Tweet
Plus,
Francis Bernard
Ma'atua Brown (JC)
Inoke Lotulelei
Patrick Palau.
who are all going straight onto missions.
Francis Bernard
Ma'atua Brown (JC)
Inoke Lotulelei
Patrick Palau.
who are all going straight onto missions.
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Who comes back from missions this year? I know that's probably been asked already.So Russell...what do you love about music? To begin with, everything.Comment
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Originally posted by MarkGrace View Post
DL
Chris Copier
Matthew Jensen
Tuni Kanuch
LB
Toloa’i Ho Ching
Joey Owens
Matthew Relei
Sae Tautu
DB
Levi Gifford
OL
Jordan Black
Cole Jones
TE
Bryan Sampson
RB
Algernon Brown
Garrett Juergens
Zane Mendenhall
AJ Moore
WR
DJ Doman
Mitchell Juergens
Luke Nelson
QB
Brad Heap
Dallin McEwen
SP
Matt GulbrandsenComment
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Ho Ching. Wow. Been awhile since I heard that name.Originally posted by Coach McGuirk View Post"Nobody listens to Turtle."-TurtlesigpicComment
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2013 recruiting:
Time to breakdown the class and the roster moving forward.
Clearly we had a huge deficiency last year on the O-line. We had starters dropping like flies throughout the entire season. Houston Reynolds, Braden Hansen, Famika Anae, Blair Tushaus, all missed significant time with injuries. The only constants were Ryker Mathews at LT and Braden Brown at RT. Braden Brown has moved on which means the only true returning starter is Ryker Mathews. LT is locked down for the next 3 years and I guarantee barring injury Ryker plays in the NFL.
BYU is desperately trying to add bodies and depth to the O-line.
Returning players that saw time last year: Solomone Kafu, Maanaki Vaitai, Mathews, Brock Stringham, Tushaus, Michael Yeck, and Reynolds. If all of these guys stay healthy I think we are solid however that has never happened.
New recruits:
Brayden Kearsley- 4-star. By far the biggest commit of this class, he has been asked to come in right away and compete for the starting center position. Tushaus is undersized and I think Kearsley wins the job.
Thomas Shoaf- This is a nice pickup by BYU, he had offers from Indiana and Iowa. He is a bit undersized at only 265 pounds and will most likely redshirt. He will compete for a tackle spot in a few years.
Keegan Hicks- this kid was a monster for Bingham. He is one of those kids that does not carry his 295 pounds very well and will need some help in the weight room. He is a future guard that has a nasty streak. I believe he will go straight on a mission but I look for him to contribute when he gets back.
Addison Pulsipher- Another underweight future tackle. He is 6'6 but only 260 pounds. Like Thomas Shoaf he will need to put on some weight at the next level and will most likely go on a mission and redshirt. A lot of schools recruited him as a D-end but BYU wanted him as an offensive lineman. A bit of a project.
D'ondre Wesley- JC commit that was at one time committed to Utah and then to ASU. He is a monster at 6'7 300+ pounds. However his highlights did not overly impress me. He is a road grader in the run game but I think quick pass rushers will destroy him. He definitely adds depth but I am not sure if he is the answer at right tackle. Unfortunatley he is a guard in a tackles body.
Josh Carter- another JC commit from Arizona, he played at Eastern Arizona JC last year (the school that gave us Shaun Nua) and had Arizona, ASU, Cal, Colorado and UNLV all offer him in high school. When he told them he was going on a mission he pretty much lost every offer he had which tells me he was not that high of a priority. Another big body at 6'5 305 pounds that can play both tackle and guard. I am not sure he beats out anybody we currently have but he does have a redshirt year.
Tim Duran- JC commit that was the surprise of signing day so far. We pulled the offer to Awa-Dubose. The rumor I have heard is that Awa-Dubose can only play center BYU feels like with Kearsley, Tushaus, Reynolds and Alleto they have enough depth at that position. Once Kearsley committed and agreed to play center they wanted to add a more versatile lineman which they did in Duran. Duran was not very highly recruited with only FCS offers. At 6'4 290 pounds he can step in and contribute right away.
I think BYU has addressed the problem regarding O-line depth. We will find 5 solid guys and I expect the offensive line to improve greatly this year.
Skill position:
Of course we have several returning starters at the WR, RB and TE. The biggest names are Hoffman, Jamaal Williams and a healthy Michael Alisa. We also return Falslev in the slot and due to injuries we finally have some seperation in the Tight end class with Holt, Wilson, Friel, Mahina and Mathews. Ross Apo is back and if he can overcome his fear of getting hit still has a ton of potential. Brett Thompson will be another year removed from his mission and AJ Moore recently returned home as well.
We do add some nice depth with this class:
Michael Davis- I think he is the steal of the class, he is a 6'2 200 pound speedster out of southern california. He will be one of the fastest kids on the roster from Day 1. He ran a 10.67 100 Meters as a Sophomore in high school and was the 7th fastest kid in the state of california. He is fairly new to football and he played on a terrible team which allowed him to fly under the radar. I think he ends up being similar to Todd Watkins by the time it is all said and done.
Talon Shumway- best athlete in the state this year. He can out jump anyone. He has great size at 6'3 200 pounds and runs a respectable 4.55 40. He fits the mold of receivers we have recruited in recent years and will be another good one for BYU.
Inoke Lotulelei- the one time UCLA commit is the perfect fit for the new slot receiver position at BYU. He does not have blazing speed but he is very shifty and will remind most fans of Reno Mahe. He has a similar size and skillset of JD Falslev and should be a solid contributor at BYU.
Francis Bernard- I have been high on this kid for a few years as Herriman is pretty close to me. I have seen him play in person several times and I love the way he plays. He has enough speed to run away from you but he also loves contact. He has no problem putting his head down and running you over. His running style and size remind me of Curtis Brown. I think he is a solid pickup.
Patrick Palau- highly coveted full back out of East High school. Palau held a Michigan offer among many others before committing very early to BYU. He is the exact size of Manase Tonga and is a true fullback. Don't expect many carries out of him he will be strictly a blocker which is what he excels at.
Moroni Laulu-Pututau- 6'4 190 pound tight end out of Logan. He committed to BYU early and did not disappoint. He dominated the state championship game last yera and once he puts on weight will be a solid tight end for the cougars.
Defense:
The defensive side of the ball will be very good again next year. The LB corps is the best we have ever had at BYU and that is with the loss of Ogletree and Kaveinga. Uani Unga is a better MLB than both of them, and Manoa Pikula is a future star. With KVN returning along with Spencer Hadley this defense could be better than last year. The backups at LB start at many other schools with Alani Fua, Butch Pauu, Tyler Beck, Lene Lesatle, Jheremya Leuta- Douyere all ready to step in.
We added some depth at the LB position in this class:
Kai Nacua- 6'2 205 pounds. Nacua is a fringe D-1 prospect with only one other offer which was his hometown school of UNLV. He will mainly be a special teams contributor throughout his career. With that being said his younger brother Isaiah is a major prospect and will be a 4 star kid next year which is one of the reasons BYU offered Kai. Isaiah committed to BYU as a sophomore but has recently picked up offers from Utah, Washington, and UCLA. He will be tough to hang on to.
Trajan Pili- Pili committed to BYU 2 years ago. He blew up his senior year and had Stanford, Washington, and Cal knocking on his door. He stayed firm to his BYU commitment and will play OLB at BYU. he is 6'2 225 pounds and what looked like a low-major prospect could turn in to a solid pickup.
Rylee Gautvai- I believe he is a sign and send. He had over 120 tackles his jr and sr seasons of high school. Reminds me a bit of Ogletree. He is undersized but has a nose for the ball.
Chasen Anderson- The son of Wisconsin HC Gary Anderson. Chasen would have been a high major prospect had he not blown out his knee and missed his entire senior season. If he can fully recover BYU is getting a good one.
Defensive Backs:
As usual we struggle to find solid corners. Safety is a lot easier position to fill than corner. We are loaded at safety this season with the return of Bills and Sorenson, along with Mike Hague picking up an 8th year. Hawaii transfer Michael Wadsworth will be eligible this year and I think Sawyer Powell could make an impact along with Jacob Hanneman.
BYU still went hard after some safeties this year:
Nathan Debeikes- from DDDs hometown of Thousand Oaks. Debeikes is a solid player that was a stat sheet stuffer. He has great size at 6'2 200 pounds. He put up insane stats his senior year, posted 91 tackles, returned nine kicks for 171 yards, rushed for 935 yards and 10 touchdowns and caught 44 passes for 390 yards and two scores in 2012.
Dallin Leavitt- Another kid out of Oregon that had some solid offers. He is 5'11 205 and an absolute head hunter.
Garrett England- England is a big kid at 6'4, but does need to put on a little weight as he checks in at 175 pounds. He is going straight on a mission. Worst case scenario he can help in hail mary situations.
Johnny Tapuosa- I don't care if this kid never plays a down for BYU. The fact that we went in to Hawaii and took a kid from Kahuku is big for BYU. We need to re-open that pipeline which is what I think Marky Atuaia will do.
Jordan Preator- the 5th safety in this class, Preator is 6'0 180 pounds and really flew under the radar. I have never seen him play and not heard much about him. I believe he is a sign and send kid. So we won't hear about him for a few years.
Corners:
With the recent success of finding corners in the junior college ranks (Logan, Hadley), BYU went right back to it again this year. We lost one of the more underrated players in BYU history in Preston Hadley. Jordan Johnson has one corner spot locked down, but we have an open competition for the other spot.
Trenton Trammell- I think he is the early leader since he is already enrolled. He had a solid season at San Francisco city college, has good size at 6'0 185 pounds and should play right away.
Sam Lee- Lee was added later in the season mainly to add depth. He played at College of the Canyons under new O-line coach 2J. He is an LDS kid that actually played opposite of Kori Gaines at COC.
D-line:
We lose Fuga and Ziggy which will be tough to replace. But Manumaleuna is on the Mike Hague 8 year plan and will be back. Also it looks like Dulan might try and return as well. We also have Marques Johnson a JC transfer that redshirted last year and the newest scout team hero Theodore King who has been hyped beyond belief.
Kalolo Utu- Interesting story, graduated high school in 2008, went on a mission, returned home in 2010 and went to compton community college for a year. After 1 year decided to play football (now 3 years removed from high school) played sparingly in that 1 season due to injury and was offered by BYU. He must graduate from his JC in order to be eligible which might take some effort. He also plans on playing middle linebacker, although he has never played anything other than D-line.
Merrill Taliauli- this kid is a monster. He was dominant at the high school level and wanted by several schools including Utah and Utah State. He blew up high school centers and was a force inside. I actually think he gets some time this year.
This class might not be as flashy as years past but we definitely addressed major needs and depth. Also I just saw we added another JC O-lineman that was not on anyones radar Edward Fusi. The main weakness on this team last year was QB (we have Taysom Hill), O-line (8 new lineman added to the roster), and as always we lack depth in the defensive secondary (4 safeties and 2 corners)*Banned*Comment
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who is this junkie guy?
Glad to see you're alive, cj."Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance and the gospel of envy; its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." - Winston Churchill
"I only know what I hear on the news." - Dear LeaderComment
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:clap:So Russell...what do you love about music? To begin with, everything.Comment
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I no longer fear death knowing you are alive, well and still mentally competent.Originally posted by cougjunkie View Post2013 recruiting:
Time to breakdown the class and the roster moving forward.
Clearly we had a huge deficiency last year on the O-line. We had starters dropping like flies throughout the entire season. Houston Reynolds, Braden Hansen, Famika Anae, Blair Tushaus, all missed significant time with injuries. The only constants were Ryker Mathews at LT and Braden Brown at RT. Braden Brown has moved on which means the only true returning starter is Ryker Mathews. LT is locked down for the next 3 years and I guarantee barring injury Ryker plays in the NFL.
BYU is desperately trying to add bodies and depth to the O-line.
Returning players that saw time last year: Solomone Kafu, Maanaki Vaitai, Mathews, Brock Stringham, Tushaus, Michael Yeck, and Reynolds. If all of these guys stay healthy I think we are solid however that has never happened.
New recruits:
Brayden Kearsley- 4-star. By far the biggest commit of this class, he has been asked to come in right away and compete for the starting center position. Tushaus is undersized and I think Kearsley wins the job.
Thomas Shoaf- This is a nice pickup by BYU, he had offers from Indiana and Iowa. He is a bit undersized at only 265 pounds and will most likely redshirt. He will compete for a tackle spot in a few years.
Keegan Hicks- this kid was a monster for Bingham. He is one of those kids that does not carry his 295 pounds very well and will need some help in the weight room. He is a future guard that has a nasty streak. I believe he will go straight on a mission but I look for him to contribute when he gets back.
Addison Pulsipher- Another underweight future tackle. He is 6'6 but only 260 pounds. Like Thomas Shoaf he will need to put on some weight at the next level and will most likely go on a mission and redshirt. A lot of schools recruited him as a D-end but BYU wanted him as an offensive lineman. A bit of a project.
D'ondre Wesley- JC commit that was at one time committed to Utah and then to ASU. He is a monster at 6'7 300+ pounds. However his highlights did not overly impress me. He is a road grader in the run game but I think quick pass rushers will destroy him. He definitely adds depth but I am not sure if he is the answer at right tackle. Unfortunatley he is a guard in a tackles body.
Josh Carter- another JC commit from Arizona, he played at Eastern Arizona JC last year (the school that gave us Shaun Nua) and had Arizona, ASU, Cal, Colorado and UNLV all offer him in high school. When he told them he was going on a mission he pretty much lost every offer he had which tells me he was not that high of a priority. Another big body at 6'5 305 pounds that can play both tackle and guard. I am not sure he beats out anybody we currently have but he does have a redshirt year.
Tim Duran- JC commit that was the surprise of signing day so far. We pulled the offer to Awa-Dubose. The rumor I have heard is that Awa-Dubose can only play center BYU feels like with Kearsley, Tushaus, Reynolds and Alleto they have enough depth at that position. Once Kearsley committed and agreed to play center they wanted to add a more versatile lineman which they did in Duran. Duran was not very highly recruited with only FCS offers. At 6'4 290 pounds he can step in and contribute right away.
I think BYU has addressed the problem regarding O-line depth. We will find 5 solid guys and I expect the offensive line to improve greatly this year.
Skill position:
Of course we have several returning starters at the WR, RB and TE. The biggest names are Hoffman, Jamaal Williams and a healthy Michael Alisa. We also return Falslev in the slot and due to injuries we finally have some seperation in the Tight end class with Holt, Wilson, Friel, Mahina and Mathews. Ross Apo is back and if he can overcome his fear of getting hit still has a ton of potential. Brett Thompson will be another year removed from his mission and AJ Moore recently returned home as well.
We do add some nice depth with this class:
Michael Davis- I think he is the steal of the class, he is a 6'2 200 pound speedster out of southern california. He will be one of the fastest kids on the roster from Day 1. He ran a 10.67 100 Meters as a Sophomore in high school and was the 7th fastest kid in the state of california. He is fairly new to football and he played on a terrible team which allowed him to fly under the radar. I think he ends up being similar to Todd Watkins by the time it is all said and done.
Talon Shumway- best athlete in the state this year. He can out jump anyone. He has great size at 6'3 200 pounds and runs a respectable 4.55 40. He fits the mold of receivers we have recruited in recent years and will be another good one for BYU.
Inoke Lotulelei- the one time UCLA commit is the perfect fit for the new slot receiver position at BYU. He does not have blazing speed but he is very shifty and will remind most fans of Reno Mahe. He has a similar size and skillset of JD Falslev and should be a solid contributor at BYU.
Francis Bernard- I have been high on this kid for a few years as Herriman is pretty close to me. I have seen him play in person several times and I love the way he plays. He has enough speed to run away from you but he also loves contact. He has no problem putting his head down and running you over. His running style and size remind me of Curtis Brown. I think he is a solid pickup.
Patrick Palau- highly coveted full back out of East High school. Palau held a Michigan offer among many others before committing very early to BYU. He is the exact size of Manase Tonga and is a true fullback. Don't expect many carries out of him he will be strictly a blocker which is what he excels at.
Moroni Laulu-Pututau- 6'4 190 pound tight end out of Logan. He committed to BYU early and did not disappoint. He dominated the state championship game last yera and once he puts on weight will be a solid tight end for the cougars.
Defense:
The defensive side of the ball will be very good again next year. The LB corps is the best we have ever had at BYU and that is with the loss of Ogletree and Kaveinga. Uani Unga is a better MLB than both of them, and Manoa Pikula is a future star. With KVN returning along with Spencer Hadley this defense could be better than last year. The backups at LB start at many other schools with Alani Fua, Butch Pauu, Tyler Beck, Lene Lesatle, Jheremya Leuta- Douyere all ready to step in.
We added some depth at the LB position in this class:
Kai Nacua- 6'2 205 pounds. Nacua is a fringe D-1 prospect with only one other offer which was his hometown school of UNLV. He will mainly be a special teams contributor throughout his career. With that being said his younger brother Isaiah is a major prospect and will be a 4 star kid next year which is one of the reasons BYU offered Kai. Isaiah committed to BYU as a sophomore but has recently picked up offers from Utah, Washington, and UCLA. He will be tough to hang on to.
Trajan Pili- Pili committed to BYU 2 years ago. He blew up his senior year and had Stanford, Washington, and Cal knocking on his door. He stayed firm to his BYU commitment and will play OLB at BYU. he is 6'2 225 pounds and what looked like a low-major prospect could turn in to a solid pickup.
Rylee Gautvai- I believe he is a sign and send. He had over 120 tackles his jr and sr seasons of high school. Reminds me a bit of Ogletree. He is undersized but has a nose for the ball.
Chasen Anderson- The son of Wisconsin HC Gary Anderson. Chasen would have been a high major prospect had he not blown out his knee and missed his entire senior season. If he can fully recover BYU is getting a good one.
Defensive Backs:
As usual we struggle to find solid corners. Safety is a lot easier position to fill than corner. We are loaded at safety this season with the return of Bills and Sorenson, along with Mike Hague picking up an 8th year. Hawaii transfer Michael Wadsworth will be eligible this year and I think Sawyer Powell could make an impact along with Jacob Hanneman.
BYU still went hard after some safeties this year:
Nathan Debeikes- from DDDs hometown of Thousand Oaks. Debeikes is a solid player that was a stat sheet stuffer. He has great size at 6'2 200 pounds. He put up insane stats his senior year, posted 91 tackles, returned nine kicks for 171 yards, rushed for 935 yards and 10 touchdowns and caught 44 passes for 390 yards and two scores in 2012.
Dallin Leavitt- Another kid out of Oregon that had some solid offers. He is 5'11 205 and an absolute head hunter.
Garrett England- England is a big kid at 6'4, but does need to put on a little weight as he checks in at 175 pounds. He is going straight on a mission. Worst case scenario he can help in hail mary situations.
Johnny Tapuosa- I don't care if this kid never plays a down for BYU. The fact that we went in to Hawaii and took a kid from Kahuku is big for BYU. We need to re-open that pipeline which is what I think Marky Atuaia will do.
Jordan Preator- the 5th safety in this class, Preator is 6'0 180 pounds and really flew under the radar. I have never seen him play and not heard much about him. I believe he is a sign and send kid. So we won't hear about him for a few years.
Corners:
With the recent success of finding corners in the junior college ranks (Logan, Hadley), BYU went right back to it again this year. We lost one of the more underrated players in BYU history in Preston Hadley. Jordan Johnson has one corner spot locked down, but we have an open competition for the other spot.
Trenton Trammell- I think he is the early leader since he is already enrolled. He had a solid season at San Francisco city college, has good size at 6'0 185 pounds and should play right away.
Sam Lee- Lee was added later in the season mainly to add depth. He played at College of the Canyons under new O-line coach 2J. He is an LDS kid that actually played opposite of Kori Gaines at COC.
D-line:
We lose Fuga and Ziggy which will be tough to replace. But Manumaleuna is on the Mike Hague 8 year plan and will be back. Also it looks like Dulan might try and return as well. We also have Marques Johnson a JC transfer that redshirted last year and the newest scout team hero Theodore King who has been hyped beyond belief.
Kalolo Utu- Interesting story, graduated high school in 2008, went on a mission, returned home in 2010 and went to compton community college for a year. After 1 year decided to play football (now 3 years removed from high school) played sparingly in that 1 season due to injury and was offered by BYU. He must graduate from his JC in order to be eligible which might take some effort. He also plans on playing middle linebacker, although he has never played anything other than D-line.
Merrill Taliauli- this kid is a monster. He was dominant at the high school level and wanted by several schools including Utah and Utah State. He blew up high school centers and was a force inside. I actually think he gets some time this year.
This class might not be as flashy as years past but we definitely addressed major needs and depth. Also I just saw we added another JC O-lineman that was not on anyones radar Edward Fusi. The main weakness on this team last year was QB (we have Taysom Hill), O-line (8 new lineman added to the roster), and as always we lack depth in the defensive secondary (4 safeties and 2 corners)Comment
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Cougjunkie,
that was fantastic. Much appreciated.I think, perhaps, the only person who hates BYU fans more than ute fans hate BYU fans, is Bronco Mendenhall.
-smokymountainrain
Menden Hall Hates Me.Comment
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This is good news. I thought EM was out of eligibility and didn't get a Medical RS.Originally posted by cougjunkie View PostJesus wants me for a sunbeam.
"Cog dis is a bitch." -James PattersonComment
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Welcome back you stringpulling pussy. Mike Schyphers can eat shit and Rye-Dawg looked good in his alumni uniform.Originally posted by cougjunkie View Post2013 recruiting:
Time to breakdown the class and the roster moving forward.
Clearly we had a huge deficiency last year on the O-line. We had starters dropping like flies throughout the entire season. Houston Reynolds, Braden Hansen, Famika Anae, Blair Tushaus, all missed significant time with injuries. The only constants were Ryker Mathews at LT and Braden Brown at RT. Braden Brown has moved on which means the only true returning starter is Ryker Mathews. LT is locked down for the next 3 years and I guarantee barring injury Ryker plays in the NFL.
BYU is desperately trying to add bodies and depth to the O-line.
Returning players that saw time last year: Solomone Kafu, Maanaki Vaitai, Mathews, Brock Stringham, Tushaus, Michael Yeck, and Reynolds. If all of these guys stay healthy I think we are solid however that has never happened.
New recruits:
Brayden Kearsley- 4-star. By far the biggest commit of this class, he has been asked to come in right away and compete for the starting center position. Tushaus is undersized and I think Kearsley wins the job.
Thomas Shoaf- This is a nice pickup by BYU, he had offers from Indiana and Iowa. He is a bit undersized at only 265 pounds and will most likely redshirt. He will compete for a tackle spot in a few years.
Keegan Hicks- this kid was a monster for Bingham. He is one of those kids that does not carry his 295 pounds very well and will need some help in the weight room. He is a future guard that has a nasty streak. I believe he will go straight on a mission but I look for him to contribute when he gets back.
Addison Pulsipher- Another underweight future tackle. He is 6'6 but only 260 pounds. Like Thomas Shoaf he will need to put on some weight at the next level and will most likely go on a mission and redshirt. A lot of schools recruited him as a D-end but BYU wanted him as an offensive lineman. A bit of a project.
D'ondre Wesley- JC commit that was at one time committed to Utah and then to ASU. He is a monster at 6'7 300+ pounds. However his highlights did not overly impress me. He is a road grader in the run game but I think quick pass rushers will destroy him. He definitely adds depth but I am not sure if he is the answer at right tackle. Unfortunatley he is a guard in a tackles body.
Josh Carter- another JC commit from Arizona, he played at Eastern Arizona JC last year (the school that gave us Shaun Nua) and had Arizona, ASU, Cal, Colorado and UNLV all offer him in high school. When he told them he was going on a mission he pretty much lost every offer he had which tells me he was not that high of a priority. Another big body at 6'5 305 pounds that can play both tackle and guard. I am not sure he beats out anybody we currently have but he does have a redshirt year.
Tim Duran- JC commit that was the surprise of signing day so far. We pulled the offer to Awa-Dubose. The rumor I have heard is that Awa-Dubose can only play center BYU feels like with Kearsley, Tushaus, Reynolds and Alleto they have enough depth at that position. Once Kearsley committed and agreed to play center they wanted to add a more versatile lineman which they did in Duran. Duran was not very highly recruited with only FCS offers. At 6'4 290 pounds he can step in and contribute right away.
I think BYU has addressed the problem regarding O-line depth. We will find 5 solid guys and I expect the offensive line to improve greatly this year.
Skill position:
Of course we have several returning starters at the WR, RB and TE. The biggest names are Hoffman, Jamaal Williams and a healthy Michael Alisa. We also return Falslev in the slot and due to injuries we finally have some seperation in the Tight end class with Holt, Wilson, Friel, Mahina and Mathews. Ross Apo is back and if he can overcome his fear of getting hit still has a ton of potential. Brett Thompson will be another year removed from his mission and AJ Moore recently returned home as well.
We do add some nice depth with this class:
Michael Davis- I think he is the steal of the class, he is a 6'2 200 pound speedster out of southern california. He will be one of the fastest kids on the roster from Day 1. He ran a 10.67 100 Meters as a Sophomore in high school and was the 7th fastest kid in the state of california. He is fairly new to football and he played on a terrible team which allowed him to fly under the radar. I think he ends up being similar to Todd Watkins by the time it is all said and done.
Talon Shumway- best athlete in the state this year. He can out jump anyone. He has great size at 6'3 200 pounds and runs a respectable 4.55 40. He fits the mold of receivers we have recruited in recent years and will be another good one for BYU.
Inoke Lotulelei- the one time UCLA commit is the perfect fit for the new slot receiver position at BYU. He does not have blazing speed but he is very shifty and will remind most fans of Reno Mahe. He has a similar size and skillset of JD Falslev and should be a solid contributor at BYU.
Francis Bernard- I have been high on this kid for a few years as Herriman is pretty close to me. I have seen him play in person several times and I love the way he plays. He has enough speed to run away from you but he also loves contact. He has no problem putting his head down and running you over. His running style and size remind me of Curtis Brown. I think he is a solid pickup.
Patrick Palau- highly coveted full back out of East High school. Palau held a Michigan offer among many others before committing very early to BYU. He is the exact size of Manase Tonga and is a true fullback. Don't expect many carries out of him he will be strictly a blocker which is what he excels at.
Moroni Laulu-Pututau- 6'4 190 pound tight end out of Logan. He committed to BYU early and did not disappoint. He dominated the state championship game last yera and once he puts on weight will be a solid tight end for the cougars.
Defense:
The defensive side of the ball will be very good again next year. The LB corps is the best we have ever had at BYU and that is with the loss of Ogletree and Kaveinga. Uani Unga is a better MLB than both of them, and Manoa Pikula is a future star. With KVN returning along with Spencer Hadley this defense could be better than last year. The backups at LB start at many other schools with Alani Fua, Butch Pauu, Tyler Beck, Lene Lesatle, Jheremya Leuta- Douyere all ready to step in.
We added some depth at the LB position in this class:
Kai Nacua- 6'2 205 pounds. Nacua is a fringe D-1 prospect with only one other offer which was his hometown school of UNLV. He will mainly be a special teams contributor throughout his career. With that being said his younger brother Isaiah is a major prospect and will be a 4 star kid next year which is one of the reasons BYU offered Kai. Isaiah committed to BYU as a sophomore but has recently picked up offers from Utah, Washington, and UCLA. He will be tough to hang on to.
Trajan Pili- Pili committed to BYU 2 years ago. He blew up his senior year and had Stanford, Washington, and Cal knocking on his door. He stayed firm to his BYU commitment and will play OLB at BYU. he is 6'2 225 pounds and what looked like a low-major prospect could turn in to a solid pickup.
Rylee Gautvai- I believe he is a sign and send. He had over 120 tackles his jr and sr seasons of high school. Reminds me a bit of Ogletree. He is undersized but has a nose for the ball.
Chasen Anderson- The son of Wisconsin HC Gary Anderson. Chasen would have been a high major prospect had he not blown out his knee and missed his entire senior season. If he can fully recover BYU is getting a good one.
Defensive Backs:
As usual we struggle to find solid corners. Safety is a lot easier position to fill than corner. We are loaded at safety this season with the return of Bills and Sorenson, along with Mike Hague picking up an 8th year. Hawaii transfer Michael Wadsworth will be eligible this year and I think Sawyer Powell could make an impact along with Jacob Hanneman.
BYU still went hard after some safeties this year:
Nathan Debeikes- from DDDs hometown of Thousand Oaks. Debeikes is a solid player that was a stat sheet stuffer. He has great size at 6'2 200 pounds. He put up insane stats his senior year, posted 91 tackles, returned nine kicks for 171 yards, rushed for 935 yards and 10 touchdowns and caught 44 passes for 390 yards and two scores in 2012.
Dallin Leavitt- Another kid out of Oregon that had some solid offers. He is 5'11 205 and an absolute head hunter.
Garrett England- England is a big kid at 6'4, but does need to put on a little weight as he checks in at 175 pounds. He is going straight on a mission. Worst case scenario he can help in hail mary situations.
Johnny Tapuosa- I don't care if this kid never plays a down for BYU. The fact that we went in to Hawaii and took a kid from Kahuku is big for BYU. We need to re-open that pipeline which is what I think Marky Atuaia will do.
Jordan Preator- the 5th safety in this class, Preator is 6'0 180 pounds and really flew under the radar. I have never seen him play and not heard much about him. I believe he is a sign and send kid. So we won't hear about him for a few years.
Corners:
With the recent success of finding corners in the junior college ranks (Logan, Hadley), BYU went right back to it again this year. We lost one of the more underrated players in BYU history in Preston Hadley. Jordan Johnson has one corner spot locked down, but we have an open competition for the other spot.
Trenton Trammell- I think he is the early leader since he is already enrolled. He had a solid season at San Francisco city college, has good size at 6'0 185 pounds and should play right away.
Sam Lee- Lee was added later in the season mainly to add depth. He played at College of the Canyons under new O-line coach 2J. He is an LDS kid that actually played opposite of Kori Gaines at COC.
D-line:
We lose Fuga and Ziggy which will be tough to replace. But Manumaleuna is on the Mike Hague 8 year plan and will be back. Also it looks like Dulan might try and return as well. We also have Marques Johnson a JC transfer that redshirted last year and the newest scout team hero Theodore King who has been hyped beyond belief.
Kalolo Utu- Interesting story, graduated high school in 2008, went on a mission, returned home in 2010 and went to compton community college for a year. After 1 year decided to play football (now 3 years removed from high school) played sparingly in that 1 season due to injury and was offered by BYU. He must graduate from his JC in order to be eligible which might take some effort. He also plans on playing middle linebacker, although he has never played anything other than D-line.
Merrill Taliauli- this kid is a monster. He was dominant at the high school level and wanted by several schools including Utah and Utah State. He blew up high school centers and was a force inside. I actually think he gets some time this year.
This class might not be as flashy as years past but we definitely addressed major needs and depth. Also I just saw we added another JC O-lineman that was not on anyones radar Edward Fusi. The main weakness on this team last year was QB (we have Taysom Hill), O-line (8 new lineman added to the roster), and as always we lack depth in the defensive secondary (4 safeties and 2 corners)
Good to hear someone has a positive attitude on many of these kids. Perhaps some of them are more special than we previously thought.Do Your Damnedest In An Ostentatious Manner All The Time!
-General George S. Patton
I'm choosing to mostly ignore your fatuity here and instead overwhelm you with so much data that you'll maybe, just maybe, realize that you have reams to read on this subject before you can contribute meaningfully to any conversation on this topic.
-DOCTOR WuapComment
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Love it. Can't wait for Spring."It's devastating, because we lost to a team that's not even in the Pac-12. To lose to Utah State is horrible." - John White IVComment
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Speaking of the Briggs family. I showed up to a ward basketball game in Lehi the other night when this curly haired red head walks in. He has a soul patch about 6 inches long, is wearing thermals under his basketball jersey and shorts, and looks like he just finished a session at Maui tan as his skin was flourescent orange.Originally posted by Goatnapper'96 View Post
Throughout the game he was loud and a bit obnoxious. When we switched to man he rolls his eyes and blurts out "They are going man, they can't guard me one on one".
After we put a 20 point beatdown on them I walk up to him and his white thermals are now orange from the melting of his spray tan. I look at him for a minute and he looks familiar. We talk for a few minutes and it is none other than Ryans brother Derek. I knew his parents lived around the corner from me but I guess Derek is living there now.
That guy is a hot mess.*Banned*Comment
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Do we know anything yet about this guy:
http://byu.scout.com/a.z?s=338&p=8&c=1&nid=6189613
It doesn't look like he's committed anywhere. Did he ever get a scholarship offer?"I think it was King Benjamin who said 'you sorry ass shitbags who have no skills that the market values also have an obligation to have the attitude that if one day you do in fact win the PowerBall Lottery that you will then impart of your substance to those without.'"
- Goatnapper'96Comment
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