HB Arnett’s 801 372 - 0819 hbarnett@fiber.net 1391 West 800 South – Orem, Utah 84058 Vol. 34, Issue 26 –January 27, 2014 Click Here <http://cougarclicks.com/product/Order-Cougar-Sportsline?ID=3173> To Order Or Renew Your Subscriptions BYU Loses Two Cougars Gump and Dump Latest Road Trip It was Forrest Gump, the principal protagonist of the movie by the same name that said, while sitting on a bus bench in Alabama that life is like a box of chocolates. “You never know what you’re gonna get.” That also describes BYU basketball this season. You never know what you are going to get with this team. Earlier in the season it was all Cougar caramels covered in delicious milk chocolate. The team looked tasty and talented and capable of being competitive with the big boys of college basketball. Now BYU’s box of chocolate choices is relegated to dark chocolates that nobody wants. Like the dark chocolates, BYU basketball is now also less palatable and hard to swallow. The inconsistency is maddening. Consequently, the BYU Basketball box of chocolates is down to slim pickings. The good stuff has been squandered. There will be no WCC championship and there will be no NCAA invite. Granted, there might be a good piece of chocolate lost in the second layer of the box. That is how I would describe Tyler Haws’ 48 points against Portland, but as the eventual triple overtime loss played out, BYU was good and then bad in the same game. That is the definition of inconsistency. The final score, however, was well defined: Portland 114 BYU 110. Some boxes of chocolates put a map and description inside the box top depicting what each chocolate is. There is no map or definitive description for BYU players. As Forrest Gump said, you never know what you are going to get game to game. Except with Gonzaga. What you are going to get is a spanking. The Zags whipped BYU 84-69. The Cougars are now 5-4 in conference play and 13-9 overall. Tom Hanks, who played Forrest Gump in the movie has moved on to play Captain Phillips, in the aptly titled film of the same name. Now it’s time for BYU to move on to more consistent play. That means either better players, or a better scheme offensively and defensively to fit the players BYU currently has and the league in which they currently reside. If the answer is better players, then Captain Dave Rose will eventually right the ship. He has the recruiting pipeline full. But I think he has enough players right now. The problem appears to be that opposing WCC coaches are taking the roles of the Somali Pirates in the Captain Phillips movie and holding Rose and his preferred style of play hostage. Am I the only one who thinks that if Roger Reid with his half court sets was given this team and a few weeks, he would be winning this league? Yes, I know that the Roger Reid ship sailed and left port long ago. I’m not advocating a Roger Reid coaching sequel at BYU, but it might not hurt if Dave Rose turned movie critic and reviewed some of Reid’s game films. He might find a few Oscars and offensive and defensive sets that may be a good place to start in trying to solve the current inconsistency problems BYU seems to be having this season. Like all Cougar fans, I am hoping this current BYU basketball movie has a happy ending. Unfortunately, after the first half of WCC play and 9 league games and a 5-4 record, the plot hasn’t thickened. What we are currently watching is Cougar Cinéma vérité and the reality of BYU’s inconsistent play has definitely thinned the Cougars’ chances for league hardware and post season appearances. Winning solves everything, even for BYU basketball. If the wins aren’t more frequent in the second half of league play, you can expect a higher frequency of Forrest “Grumps”, including me, wanting to re-examine the box of chocolates and brand of basketball that BYU currently plays. My Old HS Gym Locker Combination Talk about coincidence and Cougars…of the future, 17-9-26 was my old high school gym locker combination. It also is the points scored last Friday night by three future BYU basketball Cougars. In a 74-53 win over Riverton last Friday night, Frank Jackson, the sophomore guard at Lone Peak HS in Utah, scored 17 points in the Knights’ win. His teammate TJ Haws had 9. Zac Seljaas, the junior wing from Bountiful HS, scored 26 to lead his team to a 59-37 win over Highland. Haws, of course, has already signed with BYU and Seljaas and Jackson are verbal commits to Dave Rose and the Cougars. I’ve posted lots of videos of Haws, but here are a few videos to get us started on the upcoming stars, Jackson and Seljaas. Frank Jackson <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar1IazOcmNw> …More Jackson <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHOXGdCrvjo> …Haws and Jackson together <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at0AQqnI6XI> Zac Seljaas <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is1rOsHTRgI> – Freshman and Sophomore Highlights….Spring 2013 AAU Highlights <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBqRiqKLHoA> Updating the BYU Coaching Cupboard Last week I listed names of potential replacements for Dave Rose when and if he decides to hang up his whistle and move on from BYU. It generated some response from readers. One wanted to know why Quincy Lewis, the fabulously successful coach at Lone Peak High School, wasn’t mentioned? Because he isn’t a current college coach. The only guy I know that made the jump from ultra successful high school coach to college head coach was Gerry Faust at Notre Dame. After an incredible high school coaching record at Moeller HS in Ohio, Faust went 5-6 his first year and then turned in two more seasons with 7-5 marks. His record at South Bend was 30-26-1. He resigned after 3 seasons after ND administrators heeded Irish fans’ call of “Oust Faust.” You can also take the name of Mark Madson off the potential list of replacements for Rose. A reader who is well connected tells us that Madsen, the current director of player personnel for the LA Lakers, is set to replace current Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins as soon as next season. That seems improbable considering Stanford’s current record of 12-6, but this guy insists it will happen. The same guy, who appears to be wired in to all things BYU, says that Mark Pope is getting antsy to become a head coach and will be looking elsewhere if Rose retains his post for a long time. That actually might work out well. If Pope leaves and is successful, he then becomes the clear front runner to replace Rose when he does decide to leave. If Pope leaves in a year or two, that would also open up a spot for Dave Rice to return. In case you haven’t been paying attention, the UNLV natives are restless with Rice and his less than spectacular results in his early tenure at Thomas and Mack. Rice has plenty of talent to work with, but that’s the problem because he can’t win consistently enough with that talent to satisfy Rebel faithful. UNLV boosters and stake holders still consider their program one of the top in the country. Rice and Rose reunited could very well happen sooner than most of us expect. BYU Football Recruiting by the Numbers Here is what we know about BYU recruiting with 9 days remaining until National Letter of Intent Signing Day. The Cougars have 3 offensive linemen committed, only one of which will show up in the fall. Bronco Mendenhall and his staff also want 4 new receivers. They learned very quickly last season that walk-ons won’t work against the likes of Wisconsin, Washington and Notre Dame. They other thing the Cougar brain trust learned last season the hard way was that their original thinking that BYU’s roster and recruiting matrix was good enough to back up Bronco’s boast of being a National Championship contender was wrong. Very wrong. That is why this staff is making a very late push to recruit faster and better athletes and in greater quantity than they have in the last 9 years. It is no accident that all of a sudden BYU is putting more coaches than usual in Texas and coaches in places like Georgia and Alabama So let’s get to it. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so a video should be good for a couple of million. If the video is good enough, it might even be worth millions to the player in the video. That is what is happening to Kyle Van Noy right now and what happened to Ziggy Ansah a year ago. Here are the 16 current commitments for BYU as of today. 1. Nick Kurtz, WR, 6-6, 215, Grossmont JC, Calif. Video <http://www.hudl.com/athlete/1753766/highlights/82815376?autoplay=1> …he is already enrolled in school. 2. Fred Warner, LB, 6-3, 215, Mission Hills HS, Calif. Video <http://www.hudl.com/athlete/o/1653174/highlights/80806396> …USC made a late rush and he was supposed to visit the Trojans’ campus this past weekend, but cancelled. Looks solid for BYU now. 3. Kavika Fonua, DB, 6-0, 200, Syracuse, HS, UT Video <http://www.hudl.com/athlete/o/1389077/highlights/109644379> 4. Trey Dye, WR/DB, 5-10, 175, Abilene Cooper HS, TX Video <http://www.hudl.com/athlete/o/1365796/highlights/85524375> 5. Teancum Fuga, DL, 6-1, 315, Edison HS, Calif. Video <http://www.hudl.com/athlete/o/307484/highlights/38699373> 6. Tejan Koroma, OL, 6-1, 255, Allen HS, TX Video <http://www.hudl.com/athlete/o/1284327/> 7. Sione Takitaki, LB/DL, 6-2, 240, Heritage HS, Calif. Video <http://www.hudl.com/athlete/o/623269/highlights/85526397> 8. Earl Mariner, DL, 6-4, 300, Washburn HS, KS Video <http://www.hudl.com/athlete/o/788852/highlights/104515379> 9. Matt Bushman, TE/LB? 6-5, 220, Sabino HS, AZ Video <http://www.hudl.com/athlete/1439186/highlights/80767384?autoplay=1> 10. Tyler Cook, LB, 6-3, 220, Vista Murrieta HS, Calif. Video <http://www.hudl.com/athlete/798375/highlights/68971376?autoplay=1> 11. Neal Pauu, QB/WR/DB, 6-4, 200, Servite HS, Calif. Video <http://www.hudl.com/athlete/o/1167452/> 12. Cedric Dale, WR/DB, 5-10, 185, Hebron HS, TX Video <http://www.hudl.com/athlete/508309/> 13. Michael Shelton, DB, 5-10, 165, Wakefield HS, NC Video <http://www.hudl.com/athlete/570968/> …already in school as an early high school graduate. 14. Zac Dawe, DL, 6-4, 285, Pleasant Grove HS, UT Video <http://www.hudl.com/athlete/o/1221170/> 15. Austin Chambers, OL, 6-5, 285, Shawnee Mission West HS, KS Video <http://www.hudl.com/athlete/o/261381/> 16. Chandon Herring, OL, 6-7, 265, Perry HS, AZ Video <http://www.hudl.com/athlete/o/1586516/> We said BYU wants 4 new receivers in this class. They have one already in Kurtz. They hosted Devon Blackmon on campus this past weekend. He is the former teammate of Jamaal Williams at Summit HS in Fontana, Calif. Blackmon signed with Oregon, redshirted and played just three games as a redshirt freshman. He transferred to Riverside City College close to Fontana and is now again on the market. He is 6-1, 190 and it is down to BYU, Utah and Fresno State. He would be an instant upgrade to the Cougar receiving roster. Here’s why: Video <http://www.hudl.com/athlete/o/2890874/highlights/91042955> Keyon Dilosa, 6-3, 195 is a wide receiver who played at Round Rock HS in Texas. He has been offered by Arkansas State, New Mexico, BYU, Houston and Montana. However, this past weekend he made an official visit to Missouri. He reportedly will be visiting BYU this coming weekend. Video <http://www.hudl.com/athlete/o/638035/highlights/63364377> Two other receivers will be joining the Cougars next fall. Trey Dye is already in the fold and will sign Feb 5th. You can see his video above. Josh Weeks signed two years ago and has been serving an LDS mission in Kennewick, Washington. He will be back in February. He is 6-4, 200. Here are highlights of his senior season at Show Low HS in Arizona. Video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KutLEEAuY0g> Big Boy, Big Buffet Damien Mama is a big boy, big recruit and a big get for BYU if they can land him. At 6-5, 360 pounds, Mama, who is LDS, is in a class by himself when it comes to offensive line play. That fact that he has offers from Alabama, USC, and UCLA has BYU playing with the big boys in this one. Mama has the whole world after him, but narrowed his choice of college down to BYU and the other big three schools. Mama will be here for an official visit this coming weekend. BYU is in the hunt because Mama as announced that he will leave for an LDS mission after graduating from high school at St. John Bosco HS in Bellflower, California. Video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qnu29UV8ihA> … Check out Ndamukong Suh of Detroit Lions late in the video. Guys like Nick Kurtz and Fred Warner will be the icing on the cake in this recruiting class, but if Mama signs he is the cake. He is also the big Enchilada and the big Cheese. As a matter of fact, for BYU he would be the whole buffet. Surprises and Suspects If there are going to be any surprises in this recruiting class, They will come from this group of players who are in areas that BYU does not normally spend a lot of time recruiting. Ronald Monroe is a 6-2, 175 pound dual-threat quarterback from Bush HS in Fort Bend, TX. He will visit BYU this coming week. He has already made a visit to Washington State in December, Visited Utah State Jan 17 and San Jose State this past weekend. Video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9KPS_6jyF0> Courtland Sutton, DB, 6-3, 190, Brenham HS TX…Should come down to BYU or Colorado. My money is on the Buffs. He visited BYU in September, the weekend of the Texas game. Video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjb4590BKnw> Jaterrius Gulley, DL, 6-3, 325, Hoover HS, AL…Has recruiting interest from Troy, Southern Miss, Southeastern Louisiana, South Alabama, Jacksonville State and Savannah State. BYU got on to this guy late, but really like him. He will visit this coming weekend. To this point, Southeastern Louisiana is the leader. He made an official visit there last weekend. If you are wondering why Gulley is not getting a lot of SEC attention despite living in Alabama, this might be the reason. Two seasons ago as a junior Gulley played at 425 pounds. SEC schools took a glimpse as a junior and weren’t interested and he was removed from their recruiting lists and books. In a year, he shed 100 pounds and is now at 325. If BYU wants this guy and gets him, they should thank Jenny Craig, Slim Fast or Marie Osmond. Video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZVgEgss0FE> , no not of Marie Osmond and Nutri-System, but of Gulley minus the gut. Kiante Walton has interest from Georgia State, Jacksonville State and Troy, among others. BYU also is showing recent interest. The interest is enough that he has reportedly been invited to visit campus this coming weekend. Walton is a 5-10, 190 pound corner at Carver HS in Columbus, Georgia. That is the same school where former Cougar corner Corby Eason prepped. Walton has good interest from Georgia Southern and Appalachian State. Video <http://www.hudl.com/athlete/o/627718/highlights/85591376> Returning missionaries: Some of these will be announced as part of the 2014 class. Others will return in the summer and likely redshirt. Josh Weeks, WR, Travis Tuiloma, DL, Manu Mulitalo, OL Graham Rowley, DL Austin Heder, LB Colby Jorgensen, TE Corbin Kaufusi, DL Baker Pritchard, DL Brian Rawlinson, OL Matt Sumsion, TE Kesni Tausinga, DL Phillip Amone, LB Micah Hanneman, DB Troy Hinds, DL Steven Richards, DL Derrick Brown…Down the road…Bronco Mendenhall extended a scholarship offer to this 6-5, 270 pound sophomore defensive lineman last week. He is LDS and plays out of Lanier HS in Sugar Hill, Georgia in the Atlanta area. He already has offers from Georgia, Georgia Tech, North Carolina State, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Clemson, Tennessee and Illinois…Video <http://www.hudl.com/athlete/2213642/> Where are they? If recruiting is need based, where are the offensive linemen in this class? As of today, there are only three commits and two of those commits are headed on LDS missions right out of high school. Maybe BYU is hoping for some help from the group of missionaries returning, but the list I am looking at doesn’t jump out and say “Help at Hand.” Maybe BYU has a secret plan or surprises planned for next week, but logic and the lack of good play last season on the offensive line, would seem to scream, more and better bodies. Speaking of body changes, look for some weight to be lost and added with two current Cougars. There is word circulating that Bronson Kaufusi is losing weight so he can play a combo DE/LB next season. Also Mike Alisa is reportedly trying to get bigger and stronger to move back to outside linebacker, the position he played as a freshman. Also when it comes to playing positions where he played before, backup quarterback Ammon Olsen has left BYU and is currently enrolled at Southern Utah. That’s where he started his college career. He will join recently hired offensive coordinator Gary Crowton, the former head coach at BYU. BYU Television Timetable BYU vs. Pacific Thursday, Jan 30 at Provo Tipoff: 7:00 pm MST TV: BYUtv BYU vs. St. Mary’s Saturday, Feb 1 at Provo Tipoff: 9:00 pm MST TV: ESPN2 BYU vs. Santa Clara Thursday, Feb 6 at Provo Tipoff: 9:00 pm MST TV: ESPNU BYU vs. San Francisco Saturday, Feb 8 at Provo Tipoff: 7:00 pm MST TV: BYUtv