BYU Football: The future was on display against Hawaii

The box score for BYU Football’s dominating win over Hawaii was littered with underclassmen, and that’s a very good sign for the Cougars’ future.

There’s a youth movement going on in Provo right now.

Of course, the high-profile story over the weekend was the first start for freshman quarterback Zach Wilson, and he performed admirably. He completed two-thirds of his passes for 194 yards and three touchdowns, with one interception.

Youth Movement

But Wilson was far from the only youngster to shine in the blowout win over Hawaii. Let’s look at a few of BYU’s seven touchdowns:

• A 12-yard touchdown run by freshman running back Lopini Katoa.
• A 23-yard touchdown run by Wilson.
• A 13-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to freshman tight end Dallin Holker.
• A 26-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to freshman wideout Gunner Romney.

That’s right, four of the Cougars’ seven touchdowns were scored by freshmen. Five if you count Wilson’s part in his other TD pass to Aleva Hifo.

And that’s not all. Eight more underclassmen saw significant action on the offensive side of the ball:

• Freshman wideout Dax Milne
• Sophomore tight end Matt Bushman
• Freshman tackle Brady Christensen
• Sophomore tackle Kieffer Longson
• Freshman guard Keanu Saleapaga
• Sophomore guard Tristen Hoge
• Sophomore guard Chandon Herring
• Freshman center James Empey

You could literally put an entire offense on the field comprised of underclassmen that contributed on Saturday night, and still have one offensive lineman left over.

How about the defense?

You could almost field 11 underclassmen among the contributors:

• Sophomore defensive end Uriah Leiataua
• Freshman defensive end Devin Kaufusi
• Sophomore defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga
• Sophomore defensive tackle Bracken El-Bakri
• Sophomore defensive tackle Zac Dawe
• Freshman defensive tackle Lorenzo Fauatea
• Sophomore linebacker Isaiah Kaufusi
• Freshman defensive back Isaiah Herron
• Freshman defensive back D’Angelo Mandell

Add in freshman kicker Skyler Southam and freshman punter Danny Jones, and you begin to get the picture.

The Long Game

This is a young team that’s learning on the job.

And that’s not a bad thing if you look at the long run. These young players are getting early playing time, which (in theory) should help them progress more rapidly over the next 2-3 years.

With all of these players growing up together, so to speak, BYU should show gradual but marked improvement throughout the rest of the decade. That is, of course, if the coaching staff can cultivate individual growth.

And it’s good that they’re getting that experience now. Throughout the rest of the season they’ll face still face some competition at Boise State and Utah, but also have some games, like the Hawaii one, that let them work out their youthful mistakes.

Better Now Than Later

Just imagine if the majority of the freshman playing now didn’t get significant playing time until the beginning of next season, especially Zach Wilson. They’d be learning on the fly against a season-opening gauntlet of Utah, Tennessee, USC, and Washington.

And we thought the opening to this season was brutal.

But instead, Wilson and the rest of the underclassmen are learning the ropes against teams like Hawaii, Northern Illinois, UMass, and New Mexico State.

That means there will be ups and downs as they learn. They’ll make mistakes, and the Cougars may still drop a game or two they shouldn’t.

But hey, this season has already had its fair share of ups and downs. Bring on a few more.

This rollercoaster should lead into a fun ride heading into the future.