BYU Football: State Of The Program Review

The 2014 football season is officially over. Okay, it’s been over since December but now that National Signing Day is in the books we can officially start looking forward to this season instead of next season. We have a pretty good idea who that coaches are going to be and what the roster will look like. So, let’s take a look at 2014 and start to focus on where BYU is this year and where they will be in the future.

2014 In Review

Everyone knows what happened. BYU was undefeated and riding high until Utah State travelled to Provo and beat the Cougars 35-20. Not only did that game derail the aspirations for an undefeated season it also ended Taysom Hill’s season. Hill went down with a broken ankle and had season ending surgery the day after the game.

From there, BYU struggled. Consecutive losses to Utah State, UCF, Nevada and Boise State started to raise uncertainty amongst fans about the capabilities of Defensive Coordinator Nick Howell and the long term future of Bronco Mendenhall. Injuries to the likes of Craig Bills, Alani Fua, Jamaal Williams and many others piled up and the losses in the month of October put the nail in the coffin. BYU’s was destined for another mediocre season.

Nov 29, 2014; Berkeley, CA, USA; Brigham Young Cougars wide receiver Terenn Houk (11) carries the ball against the California Golden Bears during the third quarter at Memorial Stadium. The Brigham Young Cougars defeated the California Golden Bears 42-35. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Backup Quarterback Christian Stewart played well in relief of Hill. Stewart’s play was impressive when you consider how few reps he had up to that point in his career. Stewart’s play was even more impressive when you consider how close he was from walking away from the game of football after last season. He is more athletic than he gets credit for but he is not even on the same planet as Taysom Hill. The offensive coaches, however, were able to quickly adapt the offensive game plan to match Stewart’s strengths and BYU went onto to finish the month of November with a four game win streak. The regular season finale was capped off with a win over Cal on the road and momentum was high.

Then came the Miami Beach Bowl. The game felt like a microcosm of the entire season and BYU eventually fell to the Memphis Tigers. The offense played very well and Stewart had an excellent game. The defense, however, gave up a season high 55 points and eventually the team lost by a touchdown in double overtime, 55-48. Good offense and terrible defense was a theme throughout the year. Even in September when BYU was on a win streak it was still noticeable that this defense was not in the same league as the defenses of the last few years.

After the Miami Beach Bowl was over, the fireworks began. Freshman Tejan Koroma was hit by a couple of Memphis players after what appeared to be an exchange of a few heated words. BYU players jumped to Koroma’s defense and from there it spiraled out of control before being highlighted by a cheap shot from behind from Cougar safety Kai

Dec 22, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; Brigham Young Cougars quarterback Christian Stewart (7) throws a pass against the Memphis Tigers during the third quarter in the Miami Beach Bowl at Marlins Park. Memphis won 55-48 in a double overtime. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Nacua. It may have been necessary to protect the teammate and you could argue all day long about who started the fight, but in the end, that’s irrelevant. It was ugly. It was embarrassing and it was caught on national TV.

Shortly after the season ended, longtime Oregon State Head Coach Mike Riley announced that he was Corvallis to take the head coach position at Nebraska. Immediately, rumors started flying that Bronco Mendenhall would be a lead candidate to take over for Riley at his alma mater. That wasn’t the only coaching rumor that surfaced over the next few months. Multiple media outlets reported that Utah Head Coach Kyle Whittingham’s days were all-but-over at Utah and some felt that he could replace Mendenhall at BYU. Rumors flew and speculation was everywhere you turned, but ultimately, Mendenhall stayed at BYU and Whittingham, obviously, never came. Not only did Mendenhall stay the head coach at BYU, he also announced that he would be taking over the defensive coordinator responsibilities as well.

National Signing Day came and BYU finished strong. They missed of a handful of in-state prospects that chose bigger programs out of state over BYU, but they still finished with a really good recruiting class. The day after National Signing Day, Recruiting Coordinator Geoff Martzen announced that he was leaving BYU to accept the same position at Colorado State.

2014 (and the first couple months of 2015) was a year full of drama, rumors and disappointment for most BYU fans. It was not fun to watch football during the month of October and, to rub salt in BYU fan’s wounds, our friends to the north had a successful season in the PAC-12. Star players were injured, losses mounted, conference invitations never came, brawls were started and it seemed like it took everything BYU had just to get through the season.

Now, that’s not to say it was all negative. BYU beat the Longhorns of Texas in convincing fashion in Austin early in the season. That win, combined with a similar smack down of Texas in 2013, paid dividends in BYU’s 2015 recruiting class. Six non-LDS players signed with BYU, including the talented Charles West. BYU finished the regular season with a win over a Cal team that is on the rise. The offensive staff proved that they have the ability to adapt this offense to much more than just a quarterback option offense. This was great news for BYU fans as we anxiously await the return of highly touted gunslinger Tanner Mangum from his mission. Recruiting in roads and success in places that BYU doesn’t normally see success in combined with the return of Mangum paint a bright future for BYU football.

More from Lawless Republic

The more immediate future also looks positive for BYU. Recently, the ACC changed their decision regarding BYU’s “Power 5 status” to satisfy their scheduling requirements. The conference will now consider BYU to be a Power-5 school where they had originally stated that they would not. BYU announced two impressive home-and-home series with Michigan State and Missouri.

What Today Looks Like

Today BYU has a better outlook than many thought they would in October. The recruiting class finished strong and a crop of returned missionaries are looking to join the team for this season and will have many changes to make impact. BYU returns Taysom Hill and Jamaal Williams. Nick Kurtz is back from injury. Fred Warner looks to build off the momentum he finished his freshman campaign with and there are many other returning starters in 2015.

The schedule won’t do BYU any favors. BYU opens at Nebraska, and then has Boise State at home before travelling to UCLA and Michigan. Though I don’t think it will play out this way, it’s very possible that BYU opens up the season at 0-4. They will be playing four very talented teams. After September, the schedule eases a bit but it certainly isn’t a cake walk. Teams like East Carolina, Cincinnati, Utah State and a ‘neutral’ game against Missouri will still provide great challenges for the Cougars.

Oct 9, 2014; Orlando, FL, USA; Brigham Young Cougars linebacker Sione Takitaki (53) comes up with a fumble late in the second quarter against the UCF Knights at Bright House Networks Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Manning-USA TODAY Sports

The roster situation looks good, but there are certainly some question marks. On offensive, one has to be concerned about the health of Hill. So far, two of his three football seasons at BYU have ended with season ending injuries that left him sidelined for multiple months. The depth at quarterback in 2015 (Mangum, Hoge) is unquestionably more talented than it was in 2014 (Stewart, cross your fingers Stewart doesn’t go down) but it is just as inexperienced. Mangum is an exceptional talent, but has not played a football game since his final season of high school football that ended at the Under Armour All-American came in January of 2012. That’s nearly four years since he last played competitive football. Rust will certainly be a factor. Beau Hoge has a similar skill set to that of Hill, but he was playing wide receiver his junior of high school and didn’t switch over to quarterback until he was a senior. Again, great talent, but lots of inexperience.

The running back position looks strong but Jamaal Williams’ recovery from knee surgery will determine whether or not BYU fans should be comfortable. Algie Brown and Adam Hine also have experience and will be ready should Williams still be recovering come September. Freshman Charles West also looks to make an impact.

BYU loses Jordan Leslie but will return Nick Kurtz. Mitch Matthews returns, Mitchell Juergens looks to build off his solid campaign and freshman like Josh Weeks, Talon Shumway, Akile Davis and Micah Simon will vie for early reps. The tight end position as BYU fans know it virtually dies with the graduation of Devin Mahina, but the flex tight end will still be held down by the talented Terren Houk. It’s different than what BYU fans are used to, but it can still be effective and Houk is a good option.

More from BYU Football

The offensive line returns the starters (DeOndre Wesley started many games for BYU last year and he will be out, but the rest are back) and appears to be more solid than BYU has had in the past. Depth behind the starters is a question. BYU signed a handful of freshman that will have the chance to make an impact.

Overall, the offense looks to be in pretty good shape.

The defense has a few more question marks and it starts with the defensive secondary. Jordan Johnson, Craig Bills and Robertson Daniel have all graduated. Dallin Leavitt and Trent Trammel transferred. Kai Nacua may or may not have a suspension to face due to his role in the brawl after the Miami Beach Bowl. There are a lot of holes that must be filled in the secondary. Jordan Preator and Michael Davis both saw significant time, but both have their glaring weaknesses. Freshman Dayan Lake is one of the highest rated defensive backs that BYU has ever recruited and he will certainly make an impact. Snow College transfer Eric Takenaka will be favored to start at one of the safety positions. There are a handful of others that signed as part of this recruiting class and are returning from missions that will also be given opportunities to play. The names in BYU’s secondary will be very different this year than in the last few years.

At linebacker, BYU has some holes. Throughout the entire year there was not a pair of inside linebackers that really stood out as the best options on the team. Manoa Pikula, Harvey Langi, Teu Kautai and Jherremya Leuta-Douyere all saw reps and had some bright moments, but didn’t solidify themselves to be ‘the guys’. Those four and guys like Austin Heder will duke it out all offseason and hopefully one or two step up. On the outside, BYU linebackers look very nice. Fred Warner, Sione Takitaki, Troy Hinds and Sae Tautu look like a great foundation. There are a lot of other outside linebackers that could make an impact this year as well.

Sep 20, 2014; Provo, UT, USA; Virginia Cavaliers safety Anthony Harris (8) tackles Brigham Young Cougars quarterback Taysom Hill (4) during the first half at Lavell Edwards Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

The defensive line looks about the same as it did last year. Graham Rowley, Travis Tuiloma and hopefully new-old defensive end Bronson Kaufusi are the names to remember. Guys like Remington Peck, Moses Kaumutele and Isaiah Nacua will certainly push hard for playing time. The line may be the brightest spot of the defense.

Coach Mendenhall back under control on defense makes me wildly optimistic. His defensive track record speaks for itself. He’s an elite-level coordinator and the defense will definitely improve this season. The talent was there last year but the execution lacked. It’s hard to question Mendenhall’s track record. BYU may not have a top defense but will definitely be better than last year.

There is a lot of inexperience on the current BYU roster, but there is a lot of talent and reason to believe that BYU is going to look really good.

So, Now What?

Now, we wait and see. It’s far, far too early to start making game predictions, but I do think that BYU is going to surprise some people and win some games that they probably shouldn’t. (Nebraska, I’ll call that win right now). There simply is too much talent on this team not to put it all together a few times and look really good. But, there are holes and there is a lot of inexperience. I think that ultimately that inexperience will cost them a game or two this year. That Cincinatti game looks really tough to me.

The more immediate future needs to feature a replacement for Geoff Martzen soon. Recruiting never sleeps. BYU is out recruiting this 2016 class right now, but they need to get that Recruiting Director in place. If they choose to go internally, Brandon Bradley and Preston Hadley are two great options. If they look externally then there are some really compelling names as well. Whatever happens will hopefully happen quickly.

Oct 3, 2014; Provo, UT, USA; Brigham Young Cougars head coach Bronco Mendenhall enters the field prior to the game against the Utah State Aggies at Lavell Edwards Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

The distant future looks bright under the direction of new Strength and Conditioning Coach Frank Wintrich. If you have not heard an interview with him yet, you need to. He makes me want to run through a wall. I think we will see improvement in the health and strength of BYU players are early as this season and will see huge improvements over the next couple of years.

BYU basketball announced that they will be receiving a number of new upgrades and I can only hope that BYU football is next on the list. The weight room and the stadium are long overdue for an upgrade. New facilities will help recruiting. That’s just the way that it works now days. Hopefully we hear something regarding upgrades soon.

BYU has future games against LSU, Mizzou, Cal, Stanford, USC, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Arizona State, Arizona, Utah and potentially Ole Miss (thanks for that news, Bronco) lined up for the future. The Cougars are doing everything they can to be as close to a Power-5 schools as they possibly can be. That bodes extremely well for the future of BYU football.

So, in summary, BYU football has some knocks and bruises that they are recovering from this year, but overall, they are sitting in a really good position. A few big wins this season could work wonders for BYU in the future but it’s going to be tough to do with this schedule. I like BYU’s chances to be more exciting and more entertaining next season but it is hard to envision that win-loss record will be much better.

One thing that we know for sure is that BYU football is going to be a lot of fun to follow over the next year or two.

Home/BYU Football