Second place, BYU

09-03-2007

By Tom Shanahan, San Diego Hall of Champions

QUARTERBACKS: “BYU is back” was a rallying cry for the Cougars last year. But BYU has lost quarterback John Beck to the NFL draft as a second-round pick by the Miami Dolphins. And he’s not all the Cougars lost. In all, Beck was one of seven players who earned first- or second-team all-MWC honors as a senior last year. Beck’s play as a third-year starter helped head coach Bronco Mendenhall emerge from the shadow of retired coach LaVell Edwards. Mendenhall established himself in his third year in Provo with an 11-2 season, an undefeated Mountain West Conference record of 8-0 and a 38-8 romp over Oregon in the Pioneer Pure Vision Las Vegas Bowl. The rebuilding of the offense begins with sophomore Max Hall, a transfer from Arizona State. Hall and junior college transfer Cade Cooper were competing for the starting job, but Cooper will redshirt in 2007 after suffering an ankle injury in the during the final spring scrimmage. That leaves the Cougars thin on experience as another junior college transfer, walk-on Brenden Gaskins, moved into the backup role.

RUNNING BACKS: The Cougars also have to rebuild their running game with the loss of 1,000-yard rusher Curtis Brown. Junior Manese Tonga has seen playing time the last two years and was the team’s third’s leading rusher last year with 197 yards and 4.5 yards per carry with four touchdowns. He also caught 13 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns. Catching the ball out of the backfield is a key component of the Cougars’ offense. Sophomore Wayne Latu moves into the backup role, but Ryan Folsom also is in the mix for snaps after a strong spring performance.

RECEIVERS: Michael Reed and Matt Allen are returning starters in the Cougars’ offense that features three wideouts and a tight end. Allen caught 27 passes for 420 yards and three touchdowns and Reed 25 balls for 339 yards and three touchdowns. Bryce Mahuika moves into starting role as the third wideout after catching five passes for 76 yards last year. Backups Reed White and Ryan Neeley have experience in the program as they enter their junior seasons.

OFFENSIVE LINE: The offensive line will have to carry the Cougars in the early going by opening holes for an extra second for the young running backs to get through or an extra second of protection against the pass rush for the quarterback. The anchor of the line is senior center Sete Aulai, who was a second-team All-MWC pick last year. The other three starters are senior Dallas Reynolds and juniors Travis Bright and Ray Feinga. Offensive line play has always been a staple of BYU’s program, especially when playes have the added physical maturity after two years of serving a Mormon mission.

DEFENSIVE LINE: BYU’s front line is young, but it’s also experienced with three returning starters. More importantly, they’re big and mobile and figure to dominant the conference for the next couple of years. Junior nose tackle Russell Tialavea could be a dominant player in the MWC this year. He’s a 300-pounder with the bulk to plug up the middle and the quickness to chase the quarterback. The defensive ends are sophomores Jan Jorgensen and Ian Dulan. Jorgensen recorded four sacks, with five tackles for a loss and 34 total tackles. The backups at defense end are juniors Brett Denney and Kyle Luekenga and the baskcup at nose tackle is junior Mosese Foketi.

LINEBACKERS: Senior linebacker Bryan Kehl is the team’s leading returning tackler after earning honorable mention in the conference a year ago. He finished the season third on the team in tackles with 70, including eight for a loss and three sacks. He’s joined as a returning starter among the linebackers by junior David Nixon. He was fifth on the team in tackles with 62. Nixon runs to the ball well as evidenced by his 10 tackles for a loss and three sacks. Moving into the starting lineup with Kehl and Nixon are senior Kelly Poppinga and sophomore Shawn Doman as the Cougars adjust their defensive alignment from a 3-3-5 to a 3-4-4.

SECONDARY: The three returning starters in the secondary are led by senior free safety Quinn Gooch, who is coming off a strong season that earned second-team All-MWC honors a year ago. Gooch is a sure tackler who can play the run or pass. He finished fourth on the team in tackles with 66 while intercepting two passes. He returns in the secondary as a starter along with strong safety Dustin Gabriel and cornerback Ben Criddle.

SPECIAL TEAMS: BYU must identify a new punter and kicker, but historically that hasn’t been a problem where the Cougars need to search far for replacements. Redshirt freshman Mitch Payne is talented kicker who is poised to handle both the kicking and punting duties. He turned in a strong spring while handling both roles.

Returning starters: 13; Offense: 5; QB: 0; RB: 0; WR/TE: 1; OL: 4; Defense: 8; DL: 3; LB: 2; DB: 3; ST: 0.

2006 Record: 11-2; 2006 Conf. Record: 8-0

Head Coach: Bronco Mendenhall (3)

Last Bowl Appearance: 2006 Pioneer Pure Vision Las Vegas Bowl, Beat Oregon 38-8

2006 Turnover Ratio: plus 12

Home Surface: Grass

Returning Lettermen: 41

Lettermen Lost: 21

Offense: Spread

Defense: 3-4-4