HB Arnett’s
801
372 - 0819
1391
West 800 South –
Vol. 34,
Issue 40 –July 8, 2014
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BYU Football and the Statue of
With the 4th of July holiday just celebrated, it seems appropriate to remember the inscription on the Statue of Liberty that was written by Emma Lazarus.
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses, yearning to
breath free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming
shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest
tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden
door.
There could also be a Statue of Liberty flavor to this fall’s BYU football camp that is only a month away.
I can’t remember the year or the game, but I am sure that with a little research, I could find a game where BYU ran the statue of liberty play.
I don’t expect that play to be in the current playbook and doubt that we will see it used by Robert Anae this season.
The Statue of Liberty itself, however, seems to be a part of this current football team. Here is my variation of the famous inscription as it relates to BYU’s fall football roster.
Give me your retired, retreaded and passed over players.
Your huddled after every play masses, yearning for more playing time and or religious refinement.
The refuse of your teaming squads of 85 scholarships.
Send these, to
I Bronco, lift my scholarship lamp beside the golden door and dream of still making an impact and maybe making the NFL.
The terms teeming and masses may be an exaggeration, but you almost need two hands and ten fingers to count the number of transfers from other Division I programs that will fill the current roster.
Taysom Hill, QB, Stanford
Jordan Leslie, WR, UTEP
Devon Blackmon, WR,
Keanu Nelson, WR, Stanford
Harvey Jackson, DB,
Chris Badger, DB, Notre Dame
Drew Reilly, DB,
Michael Wadsworth, DB,
Vance “Moose” Bingham, K,
And maybe, probably, most likely…
Harvey Langi, RB/DL,
Langi has said that he wants to enroll at BYU after playing a season at
Throw in the juco transfers and it doesn’t paint a rosy picture of BYU’s high school recruiting strategy and results over the last few years.
Here are the juco transfers on the squad:
Christian Stewart, QB,
De’Ondre Wesley, OL, Diablo Valley JC
Trent Trammell, DB,
Skye Povey, DB,
Sam Lee, DB,
Nick Kurtz, WR, Grossmont JC
Marques Johnson, DL, El Camino JC
Edward Fusi, OL,
Robertson Daniel, DB, DeAnza JC
Josh Carter, DL,
Scott Arellano, P, Foothill JC
And
Paul Lasike, RB, transfer from BYU Rugby team
It’s not to the teeming masses level, but here’s head count of transfers that will see significant playing time this season for BYU.
Let’s start with quarterback. Both the starter and backup are transfers in Hill and Stewart.
Paul Lasike is the closest thing to a transfer after crossing over from
The offensive line will feature two juco starters in Wesley and Fusi at center. Where there is a teeming of transfers who will see plenty of time on the field this fall is at defensive back.
Those names include Daniel, Trammel, Povey, Lee. Throw in
Even the punter, Arellano, is a transfer.
Here’s hoping that BYU can take a cue from Emma Lazarus and use their plethora of players originally from other schools to play like Lazarus and “rise from the dead” doldrums of last season.
DAVE ROSE NOW HAS A NICE INSURANCE
POLICY AND PLAYER
You are not supposed to be able to get insurance after the fact, but that is exactly what Dave Rose has done.
The BYU basketball coach has been hoping that Kyle Collinsworth will be 100 percent healthy by the start of this coming basketball season. It still might happen, but if it doesn’t, Rose now has protection against any lingering loss of Collinsworth.
Jake Toolson is the underwriter that came unexpectedly to the rescue of Rose.
Toolson was set to leave earlier this summer on an LDS Spanish Speaking
mission to
Here is the tweet sent out by Toolson explaining his situation: “Due to an anxiety disorder that I have
struggled with my whole life I wasn't able to serve a mission at this time.
Whether I leave in 3 months, a year, or come to find that I have a different
mission in life, I have confidence that everything will work out the way it's
supposed to. I am thankful to be surrounded by people who love and support me
and most of all for a loving Heavenly Father.”
The 6-5, 210 pound Toolson can play the 2, 3 or 4. Our emphasis is on play. That is what he will do this coming season for BYU. Toolson is currently enrolled in school and on scholarship for the summer. Don’t know the details on the scholarship, but he has one and it is all according to NCAA regulations.
He won’t have a grant in aid, however, in the fall or winter semesters. BYU already has its allotment allocated for this coming season.
Toolson will not redshirt or gray shirt. He will play this season. If you are wondering what he brings to the table, it is Collinsworth-like abilities with an added bonus. He can shoot. Let me repeat. He can shoot and has major league range with his shot. He can’t defend like Collinsworth and likely won’t be the rebounder Collinsworth is, but this kid is tough and doesn’t mind playing inside with the bangers. Like Collinsworth, he is one competitive sucker.
The beauty of having a shooter with a big body like Toolson is that now Rose has options to take the defensive heat off Tyler Haws. With Chase Fischer and Toolson in the lineup together, there will be no cheating defenses on Haws. Teams will finally have to respect BYU’s outside game beyond the arc.
You won’t see or hear BYU and Rose making a big deal out of Toolson joining the team for this season, but it was a windfall the Cougars that will be noticed for sure this season.
There is no word yet on what Toolson’s plans are ecclesiastically after the coming season, but for now he will be a contributor immediately.
Here then is the scholarship roster for BYU basketball for the coming season.
Ryan Andrus, 6-11, FR
Nate Austin, 6-11, SR
Jamal Aytes, 6-6, SO
Frank Bartley IV, 6-3,SO
Jordan Chatman, 6-5, FR
Kyle Collinsworth, 6-6, JR
Chase Fischer, 6-3, JR
Skyler Halford, 6-1, SR
Isaac Neilson, 6-10, FR
Josh Sharp, 6-7, SR
Anson Winder, 6-3, SR
Luke Worthington, 6-10, SO
Non-scholarship for the coming season
Jake Toolson, 6-5, FR
Players returning for the 2015-16 season
Cory Calvert
Nick Emery
Braiden Shaw
Jakob Hartsock
IS FOOTBALL FORECAST TOO SUNNY?
Robert Anae, BYU’s offensive coordinator, would be a terrible TV weatherman. His personality just isn’t bubbly enough. That is what makes his “Home on the Range” forecasts for the upcoming football season so ironical.
For those who have forgotten the lyrics of the state song of
Where
seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the
skies are not cloudy all day.
In you didn’t pay attention to Robert Anae and his comments during BYU’s football media day, the normally curmudgeonly coach was absolutely bubbling with optimism.
The same guy that kept repeating last year that the Cougars were a work in progress and always had a long way to go is now saying that he is encouraged by what he sees and expects significant improvement offensively.
Anae’s forecast for a very good offense and season is not par for the course or his character. This guy is a “tell it like it is” kind of guy.
What he is telling us now is that he likes what he sees. He likes the offensive line and says they have made big time improvement. He loves his wide receiver group and their athletic abilities.
He likes Taysom Hill’s improved passing skills. He likes the offensive work ethic and toughness.
It’s almost like he is prognosticating perfect weather and a perfect season. Okay, he hasn’t gone that far.
As optimistic as Anae and Bronco Mendenhall are for this season, both are seasoned coaches that know that barometric lows and blown knees can ruin even the sunniest forecasts and best of seasons.
BYU is loaded offensively. I’m on board with Anae with that assessment. But even the most Pollyannaish Cougar optimist has to acknowledge that football is still fickle.
Too many fumbles in a game or a foot fracture to a key player is what makes a magical season for any team so hard to accomplish.
As cloudy as that sounds, I still like BYU’s chances this season for a big time year.
Beginning in August with the start of our weekly publication schedule, we will detail the personnel and practices of fall camp.
Until then, I’m aligned with Anae’s azure skies assessment of the coming season.
2014 BYU Football Schedule
Middle
BYE…Saturday,
November 8
UNLV…Saturday,
November 15 at
Names and Games
Let’s start with the current list of BYU football commits and recruits that will sign with the Cougars next February. Click on names to see highlights of each
Riley Burt, DB, 6-0, 195, Box Elder HS, UT
Kody Wilstead, QB, 6-5, 215, Pineview HS, UT
David Lui,
DL, 6-3, 250,
Devin Kaufusi, DL, 6-5, 200, Timpview HS, UT
Dayan Lake, DB, 5-11, 185, Northridge HS, UT
Will Sedgwick,
LB, 6-2, 220,
Mike Tafua, DL, 6-3, 210, Kamehameha HS, HI
Khari
Vanderbilt, DB, 6-2, 185,
Now lets move on to a legacy recruit that has not announced his decision on where he will enroll to play college football despite being offered by BYU.
Britain Covey, athlete, 5-9 160, Timpview HS, UT…This guy was proclaimed as untackleable in his appearance at BYU’s camp last month. Not sure if untackleable is a viable word, but am sure of this guy’s skills. The issue will be his size, or lack of it, as to where he will play at the next level.
I have been around long enough to have some viable comparisons for this
guy’s athletic abilities. McKay Christensen was an incredibly elusive
running back coming out of Clovis West HS in