# BYU NEXT YEAR AND GETTING BETTER



## UintaMan (Sep 16, 2007)

So on a side not I just read an article about Haimi Hill possibly leaving to go to San Diego and Bronco has been talking with Rocky Long who left New Mexico. If and I know it's a huge if Rocky would come to BYU and run the defense would that be a good thing. New Mexico always seems to have a better than average defense, just curious.

Anyway the reason I started this thread is because for one i'm bored and the other I really want to know what everyone thinks. What does BYU have to do to get over the hump and for one get them to a BCS bowl and secondly get a good defense out there on the field year in and year out? Why has that never happened at BYU? I know about the whole not being able to recruit speed thing but If Utah can do it why can't we? It really blows my mind, I really think like take next year for example we are going to be a good defense away from having a great shot at going to a BCS bowl if everything plays out right of course. With Mcay Jacobson coming back and Oniel Chambers in his second year our receiving corps are going to be even better as well as the tite end situation and the running backs, we loose fui but hopefully get Tonga back. The obvious question on offense is going to be what happens with the O line, we will have the two Reynolds brothers but other than that I'm not sure. 

Now with the defense we will get better with our D line and should stay about the same with the linebackers and backfield but that obviously is not going to be good enough. I think they need to totaly revamp the defensive scheme. I'm not sure what they ran this year I think it was a 3 -5-3. Why can't they do a 4-2-5 or something? I just don't understand why we can't go out there and get some big time fast defensive backs coming out of high school. We don't have a problem doing that with receivers again why can't that translate to the defensive backfield. Anyway I really believe that if they can get the defense up to par next year it should be the year. We have all the big boys at home and if I'm not mistaken we have Florida State at home next year, it may be in Tallahasee though I'm not sure and if it is then that game is going to be scary and huge for us. Florida State is probably going to be ranked next year as will as the cougs. I see the cougs bieng preseason ranked between 15 and 20 somewhere like this last year being that they were able to stay ranked all year even after this last loss at Utah. What do you all think? How is next year going to play out with improving our team to be a legitimate BCS contender aside from having to beat Utah and TCU which is always hard and never a given?


----------



## seniorsetterguy (Sep 22, 2007)

Nice post Uintaman. I think we've got some good recruiters at the Y. If we keep winning, we will get some superior athletes...which is what we need in the secondary. A DB has to be a half step faster and just as cagey as a receiver. They will come to a school with a winning tradition. With the recruiting "lifestyle" standards, on top of the physical standards, BYU cuts its available field of recruits way down in numbers. But we haven't had to suffer through headlines about felonious footballers for awhile either. That's worth it to me. 

I think Bronco is still getting the flywheel moving. As our play and results steadily improve, the flywheel will gain momentum and we will get some of the premier athletes we've missed in the past. Even though it hurt to lose a couple this year...I still think we will be OK in the long run. 

Steady as she goes! Go Cougs!


----------



## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

Word I heard is that Collie will leave early for the NFL. Good for him but bad for BYU.

The defensive scheme this year was a failure in my book. It was a result of getting beat last year by Tulsa - keep everything in front, give up the middle, and no big plays. Well, we then got nickel'd and dime'd to death. When Bronco was the DC, he was much more aggressive. As the DC, he blitzed around 27-30 % of all plays. This year, they blitzed about 11% of the time - much less aggressive. Something has to change. Perhaps it will be Bronco actually letting Jamie Hill take over all the way - who knows. Rocky Long would be good, but I don't think he wants to be an LDS bishop, or at least be expected to live like one. The Cougs will be very good next year though. They'll need to replace 4 offensive linemen - the biggest hole they will have. But solid RBs and a senior QB will help. Every time BYU has had a senior QB in the last 35 years, they have won the conference. Food for thought.


----------



## buggsz24 (Mar 18, 2008)

The BYU defense was the achilles heel this year and while it may not be an issue next year, you also need to worry about getting better on offense.

I know that may sound strange for a team that was so good offensively, but four of your starting offensive lineman are leaving, and they were the heart of your offense. With their protection max had time to stand back and make smart decisions, that was evidenced by the low number of sacks and interceptions given up prior to the Utah game. 

A total of 16 seniors are leaving, 3 wide outs and one of if not your best running backs. You also stand a very good chance of loosing the best receiver in the conference to the draft. BYU better have some quality players waiting in the wings if they expect to fill those spots.


----------



## UintaMan (Sep 16, 2007)

GaryFish said:


> *Word I heard is that Collie will leave early for the NFL. Good for him but bad for BYU.*
> The defensive scheme this year was a failure in my book. It was a result of getting beat last year by Tulsa - keep everything in front, give up the middle, and no big plays. Well, we then got nickel'd and dime'd to death. When Bronco was the DC, he was much more aggressive. As the DC, he blitzed around 27-30 % of all plays. This year, they blitzed about 11% of the time - much less aggressive. Something has to change. Perhaps it will be Bronco actually letting Jamie Hill take over all the way - who knows. Rocky Long would be good, but I don't think he wants to be an LDS bishop, or at least be expected to live like one. The Cougs will be very good next year though. They'll need to replace 4 offensive linemen - the biggest hole they will have. But solid RBs and a senior QB will help. Every time BYU has had a senior QB in the last 35 years, they have won the conference. Food for thought.


I have a hard time believing that Collie is going to leave early. If he does though I can't say that I wouldn't do the same and I think he could be a good receiver in the NFL. Is his stock really that hight right now though in a National perspective? Not sure where he would go in the upcoming draft. I will be interested now to see what he ends up doing, I hadn't thought about him leaving early.


----------



## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

Uintaman,
Dallas Reynolds is a senior; younger brother is the only one staying around on the OL with much experience, from what we saw of Feinga's replacement, Willing??, it does not look good at all. I thing he had 4 false starts in 2 games, but I guess that is just from inexperience; he did have good protection. 

I like the Idea of having Rocky come over; someone mentioned that he would not want to be a bishop; he was born in Provo, so I think he knows the culture for the most part. His defense is incredible; if UNM had any semblance of an offense they would have been great! 

Why the Y can't get the good DB's????? That is the $10,000,000 question; seems to be a perennial issue, yet Criddle and Buchanan ended up being decent; Francisco and Gooch were good, but I can't think of any real shut down guys.


----------



## UintaMan (Sep 16, 2007)

Huge29 said:


> Uintaman,
> Dallas Reynolds is a senior; younger brother is the only one staying around on the OL with much experience, from what we saw of Feinga's replacement, Willing??, it does not look good at all. I thing he had 4 false starts in 2 games, but I guess that is just from inexperience; he did have good protection.
> 
> I like the Idea of having Rocky come over; someone mentioned that he would not want to be a bishop; he was born in Provo, so I think he knows the culture for the most part. His defense is incredible; if UNM had any semblance of an offense they would have been great!
> ...


I believe Houston Reynolds will be back from his mission for next year.


----------



## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

> I have a hard time believing that Collie is going to leave early.


One of the stations interviewed John Beck last week and the subject of Collie leaving early came up. Beck mentioned that age is a HUGE factor in NFL talent pools. Most players are in the league for 5-6 years, so getting them in their prime is a big deal. With Collie redshirting and serving a mission, he is already two years older than most rookies coming into the league. Beck's argument was that if Collie stays in college, it will end up costing him close to a million dollars long term. His stock is high enough according to Beck, that he figured Collie would go second, no later than third round in the draft. I don't know who needs receivers, and what other guys will be coming out - but Collie is big enough, and had the techniques necessary to be a very good possession receiver in the NFL. He certainly isn't T.O. or Randy Moss for speed, but he can catch the ball and use his body to get to the ball. Those are some things that make up for his lack of burning speed.


----------



## seniorsetterguy (Sep 22, 2007)

GaryFish said:


> > I have a hard time believing that Collie is going to leave early.
> 
> 
> One of the stations interviewed John Beck last week and the subject of Collie leaving early came up. Beck mentioned that age is a HUGE factor in NFL talent pools. Most players are in the league for 5-6 years, so getting them in their prime is a big deal. With Collie redshirting and serving a mission, he is already two years older than most rookies coming into the league. Beck's argument was that if Collie stays in college, it will end up costing him close to a million dollars long term. His stock is high enough according to Beck, that he figured Collie would go second, no later than third round in the draft. I don't know who needs receivers, and what other guys will be coming out - but Collie is big enough, and had the techniques necessary to be a very good possession receiver in the NFL. He certainly isn't T.O. or Randy Moss for speed, but he can catch the ball and use his body to get to the ball. Those are some things that make up for his lack of burning speed.


Makes sense...but I hate to hear it. I love watching the guy.

BTW, Am I the only one who thinks scholarship commitments are sometimes "one-way" deals, favoring the players? When a kid makes a commitment to a school to play for four years, is that a solid commitment, or just a "maybe?" I really don't know, but I wonder if this is just a money issue, or is integrity also involved? A real question for me...I just don't know enough about the contracts involved or the expectations of the shools offering the free education and a scholarship (which is like gold to a football program).


----------



## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

Collie has done wonders this year to make Hall look good. It seems like there are 2-3 catches each game that Collie makes on passes that he had to come back to, were over the wrong shoulder, came up short, or whatever. Collie has made Hall much better. Which I think is why he will do well in the NFL. 

Anybody know if Tonga will be back on the team next year? That would be a nice compliment to Unga in the backfield - also on blitz pick-up. Tonga was much better at that than Vakapuna last year.


----------



## buggsz24 (Mar 18, 2008)

I don't really think that the players they put on the field next year will be as good or better than the team they fielded this year, what I do see improving is your coaching staff.

Word has it that your D coordinator is eithr looking for or being told to look for a better fit, and with Rocky Long now jobless you may end up with a coordinator that Bronco doesn't have to worry about during the game.


----------



## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

Couple of thoughts. First, did the DC go to the crappy soft bend but don't break because they actually believe in the scheme, or because BYU just doesn't have the kind of players this year that can play aggressively without getting totally smoked? The scheme this year was very problematic as soon as Utah State figured out how to exploit it in early October. And if Utah State can figure it out - when who the heck else isn't going to figure it out? The real scary answer to the question though - if BYU doesn't have the personnel to play more aggressively, then we are in DEEP doodoo. Much deeper than if we had a coach who refused to rethink the scheme when it became clear it wasn't working.


----------



## seniorsetterguy (Sep 22, 2007)

I think it is a desperate attempt to find a scheme that players with limited speed/talent can play. I'm sure they would play tighter in the secondary if they could. It's same ol same ol at the Y. Somehow we've got to untangle that knot and get some talent in the secondary. If not, we'll never be an elite team. However, as I posted earlier, we've watched Bronco methodically improve things and solve difficult problems. I trust he will make a difference on this one too. I hope he does it soon...but then I have little patience.


----------



## UintaMan (Sep 16, 2007)

buggsz24 said:


> I don't really think that the players they put on the field next year will be as good or better than the team they fielded this year, what I do see improving is your coaching staff.
> 
> *Word has it that your D coordinator is eithr looking for or being told to look for a better fit, and with Rocky Long now jobless you may end up with a coordinator that Bronco doesn't have to worry about during the game.[/quote*]
> 
> If we could somehow pull that off I would be all for it and think it would do wonders for our defense. I'll keep my fingers crossed!


----------



## xxxxxxBirdDogger (Mar 7, 2008)

> Anybody know if Tonga will be back on the team next year? That would be a nice compliment to Unga in the backfield - also on blitz pick-up. Tonga was much better at that than Vakapuna last year.


Manase will only be back if he has increased his GPA by going to UVU or some other college. Wayne Latu and J.J. DeLuigi will share time in the backfield. The Cougars also have that All-State running back coming in from Bingham (Langi, first name escapes me?). He's not that big, but he shakes and bakes all over the field and runs with good power for a small guy. He'll make a nice change of pace back, ala Reno Mahe. They also landed Adam Timo, a 4-star rated back from Snow Canyon. 
As to the line, the Cougs could land Xavier Su'a-Filo (OT 4-star), they landed Tui Crichton (OG 3-star), Richard Wilson (TE 4-star), Terry Alletto (C 2-star), Ryan Mulitalo (OG 2-star), Fono Vakalahi (OG 2-star), and the biggest OL in Oklahoma (whose name also escapes me?). 
Scout.Com also has 2 safeties that have signed with BYU as being 4-star players, along with a couple of nice corner recruits. 
BYU is looking good in the future.


----------



## UintaMan (Sep 16, 2007)

BirdDogger said:


> > Anybody know if Tonga will be back on the team next year? That would be a nice compliment to Unga in the backfield - also on blitz pick-up. Tonga was much better at that than Vakapuna last year.
> 
> 
> Manase will only be back if he has increased his GPA by going to UVU or some other college. Wayne Latu and J.J. DeLuigi will share time in the backfield. The Cougars also have that All-State running back coming in from Bingham (Langi, first name escapes me?). He's not that big, but he shakes and bakes all over the field and runs with good power for a small guy. He'll make a nice change of pace back, ala Reno Mahe. They also landed Adam Timo, a 4-star rated back from Snow Canyon.
> ...


Wow that souds like they are picking up the pace a bit in recruiting. That is great to hear, hopefully they all pan out and we can get this defensive problem fixed in a hurry!


----------

