August 2008 - Cougarsportsline - mailman.xmission.com

Comcast and Cougar Sportsline problem, Vol. 29, Issue 4
by hb 25 Aug '08

25 Aug '08

It appears that we are having problems delivering the letter to all subscribers with a Comcast address. It looks like they have blocked us from sending the letter. We are trying another ip to see if that works. We would be interested in knowing if you get this letter. Thanks, hb HB Arnett's COUGAR SPORTSLINE 801 372 0819 hbarnett(a)fiber.net and hbarnett@xmission <mailto:hbarnett@xmission.com> .com PO Box 50424 Provo, Utah 84605 Vol. 29, Issue 4 August 25, 2008 Click <http://www.cougarstreet.com/products/index.php?type-450&PCID=450:0:0:0:0> Here To Order Or Renew Your Subscriptions BYU OPENS 2008 SEASON AGAINST NORTHERN IOWA When a team is coming off a 12-1 season, regardless of its college football classification, they must be doing something right. Northern Iowa was a very good football team last year. They finished fourth in the FCS (I-AA) rankings. They had an outstanding running back, an outstanding wide receiver and a very good offensive line. Two of those linemen were drafted into the NFL and as of today are still on NFL rosters. Somebody must think the Panthers will be good again this season. They are ranked fourth in the preseason FCS rankings to begin the year. Bronco Mendenhall and BYU are showing a lot of respect for Northern Iowa. Appalachian State apparently got everyone's attention with their win over Michigan last year. We are paying attention also. We made a special effort to go back and look at the results of BYU's game with Eastern Washington last season. Similar EWU and NIU are two similar teams. Northern Iowa's only loss of last year was to Delaware in the quarter-finals of the FCS championship. Eastern Washington, despite getting whipped 42-7 by the Cougars a year ago, made it all the way to the quarter-finals also. They lost 35-38 to Appalachian State. Delaware and App State eventually played for the FCS championship. The Panthers of UNI are a very good FCS team. They are better than Weber State and most likely better than some Division I teams. Last year they beat Iowa State. Respect and reality eventually have to meet, however. They will do just that this Saturday at 4 pm in LaVell Edwards Stadium. UNI has some very good skill players. For example, running back Corey Lewis returns for his senior season. He rushed for 1,513 yards last season and has 2,689 career rushing yards. Some consider him an NFL prospect. Johnny Gray is a playmaker deluxe. Think Steve Smith when he was at Utah. Last year Gray had 70 catches for 910 yards and 5 td receptions. He is also an outstanding punt returner. BYU will have to know where he lines up. Respect and Reality That covers the respect part of this BYU-UNI game. Here's the reality of the match up. While Lewis and Gray had big years last season, they both did it with the help of a very good offensive line and a seasoned quarterback. Here are the key numbers that tell us all we need to know about this game. UNI lost 4 starting offensive lineman and their starting quarterback from their 12-1 team. Breaking in a new quarterback and 4 new offensive linemen isn't the way to duplicate what Appalachian State did last year to Michigan. Lewis can run the ball, but we don't see how he can be nearly as effective as he was last season behind an unproven line. Gray can be great with the ball in his hand, but again, we question how a quarterback making his first start of his college career will be able to get the ball into Gray's hands. This is not good news for Northern Iowa fans. It is good news, however, for the back seven of BYU's defense. This is a group, that except for David Nixon at outside linebacker and Kellen Fowler at safety, will be breaking in a bunch of unproven and untested linebackers and defensive backs. Wet Feet This will be a very good opportunity for these new starting defenders to stick their toes in the water and get wet. Consider it a dress rehearsal. These guys can still get burned on a few plays against UNI, but it shouldn't singe the season goals of getting to a BCS game. Defensively, UNI returns 7 defensive starters. This was a very good unit last year. They only gave up an average of 13 points a game in the regular season. In the FCS playoffs, they didn't fare as well, surrendering 35 points to New Hampshire (win) and 39 to Delaware (loss). Delaware has a potential Vice President of the United States in Joe Biden. We don't know if Biden will be elected to that office, but we do know that the only way the UNI defense can contain the BYU offense is if Biden was quarterbacking the Cougars instead of Max Hall. Unlike Northern Iowa, BYU is returning a veteran quarterback in Max Hall, 4 starting offensive linemen, a starting tight end, wide receiver and running back. Only Suspense The only suspense in this game will be who will kick and from what distance and how will the new defensive backs fare in their first starting assignments. BYU is a 21 point favorite, but that is not enough. We call it BYU 45 UNI 10. NAMES AND GAMES USC Running Backs...It was a year and a half ago when we first started writing about Adam Timo. That was when, as a sophomore at Snow Canyon HS in St. George, UT, Timo was compared to Reggie Bush. We actually posted the audio clip from the Snow Canyon-Logan HS game, in which the announcers referenced what Logan Head coach, Mike Favero, had told them before the game. Favero said that he compared Timo to Bush when Bush was a sophomore at Helix HS in San Diego. Favero has a little credibility because he is probably the best offensive high school coach in the state. It didn't hurt that he also is from Helix HS and has major connections with that program. In case you forgot, Timo committed to BYU and the Cougars as a sophomore. We think Favero may have been a little off in his comparison of Timo and Bush. Timo doesn't have Bush's breakaway speed. We think a comparison to another USC running back is more appropriate. We think Timo resembles Marcus Allen instead of Reggie Bush. From our perspective, we still think Timo will be the best recruit in the incoming 2009 class. There has been lots of hype for other prospects that have committed and for others that BYU is still trying to land. For our money, the spotlight on Timo dimmed after his early commitment 18 months ago, but his talent is still burning bright. How is this for some lighter fuel to pour on your Cougar coals? In his first game of the year last Friday, all Timo did was rush for 198 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries. He had td runs of 1, 35 and 60 yards. For BYU football fans, a Timo in hand that looks an awful like Marcus Allen to us is better than any other running back in the bush that we have seen recently. Timo played quarterback, running back and punted for Snow Canyon last week in a 26-29 loss to East HS. His next outing will be Friday in Orem against the Tigers of Orem HS. Speaking of Orem, St. George, and BYU running backs, Anthony Heimuli, another BYU commit, had a pretty impressive opening game against Pine View HS of St. George. Heimuli and his Mountain View HS teammates were on the short end of a 28-6 loss. Despite making five trips inside the 20-yard line, Mountain View could only punch in one touchdown. Heimuli had 184 yards rushing in the game on just 14 carries. The logical question is why didn't he get more touches? He missed most of the second half with cramps. The next chance to see Heimuli will be this Friday when Mountain View hosts West Jordan. Cougars Trade in Compacts for SUVs...BYU is bucking the national trend. While drivers are trading in their SUVs for smaller and more compact cars and an increase in gas mileage, BYU is trading in their normal smallish compact receivers for the bigger SUV models. The latest evidence is the most recent verbal commitment from Brett Thompson, a 6-3, 210 pound wide out from Oak Ridge HS in the Sacramento area. Thompson has been on BYU's recruiting radar since he was a sophomore. That is when Bronco Mendenhall and company first offered a scholarship. Last season, Thompson had 35 receptions for 570 yards and six touchdowns. As a sophomore, he had 53 catches for 894 yards and scored 11 touchdowns. You don't have to be very observant to see the trend for BYU when recruiting receivers. Since Bronco Mendenhall took over, here are the receivers he has signed and those that he has offered this year. The trend towards big receivers is obvious. 2006...McKay Jacobson, 5-11, 185, Southlake Carroll HS, TX; Rhen Brown, 5-11, 175, Longe Peak HS. 2007...Scotty Ebert, 6-0, 180, Jordan HS, UT; Marcus Matthews, 6-4, 200, Southridge HS, OR; Jordan Smith, 6-4, 190, Spanish Fork HS. 2008...Atem Bol, 6-2, 200, Bell HS, TX; O'Neill Chambers, 6-3, 210, Harmony HS, FL; Jake Murphy, 6-5, 215, American Fork HS, UT. 2009...Brett Thompson, 6-3, 210, Oak Ridge HS, CA (verbal comittment); Mitch Mathews, 6-5, 200, Southridge HS, OR (verbal comittment) Bait and Switch - BYU Style...A couple of players made some position switches last week. Most notable was the move of Daniel Sorensen, the true freshman, from safety to outside linebacker. The switch for Sorensen wasn't without some bait. The lure was playing time this season. Sorensen was likely to see very limited time on the field as a safety this season. Before last week, his best bet for getting grass stains on his uniform would have been as on special teams. BYU coaches noticed, however, that Sorensen, at 6-1, 210 pounds, is very talented and very physical and could help them replace Grant Nelson as a backup to David Nixon, the starting outside linebacker. Nelson, you may remember is gone for the year after having surgery to remedy a renal problem. Sorensen is still green and needs to learn what he is supposed to do and when, but he has ability. His biggest current asset as a Cougar is that he is not intimidated by anyone and is not afraid to pop and punish anyone on the other side of the line of scrimmage. Speaking of pop and punish, it wasn't quite punishment for the backup quarterbacks behind Max Hall, but when Austin Collie took reps late last week at quarterback, you have to assume that those quarterbacks in waiting got the message. The message from Mendenhall was that he wasn't pleased with their recent production. It also lends credence to our conclusion that we stated last week in the newsletter that we don't expect either Brenden Gaskins or Kurt McEuen to be backups to Max Hall next season. As we stated in the last edition, we expect the backup battle to be waged between Riley Nelson and Stephen Covey. If Collie sees more than ten plays as a quarterback, BYU will either be extremely desperate or dauntingly dazzling offensively. Our bet leans towards desperate. Dealing With Depth...BYU will release an official depth chart for the season opener early this week. It will show at least two names for every position and look very nice on paper, but it won't match what actually happens on the field. What you see on the field is the "real" depth chart. This is what you should see: Offense Quarterback: Max Hall, Jr., Brenden Gaskins, Jr. - Despite Austin Collie getting reps, Gaskins will still get the first call. We all better hope that the call comes late in the game in mop up action and not early because of an injury to Hall. Tailback: Harvey Unga, So, J.J. DiLuigi, Fr Fullback: Fui Vakapuna, Sr, Kaneakua Friel, Fr Tight End: Dennis Pitta, Jr, Andrew George, Jr Wide Receivers: Austin Collie, Jr, Michael Reed, Sr, Luke Ashworth, So, O'Neill Chambers, Fr. These are the top four who should see the most time in the receiver rotations. Center: Dallas Reynolds, Sr, R.J. Willing, Jr Left Guard: Ray Feinga, Sr, Jesse Taufi, Jr Left Tackle: Matt Reynolds, Fr, R.J. Willing, Jr Right Guard: Travis Bright, Sr, R.J. Willing, Jr Right Tackle: David Oswald, Sr, R.J. Willing, Jr Willing is obviously BYU's sixth lineman and is versatile enough to play all spots. Taufi is a big-time talent who just needs time to make the adjustment from juco to Division I. Defense Left End: Ian Dulan, Jr, Brett Denney, Jr Nose Tackle: Russell Tialavea, Jr, Mosese Foketi, Sr Right Tackle: Jan Jorgensen, Jr, Bernard Afutiti, Jr (These are the first six defensive linemen. Look for Afutiti, Denney and Foketi to be mixed and matched as needed and where needed.) Middle Linebackers: Matt Bauman, Jr, Matt Ah You, Jr, Shawn Doman, Jr. These are the top three that will mix and match the two inside spots. If BYU has to go beyond these three early in the season, look out. Outside Linebackers: David Nixon, Sr, Vic So'oto, Jr, Coleby Clawson Jr. The same applies here. There are just three to play two spots. This is why Daniel Sorensen, Fr, was moved from safety to linebacker. Field Corner: Brandon Howard, Jr, G Pittman, Fr Boundary Corner: Scott Johnson, Jr, Brandon Bradley, So Safeties: Again, another three to play two spots. Kellen Fowler, Sr, David Tafuna, Sr, and Andrew Rich, So. Kicker: Mitch Payne, So, Justin Sorensen, Fr. Sorensen will kick off and Payne will get first shot at field goals. Punter: C.J. Santiago, Sr, Justin Sorensen, Fr Punt Returner: Reed White, Sr, O'Neill Chambers, Fr, or Luke Ashworth, So Kick Returner: Luke Ashworth, So, O'Neill Chambers, Fr, and if healthy and he can catch his breath from his duties as receiver and quarterback, maybe Austin Collie, Jr. Deep Snapper and Holder: There are plenty of able bodies here, but nobody cares who they are until BYU botches a field goal or extra point due to a bad snap or bad hold. For the sake of parents and an error-free kicking game - knock on wood - here are the names we hope we never have to hear again. Snapper: Chris Muehlmann, Sr, John Pace, So, Holder: Bryce Mahuika, Sr. TELEVISION TIMETABLE BYU vs. Northern Iowa Saturday, Aug 30 at Provo Kickoff: 4:00 PM Mountain Time TV: Mtn BYU vs. Washington Saturday, Sep 6 at Seattle Kickoff: 1:00 PM Mountain Time TV: Fox Sports Northwest and Fox Sports Utah BYU vs. UCLA Saturday, Sep 13 at Provo Kickoff: 1:30 PM Mountain Time TV: Versus BYU vs. Wyoming Saturday, Sep 20 at Provo Kickoff: 1:00 PM Mountain Time TV: Mtn BYU vs. Utah State Friday, Oct 3 at Logan Kickoff: TBA TV: TBA BYU vs. New Mexico Saturday, Oct 11 at Provo Kickoff: 4:00 PM Mountain Time TV: Mtn

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Cougar Sportsline, Vol. 29, Issue 4
by hb 25 Aug '08

25 Aug '08

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Cougar Sportsline, Vol. 29, Issue 3
by hb 18 Aug '08

18 Aug '08

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MWC Commissioner Says To Switch from Dish to Directv
by hb 14 Aug '08

14 Aug '08

August 14, 2008 A local Utah radio sports talk show, KFAN, had MWC Commissioner, Craig Thompson, on the air yesterday. He said he is telling people to switch from Dish to Directv. You can hear what he said by opening the attached audio file. Like the MWC Commissioner, we maintain the Direct TV is the best option for watching BYU football and basketball, but it's your call. If you decide, like we did, that Direct TV is your best option, then you might as well get a free subscription to Cougar Sportsline. Here's how it works. We suggest that you go ahead and sign up now while there are special deals available and before the rush hits for installation. Cannon Satellite is a nationwide Direct TV provider. They sell to customers in all 50 states, including Hawaii and Alaska, and also provide installation nationwide. If you are going to get Direct TV, we suggest you buy from them. At least give them a chance for your Direct TV business. We will make it worth your while if you do. After checking out all your options, if you sign up with Direct TV though Cannon Satellite, we will throw in a one-year free email subscription to Cougar Sportsline. You can add it as an extension to your current subscription, give it to a friend or family member or divide it among those same friends and family. If you decide to get Direct TV, you might as well get a free Cougar Sportsline subscription when you do. It's that simple. Get your Direct TV through Cannon Satellite and you get a free one year Cougar Sportsline subscription to use any way you like. If you do decide, as we did, that Direct TV is your best option to watch BYU sports and choose to buy from Cannon Satellite, all you have to do is call them at 1-888 800 8592 and use our Cougar Sportsline extension # 4560 and promotion code cou8. When you sign up for Direct TV with them, we will give you the free year subscription. Again, do your own homework, and if you decide, as we did, that Direct TV is the way to go, just give them a call to get setup and a free subscription.

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Cougar Sportsline, Vol. 29, Issue 2
by hb 11 Aug '08

11 Aug '08

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Cougar Sportsline, Vol. 29, Issue 2
by hb 11 Aug '08

11 Aug '08

HB Arnett's COUGAR SPORTSLINE 801 372 0819 hbarnett(a)fiber.net and hbarnett@xmission <mailto:hbarnett@xmission.com> .com PO Box 50424 Provo, Utah 84605 Vol. 29, Issue 2 August 11, 2008 Click <http://www.cougarstreet.com/products/index.php?type-450&PCID=450:0:0:0:0> Here To Order Or Renew Your Subscriptions BAD NEWS, GOOD NEWS FROM FALL CAMP Here's the bad news from BYU football camp. It consists of four grueling weeks for players and four long weeks of anticipation for fans. The good news for fans and players alike is that the first week is over and there are just three more left. After one week of fall camp, here is our bad news, good news report. Offensive Line Bad News: BYU has the second best offensive line in the Mountain West Conference. Good News: That second best offensive line just happens to be BYU's second unit. The best offensive line in the league is BYU's first unit. Utah is getting unbelievable preseason hype as a contender for conference and country wide honors. They are a very good football team. Unfortunately for the Utes, BYU is a better team because they have a better offensive line. The Cougars will control the line of scrimmage between the two teams and consequently control the conference. Quite frankly, BYU's talent and depth on the offensive line is almost an embarrassment of riches. It was disappointing when Tom Sorensen, the projected starter at center and transfer from Vanderbilt, suffered shoulder problems that will likely keep off the field for 4-6 weeks. Referring to the Utes again, it was also disappointing a few years back when starting quarterback Bret Elliot went down in the first game with a broken foot, only to see Alex Smith show up and then show off. That same scenario could be taking place at BYU. Sorensen can play and would have, and still might, but his injury has facilitated an easy transition of movement for Cougar coaches. They switched Dallas Reynolds from left tackle and shifted him to center. That has opened up a spot for redshirt freshman Matt Reynolds to take the field at the left tackle spot. This is the point of the Bret Elliot-Alex Smith Utah reference. Sorensen and Elliott are good legitimate Division I players, but Smith, and in our opinion, Matt Reynolds are special. There is still some battling taking place between Reynolds and R.J Willing for that left tackle spot and a smaller battle between Willing and Dallas Reynolds for the center duties. Regardless, the bottom line is that BYU has at least 8-9 legitimate linemen with which to work. Give it another two months for a jc transfer, a returned missionary and a new incoming freshman to get in shape physically and mentally and the glut of quality offensive linemen becomes ridiculous. Christmas never came this early for Cougar offensive line coach Mark Weber. Here's how the offensive line should look for the opener against Northern Iowa. It will include Dallas Reynolds at center, Ray Feinga and Travis Bright at guards and David Oswald and Matt Reynolds at tackle. That ladies and gentlemen will be the best offensive line in the Mountain West Conference and one of the top offensive lines west of the Mississippi. What about that second-best offensive line in the conference? Let's start with R.J. Willing and Garrett Reden. Willing could easily slip in as a starter at center, guard or tackle. He has loads of experience and plenty of talent. Reden saw plenty of action last year until he was injured. Allow jc transfer Jesse Taufi to adjust to the new schemes and speed of the game at this level and Terrence Brown to try and get somewhat back into playing shape after returning from his mission (Brown started 7 games as a freshman before leaving for two years). Sorensen will just add to the depth when he finally returns from his injury. In a pinch, you could also use true freshman Brock Stringham and you have the makings of a second unit that other conference coaches would be drooling about. Defensive Line Bad News: If this was Olympic swimming, this unit has absolutely no buoyancy. They would sink right to the bottom of the pool. The only thing aquatic about this group are a few nice pass rushing swim moves. BYU's only chance of a medal would be the one they already received from Bronco Mendenhall just before the start of fall camp. Good News: Football is played on a field and not in a pool. This is one of the better defensive lines we have seen at BYU since the Cotton Bowl. Almost everybody knows about returning starters Ian Dulan and Jan Jorgensen. They both can play. Jorgensen is a returning all-league player and considered one of the top defenders in the conference. Not many outside of BYU know that the premier defensive player in the league could be playing between the two returning Cougar starters. Russell Tialavea, likely won't get the accolades he will deserve by the media and fans, but he will certainly get rave reviews from coaches who have to block him and use special blocking schemes to slow him down. The junior is back from his knee injury of a year ago and will have an instant impact on opposing offenses. You really won't notice him unless you pay attention, but his presence will be felt at nose guard for BYU. BYU's second unit defensive line won't be the second best in the league, but there are some good players that can provide depth and even a decent pass rush. Bernard Afutiti, the jc transfer from California, finally got his paperwork in order and showed up late last week. He has missed the first week of camp and needs to learn the system and assignments, but one thing he won't have to learn is how to pass rush. Matt Putnam, the 6-7, 240 pounder, has been moved back from linebacker to defensive end and could be used as a designated outside speed rusher. While he isn't a defensive lineman now, Coleby Clawson, the juco transfer from Snow College, was a defensive end a year ago for the Badgers. He can get up field and into an opponents backfield. At BYU, he will line up as an outside linebacker. That means he now has more space in which to make his moves and get by a tackle and to the quarterback. Rushing the passer is something this defensive group should be good at this year. Others on the defensive line who will see time and play are Brett Denney, Tevita Hola, Rick Wolfley and Mosese Foketi. Linebackers Bad News: This group won't be as good as they were last year. In our opinion, there are just too many journeymen type players in the middle and no step up guy to look to inside. The fact the coaches are talking about how good true freshmen Spencer Hadley and Iona Pritchard are looking, tells us that what is returning in front of them, is a little suspect. Good News: BYU has a proven player in David Nixon outside and has an extremely talented, but totally inexperienced guy on the other side in Vic So'oto. All he has to do now is prove himself when the "lights go on." Linebacker play will be a work in progress, but based on the defensive success of the last two seasons, by the time key games against TCU and Utah come around at the end of the season, this should be a competent, but not great unit. Kicking Game Bad News: BYU has never had a great kicking game. The Cougars have never had a kicker good enough to carve out more than a cup of coffee on an NFL roster. We don't expect that to change. When it comes to punting, Lee Johnson actually had a decent NFL career. He is not on the BYU roster this season. Good News: BYU's kicking and punting games will be better than they were last season. That isn't saying much. We still expect inconsistency in the field goal department, but we, along with coaches, do expect kickoffs this year to at least be in the same area code as the end zone. Justin Sorensen is fighting back from a ankle injury on his plant foot that kept the incoming freshman from kicking for five months. He just started kicking again a month ago. Sorensen and Matt Payne, who is now healthy this season, are dueling for the right to kick field goals. Regardless of who wins that job, we still don't expect to see a great BYU kicking game. It will be better, but it won't be great. Quarterback Bad News: Max Hall has just two seasons of eligibility left. Good News: Max Hall still has two seasons of eligibility left. Defensive Backs Bad News: We had a subscriber ask last week what we thought of BYU's defensive backs? We responded that they are the most athletic group as a whole that we have seen at BYU in years. His retort was, "Based on BYU's defensive back history, that's not saying much." Good News: We still maintain this is the most athletic defensive back group we have seen at BYU in years. We also still adhere to our long-time belief that we would rather have talent than experience any day. You can always acquire and develop experience, but you can't coach talent. You have to recruit it. Our assessment of this group is that it will start off shaky, become solid and before the year is over be semi-stellar (in comparison with past BYU defensive back standards). It is good news that when the Cougars take the field against Northern Iowa, there will be only 2 former walkons starting instead of the four that started against UCLA in the Las Vegas Bowl last December. BYU has already improved by 50% in that regard, in our opinion. The two former walkons are Kellen Fowler at safety and probably Scott Johnson at boundary corner. Johnson and Brandon Bradley are still competing for that job, but our money is on Johnson. Brandon Howard and G Pittman are neck and neck at the other corner, but we expect Howard to get the nod. David Tafuna is back from his foot injury of last season and he will join Fowler as the other safety. Andrew Rich is the third guy and will replace and rotate with both Fowler and Tafuna. Rich is a juco transfer from Snow College. For those who revel in the walkon stories, and we don't, Rich would keep the percentage intact if he replaces Fowler. Rich is playing this season as a walkon. Running Back Bad News: Harvey Unga won't have as good of rushing numbers this season as he produced last year. Good News: Unga will still be a big time player, but last year there was no other reliable tailback to help carry the load. This year, you can add J.J. DiLuigi to the mix and subtract a few yards from Unga's impressive totals of last season. DiLuigi is a Reno Mahe clone, but stronger and a better inside runner. This could be a very good tailback tandem for the Cougars. BYU will miss Manase Tonga at fullback. He could block and catch the ball out of the backfield. After two sub par years, if Fui Vakapuna can finally get back to the form he showed as a freshman and show he can also block and catch out of the backfield, the running game at BYU should still be very good. Tight End Bad News: BYU lost a very good tight end that had size, could catch the ball and block. That happened when Vic So'oto switched over from offense to linebacker on defense. Good News: So'oto won't be missed as a tight end. That says volumes about the talent and depth BYU has at this position. Dennis Pitta is big and can catch the ball. He can also run with it after the catch. He has enough speed to cause match up nightmares for defensive coordinators. Andrew George is also a player and will get on the field backing up Pitta and in two tight end-formations. Wide Receivers Bad News: BYU took a public relations hit last week when incoming freshman receiver, O'Neil Chambers, popped off on ESPN's web site about Cougar receivers with less talent than he, getting more reps than he was. His brashness irked some Cougar fans. On the 1 thru 10 "Irked Cougar Fan Public Relations Scale, we gave it a 2. If you want to see what we rate a 6, click here <http://www.navajotimes.com/sports/0808/080708byu.php> . Something like this would normally rate higher, but, in our opinion, you have to put in the context of BYU-Utah. Good News: As old time baseball pitcher Dizzy Dean said, "It ain't braggin' if you can do it." For those younger readers who don't relate to Dizzy Dean, it was Keyshawn Johnson, the former NFL receiver, who said, "Just give me the ball." Chambers can learn BYU football etiquette. He can be taught the BYU and Bronco way, but you can't teach talent. He has it. So does Austin Collie. He still has it, but can't use it until his stress fracture in his leg heals. If healthy, he will still be the go-to guy. Michael Reed will be a solid contributor to this receiving corp. Luke Ashworth is making waves with his play while getting reps that normally go to Collie. This will be a good group and if Collie can get healed and if Chambers can make headlines on the field instead of in the media, Max Hall will have some serious weapons to use. Recruiting Bad News: There are still no verbal commitments from top-rated LDS recruits like Manti Teo, Richard Wilson, Latu Heimuli, Brett Thompson, Xavier Su'a Filo, Kyle Van Noy and Steven Fanua. Good News: While BYU still waits and still recruits the group mentioned above, they continue to add to their commitment list. The latest was Fono Vakalahi, a 6-4, 320 pound offensive lineman from Bryan HS in Texas. That brings to 12 the number of commitments the cougars already have on the books for this year's recruiting campaign. Vakalahi had an offer on the table from Baylor and was starting to hear from other schools like Texas A&M, UNLV, Hawaii and Virginia Tech. FOOTBALL FLUFF AND STUFF Bronco Mendenhall has said that he is implementing a new redshirt policy for the football program. He will now not make decisions about which players will redshirt until the end of each season. If a player does not play during one of his early seasons, he now has to prove that he deserves a redshirt year by how hard he works and how he adapts to the team mission statement during the year he doesn't play. According to Mendenhall, it is all about earning a redshirt year and it will no longer be a given that a player who doesn't play early in his career will have a redshirt year to use. This new philosophy dovetails nicely with all the other principles Mendenhall has inserted into the BYU football program. In our opinion, it doesn't hurt either, that if a player doesn't look like he will ever be a contributor on the field, this also accelerates his passing of eligibility. The real intent of the new program is to teach accountability and productivity to all players, but, in our opinion, it also helps streamline the normal attrition rate and sifting of non-productive and productive players. This is part of every football program, including BYU and facilitates a continual influx of new talent into the program through the recruiting process. We are sure that is not the intent of Mendenhall, but it appears to be a nice ancillary product of the new principle. Adam Timo, the senior star running back from Snow Canyon HS in St. George, will play quarterback for his team this season. We mentioned last week that the Warriors implemented a spread offense last year. That requires a quarterback who can run. That is what Timo does. It should be interesting, but Timo will be a running back for the Cougars next year. TELEVISION TIMETABLE BYU vs. Northern Iowa Saturday, Aug 30 at Provo Kickoff: 4:00 PM Mountain Time TV: Mtn BYU vs. Washington Saturday, Sep 6 at Seattle Kickoff: 1:00 PM Mountain Time TV: Fox Sports Northwest and Fox Sports Utah BYU vs. UCLA Saturday, Sep 13 at Provo Kickoff: 1:30 PM Mountain Time TV: Versus BYU vs. Wyoming Saturday, Sep 20 at Provo Kickoff: 1:00 PM Mountain Time TV: Mtn BYU vs. Utah State Friday, Oct 3 at Logan Kickoff: TBA TV: TBA BYU vs. New Mexico Saturday, Oct 11 at Provo Kickoff: 4:00 PM Mountain Time TV: Mtn BYU vs. TCU Thursday, Oct 16 at Fort Worth Kickoff: 6:00 PM Mountain Time TV: Versus BYU vs. UNLV Saturday, Oct 25 at Provo Kickoff: Noon Mountain Time TV: Mtn BYU vs. Colorado State Saturday, Nov 1 at Fort Collins Kickoff: 4:00 PM Mountain Time TV: Mtn BYU vs. San Diego State Saturday, Nov 8 at Provo Kickoff: Noon Mountain Time TV: Mtn BYU vs. Air Force Saturday, Nov 15 at Colorado Springs Kickoff: 1:30 PM Mountain Time TV: CBS C BYU vs. Utah Saturday, Nov 22 at Salt Lake Kickoff: 4:00 PM Mountain Time TV: Mtn

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Cougar Sportsline, Vol. 29, Issue 1
by hb 05 Aug '08

05 Aug '08

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Cougar Sportsline, Vol 29, Issue 1
by hb 05 Aug '08

05 Aug '08

HB Arnett's COUGAR SPORTSLINE 801 372 0819 hbarnett(a)fiber.net and hbarnett@xmission <mailto:hbarnett@xmission.com> .com PO Box 50424 Provo, Utah 84605 Vol. 29, Issue 1 August 5, 2008 Click <http://www.cougarstreet.com/products/index.php?type-450&PCID=450:0:0:0:0> Here To Order Or Renew Your Subscriptions BYU FOOTBALL IN 2008 WILL BE UNBELIEVABLE, BUT NOT UNBLEMISHED We love August and BYU football. It is rah, rah, rah, 24-7. It is always our best month of the year for subscriptions. That is because BYU is always undefeated in August. This year there is a bonus. Not only are the Cougars still undefeated, they are also ranked 17th in the pre-season rankings of the USA Today Coaches poll. The last time BYU was ranked nationally in a pre-season poll was 1997. Coincidentally, they were also ranked 17th that year. They finished with a 6-5 record. This month has the best BYU buzz we have heard in decades. We attribute it to the BCS talk in the air. Did we mention that BYU is undefeated in August? Better yet, we don't need to mention that the Cougars return 10 of 11 starters on offense. Quite frankly, this is a team that could be absolutely scary good when every offensive play starts with the ball in Max Hall's hands. In the 30 years we have been covering and observing BYU football, which includes all the glory years and a gang of good quarterbacks like Sheide, Nielsen, Wilson, McMahon, Young, Detmer etc, the best Cougar offense we ever saw was the one Gary Crowton put on the field in his first year as the head coach in 2001. Prolific Passers BYU has had some prolific passers, but it wasn't until they combined the passing game with a legitimate running attack in 2001, that they were virtually unstoppable. In case you forgot, they were 12-0 until injuries to Brandon Doman and Luke Staley gutted the gravy train. The Cougars lost their last two games and finished with a 12-2 record. What was really impressive in 2001 were the points put up by that BYU offense. They scored 70 (Tulane), 52 (Nevada), 44 (Cal), 35 (UNLV), 54 (Utah State), 24 (New Mexico), 63 (Air Force), 59 (San Diego State, 56 (CSU), 41 (Wyoming), 24 (Utah), 41 (Miss State), 45 (Hawaii) and 10 (Louisville) in 14 games. We also watched an equally great offense in 2004. It wasn't the Cougars'. It belonged to Utah and Alex Smith. Here is how Utah scored in their 12 games. Texas A&M (41), Arizona (23), Utah State (48), Air Force (49), New Mexico (28), North Carolina (46), UNLV (63), SDSU (51), CSU (63), Wyoming (45), BYU (52) and Pittsburgh (35). Barring every game being played in torrential rain, hurricane-like wind, a season-ending injury to Max Hall or the BYU offense averaging 5 turnovers a game, we would expect to see this BYU offense turn in those same type of point totals that the 2001 BYU and the 2004 Utah offense did. Scary Good That is our definition of scary good. Barring a game in which BYU turns over the ball 5 or more times, our assessment of this 2008 Cougar offense is that any and all opponents on this year's schedule will need to score at least 31 points if they hope to have a chance to beat the Cougars. If we are anywhere close on that assessment of this offense, this really could be an unbelievable season., We said that the expectations for this year's offense are unreal. While that is true, we also said that the Cougars' record wouldn't be unblemished. We expect to see at least one loss again this season, despite an unbelievable offense. We base that expectation on history and the fickleness of football. In case you forgot, in 82 years of playing football, BYU has only had one undefeated season in its history. They were 13-0 and National Champs in 1984. In those same 82 years, they have only had 5 seasons with just one loss. The Cougars were 8-1 in 1932, 11-1 in 1979, 12-1 in 1980, 11-1 in 1983, and 14-1 in 1996. Conference Play We expect to see BYU on the losing end of the scoreboard at least once this season. We also expect that loss to come in conference play. Again, just look at history. The past two seasons, BYU is 16-0 in MWC action. That is unbelievable and unsustainable. It doesn't happen in any league over the long haul. It shouldn't have happened in BYU's case over the last two years. During those 16 games, there were at least 5 contests that we can recall where it took unbelievable luck, providence, and or fortunate bounces and fumbles for BYU to escape with victories. There were three conference games last season that could have gone either way. It really did take a fortuitous play against Utah to get a win. Had not New Mexico turned the ball over 5 times against the Cougars in Albuquerque, they could have very easily won that game. In case you forgot, with less than three minutes on the clock, TCU was driving for the go-ahead score in Provo. The Cougar defense held up and the Cougars held on for a win. We still buy all Bronco Mendenhall is selling, but we also buy into the reality of conference games. Rare It is extremely rare for a team to go back to back seasons without stumbling at least once against a conference team. As a matter of fact, in the 46 years that BYU has been a member of the WAC and MWC, the Cougars have had just 6 seasons in which they went through league play undefeated. That happened in 79, 83, 84, 96, 06 and 07. After just three years on the job as BYU's head coach, Mendenhall is already responsible for 33% of those undefeated league seasons. That says something about him. Either he is an extremely good coach or the law of conference averages are about to catch up to him. We don't expect an undefeated season for BYU this year. We expect at least one loss and we expect it to happen in league play. That is the bad news. The good news is that while we don't know to which MWC team the loss will occur, we are sure it won't be to Utah. That means the BYU-Utah match up will still be for an outright title or piece of the league hardware when the two square off on Nov. 22 in Salt Lake City. That also means that the game will determine which team is headed to Las Vegas for a bowl game. We don't expect either squad to be undefeated when they meet. That rules out any BCS bid and an invite to the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale on Jan 5 of 2009. The winner of BYU-Utah should get the nod for a berth in the Las Vegas Bowl. That game is set for Saturday, Dec 20. COUGAR CONFLICT If BYU makes a fourth-straight appearance in the Las Vegas Bowl this year, there will be a scheduling conflict with BYU basketball. BYU is slated to face Arizona State in Glendale at the University of Phoenix Stadium as part of a basketball doubleheader on the same day, Dec 20. While the official BYU basketball schedule has not been released, at least some of the non-conference games for Dave Rose and his team are already known. In addition to playing ASU in Arizona, the Cougars will also host Wake Forest in Provo, face Idaho State in Pocatello, meet Pepperdine in Malibu, face Tulsa in Oklahoma and match up against Long Beach State in Provo to open the season on Nov. 14. A game against Weber State is set for Ogden and BYU and Utah State will play a game in December at Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City in December. NO SHOWS, PARTIAL SHOWS AND SHOWS Let's start with those not showing in camp because of injuries. This especially impacts the linebacking corp. Terrance Hooks, the junior middle linebacker, was ticketed for plenty of playing time this fall until he suffered a knee injury during this past spring. He is not listed on the current roster, but is still on the team and expected to return for next season. A similar situation corresponds to sophomore outside linebacker Grant Nelson. He was going to back up David Nixon this season and saw minutes last year. Because of renal ramifications, he will be undergoing surgery soon and will miss the entire year while recovering. It didn't seem like a big deal when jc linebacker recruit Tolu Moala of El Camino JC in California, was released from his letter of intent by BYU because of academic issues. Moala, a returned LDS missionary, couldn't get into BYU, but had no problems getting into Oklahoma State. With the linebacker injuries, even before camp starts, his release is now being felt on the roster. Speaking of no-shows revisited, the inability of BYU coaches to reel in Uona Kavienga last February, has turned up the spotlight on BYU's inability to consistently land the big LDS fish. Kavienga, who said he was going to sign with BYU, only to renege and sign with USC, just reopens old recruiting wounds and is even more painful now with the lack of depth at linebacker. There are two other no-shows. Atem Bol, the wide receiver recruit from Texas, did not qualify academically and is reportedly going to enroll at Snow College. He will need an AA degree before he can matriculate at BYU. Seta Pohahau, the highly touted running back from California, was also an academic casualty, but reportedly, not by much. He just missed achieving the necessary test score and will try again between now and January, when he hopes to be able to enroll at BYU. Part of the no-shows for this fall camp include two missing missionaries. They were both part of the most recent recruiting class. Austin Holt and Jake Murphy will both serve LDS missions before enrolling in school. Holt is a tight end from Bingham HS in Utah and Murphy, who is the son of former baseball player, Dale Murphy, is a wide receiver from American Fork HS in Utah. Holt is ticketed for two years in St. Louis and Murphy will be down under for service in Sydney, Australia. Partial Shows Austin Collie is on campus and was on the field for the start of fall camp, but he is not available for any serious action or practice because of a recently diagnosed stress fracture in his leg. The prognosis is that he will miss 2-3 weeks and be back and good to go. Another linebacker is a partial show. Matt Bauman, the junior from Salt Lake, injured his foot while riding a scooter. He is expected to miss some time early in fall camp. Bernard Afutiti is also in camp, but can't participate. The junior college defensive end is still awaiting academic paperwork from his previous jc. Shows There is only one real show for BYU this season and it is all about the quarterback. It is the same script as in years past when BYU was good. The show this year is Max Hall. As he plays and performs, so go the Cougars. Fortunately for the junior signal caller, he has a phenomenal supporting cast to back him up. Harvey Unga, Austin Collie, Dennis Pitta and a very good offensive line, should help this show be a major smash with big-time reviews and plenty of wins. Previews Once this team gets a week of real practice under its belt, we will begin next week detailing depth charts, freshmen who will have to play and a breakdown of the plusses and minuses of this team. BASKETBALL BRIEFS There has been a little surge in the regional hype for two BYU basketball prospects. We mentioned a week ago that Brandon Davies, the senior 6-9 post man from Provo HS and his teammate, junior Kyle Collinsworth both had outstanding spring and summer tournaments. Davies really elevated his game and consequently, his recruiting radar signal has been expanded. A lot of major schools across the country are now showing interest in Davies and Collinsworth. Those schools include west coast mainstays, Gonzaga, ASU, USC and Washington State. For some, the emergence of the Provo HS duo has come as a surprise. Not so for BYU coaches who have been on the recruiting trail for these two players for the last four years. Trust us when we say that when it comes to LDS basketball prospects, there are no secrets for this BYU staff. There may be an occasional evaluation mistake, but there are no secrets. The biggest evaluation mistake recently was with JC Carroll, who was not offered by BYU and signed with Utah State. That mistake was not made by Dave Rose. It was another Steve Cleveland assistant who made the trip to Evanston to evaluate Carroll and returned to tell Cleveland that Carroll couldn't play. Davies Davies is a concern for BYU. The concern is not his play, but his academics. He still needs work to be able to qualify for Division I basketball. While Davies is a priority, Tyler Haws is still numero uno when it comes to BYU's recruiting interests for this year. Haws was invited to several prestigious national camps this summer and did nothing but improve his stock. He also spend a lot of time this summer playing with his Lone Peak HS team. The most recent appearance with his team was at the Honda Classic at Kansas City in mid July. Lone Peak went 5-2 and lost the championship on a last second 35 foot game winner. In game 1, Haws had 19 points and 13 rebounds. Game 2 saw him score 29 points and pull down 9 rebounds. In game three, Haws was perfect from the line, 3-4 from three point land and scored 31 points and had six boards. Game 4 had Haws sitting out the entire fourth quarter, but he still managed 30 points and 7 rebounds. Game 5 was more of the same. He had 26 points, 5 boards and 3 steals. Game 6 was his biggest scoring outing. He had 41 points. In the final, Lone Peak was playing its third game in six hours. Haws finished with 30 points, 8 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. For the seven games in KC, Haws averaged 29.4 per game and had 7.8 rebounds per outing. BYU Team Camp Haws, Davies and Collinsworth also played against each other this summer at BYU's team camp. Lone Peak defeated Provo 47-34. Haws had 21 in that game. Provo HS wasn't the only team Lone Peak and Haws lit up at BYU. The Knights beat Bountiful 52-24. Haws scored 23. Against Alta, a 46-31 win, Haws had 27 points, 8 boards and 3 steals. Blackfoot HS from Idaho was next. The held Haws to just 10. Of course he only played 10 minutes as the 70-45 final score would indicate. Haws only had 12 points against Tooele in limited time. The final: Lone Peak 60, Tooele 18. Springville held him to 24 points and 7 boards in a 49-37 Lone Peak win. Timpview also lost to Lone Peak 44-29 with Haws having 12 points. Against Olympus, he scored 22 in a 63-42 win. While Dave Rose spent a lot of time in Las Vegas looking at Provo players Davies and Collinsworth, he also found time to continue to follow Jordan Ellis, the 6-1 point guard from North Medford HS in Oregon. He plays for the Oregon Rebels AAU team. It appears BYU's recruiting interest in Ellis is real, but the question is where will they find a scholarship for him? Another name to watch is Ian Haward, a super skinny 6-10 post player from Orem HS. He was hurt for most of his junior season, but has performed well this spring and summer. He reportedly would like to play at BYU, but Dave Rose and staff have not extended an offer as yet. He does have an offer from Utah State. He will go on an LDS mission before enrolling anywhere and shouldn't show up on a roster until 2011. TRACKING TIMO BYU now has 11 verbal commitments for the coming recruiting class. The latest to say yes to the Cougars is Ryan Mulitalo, a 6-3, 285 pound offensive lineman from Hunter HS in Salt Lake. Here is the latest list: Mulitalo; Remington Peck, 6-5, 215, TE, Bingham HS, UT; Anthony Heimuli, 5-11, 225, RB, Mt. View HS, UT; Mitch Mathews, 6-5, 200, WR, Southridge HS, OR; Trevor Bateman, 5-11, 180, DB, Palm Desert HS, CA; Peni Maka'afi, 5-10, 215, RB, Northridge HS, UT; Tui Crichton, 6-4, 280, OL, Timpview HS, UT; Terry Alletto, 6-3, 260, Ponderosa HS, CO; Craig Bills, 6-2, 205, DB, Timpview HS, UT; Jray Galea'i, 6-0, 170, Kahuku HS, HI and Adam Timo, 6-1, 185, RB, Snow Canyon HS, UT. We still think the diamond of this class will be Timo. He will be a big-time running back in college. He didn't get the press he deserved last season as a junior because he had a new coach who implemented a new spread offense. He also plays in St. George and that precludes major media coverage along the Wasatch Front. This year, those living in the Salt Lake and Provo areas, can see for themselves how good Timo is. He will play three games early this season in Salt Lake and Orem. Snow Canyon opens its season against East HS in Salt Lake on August 22. They then will travel to Orem the next week, Aug 29, to take on the Tigers of Orem HS. They open at home Sept 5 against Las Vegas HS in St. George and then return to Orem on Sept 12 to face Timpanogos HS. TELEVISION TIMETABLE BYU vs. Northern Iowa Saturday, Aug 30 at Provo Kickoff: 4:00 PM Mountain Time TV: Mtn BYU vs. Washington Saturday, Sep 6 at Seattle Kickoff: 1:00 PM Mountain Time TV: Fox Sports Northwest and Fox Sports Utah BYU vs. UCLA Saturday, Sep 13 at Provo Kickoff: 1:30 PM Mountain Time TV: Versus BYU vs. Wyoming Saturday, Sep 20 at Provo Kickoff: 1:00 PM Mountain Time TV: Mtn BYU vs. Utah State Friday, Oct 3 at Logan Kickoff: TBA TV: TBA BYU vs. New Mexico Saturday, Oct 11 at Provo Kickoff: 4:00 PM Mountain Time TV: Mtn BYU vs. TCU Thursday, Oct 16 at Fort Worth Kickoff: 6:00 PM Mountain Time TV: Versus BYU vs. UNLV Saturday, Oct 25 at Provo Kickoff: Noon Mountain Time TV: Mtn BYU vs. Colorado State Saturday, Nov 1 at Fort Collins Kickoff: 4;00 PM Mountain Time TV: Mtn BYU vs. San Diego State Saturday, Nov 8 at Provo Kickoff: Noon Mountain Time TV: Mtn BYU vs. Air Force Saturday, Nov 15 at Colorado Springs Kickoff: 1:30 PM Mountain Time TV: CBS C BYU vs. Utah Saturday, Nov 22 at Salt Lake Kickoff: 4:00 PM Mountain Time TV: Mtn

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Last Chance, 1 Day Left To Cash in on BYU and the BCS (S)
by hb 01 Aug '08

01 Aug '08

Cash in on BYU and the BCS(S) We can't guarantee that BYU will cash in on a BCS game this season, but you certainly can cash in our BCS(S). We are talking about our three-day Big Cougar Sportsline (Sale). That's BCS(S) to you and a 30 percent savings on a one or two-year subscription to Cougar Sportsline during the next three days. Normally $50 for a one-year subscription and $90 for a two-year subscription, now for just three days, you can subscribe for just $35 for a year subscription and just $70 for a two-year subscription. This sale absolutely ends at midnight, August 1, 2008. As a former subscriber to Cougar Sportsline, this is the perfect time to get back on board as we get set to begin publishing weekly again in just a few days. To order and take advantage of our BCS(S) and save 30%, CLICK <http://www.cougarstreet.com/products/index.php?type=450&PCID=450:0:0:0:0> HERE!

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