August 2009 - Cougarsportsline - mailman.xmission.com

Cougar Sportsline, Vol. 30, Issue 3
by hb arnett 24 Aug '09

24 Aug '09

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Cougar Sportsline, Vol. 30, Issue 2
by hb arnett 17 Aug '09

17 Aug '09

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Cougar Sportsline, Vol. 30, Issue 2
by hb arnett 17 Aug '09

17 Aug '09

HB Arnett's COUGAR SPORTSLINE 801 372 0819 hbarnett(a)fiber.net and hbarnett@xmission <mailto:hbarnett@xmission.com> .com 1391 West 800 South - Orem, Utah 84058 Vol. 30, Issue 2 - August 17, 2009 Click <http://www.cougarstreet.com/products/index.php?type-450&PCID=450:0:0:0:0> Here To Order Or Renew Your Subscriptions UPON FURTHER REVIEW After seven days of fall camp, here is what we have seen and our revised review of the BYU football team FROM COWER AND CRINGE TO ACTUALLY COVERING...It's early, we know, but it looks like BYU has at least four corner backs that are significantly better than anyone that saw the field last season for the Cougars. You remember last season, don't you? That was when BYU went on defense, you tended to cower and cringe, especially against good passing teams. Robbie Buckner, a redshirt freshman and retuned missionary, is a player. He missed most of last week with a tweaked hamstring. The three juco transfers are all better than anything BYU had last season. We especially like Brian Logan and Corby Eason. Lee Aguire isn't bad either. Honest to goodness, this is a major step up for BYU. But, before we get too giddy, all that means is that BYU corners are now MWC caliber. None of these guys could play in the Pac 10, Big 12 or SEC and none would see much of the field at either Utah or TCU, but they are now comparable to the rest of the league. Still, MWC quality is a major step forward for BYU. PACKING SOME SMACK...BYU now has two safeties that can bring some pop and pain to opposing receivers and running backs. Andrew Rich is a hitter. So is true freshman Craig Bills. He will play this season. Scott Johnson is better than anybody that played safety for the Cougars last season. Jray Galea'i is another true freshman who has a very bright future. This is a definite upgrade in talent and skill over last season for Bronco Mendenhall and his defense. LEADERSHIP NOT LACKING IN LINEBACKERS...Team leadership is not lacking in BYU's stable of linebackers. Some of the most dependable, trustworthy and hardest working BYU football players can be found on the Cougar linebacker roster. We have seen nothing after one week to change our mind. This is a pretty generic group. FLAK AND FINDING THE TRUTH...We took some flak last week because we said there were no playmakers on BYU's defensive line. We had lots of people remind us that Jan Jorgensen was a sack machine the last two seasons. We like him. He has a big motor and has nice stats, including sacks, but in our opinion, he is not a disruptive force on defense and neither is any other Cougar defensive lineman. No one has to be double teamed by opponents. The good news is that this group has performed well in the first week of fall camp. The bad news is that we don't know what that means. They have looked good against the BYU offensive line and nobody knows, as yet, if they are any good. A better barometer will be BYU's defensive line play against Oklahoma and Florida State. We hope we are flooded with flak after those games. It will mean that we were wrong and BYU's line play on both sides of the ball is vastly improved. PASS THE ROGAINE...With a slug of returned missionaries manning the offensive line, thinning hairlines are not unusual at BYU. What is a more pressing matter after one week of fall camp, however, is the thinning of the offensive line roster. BYU is running out of bodies. Jesse Taufi has not been able to practice as yet while he tends to academic issues. Matt Reynolds, BYU's best offensive lineman, broke his hand just days into fall camp. He had surgery, but is expected back for the Oklahoma game. His injury leaves the Cougars shorthanded in practice. His brother Houston, is nursing a hamstring injury. Jason Speredon, a projected starter at guard, is gone for the year with a torn rotator cuff. Forget finding starters and getting them ready for the opening game, BYU needs bodies on the offensive line just to be able to practice effectively. We like the talent in this group. There are enough good players to have a good offensive line, but how it is handled, managed and made to last through the remainder of fall camp will be extremely crucial. WE ARE EXPECTING MUCH LESS FROM MAX HALL THIS SEASON...When it comes to interceptions thrown, less is better. Hall's touchdown to interception ratio should be very good. He is having an exceptional fall camp. We expect an exceptional senior season and Hall's first week of practice seems to back up that optimism. Most of the early reviews of Riley Nelson have been mixed. Some are good and some aren't. Our review and expectations for this playmaker haven't changed. He will be good and will be the backup to Hall this season. SPIELBERG IS PLANNING A REMAKE OF HARVEY, THE MOVIE (about an imaginary rabbit)...BYU can expect a remake of Harvey, the running back, as he was as a freshman. Harvey Unga was hurt for most of last season and didn't play at 100 percent. We expect a rerun and remake of his freshman year production. While J.J. DiLuigi has had a nice fall camp and is listed as the backup to Unga, the Cougars also need a rerun and remake of Manase Tonga at fullback. Coaches will find out early this coming week if he will be academically eligible to play this year. Right now all we have are the trailers from Tonga's performance of two seasons ago. If he is good to go, Tonga and Unga together on the same bill could give the BYU a blockbuster hit at running back this season. CATCHING COLLIE WON'T BE EASY...The BYU receiver had 100-plus catches last season. That won't be duplicated by any Cougar wide out this season, but overall, the receiving corp will be much better and more productive that what Max Hall had to throw to last year. McKay Jacobson is the real deal. O'Neill Chambers is improved and there is a boatload of legitimate receivers from returning lettermen and incoming freshman to make this a very deep and capable group. Jacobson is having a great fall camp. YIN AND YANG...We like what we have seen of BYU this fall. They are going to be better than most people anticipate and even better than we thought they would be. We attribute it to the optimism of the first week of fall camp and a Yin and Yang moment. Optimism aside, when it comes to opening game against Oklahoma, we still don't think BYU can Yin, but after watching Y.E. Yang win the PGA Championship yesterday, anything is possible. If Tiger Woods can ying and yank almost all of his putts in a major, then in theory, Sam Bradford, OU's returning Heisman Trophy winner and quarterback, can throw seven or eight interceptions against the improved BYU secondary. Optimism is good, but so is Oklahoma. There is a reason the Sooners are a 21-point favorite in this game. The Sooners are in another league when it comes to college football and web sites. In the first head-to-head matchup of this year between Oklahoma and BYU, the Sooners have already beaten the Cougars in the preseason battle of web sites. Both schools have professional looking web sites that promote their programs. Both programs offer professional quality video on their sites. BYU's site looks nice, but compared to Oklahoma's, lacks content. BYU has fluff and OU has football. Case in point. Last Saturday, both Oklahoma and BYU held closed scrimmages in their respective stadiums. BYU's video for Saturday showed some nice, but fluffy interviews with coaches and some nice shots of players warming up before the scrimmage started. The Sooners, despite the closed scrimmage to the public, showed highlights of that closed scrimmage on their web site. In our opinion, it would be so easy for BYU to be doing what Oklahoma does. The video acumen and resources are the same. When it comes to their respective fan bases, BYU appears to be more paranoid than proactive in promoting and growing its essential fan base. Oklahoma and BYU fans know fluff and they know football. They prefer football. If Bob Stoops thought showing videos of actual practices and scrimmages was a detriment to his program, it wouldn't be on the OU web site. It appears that at Oklahoma, it is more about promotion than paranoia. Maybe the Sooners are so good that they just don't think a few snippets of video is a big deal. In the web site video matchup between BYU and Oklahoma, in our opinion, the Sooners are already running up the score. Here are the two sites. www.soonersports.com/ot/2009_preseason_practice.html www.byucougars.com/football/ THERE IS NO RECESSION IN RECRUITING BYU is having a big year in football recruiting. You have to like the quantity and quality of the Cougars' early commitments for the class of 2010. As of last week, Bronco Mendenhall and coaching crew have 24 early verbals that say they will sign with BYU next February. We don't think the Cougars are done. There will be some senior sleepers in BYU's LDS recruiting base that will have breakout years and there will be some immediate needs exposed somewhere on the team this season. That usually results from unexpected injuries or lack of talent. BYU needs to stay on top of he juco scene to help fill those needs. BYU is doing a very nice job recruiting to its strength and base, which is the LDS athlete. They sign some good ones and do so in great abundance. That said, in our opinion, the only difference between the LDS players BYU signs and the LDS players Utah signs is in volume. The Cougars sign more of them. Over the last decade, you could take the core of LDS players from both the Utes and Cougars and swap them or interchange them without any noticeable difference. BYU's LDS prospects are usually more publicized and promoted, but the results on the field would indicate that they are basically the same caliber of players at both schools. That speaks to the increase in LDS prospects over the years. There are exceptions, of course. BYU has proven that they have a corner on the LDS quarterback market. The good ones seldom go to Utah. Each team has their exceptional LDS athletes. Last year, BYU had Austin Collie and Utah had Paul Kruger, but overall, if you look at it objectively based what actually has happened on the field, the LDS core players for both schools are interchangeable. Utah has participated in two BCS Bowl games in the last 5 years. They did it with a core group of LDS players and with an experienced and good quarterback. They also did it with speed. In our opinion, the difference between the BYU and Utah recruiting models, is that while both rely on LDS recruits, the Utes still can go out and get speed from outside the LDS market. We don't like Utah, but we can't dismiss them and the success they have had with their current recruiting model. BYU has a bigger pool of LDS players from which to form their core and they have an exceptional track record with LDS quarterbacks. BYU's model isn't made for speed, but there are very encouraging signs that speed is getting better from within the current model. That seems especially encouraging from the most recent list of commitments the Cougars have lined up for the 2010 class. Here they are alphabetically. Ross Apo...WR, 6-4, 195, The Oakridge School, TX Jordan Black, OL 6-7, 235, Alta HS, UT Algernon Brown, RB, 6-1, 205, Skyline HS, UT Tayo Fabuluje, OT, 6-5, 255, The Oakridge School, TX Alani Fua, LB 6-5, 210, Oaks Christian HS, CA Kori Gaines, DB, 5-9, 170, Grayson HS, GA Jake Heaps...QB, 6-2, 195, Skyline HS, WA Hauoli Jamora, DL, 6-2, 230, Kahuku HS, UT Jordan Johnson, DB, 5-10, 175, Brooks School, MA Tuni Kanuch...DL, 6-1, 285, Bingham HS, UT Bronson Kaufusi, DL, 6-6, 225, Timpview HS, UT Teu Kautai, LB, 6-1, 200, The Oakridge School, TX Collin Keoshian, LB, 6-2, 225, Santa Clarita Christian, CA A.J. Moore...RB, 5-10, 190, Murrieta Valley HS, CA Manu Mulitalo, OL, 6-3, 305, Granger HS, UT Joey Owens, LB, 6-2, 215, Pleasant Grove HS, UT Drew Phillips, RB, 6-0, 185, Boaz HS, AL Graham Rowley, OL, 6-4, 270, Waialua HS, HI Bryan Sampson, TE, 6-4, 210, Pleasant Grove HS, UT Kona Schwenke, DL, 6-5, 210, Kahuku HS, HI Zac Stout...LB, 6-2, 220, Oaks Christian HS, CA Sae Tautu, LB, 6-3, 215, Lone Peak HS, UT Travis Tuiloma, DL, 6-3, 290, Washburn Rural HS, KS Blair Tushaus, OL, 6-2, 270, Notre Dame Prep, AZ In the recruiting classes of the last two years, BYU signed only three non-LDS high school players. They signed O'Neill Chambers and Garrett Nicholson in 2008 and Cody Hoffman from the 2009 class. In the current list of commits, there are already 5 non-LDS prospects. They include Tayo Fabuluje, Kori Gaines, Jordan Johnson, Drew Phillips and Blair Tushaus. The top headliners of this prospective class remain the same. Jake Heaps is a human headline. If there is a quarterback accolade, he has it, or soon will, when it comes to high school football. Bronson Kaufusi has emerged as a national-caliber recruit and has the talent to qualify for that assessment. He will get a chance to show his stuff this Friday when his Timpview Thunderbirds take on Pleasant Grove HS. The Vikings have at least 8 Division I recruits, including two that have said they will sign with the Cougars in Bryan Sampson and Joey Owens. We still maintain that the commit for the coming class that will have the most immediate impact on the field will be Ross Apo. He can and will play right away. TELEVISION TIMETABLE BYU vs. Oklahoma Saturday, Sept 5 at Arlington Kickoff: 5:00 pm Mountain Time TV: ESPN BYU vs. Tulane Saturday, Sept 12 at New Orleans Kickoff: 1:30 pm Mountain Time TV: ESPN2 BYU vs. Florida State Saturday, Sept 19 at Provo Kickoff: 5:00 pm Mountain Time TV: Versus BYU vs. Colorado State Saturday, Sept 26 at Provo Kickoff: 4:00 pm Mountain Time TV: The Mtn BYU vs. Utah State Friday, Oct 2 at Provo Kickoff: 7:00 pm Mountain Time TV: The Mtn BYU vs. UNLV Saturday, Oct 10 at Las Vegas Kickoff: 8:00 pm Mountain Time TV: The Mtn BYU vs. San Diego State Saturday, Oct 17 at San Diego Kickoff: 4:00 pm Mountain Time TV: The Mtn BYU vs. TCU Saturday, Oct 24 at Provo Kickoff: 5:30 pm Mountain Time TV: Versus BYU vs. Wyoming Saturday, Nov 7 at Laramie Kickoff: Noon Mountain Time TV: The Mtn BYU vs. New Mexico Saturday, Nov 14 at Albuquerque Kickoff: Noon Mountain Time TV: The Mtn BYU vs. Air Force Saturday, Nov 21 at Provo Kickoff: 1:30 pm Mountain Time TV: CBS C BYU vs. Utah Saturday, Nov 28 at Provo Kickoff: 3:00 pm Mountain Time TV: CBS C and The Mtn

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We Started Without You!
by hb arnett 10 Aug '09

10 Aug '09

Dear Former Subscriber, We sent out our first issue of Cougar Sportsline for the new publishing year this morning. We would love to have you back on board with us. Now you can renew your subscription at our new low price of just $35 per year or $70 for a two-year subscription. To renew, just click <http://www.cougarstreet.com/products/index.php?type=450&PCID=450:0:0:0:0> here. If you like, you can also renew via email, phone or check with the following information below. Cougar Sportsline PO Box 50424 Provo, UT 84605 801 372 0819 hbarnett(a)fiber.net Now would be a good time to take advantage of our latest offer below. Thanks, HB Arnett Hunky Body, Has Been, Head Bandage and Hot Burritos When I started Cougar Sportsline 30 years ago, H.B. stood for Hunky Body. Some of you are convinced that it now stands for Has Been. For those Cougar football fans that think BYU has a shot at defeating Oklahoma in Dallas on Sept. 5, H.B. means head bandage. Yours is too tight and cutting off circulation to your brain. It has impaired your rational thinking. Regardless of how tightly your BYU bandage is wound, when it comes to BYU vs. the Sooners, some of you still have too much H.B. (hope and bravado). Here's your chance to make me eat my words while you get to eat some H.B.'s (hot burritos or other menu items from Del Taco). Hot Burritos! If the final scoreboard shows BYU within 21 points of the Sooners, I will send you a gift certificate for $5.00 from Del Taco which is valid at any location across the country and good not only for hot burritos, but anything on the menu. Or, gag me with green sauce if somehow BYU beats Oklahoma in Dallas. If that happens, I will send you a gift certificate for $10.00 from Del Taco. All you have to do is renew or extend your current subscription to get this offer. Who knows, you could be feasting on BYU Burritos covered in "sooner sauce" while I am forced to eat a lot of crow. H.B. also refers to Hope Beyond the opening game. Even if your burrito blows up in Dallas, you can count on the Cougars turning in another 10-win season. That means you can go ahead and renew or extend your subscription to Cougar Sportsline and expect to hear plenty of good news on the coming season. When you renew or extend your subscription to Cougar Sportsline you could literally be putting your money and maybe some Mexican food where your mouth is thanks to Del Taco and our limited-time offer. Click <http://www.cougarstreet.com/products/index.php?type=450&PCID=450:0:0:0:0> Here to renew or extend your Cougar Sportsline Subscription which is still just $35 per year (40 issues). Be sure to include your shipping info for sending the gift certificates. If you like, you can also send us a check for $35 to Cougar Sportsline, 1391 West 800 South, Orem, UT 84058 or call or email us with your credit card information at hbarnett(a)fiber.net - 801 372-0819 This offer expires Sept 4, 2009

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Cougar Sportsline, Vol. 30, Issue 1
by hb arnett 10 Aug '09

10 Aug '09

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Cougar Sportsline, Vol. 30, Issue 1
by hb arnett 10 Aug '09

10 Aug '09

HB Arnett's COUGAR SPORTSLINE 801 372 0819 hbarnett(a)fiber.net and hbarnett@xmission <mailto:hbarnett@xmission.com> .com 1391 West 800 South - Orem, Utah 84058 Vol. 30, Issue 1 - August 10, 2009 Click <http://www.cougarstreet.com/products/index.php?type-450&PCID=450:0:0:0:0> Here To Order Or Renew Your Subscriptions GET OUT YOUR DICTIONARY, THIS COULD BE A DEFINING SEASON FOR BYU BYU really is an elitist institution. If there was a college football dictionary, the definition of a disappointing 2008 football season would list examples of teams like San Diego State, UCLA, Michigan, Tennessee and others who didn't win many games and fired coaches. The dictionary used by Cougar football fans must be much more esoteric and elite. How else do you explain the definition of disappointing season for BYU as a 10-3 record, bowl appearance and a final top 25 national ranking? Any way you want to dice your dictionary, most BYU football fans and most BYU football players and coaches, consider last year's 10-3 performance a disappointment. They all talk about a bad taste in their mouths and refocusing and rebounding for the coming season. Bronco Mendenhall has talked for years about having not just a good team, but a good program. If a 10-3 record is a serious disappointment, maybe the Cougars under Mendenhall have actually now defined themselves as a good program. We don't need a dictionary to define irony. It is that the perceived disappointment from last season can turn into such excitement for the coming year when the roster is still populated by the same players and coaches. Summer Syndrome We attribute it to what we call the "Summer Syndrome". We love summer and apparently so do BYU football fans. It has been a great off season for BYU football...on paper. All reports have the Cougars becoming stronger, quicker, speedier, more focused and determined. If the Cougars actually didn't have to play a game for a few more months, they could be national champs by November, at least in the eyes of Cougar nation. That excitement and estimation of BYU football also carries over to the national media. BYU still has enough juice with the media types to earn a top 25 preseason ranking. The Cougars came in at No. 24 last week in the USA Coaches Poll...on paper. The last seven months have been full of excitement and enthusiasm with the promise of future expectations. On paper and in the press, BYU seems to have found a way to improve its dismal defense of last season. In the last few months, BYU has won the "Star Wars" recruiting game with a boatload of highly touted (on paper) new recruits already in the bag for next year. Never has a team looked so good. Never has so much progress been made on paper and in the press. When you don't actually have to play, it is all good and sure to get better the longer BYU doesn't have to actually take the field against another team. Shred the Paper Come September, it will be time to shred the paper and actually see if BYU is really as good as Cougar fans think they will be. In our opinion, if Bronco Mendenhall and his troops can duplicate the 10-3 record of last season, they really will be good, not only on paper, but on the field. A 10-3 mark this year would mean much more than the 10-3 result of a year ago. That is because the Cougars will spot the national and MWC field one full lap in the race for national recognition and respect. Count on BYU getting whipped by Oklahoma when the two teams kickoff their seasons on Sept. 5 in Dallas. The loss won't be good, but the timing of the loss couldn't be better. Assuming that BYU doesn't get toasted by 40 or more points by the Sooners and assuming they can win the rest of their games until they face TCU and Utah later in the year, that opening loss to Oklahoma will be a non-factor in BYU's quest for a legitimate national ranking. When it comes to national rankings, losing does have an impact, but not as big of an impact as when you lose. Losing early is always more palatable than losing late in the season. Speaking of losing, during the last 11 years, that is what BYU has done every time they have faced a non-conference foe that has been ranked. The Cougars will have two chances to break that streak this season. Actually, it will be just one chance. Oklahoma is ranked No. 3, and as we mentioned earlier, the Cougars have no chance for a win in this game. They will have to pin their hopes on defeating Florida State later in September in Provo. The Seminoles are ranked No. 19 in the preseason. The first three weeks of the season should be interesting. Intoxication The Sooners will sober up all the preseason intoxication of BYU followers. A week later, Tulane will reignite the enthusiasm and expectations. The Green Wave is not a good football team. The real litmus test for BYU will be the next week in Provo against Florida State. That will let us know just what kind of team the Cougars really have. Most of the optimism about BYU football for the coming season is based on statements from coaches and players about how they are refocused and humbled from the bad taste and bad finish of last season. The quotes from players and coaches have been plentiful about how hard they have worked over the summer and how this is a team that can be trusted. On paper, that sounds absolutely thrilling and exciting. Who wouldn't anxiously await watching this BYU team play? As good as it sounds on paper, however, football is played on the field and is a game that is determined by playmakers. Even Bronco Mendenhall, the master modeler of BYU, acknowledges that BYU didn't make enough plays last year. More than words, slogans, jargon and jutting out one's chest, it has always been, is now, and always will be, about having playmakers on your team. Like Missouri? Our assessment of BYU last year and this coming season is that they are a lot like Missouri was last season. The Tigers had plenty of playmakers on offense and were good enough to win plenty of games and garner national recognition. They didn't have a defense good enough and with enough playmakers, however, to stand up to the big boys of the nation or even their own conference. Mizzou finished with a 10-4 record. They won their first five games averaging 50 plus points per game. When it came to facing defenses with speed and quickness, however, they folded flat, losing big to Texas and Oklahoma. A prolific offense is great, but without at least a decent defense to go along with it, you are doomed to disappointing defeats. Like Missouri last season, BYU had playmakers. Unfortunately, in our opinion, they were all on offense last year and few and far between, on the defensive side of the ball. Summer excitement and enthusiasm aside, that is also our assessment of BYU football for the coming year. PRESEASON PLAYMAKER LOOK AT BYU FOR 2009 Defense Linebackers...There aren't any. At least, there are none that are playmakers, which is what you need at this position to be a good defense. When the Cougars were above average a few years back in the early going for Bronco Mendenhall, he had playmakers like Brady Poppinga and Bryan Kehl. He had a very good over-achieving middle linebacker in Cameron Jensen. Those days are gone. There are no playmaking linebackers that we can see, or at least haven't seen yet. There are plenty of guys returning with playing experience, but no real playmakers. Seven months of summer won't make it better, in our opinion. The middle backer spots will be in the lower half of the talent level of the MWC. For that to improve, it won't come from the old guard of linebackers from last year. The best chances for a much-needed infusion of linebackers that are playmakers will have to come from new faces like Brandon Ogletree at middle linebacker. Outside linebackers are in the same predicament. No playmakers, at least that we have seen as yet. There is some good news and bad news at this spot, however. The bad news is that BYU has pinned its hopes for improvements at the outside backer positions by shuffling players from other positions. Jordan Pendleton has never played a down at outside linebacker, and after seven months, and on paper, he is the great hope for BYU fans. The fact that Cougar coaches have moved Richard Wilson, a new incoming freshman, from tight end/wide receiver to outside linebacker, tells us just how desperate the search is to find playmakers at the linebacker spot. That is the bad news. The good news is that both Pendleton and Wilson are big-time athletes, who have been playmakers wherever they played in high school. That at least should give a little hope for the future. Defensive Line.This group is serviceable, but not spectacular. There are no NFL prospects in this group and haven't been any NFL caliber defensive linemen for several years. From our vantage point, there won't be any in the next few seasons either. It is what it is. For whatever reasons, BYU has been unable to sign the big time LDS Polynesian defensive tackle. Until that trend turns around, serviceable, but not spectacular, seems to be the appropriate description of this component of the BYU defense. BYU has nobody up front that is as disruptive as TCU's Jerry Hughes will be and as Paul Kruger of Utah was last season. There is nobody on the BYU defensive line that will demand a double team. Russell Tialavea has postponed his LDS mission call until late December. That means the Cougars will return all three defensive line starters from last season (Tialavea, Jan Jorgensen and Brett Denney), but if they weren't playmakers last year, the chances of them becoming playmakers this year seems slim. The only new bodies on this unit are those who have been shuffled up from linebackers. That would include Vic So'oto and Jadon Wagner. Defensive Back.This is the only place defensively for the Cougars where there is sure to be improvement this coming season. It couldn't be worse, could it? The Cougars were undermanned at safety last season and it showed. Scott Johnson and Andrew Rich should be better. BYU had no corners last year. They are hoping that the pasta approach to recruiting corners will work. Bronco Mendenhall finally figured out what LaVell Edwards knew for years. You always need to recruit 2 or 3 juco corners and then throw them on the wall and hope one sticks. Brandon Howard, last year's starter at field corner, is not coming back for his senior season because of personal reasons. BYU has brought in three juco corners to try and find one that can cover. They are Lee Aguirre, Corby Eason and Brian Logan. Throw in redshirt freshman Garett Nicholson and returned missionary Robbie Buckner and maybe one can be a playmaker. Bottom Line.If you weren't a playmaker as a sophomore or junior, it is highly unlikely that you will be one as a senior. There were no consistent playmakers on the BYU defense last year. Those same non-playmaking players are not likely to suddenly become such. If BYU is going to be improved defensively, they will have to find playmakers from personnel that for whatever reason, never saw the field last season. Any improvement won't come from players that saw action last year. The best hopes, in our opinion, will have to rest with newcomers, especially at linebacker and at corner. Offense Finding playmakers on this side of the ball is not hard to do. Unlike the defensive side of the ball, BYU had plenty of playmakers on offense last season and almost all of them return for another year. Quarterback.It starts with Max Hall, but it won't end with him. Last season, if Hall had gone down with injury, it was over for BYU. This year there is now a serious playmaking backup in Riley Nelson. The quarterback situation never looked so good for the Cougars. There two good ones in hand and with Jake Heaps in the bush, things look rosy. We know that Heaps plans on enrolling next January and competing against Nelson during next spring for the starting spot. If he does win that job, it means he is the amalgamation of John Elway, Brett Favre and Joe Montana all rolled into one. Nelson is very, very good. If Heaps beats him out, he must be very, very special. Running Back.Harvey Unga has been making big plays for the past two seasons. We see no reason why that will stop now. The only question is if he can take the beating he had to suffer last season. That will require some help from the rest of the running back corp. There is still hope that Manase Tonga will be back from academic exile. That should be known later this week. After Unga, BYU has a bevy of backups, but none that shows any promise of being the type of playmaker that Unga is. That group includes guys like J.J. DiLuigi, Malosi Te'o and Mike Hague. Receivers.BYU had two of the best playmakers last season at receiver. That would be Austin Collie and Dennis Pitta. Collie has gone to the Colts of the NFL, but Pitta is back and will be productive and consistent. He can make plays. McKay Jacobson showed glimpse of his playmaking abilities as a true freshman and is now back from an LDS mission to Japan. O'Neill Chambers may be the guy to prove us wrong about playmakers. He certainly wasn't one last year as a true freshman, but we do expect him to be one this season. BYU also has a nice incoming crop of big freshmen receivers, They include Brett Thompson, Cody Hoffman and Mitch Mathews. We expect at least one to show he can make plays before this season concludes. Offensive Line.You don't associate offensive linemen as being playmakers, but without them, it will be hard for Hall, Pitta, Unga et al to show their playmaking wares. Matt Reynolds is the next NFL hope as an offensive lineman. He was good as a freshman, and should do nothing but get better. The Cougars are replacing four starters from this group, but they have at least three players besides Reynolds who have starting experience at BYU. That would be R.J. Willing, Ryan Freeman and Terence Brown. Both Brown and Freeman started games as true freshmen before leaving for LDS missions. Coaches, Team Speed and Counting Wins.One change we will see in coaching this year is that Bronco Mendenhall has finally decided to relinquish his defensive play calling duties. We don't see that making any difference at all on the defensive side of the ball. Where it should help is on the offensive side of things. Mendenhall can now actually manage the game and not just his defense. With him less engaged on defense, he can now see what is happening in the total flow of the game. There are times when a head coach has to get on the headsets and ask his assistant coaches, "What the heck are you doing?" Last year against Utah when BYU refused to run the ball would have been the perfect moment for Mendenhall to have been more engaged in managing the game instead of just his defense. More involvement in game management by Mendenhall is a good move for the fifth-year coach. This summer there has been lots of talk of BYU working on increasing their team speed. We don't buy it. We don't doubt that there was plenty of emphasis and work on increasing speed, we just don't think it will actually show on the field. On defense, with Brandon Howard, the fastest player on the team last year, leaving school, it isn't likely that the Cougars will be faster on that side of the ball. All of BYU's losses last year came against teams that clearly had BYU outclassed in team speed. That would be TCU, Utah and Arizona. Lack of team speed, in our opinion, will still be an issue this year. That should especially be evident in the opener against Oklahoma. When it comes to speed, Provo and LaVell Edwards Stadium is the great equalizer. At home the speed factor seems to be neutralized. That bodes well for the Cougars this season because, other than Oklahoma, the teams on the 2009 schedule with the clear advantage in team speed all have to come to Provo. That would be Florida State, TCU and Utah. We like the Cougars in all three contests. We don't see the Cougars running the table in MWC action, however. They should lose somewhere on the road in league play. Our assessment is that BYU has enough offensive firepower to get 9-10 wins this season. If some playmakers on defense magically appear, 10-11 wins is not an unreasonable hope. Just like Missouri of last season, BYU needs to shore up its defense or even with a prolific offense, they won't have be able to stand up when it really counts against good teams with speed.

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