Photo: Albert Cesare – oanow.com
Leading up to Fall Camp at the end of the month, here at Lawless Republic we will be giving you a daily glimpse at the signees and return missionaries that will be part of the 2014 BYU Football team.
Jaterrius Gulley
Hoover, Al; Hoover High School
6-3, 325
Before BYU: Jaterrius Gulley was a late find in the recruiting cycle for BYU after being relatively overlooked by many programs in SEC country. Schools that offered him scholarships include Troy, Southern Miss, Memphis and Hawaii. He also received recruiting interest from Auburn and Mississippi State.
Gulley started for the back-to-back Alabama 6A State Champion Hoover Buccaneers as a junior and senior. Hoover is a national High School powerhouse, which shows just how talented Gulley is to be able to start for two years along the D-Line. Gulley played in a 4-3 defense at Hoover, but his skill set seems that it would translate to BYU.
Looking at his highlights, he takes up a lot of space and often requires double teams, which enables his linebackers to roam around and make plays. Gulley also uses his brute strength fight off those double and sometimes even triple teams to get in the backfield and find the ball carrier. His awareness is very impressive, as he consistently seen around the ball carrier and not thrown off by play action fakes.
Expectations in 2014: Rotational Player/Redshirt
With BYU’s Go Fast Go Hard offense, BYU’s defense will naturally see the field a lot. BYU will have to rotate a lot of bodies along the defensive line, and Gulley will definitely factor into the mix. While a redshirt year may be ideal, Bronco has been less keen on handing out redshirts in recent years. Don’t be surprised to see Gulley get some playing time as the season goes along.
Potential in BYU career: High
Based on his size alone, Gulley has a high ceiling. You don’t see many 18 year olds with that size. To put his size into perspective, Romney Fuga measured 6-1, 318 at the NFL combine. Dude is huge. As he learns under Defensive Line coach Steve Kaufusi and Coach Mendenhall, I expect Gulley to be seeing starting time at the all-important Nose Tackle spot his junior and senior years.
Gulley is a very exciting and intriguing prospect for BYU. Rarely do you see non-LDS players from the south come to Provo. Hopefully his performance and overall experience at BYU will create more recruiting opportunities in the south down the road.