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| An Unofficial BYU Cougars Blog Fully Invested: Fall Camp Preview The BYU Athletic Department promoting their campaign for fans to be "Fully Invested" in Cougar Football. This campaign started during last season over on has been growing every day, hoping to see a sea of blue from now on in Lavell Edwards Stadium. Bronco Mendenhall told us fans that he wants to be convinced that we are "Fully Invested" in BYU Football. Well here is a Fall Camp preview showing just a glimpse of my 100% Investment towards BYU Football. Here we go.
The past few years have not been kind to the BYU Medical Staff with numerous injuries during fall camps. Last season, the team went through eight or nine injuries to the Secondary and lost Center Tom Sorenson for the season along with Cornerback Brandon Bradley on the first day of camp. A handful of players have went down for the season in the first few days of camp during the light conditioning drills (Michael Morris, Ben Archibald, Bradley, etc.) We all know there will be some hamstring injuries or minor bruises but the team can't afford to lose anyone for the season especially at certain positions. Fall Camp is an exciting time but it can get ugly in a hurry once injuries pile up. So here's to an injury free Fall Camp!
Most Cougar fans would like to say Brandon Bradley who could be a Brian Gray type of Cornerback with his size and athleticsm. But the starter as of now is Kayle Buchanon who is well known for his injury-prone syndrome. Buchanon if healthy is a very good player and the defense would do well with him at the Field Corner spot but how long will he last is the question. Incoming Freshman (report tomorrow) G Pittman and Brannon Brooks could make waves on the depth chart immediately. Pittman has supposedly gotten taller since high school growing an inch and a half, which will put him at 5'10 a very good size for a corner. Then there is also Brandon Howard who did very well in spring practices, along with Andre Saulsberry who hasn't quite lived up to the hype yet. The talent is there for this Cornerback position to be very good this season but they need to stay healthy and establish the starter alongside Criddle during this Fall Camp.
This position is a major concern right now. Russell Tialavea is the starter, who is a perfect fit at DT for this 3-4 scheme but after him it is slim pickins. Matangi Tonga was excused from the team for the off field issues, and Romney Fuga went on a mission. Kyle Leukenga is injured and won't be practing at the beginning of fall camp reportedly. The top reserves would be JC transfer Mosese Foketi who redshirted last season due to a shoulder injury. Don't be surprised if incoming Freshman Eathyn Manumaleuna has a Ian Dulan-type of of impact at DT. Manumaleuna should see many reps this season.
Many Cougar fans expect these two players to be significant contributors this season. In my personal opinion, DiLuigi is going to see a lot of time at Running Back this season due to the inexperience and health status of the current backfield unit. DiLuigi could see time as a return specialist as well along with Kessman. Both these players have a lot of hype surrounding them so it's time for them to finally produce on the field. These guys are going to be big time contributors this season.
During the Mountain West media days. Bronco made a statement to KSL's Tom Kirkland saying the attitude of the team would reflect in how well Max Hall became a leader during the Summer workouts. It will be interesting to see the attitude of this team and who comes to the fore-front as the leaders of the team. I don't doubt for a second this team is not focused and driven to win another Mountain West title but they still might be looking for the leaders to come forth. Should be exciting to see. Fall Camp officially gets underway this Saturday with newcomers reporting tomorrow. Hopefully KSL.com will be doing the "Cougar Daily Download" again which is always a nice way to get updates on camp. You the fans can see practice as well, But you gotta wear your blue to show your Fully Invested! Go Cougars! WEAR BLUE! Mountain West Media Blitz Preview One of the few events we actually get to see on TV from this lucrative deal is the annual Conference Media Day, which will be held in Las Vegas this year. you can watch as Trev Alberts (Utah fans will like that) and Tom Hart interview players and coaches. I'm not sure exactly who is representing BYU down in Vegas but if I were to guess it would be Kehl and Aulai. Just a guess though we will have to see tomorrow.
But aside from the Media Blitz on CSTV, the coaches, media, and conference officals will gather for meetings discussing the state of the conference and predicting the Pre-Season Poll and All-Conference teams. Hopefully somewhere in these meetings Commissioner Craig "Hair" Thompson addresses the ever popular "mtn." channel deal. At this rate all of us fans who have held out hoping the channel goes to satellite are realizing that it will never happen. The mtn. is a great concept they just need to get it in the homes. Thompson has been a coward in not addressing this at all. In the past he even mentioned that he didn't have the mtn. at his own home due to being a DirecTV subscriber. That is just down right sad when your own commissioner doesn't have the channel. So let's keep our fingers crossed that some miracle happens and they announce the mtn. is on satellite this fall. Now back to the pre-season poll and all-conference teams. This is my prediction on how the media will vote.
Tomorrow we will recap what happened at the meetings and offer our MWC Preview for the upcoming season. Update [2007-7-23 0:54:13 by Mitch]: Watching KSL SportsBeat right now and they are down in Vegas doing interviews for the meetings. Kirkland just interviewed Bronco. There was an interesting remark in regards to Max Hall compared to John Beck. Bronco stated that the team is going to succeed as far as Max Hall's leadership goes. Bryan Kehl said that Hall as alot more confidence then Beck did. Thought that was interesting. Kehl like I predicted is there but instead of Aulai it's WR Matt Allen. Utah QB Brian Johnson said he definitely thinks Utah can win the MWC. While he said all of that he was wearing a pink shirt. Very masculine. Now Whittingham is on.... Bronco's Recruiting Success When Bronco Mendenhall was hired to be the 13th Head Coach of Brigham Young Football in December of 2004 many peoples doubted his capabilities to recruit potential student-athletes. He never really recruited as a Defensive Coordinator at BYU, he was basically an X's and O's type of guy. But, I firmly believed when Bronco was hired that he was going to be a good recruiter. The reason? . Die-hard Cougar fans will remember when Bronco made his only recruiting visit of the year to BYU's #1 Defensive priority and that was the 4-star recruit out of Cerritos JC, Mr. Feula. Feula looked as though to be a done deal for the enemy up north, Utah. Mendenhall went with Crowton, and Steve Kaufusi. Then after that the rest is history. Feula didn't necessarily live up to all his billing but he was very good still. But Mendenhall was one of the main reasons Feula made his decision to play for BYU.
I bring this up because recruiting at BYU used to be a whole lot different. Before, the coaching staff would wait for a talented JC player/high school who didn't necessarily have the grades or the desire to go to BYU, but was very talented so BYU would take a chance. Nine times out of ten they would bite us in the butt, and the players would never show up. , those players are internet legends. When Crowton's 2004 class came it was one of the most talented classes ever at BYU....on paper. The class never really produced much other than Austin Collie, Todd Watkins, and Ray Feinga. That class was basically the demise of Crowton with the off-field turmoil surrounded by that group which paved the way for many of Bronco's tactics today. Now when a potential recruit meets with Bronco Mendenhall to play at BYU, its not Bronco flabergasting all this stuff that the recruit wants to hear. Bronco is making the recruit sell himself to why he wants to play at BYU. He emphasizes that BYU is a unique place and one that requires a full commitment. And if you decide to live by the commitment to the fullest, Bronco believes that you will be rewarded on the field and off. Bronco is such a down to earth guy and yet to the point that its almost impossible for these recruits to deny him. Now instead of relying on signing day commits who might not be eligible we are getting at least 90% of the class to be eligible on average, and they are all players who are just yearning to play for football for one of the most storied programs in all of College Football. The sky is the limit for this program. People around the nation need to take notice that BYU is back. 2006 was no joke season, the team is going to build on that this year and in the future. The fans, players, and the coaches all believe that BYU is a BCS-caliber team now it's time to go out and prove it but it all starts with recruiting. From being a coach who just knew defense and never showed an interest in recruitng, to now locking up 20 commits in Mid-July let's just say Bronco knew all along what he was going to do, and he proved the nay sayers wrong. Coming soon I'm going to post a 2008 Recruiting Dashboard with the current commits, top targets remaining, and other information so watch for that. Go Cougs! --Mitch Top 20 players for the 2007 season to be a success Hey we are alive here at Provo Pride. With fall camp quickly approaching we are gonna get things back to daily posting for the upcoming season. So keep on reading the site for updates as the season comes closer. Today I'm taking a look at the Top 20 players/positions who are most crucial for BYU to "Raise The Bar" in the 2007 campaign. The list goes in reverse order from #20 to #1 who is our vote for the most important Cougar this season. #20 J.J. DiLuigi, Running Back DiLuigi is a wildcard on this list because of his versatility and his big play capabilities. DiLuigi as all die-hard Cougar fans know led Canyon High School to a CIF state championship last season over #1 ranked De La Salle. DiLuigi did break his foot back in May due to a freak accident involving a newspaper, he should be ready to go for Fall Camp though. He is a true freshman but for the past few years BYU has always had one or two newcomers make a big splash in the season. DiLuigi is definitely going to be that man this season. #19 Ian Dulan, Defensive Line Ended last season early due to a knee injury. Dulan is a very talented D-lineman. He started in his first ever collegiate game last season against Arizona at the age of 17. Expected to be the starter at Left End this season. This will be the last chance Cougar fans see this talented player for awhile after 2007 he is going on a mission. #18 Matt Allen, Wide Receiver Allen has quitely evolved over his Cougar career into a solid receiver. This season Allen will need to improve upon his 2006 numbers (27 rec., 420 yards) with him being one of Max Hall's top targets. Allen has great hands and catches everything in sight. #17 Quinn Gooch, Safety One of the hardest hitters on the team this season. Gooch is nothing flashy but simply gets the job done and he will knock a few heads while he is doing it. Gooch has been getting some attention from pre-season magazines as a All-MWC performer. Gooch is the headliner of a Senior laiden Safety group (Gooch, Dustin Gabriel, David Tafuna, Corby Hodgkiss). #16 Ray Feinga, Offensive Guard Voted by Lindy's magazine as the best NFL prospect in the Mountain West Conference. Feinga is one of the premier Offensive Lineman in the conference and is still only a Junior. Feinga and Travis Bright are one of the best Guard combos in the nation. #15 Tight End As of now it looks to be Return Missionary Dennis Pitta who looks to have the edge to get the nod at TE over Vic So'oto who had an off-the-field issue involving the ever popular topic with Ute fans, waterbaloons. This group is inexperienced but still very talented. BYU has always produced great TE's. Andrew George is another player to watch who is very similar to the recently departed legend Jonny Harline in his style of play. A tall, thin, player who catches everything. Pitta, So'oto, and George by season's end don't be surprised if one of these players is a All-MWC player. #14 Jan Jorgensen, Defensive End Jorgensen was a Freshman All-American last season. Started in all 13 games last season. Jorgensen is only a Sophomore and is already one of the best players on BYU's defense. #13 Michael Reed, Wide Receiver It's time for Reed to finally break out and become the big play receiver he was touted as coming out of Baytown, TX as the Texas 5A Receiver of the Year. Reed had some outstanding catches last season against TCU, and Wyoming. Reed has a great size and good speed. 750+ yards isn't too far of a reach for Reed this season. #12 Russell Tialavea, Defensive Tackle Tialavea is a great player at DT. There isn't much proven depth behind him so its important that he stays healthy the entire season. He will have to carry the load in the interior of that line this season, and he has all the talent to do so. #11 David Nixon, Outside Linebacker Rumors have been floating around as of late if Nixon might have to redshirt due to a hernia injury. I personally feel he is gonna be ready to go come September 1st against Arizona. If the coaches need to sit him out during most of fall camp then that will be the case. We already know what Nixon is capable of. Nixon and Kehl are highly underrated as a OLB tandem, people are underestimating BYU's LB core as a whole as well. #10 Sete Aulai, Center The consensus player on this year's squad to be a Pre-Season 1st Team All-MWC player this season. Aulai in the course of one year went from battling it out with Tom Sorenson in fall camp for the starting job, to struggling mightily in the first three games of the season with Shotgun snaps, being suspended against Utah State, then after the USU game having little problems at all, and now a player on the Rimington Trophy watch list. Pretty impressive to say the least. Aulai is a great Center, has the perfect build. #9 Manase Tonga, Running Back Cougar fans are still concerned if Tonga might be suspended for the Arizona game due to the recent arrest back on July 3rd going through a stop light. Tonga is the projected starter at Running Back right now he is very talented and has a nice mix of strength along with speed through the middle. If Tonga isn't going to be able to play against Arizona it will shake up the RB unit quite a bit. Time will tell. #8 Field Cornerback The cornerback positon on the opposite side of Ben Criddle is still a question mark. Currently Kayle Buchannon is the starter but with his track record how long will that last until he is injured? If healthy, Buchannon is very talented with great speed. Brandon Howard made great strides during spring practices could make a push for the starting job. Then there is Brandon Bradley who Cougar fans are just begging to see play, heck we are begging to see him practice. Bradley is a big, quick corner in the build of a Brian Gray. Also Andre Saulsberry, and incoming Freshman G Pittman and Brannon Brooks should battle for the spot. #7 Austin Collie, Wide Reciever One of the more anticipated RMs in memory. Collie was simply amazing in 2004 earning Freshman All-American honors for his spectactular play. Collie is a big 6'4 WR who has deep-threat type of speed. Expect Max Hall to be airing it out deep to Collie on occasion. When Collie arrived to Provo it looked as though it was going to take awhile for him to recover, he looked overweight and out of shape. But now all indications point to him being 100% for Fall Camp and the season opener. He is going to be one of the best WRs in the conference this season. #6 Bryan Kehl, Outside Linebacker The outspoken Linebacker, isn't shy about saying this team is determined to "Raise The Bar." Made an emotional speech during one of the team meetings a few months back saying he felt like the Arizona loss was on his shoulders and he was determined to help lead this team to a great and successful 2007 season, powerful stuff to say the least. Kehl has a great NFL build and should be a NFL prospect after this season gets through. People are over-looking him now but everyone will be very familiar with Kehl once the season gets done. #5 Deep Snapper Like Bronco does, I'm putting a strong emphasis on this position. Last season the fiasco in fall camp with Matt Johnson not getting eligible forced BYU to find a walk-on in Jayson Clark who turned out to be very good. This season the starter right now is walk-on John Pace out of Yorba Linda, CA. Behind him is Brett Denney who has the genes on his side, his brother John Denney (current Miami Dolphin) was a deep snapper at BYU as well. This position is still a major question mark though, fall camp will be a good indicator of how much progress has been made. #4 Ben Criddle, Cornerback Expected to be 100% healthy after recovering from a foot injury that was suffered at the always pleasant field turf up on the hill, Ben Criddle is BYU's top cornerback this season without a question. Last season, was only a walk-on but made big plays and had many hard hits (video below). Criddle is now on scholarship and is gonna have to elevate his game as well. His determination and overall work ethic is outstanding he is the definition of a Bronco Mendehall player. #3 Mitch Payne, Kicker/Punter We all know who he is brother is, now it's time for the younger bro to have his time in the spotlight. There are some serious question marks with Mitch though. He showed a lack of accuracy in the Blue/White Spring game back in April, he has exceptional strength kicking the ball but needs to improve on the accuracy. Special Teams can cost ball games so this definitely needs to be improved. Bronco and staff went out on the recruiting trail and picked up C.J. Santiago out of Orange Coast JC. Santiago is going to be a walk-on this season then in the Winter receive a scholarship. He will be a nice reserve if Payne is struggling. #2 Max Hall, Quarterback It has been quite a long time since Max Hall was behind Center in an actual football game, all the way back in 2003 to be exact, at Mountain View High in Mesa, Arizona. Hall hasn't played a down of D-1 football but that doesn't matter at the school that is known for its legendary "Quarterback Factory." Alot of this season's success lies on his shoulders. He has the talented Offensive Line in front of him and the receivers he just has to display that accuracy that is so well known in this offense and he should shine. Now don't get me wrong I'm sure there will be struggles along the way, we just need to be patient but I think success will happen very quickly for Hall. #1 Fui Vakapuna, Running Back Here is our #1 player for BYU to "Raise the Bar" in 2007. Fui has all the talent in the world to be a great Running Back at BYU there is question marks though around him. Can he stay healthy? Can he be the every-down back? It's important for Fui to elevate his game this season with the RB unit being very unproven, Fui needs to stay healthy and become a more polished running back. From he looked has really hit the weight room hard. If I was an opposing Linebacker I sure wouldn't want to mess with Fui. If he stays Fui is going to have an outstanding season. So what do you guys think of the list? Is there someone you think should have been on there that I missed or a player that was rated too low. Tell me what you think in the comments section. --Mitch Entry Link :: 1 Comment This time of the year is terrible. What to do until football season? Dang, May really is really one of the worst months around. I'm currently stuck dealing with crazed Utah Jazz fans which bugs me considering I'm a die-hard Lakers fan. So right now, I'm anxiously counting down the days till football season. So what exactly is there to make it seem like football season isn't very far away. Well here are my things that I look forward to in the off-season, starting the earliest leading up to the opening kick. #1 Pre-Season Magazines: Late May-Mid June
Although, they are usually far off when it comes to predicting BYU (last year all publications except Street & Smith's had BYU pegged at 3rd) I still get excited to scout the nation with these $7.99 delights. This year's Athlon Western Edition (above) has no BYU players. Where is the love for Bryan Kehl? Seriously! My favorite magazine is Phil Steele, then Street & Smith's, and The Sporting News. Athlon, Gold Sheet and the others I don't really bother with. Especially this year's Athlon. I'm currently doing my own Previews over at my so go check it out sometime. There is a BYU preview already up. #2 BYU summer camp reports With Bronco Mendenhall's new emphasis on signing the best LDS talent and getting them early it makes the summer camp reports all the more exciting. This summer I wouldn't be surprised to see about 7 to 10 commits for the class of 2008. Exciting stuff. #3 NCAA Football 08: July 15ish Every year it is a must to get this game. Granted EA basically does nothing to really improve the gameplay, being a 360 owner I'm very excited to see all the stadiums in this year's game. I'm a big fan of stadiums and the amazing detail that this game has done over the years. Lavell Edwards Stadium in the 07 game was simply amazing. I would zoom in on my season ticket seats and take a Snap Shot it made me feel like I was in the stadium. I'm not too happy about the cover boy choice in Jared Zabransky from Boise State. Heck BYU was practically two plays away from having a BCS bowl and being everyone's media darling and we would be seeing John Beck on the cover. But oh well I will still be forking over the $60 come July. Someone needs to tell me how to download the rosters. I'm tired of doing them manually it is a long process. Yikes! #4 Media Guide: End of July Every year I make the trek from Salt Lake the week after Pioneer Day down to Provo to pick up the Media Guide. I mean I could fill out the voucher that I received in the off-season to have it sent to me in the mail but it's always a exciting even to get the annual Media Guide. I have every Media Guide since 1985 and they are awesome to go back and look at. Great stuff. BYU during the late 90s and early part of this decade was producing huge 320+ page Media Guide that were almost impossible to read. Then the NCAA mandated a 208 page limit two years which I think has made the Media Guide better. Every year I ask the Cougar Ticket Office for a spiral media guide like the ones the Media gets but they are always stumped and never know what I'm talking about. I know I could go to Kinko's and have it done but I want the spiral media guide that BYU issues out. So for any of you Cougar fans how can I get a spiral media guide? Thanks in advance. I know that is sad that I even think about that but like the title of this post, this time of the year is terrible and makes me think of anything football. #5 Fall Camp: Beginning of August Fall Camp in my opinion is when football is here. I have enjoyed the past two years listening to Greg Wrubell's Cougar Daily Download podcasts which keeps you up to date on all the happenings with the team. Fall camp is going to be exciting as always. It's always a spectactle for the fans to finally see pics of the newcomers in BYU gear and finally discuss football again. There is always so much optimism during fall camp which makes it a great time, until of course the annual first day of camp someone goes down with a season ending injury in skeleton drills while wearing t-shirt and shorts, that's the hard part of fall camp. Then after the fall camp, the season is here! Well here are the five things that I look forward to during the off-season. It's mindbottling isn't it? --Mitch Step aside Culpepper there's a new sheriff in town Former Cougar Quarterback John Beck finally got the call on his future in the National Football League, as the Miami Dolphins took him with the 40th pick in the 2nd round of the Draft. This was the place that many penciled Beck to go to. What makes this ultra sweet for Cougar fans is that the Dolphins who are well known for having Quarterback issues right now had the opportunity in the first round of the draft at pick #9 to take the over hyped Brady Quinn from Notre Dame, but they gladly passed. Coach Cam Cameron and his staff knew that Beck was the real deal, and Beck was their guy to take over this franchise.
There was alot of praise for Beck during the draft telecast yesterday. Ron Jaworski who is a Quarterback expert said his signature catch phrase for Beck, "he projects well in the National Football League..." Great to see Beck get all of this attention. This is the highest a former Cougar has went this high in the NFL Draft since Doug Jolley and Ryan Denney were taken in Round 2 of the 2002 Draft. Congrats to Beck! I finally have a Pro team who I'm a huge fan of now. Will Smith welcomes you! Jonny Harline on ESPNEWS Former Cougar TE Jonny Harline was on ESPNEWS' The Hot List. They asked him some questions about his potential Draft status. The guy from ESPNEWS kept pronouncing his name wrong though, which I'm sure Jonny is very used to. But when Harline was asked about what type of NFL TE's he is like, he compared himself to Antonio Gates and Todd Heap, simply because he was able to make many plays during his career at BYU like those guys do for their franchises. He was asked what round he felt he would go during Draft weekend, and he just said that he plans on watching it and having a good time. The interviewer asked Harline about John Beck, asking him where he felt Beck ranked amongst the "top" QB's in Brady Quinn, JaMarcus Russell, etc. Harline replied by saying he thinks he is just as good if not better. Harline even gave Beck props with his great arm strength. Harline also talked about the Las Vegas Bowl against Oregon how he was the MVP, and it was one of the few times that BYU was able to play in front of a nationally televised audience on ESPN. Then finally, they made reference to Harline's basketball past and they asked him to predict how the Jazz would do in the playoffs. Harline just said they need to have lock-down defense. My personal opinion about the Jazz series with the Rockets is the Rockets are going to win in 5. It was cool seeing Harline on ESPNEWS, I just happened to catch the program at the right time. Good stuff. Countdown to the NFL Draft: John Beck The NFL Draft is only eight days and a prospect who is climbing up many draft boards lately is Cougar Quarterback John Beck. Here is a breakdown of one of the best Cougar signal callers ever to come through Provo.  #1 Intelligence, Hard Worker #2 Accuracy #3 ARM STRENGTH! Age Durability
 The Hair never gets old. Also a huge fan of former Cougar John Walsh
 John Beck will go to the (blank) during Draft weekend I really believe that Beck deserves to be a 2nd Round pick or even sneak into the 1st Round. Beck is much better than Stanford QB Trent Edwards who for some odd reason is a big-time prospect for many teams. But part of me realizes that with Beck playing at BYU he will probably go in the 3rd Round which is not bad at all. I just hope he doesn't slip to the second day like many former Cougars who have expected to go on Day 1 and then slip all the way to the 7th Round. The NFL draft is a confusing thing, its not always based on how productive you are on the field or your overall football talents. But, I would agree with Mel Kiper I think Beck is going to go to the Dolphins at pick #60. I think that would be a great franchise for Beck to succeed. Entry Link :: 1 Comment Ray Hudson transferring Junior Running Back Ray Hudson to D-1AA Stephen F. Austin. Hudson who has seen very limited playing time, wants to be closer to home. I really don't feel that this is too big of a shocker. Hudson wasn't going to see much time this season due to the great depth at Running Back anyway. Hopefully, everything will work out for Hudson it is good for both parties. Now the coaching staff has an extra scholarship that they can use to give out to a current player or possibly a player to sign over the summer. So it will work out well. Another positive is that incoming Freshman J.J. DiLuigi could be the designated speedster at RB and could see time at the RB spot. Spring Game wrap-up; Cooper injured Yesterday, I was at the annual Blue & White game. Exciting to once again see BYU Football. It was a great day except for the foot injury to Quarterback Cade Cooper. I didn't quite Aside from the Cooper injury, I came away impressed with the overall execution of this team. Here are a few of my observations from the scrimmage.
Seeing Max Hall perform today solidified that he is definitely the starter, and that is not due to the Cooper injury. Hall seems very calm and collected in the pocket and throws a nice ball. He is going to be a very good QB this season, I'm very confident in that. Didn't plan on seeing Brenden Gaskins very much today but due to the injury of Cooper he filled in nicely, leading the visiting "White" team on a 97-yard drive that culminated on a 5-yard TD pass to Reed White (Danny White's son). Gaskins was interviewed by KUTV and showed some emotion for how grateful he was to have the chance to be playing at BYU. I thought that was really great to see, I think it is great to see a player showing passion for his team. Also saw Kurt McEuen for one play, and Parker Mangum for a few plays. But it is very clear that on Monday Mendenhall will announce Hall as the starting Quarterback. Which is a smart move so Hall can gain leadership with the offense and the team.
Coach Jaime Hill is doing another great job this season with these corners. This was a hard hitting unit today. I was very impressed with Andre Saulsberry. He had numerous hard hits, he did however miss one tackle, but I'm alot more confident in Saulsberry being a candidate to start at that field position corner alongside Criddle. Speaking of Criddle, he was on the sidelines and still had a limp to his walk. Hopefully Criddle over the summer is at full strength. He was on the east sideline before the scrimmage throwing the ball around with another Corner Brandon Bradley. Bradley is another player that would be nice to see healthy and on the field, he has great size. Brandon Howard had a nice PBU that otherwise would have went for a Touchdown. Howard has made great strides this Spring. I'm very confident that if this group of Cornerbacks gets healthy and stays healthy that they will be very good this season.
The O-Line struggled alot at the beginning of this scrimmage, allowing the D-line to get in the backfield and force the QBs to scramble. The back-up Center, I believe was Garrett Reden was struggling with bad snaps. One of which was the reason for Cooper's injury, after that he was pulled. But over the course of the scrimmage they played alot better giving Hall and Gaskins time to make the passes.
We all know the reason that Vic So'oto was not in attendance today at the scrimmage, so we won't get into that. So Dennis Pitta and Andrew George took center stage. George had a nice catch down the sideline from Hall for 20+ yards on the first drive of the game. Dennis Pitta is now #32, and looks to be in great shape. Brock Hansen who used to be a Quarterback had a few catches as well. The TE spot without So'oto still looks to be very good, but if you add So'otos athleticsm your looking at a TE unit that is once again the best in the conference. Hopefully he returns to the team soon.
Aside from Cooper's injury, LB Dan Van Sweden limped off the field. He looked to be nursing a ankle injury as well...Saw recent Cougar commit Austin Holt in attendance along with some former Cougars from last season (John Beck, Cameron Jensen, Nate Meikle, and Zac Collie) A fun day of Cougar Football. Now the dog days of summer loom until the revenge game against Arizona. --Mitch Spring Ball Thoughts Nothing so far has been said about Spring Football here on Provo Pride, but the Cougar gridders are now in full pads now. Looking to "Raise The Bar" for this upcoming season, and it all starts here in Spring Football. Here are my thoughts from reading the practice reports since the first day of camp. Max Hall vs. Cade Cooper The feature story going into Spring, is of course the QB controversy brewing between Max Hall and Snow JC transfer Cade Cooper. According to all the reports it seesm as though Hall is the front-runner for the job considering he knows the offense from sitting out last season. Both players bring great attributes for Coach Mendenhall to use. I really think Cooper should be used similar to how Florida used Tim Tebow last season. In short yardage, goal line, and trick plays, Cooper's athleticsm would be great in those situations. Bryan Kehl
Who plays alongside Criddle at Cornerback? A surprise name has been floating around and that is Scott Johnson, who could see some time this season at the boundary CB position. Brandon Howard has really elevated his play, along with Andre Saulsberry. I'm glad to see these two guys finally producing and being mentioned in the two-deep. In the past, I've wondered what the deal was with these guys not seeing time, but its good that they are stepping up now to replace Justin Robinson. Gotta give tons of credit to Jaime Hill this guy flat out knows how to coach. Position Changes The only noticable position change is Nate Hutchinson moving from Cornerback to Wide Reciever. I think this a good sign, because Hutchinson was not flourishing at the CB spot, and shows that Mendenhall feel confident in the Cornerback position. Out of Pine View HS in St. George he was a solid WR. Newcomers/RMs The stud Freshman All-American WR Austin Collie has returned to Provo. There was alot of concern amongst the Cougar community that he was out of shape and would take a while to recover from his mission after seeing a segment on KSL's Cougar Beat. But Collie seems has though he has brushed the dust off very quick. Collie recorded a 71-yard TD reception in the first scrimmage of Spring that was at LES. Early-Enrollee Austen Jorgensen out of North Sanpete HS has recovered nicely from his season ending knee injury last season and is impressing the coaches, cracking the two-deep. RM LB Grant Nelson is another LB who is making waves on the two-deep as well. The Linebackers this season are outstanding. National Attention BYU was listed as a by CBS Sportsline. BYU's second opponent, UCLA is ranked 9th. BYU's first two games of the season are going to be great matchups and could set up BYU for a BCS run. The Blue & White game this year is on April 14th at LES at noon. Admission is Free. --Mitch Letter of Intent Day Open Thread Today is National Signing Day around the nation. As for BYU faxes should start to roll in very soon now with these student-athletes Letters of Intent on playing football at BYU. Here is what we expect to see today roll through the BYU Football Office Fax Machines. We will have more analysis throughout the day. There is a special Signing Day Luncheon with Coach Mendenhall for the media and Cougar Club members.
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NO INJURIES!
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understand how he was injured, it was some freak accident from how it appeared. I was upset after it happened. It makes you realize that depth can be gone instantly in the game of football. Hopefully we hear soon the severity of his injury. When I went down on the field after the scrimmage his foot was really puffy, he was making light of the situation but it was apparent that he was in obvious pain.
This guy is an absolute beast. I love reading articles that include quotes from Kehl. The guy brings relentless effort, and is not shy being confident about this upcoming team. Kehl is BYU's best NFL-prospect this upcoming season.
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