Te'o moving to lb'er?

[MarkGrace]

BYU’s Malosi Te'o is following in the steps of his cousin Manti Te'o.

The Deseret News is reporting that Malosi Te’o has moved from running back to linebacker. His cousin Manti Te’o is a starting linebacker at Notre Dame.

Malosi Te’o has never taken a snap for the Cougars. He signed with UNLV out of Kahuku High in Hawaii, but went on his mission before enrolling. After he returned, he decided to transfer to BYU and joined the team in the winter of 2009. He redshirted last year and was expected to be a part of the running back corps. However, with so many options at running back and so few at linebacker, the coaching staff decided to make the switch.

The move is a little odd considering the need for running backs after star Harvey Unga was not allowed to return to BYU. Te’o rushed for 1,209 yards as a senior but 1,007 of those yards came in his last five games, when Kahuku started the OIA playoffs. He also scored 11 of his 13 touchdowns in the playoffs.

But the running back position is one of the deepest for the Cougars and, although the team likely will use a committee approach, Te’o will have a better shot to get on the field with the defense than the offense.

http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/tag/_/name/malosi-teo

Isn't he kind of tiny to play lb'er? Given his speed and size, wouldn't safety make more sense?

[Indy Coug]

It's obvious BYU would like to gravitate back towards playing more of a 3-3-5.

[MarkGrace]

So his size is ok in a 3-3-5?

[Hot Lunch]

It's obvious BYU would like to gravitate back towards playing more of a 3-3-5.

Good luck with that. I hate that defense.

[Indy Coug]

Well, if he has safety size....

James Allen was dynamite as a Katback in 2003 at 5'10" and 170

http://www.cougarstats.com/players/a.html#jamesallen

[Indy Coug]

Good luck with that. I hate that defense.

Because?

[Hot Lunch]

Because?

Well the main reason which is probably a good reason for BYU it is a pain to prepare for as a player. You only see it once maybe twice a year and it is weird to block if it is ran correctly and aggressively. Not fun.

I also think that in a 3-3-5 that you need speed and great athletes to be successful because of the lack of size up front.

[Commando]

Maybe Q is just that badass so far that this is the logical decision? (Is that too optimistic?)

[Indy Coug]

Maybe Q is just that badass so far that this is the logical decision? (Is that too optimistic?)

Maybe JJ instead of Q.

[kccougar]

Maybe Q is just that badass so far that this is the logical decision? (Is that too optimistic?)

Obviously a "go to" guy hasn't been established yet to replace Unga, but in terms of quantity, BYU is stacked at RB. It may be Q, it may be Phillips, it may be Kariya, it may be DiLuigi, etc, etc.

[Commando]

speaking of RB's, did we discuss how it is that Kariya crushed it against Oklahoma and then disappeared the rest of the season? That wrinkled my brain. Harvey was Harvey all season, but where was the game 1 Kariya??

[Goatnapper'96]

Obviously a "go to" guy hasn't been established yet to replace Unga, but in terms of quantity, BYU is stacked at RB. It may be Q, it may be Phillips, it may be Kariya, it may be DiLuigi, etc, etc.

Phillips will redshirt. It will be Q, JJ and Kariya this year. If Q stays healthy I think he will start taking the lions share of the reps starting next year.

My honest opinion is that this is probably a reflection of Q positively and perhaps Malosi negatively. Don't forget that BYU has Adam Hines in the wings once Q becomes a junior.

[MarkGrace]

speaking of RB's, did we discuss how it is that Kariya crushed it against Oklahoma and then disappeared the rest of the season? That wrinkled my brain. Harvey was Harvey all season, but where was the game 1 Kariya??

No need to wrinkle, he's just not that good.

And didn't he get something like 2.5 ypc against Oklahoma?

[Blueintheface]

speaking of RB's, did we discuss how it is that Kariya crushed it against Oklahoma and then disappeared the rest of the season? That wrinkled my brain. Harvey was Harvey all season, but where was the game 1 Kariya??

I was lead to believe that Oklahoma was soft and played uninspired defense. Apparently they also forgot to put their Heisman Trophy winner on the flight to Texas.

[Indy Coug]

speaking of RB's, did we discuss how it is that Kariya crushed it against Oklahoma and then disappeared the rest of the season? That wrinkled my brain. Harvey was Harvey all season, but where was the game 1 Kariya??

Crushed it? He averaged less than 3 yards per carry.