BYU football: Cougars are experienced in all the right positions
BYU football is about to start fall camp which means that (mercifully) college football season is almost here.
It seems like it was forever ago that Kai Nacua was sealing a Cougar win over Wyoming in the Poinsettia Bowl back in December.
But at along last, BYU football is back.
This season brings a lot of opportunities to Kalani Sitake and his team. Big wins over P5 opponents could get national spotlights on the Cougars. National attention and success opens up your recruiting pool.
Luckily for BYU football, it has experienced players in all the right spots.
The differences between college and pro football are abundant. But one of the biggest is the need for experience. A team full of upperclassmen in college is always dangerous. In the NFL, experience isn’t as necessary to be successful.
BYU football has experienced players along the offensive line, at linebacker and at quarterback.
That bodes well for the Cougars.
Offense
BYU football’s offensive line, bolstered by seniors Tejan Koroma, Tuni Kanuch and Keyan Norman and sophomore Thomas Shoaf is in excellent shape. As pointed out by Mitch Harper at Athlon Sports, the Cougars have 80 combined starts up front.
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Regardless of who ends up at the right tackle spot, the Cougars will be featuring an offensive line that is one of the best in the west. They’ll be able to go toe-to-to with anyone.
The player the big uglies will be protecting, Tanner Mangum, has a plethora of experience as well.
Mangum has played in 18 games, which isn’t a ton. However, he’s spent an entire year getting meaningful practice reps in Ty Detmer‘s offense. His lone start last season shouldn’t be held against him. I couldn’t tie my shoes in the typhoon he played in, let alone throw the ball.
Defense
Finally, the Cougars have experience at linebacker. Often called the quarterback of the defense, the linebackers call the defense and often provide the most dynamic plays.
BYU football has plenty of depth at the position, but the starters are some of the very best in the nation. Butch Pau’u, Fred Warner and Francis Bernard are all excellent in both run and pass coverage.
In fact, the trio combined (despite missing time) for nearly 250 tackles last season. They’re going to lead a talented defense this season and help make big things happen in Provo.