HB Arnett's 801 372 - 0819 hbarnett@fiber.net 1391 West 800 South - Orem, Utah 84058 Vol. 35, Issue 2 -August 4, 2014 Click <http://cougarclicks.com/product/Order-Cougar-Sportsline?ID=3173> Here To Order Or Renew Your Subscriptions We're way beyond regular receivers now. BYU's OFFENSE A "CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER" In the movie, Clear and Present Danger, Jack Ryan (Harrison Ford) asks one his subordinates, Petey (Greg Germann) to break into a colleagues' computer to expose some government hanky panky. Petey responds to the request by saying, "Well, I mean it's possible. I guess it would help if you told me whose system you wanted me to break into." Ryan leans closer and, without saying the word, mouths out "Ritter." Petey's eyes go wide for a moment. Ryan nods and Petey says, "Well.we're way beyond using birthdays for passwords now. I'm gonna have to write a special program here." After just two days of practice, like the movie character Petey, my eyes have gone wide. Here's the deal. If you have been around watching BYU football for almost three decades, you know that BYU made a living passing the ball. They did it with good quarterbacks and in most cases, ordinary possession type receivers. These were guys who could be counted on but were definitely not game breakers or changers. If you are having trouble visualizing what I'm talking about think Cutler, Drage, Boyce and Falsev among many others of the same type. Way Beyond. Well, ladies and gentlemen, BYU is now way beyond possession type receivers this season. Robert Anae and Guy Holliday, the Cougar receiver coach, have written an entirely new program for the passing game this year. It is written in codes that BYU's offense hasn't had in years: Speed and Game Breaking ability. If you want a flashback to what this looks like at BYU, go back in time to 2004. That was the year that Austin Collie was a true freshman and Todd Watkins was a juco transfer and John Beck was throwing them the ball. Brace yourself; BYU has a new Austin Collie/Todd Watkins duo. Jordan Leslie is the new Austin Collie and Nick Kurtz is the new Todd Watkins. Leslie is the transfer from UTEP that played for Guy Holliday for a couple of seasons in El Paso. He even wears the same number as Collie: #9. He is a playmaker and a go to guy. It has only been a couple of days in camp and he is consistently making plays. He is the real deal with real size at 6-3, 210 pounds. He is also the real deal as a person. I think I already passed this story on, but in case I didn't, here are a couple of interesting reads, especially because BYU won't allow interviews with new players in the program until after the first game of the season. Click <http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2011/columns/story?page=Butler-110618> here and click <http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-06-25/sports/ct-spt-0626-bulls-jimm y-butler-chicag20110625_1_wal-mart-family-values-kids-love> here. Kurtz is almost a clone of Watkins. They both played at Grossmont JC in San Diego and both have size and speed to get downfield and run under balls. Kurtz is 6-6, 205 and like Watkins has a gait that is so smooth that you don't notice his blazing speed. All you see is that he is behind the defensive backs deep down the field. Quack-Quack Devon Blackmon is the new quack-quack receiver for the Cougars. If he looks like a Duck, runs like a Duck and makes plays like a Duck, it must be Blackmon. In case you forgot, Blackmon started his college career as a Duck at Oregon. He looks like the type of athlete that Oregon recruits and signs. It is only two days into fall camp, but he can flat out run and catch the football. BYU has also come up with a re-run receiver for this fall camp. That would be Trey Dye, the 5-9, 175 scat back/receiver from Texas. The freshman has the right gene pool. That's because his father is the former Cougar punt return great and occasional receiver James Dye. Again for those whose Cougar football history goes back more than a couple of seasons, you should remember what a game changer Dye was. Since I am already foaming at the mouth, I will go ahead and say it: After just a couple of days of practice, the younger Dye looks like he will be a better athlete than his dad. He is good enough that he will certainly see the field this season as a true freshman. Keanu Nelson, the transfer from Stanford, is also a serious upgrade for the BYU receiving crew, but he will likely get lost in the talent shuffle that is currently on the field. If you want to know what kind of athletes these new receivers are, it says something that all four, Leslie, Blackmon, Dye and Nelson are all getting work on special teams as punt returners. Is Hill's Arm Good Enough? Now comes the tricky part of the equation in fall camp. Does BYU have a quarterback that can consistently get these guys the ball? That's code for is Taysom Hill a good enough passer to take advantage of the new speed and athleticism these new receivers bring to the table? The early answer is yes. After two days, he consistently can throw the deep ball to open guys who are behind the defense. The real test, however, will be how he performs when they go live in scrimmage and game situations. How will he throw it when he is being pressured by a pass rush? Which also begs the question, will the offensive line be improved enough to even give Hill a chance to prove he can deliver the ball deep in real game situations? Those answers will take another few days and actual scrimmages to determine. Right now, the BYU passing game looks spectacular in simulated 7-on-7 drills. I will hold my breath until they can deliver under actual scrimmage and game conditions. If they can do it then, my breath will be of the short panting type because of extreme excitement. It's a little disconcerting that unlike the passing game where BYU trotted out new faces and bodies in an effort to make improvements offensively, the offensive line appears to have been only reshuffled and reworked, but the faces and bodies are basically still the same. Hard Sell to Buy Right now the offensive coaches are saying that one year of experience will make this offensive line much, much better. That's a hard sell for me to buy. Until I actually see major improvement in game situations, this still looks like the same product, but just repackaged. I hope I am wrong on this. If I'm not, then this offense may have occasional moments of success, but this will not be the offense that will cause fans to drool and opposing defenses to dread without a much, much improved offensive line. Again, only more time in fall camp will tell. Right now, it's eyes wide open for me. For Bronco, his eyes are also probably wide open because he knows his window for a big year is closing quickly. Let's be real. For BYU to come up with a total upgrade in wide receivers like it has, the stars had to align for a once in a millennium deal. Mendenhall also knows that if Taysom Hill lives up to some of the preseason hype, he very easily could declare for the NFL draft after this season. That is why this year is a put the pedal to the metal year for BYU football. If a big year doesn't happen this season, when BYU has golden goose players and a pedestrian pigeon schedule, it may never happen for the Cougars. Missing Utah I hate the fact that Utah is not on the football schedule this season. I have been waiting for a decade for BYU to finally have receivers that can wreak havoc with Utah's proven and productive defensive scheme against the Cougars. The scheme is simple. Bring the safeties down in the box and take away the run game and bring the corners up in press coverage on BYU's receivers. Their defensive game plans of the last decade wouldn't work this year. In case you didn't pay attention, that plan would put their corners on the line of scrimmage and then have them grab and hold on every play. After awhile, officials get tired of calling a penalty on every down and it's carte blanche for the Utah secondary. Even if a BYU receiver cleared the line of scrimmage and was in the open, the Utes didn't need safeties over the top because their corners always had enough closing speed to get back in good coverage before BYU could get off the pass. This year with the speed BYU has on the outside with abilities to out athlete Utah, it would have been a fun game to watch and see how the Utes would respond and game plan for a Cougar team with legitimate speed and game breaking abilities. Culling the Herd In the dairy business, they call it culling the herd. It football, it's called transfers and medical releases, but it accomplishes the same thing. It thins the herd and allows for new bodies and blood to be added to the program. We detailed the new bodies at BYU that are in camp now. Here is a list of bodies that have gone bye-bye from BYU since last season. Ammon Olsen, QB, SUU Billy Green, QB, Weber State Khalil Bell, RB, Idaho State Jon-Ryheem Peoples, DL, Idaho State Iona Pritchard, RB, Oregon State Baker Pritchard, DL, Oregon State Drew Reilly, DB, Medical Release Brett Thompson, WR/TE, Medical Release Kevan Bills, DL/LB, Medical Release Riding Herd When I was younger and immature, I used to quip with friends that you could tell the talent level on BYU's football team by the number of Honor Code violations that were happening. The more they happened, the better the talent. Now that I'm older, but still immature, those days are long gone. Now you can tell the talent level by the number of Violations of Team Rules that are occurring. The latest, but not the last, is Jamaal Williams. The junior running back has been suspended from the season opening game against Connecticut because of a team indiscretion. He likely won't be the only suspension for the opener. My guess is you can look for at least one or maybe two other starters being suspended for the UConn game. Williams self announced his suspension on the first day of fall camp. BYU and Bronco Mendenhall had hoped to not make any announcement until game time. With Williams' second violation of team rules within a couple of months, he joins other talented running backs at BYU that also had Honor Code violations and validated my theory of talent relative to frequency of violations. Other very talented BYU running backs that had run-ins with the Honor Code include, Ronney Jenkins, Rey Braithwaite and Harvey Unga. To balance the scale with talented backs without violations, how about Luke Staley, Curtis Brown for starters? Because of his charismatic candor, Williams' admissions are readily accepted by the BYU fan base. It will be interesting to see the reaction of fans and especially Bronco Mendenhall if there is a third violation of team rules. Speaking of Violations.Watch this pre-camp video of BYU players eating at Bronco Mendenhall's home and lip syncing their way to You Tube fame. I'm sure you can find plenty of violations of the basic rules of dance and song, but it is still very entertaining stuff. Click <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSd99StGcKM> here to watch. Trusting the Trenches As exciting as it is to talk about the new found offensive firepower on BYU's roster and the proven defensive schemes of Bronco Mendenhall, the bottom line is that the Cougars will only be as good as the guys in the trenches on both sides of the ball. On the offensive side of the ball here are the 10 players that will make or break this season: Ului Lapuaho, Edward Fusi, De'Ondre Wesley, Michael Yeck, Tuni Kanuch, Terrance Alletto, Kyle Johnson, Brock Stringham, Brayden Kearsley and Ryker Mathews Two that have their spots locked up are Fusi at center and Wesley at left tackle. Everything else will shake out during fall camp. Offensive line coach Garett Tujague say he wants 8-9 players that earn a spot on the plane and traveling squad. If they do that he says he will play them. We shall see how this all plays out in the next few weeks. One thing that is a given, is that if the offensive line isn't good, it can't be hidden. On the defensive side of the ball, the numbers aren't as plentiful, but they are proven. BYU returns Graham Rowley, Travis Tuiloma and Remington Peck up front. They will be backed up by Kesni Tausinga and Marques Johnson at nose and a bunch of current no names who hope to make their names recognizable this fall as back ups to Rowley and Peck. Here are those names: LoganTaele, Tomasi Laulile and Theodore King. If you are worried about a pass rush, all of the guys listed above are block eaters. The defensive scheme will feature the pass rush coming from the outside from Bronson Kaufusi and Alani Fua. Again, it's not glamorous or fun to watch, but if you get a chance check out these two fronts at the public scrimmage set for Friday, Aug. 15. Their play or lack of it will tell you all you need to know about this year's prospect for success or lack of it. NFL Names with BYU Backgrounds Here are the BYU alums that are still on NFL rosters as of last week. Ezekiel Ansah.Detroit Lions John Denney.Miami Dolphins Hebron Fangupo.Pittsburgh Steelers Cody Hoffman.Washington Redskins Eathyn Manumaleuna.New England Patriots Dennis Pitta.Baltimore Ravens Dallas Reynolds.New York Giants Vic So'oto.Pittsburgh Steelers Daniel Sorenson.Kansas City Chiefs Kyle Van Noy.Detroit Lions * Brett Keisel.He is a free agent and would get $1 million on the veteran pay scale. Pittsburgh is showing interest in bringing him back before the season starts. Detroit has also shown interest. 2014 BYU Football Schedule Connecticut.Friday, August 29 at East Hartford.ESPN, 5:00 pm MDT Texas.Saturday, September 6 at Austin.Fox Sports 1, 5:30 pm MDT Houston.Thursday, September 11 at Provo.ESPN, 7:00 pm MDT Virginia.Saturday, September 20 at Provo...TV TBA Utah State.Friday, October 3 at Provo.ESPN, 8:15 pm MDT Central Florida.Thursday, October 9 at Orlando.ESPN, 5:30 MDT Nevada.Saturday, October 18 at Provo.TV TBA Boise State.Friday, October 24, at Boise.ESPN or ESPN2, 7:00 pm MDT Middle Tennessee.Saturday, November 1 at Murfreesboro.CBS Sports Network, 1:30 pm MDT BYE.Saturday, November 8 UNLV.Saturday, November 15 at Provo.TV TBA Savannah State.Saturday, November 22 at Provo.BYUtv, 1:00 pm MST California.Saturday, November 29 at Berkeley.TV TBA (most likely Pac 12 Network
