he does return, that could give the Cougars a highly versatile, good pass catching and blocking back to work with #45 and allow the younger guys to develop at a good pace. I’m especially high on Karyia but have yet to see anything special from DiLuigi, our much heralded recruit from Canyon Country. Nonetheless, Tonga is actually a better, more versatile contributor than was Fui, so we need to keep our fingers crossed.
Harvey says he’s going to play about 10 lb lighter than last year. I don’t know how much quicker he will be, but he’s going to be fun to watch. I’m sure by now the Sooners know all about him.
Another thing we aren’t talking about is that BYU may get back to using a slot back, something that has always worked well with the Cougar offense. (Some of us are old enough to remember the best slot guy we ever had, Scott Phillips, but that’s a blast from the past.) As a QB/Receiver/at times even DB prospect, I think Covey, could be a real threat moving around behind the offensive line. Who knows what he might do if he gets the ball… Could be a lot of fun to watch and put some sizzle back into what has become a somewhat boring BYU offensive scheme.
As for the defense, BYU fans are justifiably perennially paranoid about CB. It’s just the cards we are dealt given the I’m encouraged about our re-building at LB, especially Pendelton. If that group can overcome the injury problems of last year, they can make up for many other deficits on defense. I’m also excited to see Andrew Rich as a probable starter at safety.
I hope it is not Chambers on KO returns because other than speed he had nothing else last year; he just followed his wedge and never realy was shifty nor ran to daylight.
Please learn basic grammar and spelling. I usually give a pass on blogs, but I really have trouble making sense of your posts. We all know you were a football player focused on lifting weights and didn’t spend much time practicing basic English you learned in the third grade, but really. You should take a class. It makes me want to throw up. I’m pretty glad I took underwater basketweaving at the U.
GReat point Walt, but I think that is what the Coaches are teaching, and that is expected. Maybe thats the reason the returns on average are only to the 30 or 35, BYU needs someone that can see the oppening as small as it may be, but take it and run away from everyone else. Defence, I think BYU has the players, they just need to have more confidence, take a risk, make a play, not just play the position, the great ones take risks. When it dosent work they just shrug it off, and wait for the next opportunity. Thats what I think they were lacking last year on D. When the D take a risk and jumps a route or blitz’s, and gets it done, well those are game changing moments, When they dont welll its just a good play on Offence. Step it up Big D, GO COUGS
Chambers is definitely the man for kickoff returns! He has got the speed, the strength and the heart. He wants to do well, and if you watch ANY of his returns from last year you’ll see that he is a passionate player. Cut him some slack – he was a freshman last year. This year we will see the result of raw talent mixed with experience and even more of Bronco’s coaching. Chambers, you’re the man. Good luck! We’ll all be cheering for you… the next Randy Dye! Also, let me say GO DEFENSE! We had some awesome plays last year and a lot of pressure in the backfield and I’d say we did pretty well at shutting down the run. GO COUGARS!
Don’t pay any attention to the gripe about grammar and spelling. I’d much rather you just write away. The info is so good I can’t believe anyone wants to beef about that. You can complain when you start to pay for this, buddy!
And I feel bad for the guy, but before anyone can say DiLuigi, DiLuigi, he’s going to have to prove it’s not “fumble, fumble.” All the hype about him has no basis in reality (e. g. an actual game) yet.
Chambers is definitely not the guy for kickoff returns.
If watched any of his returns last season, you would notice how slow he really is. And, Morgan, I think you mean James Dye. Jacobsen and Covey are the fastest on the team. Jacobsen is the only one to take a punt back for a TD in the last 20 years. I’m excited to see Covey play. I hope Anae will use him like they did Collie last year in the wildcat formation. It worked every time they did it. Plus Covey doesn’t have to learn to play QB. He already knows.
I think our biggest weakness is our LBs. Watching the Utah game of 2007, we really missed Kehl and Poppinga. I think our DBs are faster than they’ve ever been, but our LBs were slow. I hope Pendleton is able to grasp that OLB position quickly. He has the speed to do what Nixon and Kehl were able to. Hopefully Hooks can remain healthy and add some athleticism to the ILB position.
I can’t wait for the season to start. I will be in Dallas cheering on the Cougs, win or lose.
From what I recall, Chambers did not get ball all that much on KO returns. Collie got the bulk of those returns. I think if he got the ball more we would’ve seen some great run backs from him. My early prediction is that we’ll see both Chambers and Jacobsen back there receiving the kicks. We came so darn close to getting a KO return for a TD in the Utah game. I’m confident we’ll see one this year from either Chambers of Jacobsen.
DiLuigi has a had rough start to his BYU career but I don’t think he was at full strength after his leg injury the previous. Fumbleitis happens to the best RB’s but it is correctable. Here is a link of what we have to look forward to if JJ can get this game together:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xApNrp_RZuk
Its James Dye, # 5 If I remember right
James Jones-
Looks like you better practice what you preach:
1. You left out the 2nd space after the “Period” of every sentence
2. After the word “really” you should have used a semi-colon
3. You used the word “pretty” incorrectly and if nothing else could have used a better word
4. There is no such word as “basketweaving”; it’s basket weaving
Next time, if there is one, you better come better-prepared!
Great points, Walt, except that the requirement for two spaces after every period has been eliminated by many style guides in the computer age.
James Jones-what a tool. Talk about classless. You’re the only one on here making people want to throw up buddy. Hey, does anyone know anything about the Manase Tonga situation. The sltrib reported he’s at UVU and if he passes some classes he could be coming back. That would be an amazing break for the Cougars.
RobbC-
I know, you are correct, but I was just being picky like James Jones.
Whoa, whoa, whoa wait! There was a fight? Please do explain! I listen to sports talk but I haven’t heard anything about this!
Zac, you are right on the money and Morgan…sorry you are not on this one. I saw every KO return last year and here is the final breakdown: Chambers 35 returns at 23.1 (51 longest) & Collie 18 for 27.5 (75 longest). Chambers ran straight behind the wedge and showed no shiftiness, moves, etc; on Punt Returns Chambers had 10 for 5.9 (15 longest) & White had 8 for 4.6 (15 longest). However, having said that, I went back to 06 and in KO’s Brown had 13 for 22.2 (48 longest), Jacobson had 7 for 18.3 (32 longest) & Meikle had 2 for 51.5 (84 longest) and with PR’s, Meikle had 29 for 11.2 (38 longest) & Jacobson had 2 for 37.5 (77 longest for a TD). Zac is correct, both Jacobson & Covey are faster, shiftier & have greater vision (actually that is the key to both KO’s & PR’s…to have great vision) than Chambers; as a WR, yes, Chambers may have the edge because he is 6’2” and both Jacobson & Covey are only 5’11”; but I say “may” because I think both of the latter two could turn out to be real playmakers. Come to think of it, shorter runners probably have an advantage in both KO’s & PR’s. We need Markell & the staff to weigh in here.
Well here’s Chambers’ highlight reel from his high school. He has a few nice punt returns in there so I think the potential is definitely there for him to be good returner for us. However, after watching his plays I’m starting to wonder if he’d be better utilized at DB instead of WR.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Majdeidb5BQ&feature=related
I just read the report on the recent 7 on 7 practice and noticed that they described a play were Hall started out running and the flipped the ball to Delugi (?) Am I to understand this as an Option play? Is this a new wrinkle in the BYU offense and do you think we’ll see more of this?
As I recall, I think BYU ran this play a few times last year without much success which I think is due to Hall running this play. Hall is great, I’m a big fan and get quite upset at all of the Hall naysayers, but he is not the one to run an option. So, what are the chances of seeing Covey or Jacobson in the backfield running either Wildcat and/or Option plays?
Anybody have any insight on this? I think it would be great as it would keep defenses off balance and allow BYU to be much more versatile.
I’ve heard the rumors and seen confirmation that Landon Jaussi has moved to defense – but how does he look going from wide receiver to DB? I read that he had an interception the other day, but will he play? With the defense thin at the corner position it seems possible, but is it probable?
Walt,
I think you are on the right track here. Down the road Chambers may develop into a greta return man, but he is not quite there yet. I got the feel last season that he was surprised when he couldn’t run by people in college like he was probably used to doing in high school. On KOR you also have to either break 1 tackle or make 1 guy miss. The first guy got him every time. McKay is awesome! he has vision, speed and quickness and you can almost be certain he will be back there this year. Having Covey back there would be quite interesting. Could be a good thing for him. I see Ashworth and Chambers as being identical.
Attu,
I think it is a safe bet to say that BYU will have some wrinkles in the offense. McKay and Covey would be great guys to run the wildcat. Most likely Covey. From the comments Max has been making, I think he may be carrying the ball a little more this year which is a good thing. Sometimes when you are in trouble yo0u have to tuck and run.
Markell-
Thanks…would you please, along with Quinn and others, give us a glimpse of what happens with the team during this next 3.5 months of Blackout (please refer to my specific questions in an a-mail to Quinn and you)? We all to be an a football IV until August.
How much film do they watch in the off season? Are they allowed to study film?
I would be memorizing every single play OU ran last year like it was Madden 09.
Kiyo,
There is never a lock on the film room. Coach Mendenhall would let you live in the film room if you wanted.
I would by NCAA 09 on XBox and just play BYU v OU all summer!
Come to think of it. I always had a tradition since high school of playing the team we were going to play that week in NCAA football. In our high school unis looked just like USC so I was always SC and then I would pick a college team that look like our opponent. At BYU it was easier because I knew exactly who to pick.
Like Walt, I too would like to know what its like, Until august for these guys. Do some of the football alum come back and work out in the summer? do they give advise? Again thanks Markell and Quinn, and others who pitch in with your insight
Markell & Quinn-
What do you need from all of us in order to pull this off? Just name your price!
Walt and Rick,
Things have been a little crazy this week for both of us. I will find some time today to sit down and write a little about what goes on in the “down time.”
Markell-
We have 3+ months so take your time; why not recruit some help so you can cover the different units…many minds make light/less work.
Thanks
Markell & Quinn-
I tuned into ESPN today around 1:00 & they were showing the Bama annual Spring scrimmage/game and it looked like a real game (officials, full camera crew, etc.). I thought that we were football enthusiasts and our Spring game was well attended but I could not believe what I saw. I estimated that their stadium was about 75% filled (could not see in the 123 skyboxes) which based on a total capacity of 92,138 is approximately 70,000. Man, we don’t hold a candle to them! But, if we promoted this differently and charged $5 – $10 a ticket it would bring in an extra $350,000 – $700,000 for the program.
What do you think?
If you televise it on KBYU and/or the Mtn (to get it to Cougar Nation), brought in advertisers and opened the concession stands, it could bring in a lot more.
So Staff, would you edit your profile, crank all your attributes up to 99?
Leave your response!
Categories
Archives
Meta
Good Info.
Most Commented