jgrantr wrote:

Khinkaid wrote:

We are loosing 2 of our 3 defensive line starters next year in Manumaleuna and Dulan to missions. However, Tialavea should be back and ready to play and I heard a rumor that Matagni Tonga will be enrolling back at BYU in January. Add to this the DT from Snow and other guys already on the team getting some experience and we should be fine again on the DL.

To expand on what you said, of all the positions on the team, DL is the easiest for us to re-load. Just look at the last two years. Significant contributions have been required and made by freshman or redshirt freshman(Fuga, Tonga, Tialavea, Jorgenson, Dulan in '06 and Manamaleuna and Wolfley in 2007). We will have 4 contributors/starters back in Brett Denney (end), Jan Jorgenson (end), Russell Tialevea (NT), and Rick Wolfley (NT). With the guys we have coming in, we should be able to find some another good end or two, plus (as already mentioned) our 4-star tackle from Snow and we should be able to rotate 8-9 guys on the DL.

Don't forget Lukenga on DL as well. If he wasn't hurt/redshirting he'd be contributing this year. They'll be stacked at DL next year (which is nice for a change)

What about the secondary? Buchanon, Criddle, Saulsberry, Gooch, and Hodgkiss all graduate. That leaves Brandon Howard and a lot of unknowns. I have heard Kellen Fowler should fit in nicely at safety, but I have no idea who will work their way beside him and Howard. Brandon Bradley hasn't proven anything as of late, G Pittman looked decent in practice but we will likely have some huge holes to fill.

Anyone have anything to add?

And Magnum Mauga. I'm even more excited about him than I am about Hola. We should be pretty stacked at DL next year with a healthy mix of talent and experience.

LB will be just fine too. Lots of talent at the position and the only two seniors we'll lose is Kehl and Bolden. Oh, and Poppinga and Staff I guess. OK, maybe we won't have quite as productive of a LB unit next year but the defense will still be good enough to go undefeated with the offense we'll have next year, the upcoming talent we have in the secondary and the likes of Nixon, Doman, Hooks, Bauman, Nelson, Wagner, Jorgensen (mission??), etc.

Secondary is loaded with talent albeit inexperienced talent but inexperience has yet to be a real detriment to our defense due to how well our coaches prepare these guys. I give you Tialavea, Dulan, Jorgensen, Manumaleuna, Wolfley all as examples from the DL. Criddle had never taken a D1 rep before before he was a starter and Nixon was good enough to be a starter after limited PT as a freshman and a two year hiatus... I'm not at all concerned with inexperience with the likes of guys like Howard, Fowler, Tafuna, Bradley, Pendleton, Pittman, Brooks, Johnson, possibly Gabriel.

Our offense will make huge strides this offseason and the defense might not be quite as productive next year but good enough to hold the other team to fewer points than Hall and the boys can rack up. But it's '09 that's got me really excited... That defense and that offense could be the greatest combination on both sides of the ball we have ever seen and should really be something special to watch.

Buckshot wrote:

What about the secondary? Buchanon, Criddle, Saulsberry, Gooch, and Hodgkiss all graduate. That leaves Brandon Howard and a lot of unknowns. I have heard Kellen Fowler should fit in nicely at safety, but I have no idea who will work their way beside him and Howard. Brandon Bradley hasn't proven anything as of late, G Pittman looked decent in practice but we will likely have some huge holes to fill.

Anyone have anything to add?

Kellen Fowler is rumored to be the "smartest" of the safeties as far as football, which is a great attribute for a safety as they call plays on defense. Tafuna will be back and he was the back up to both Gabriel and Gooch before getting injured. That's two seniors at safety.

Next year's corners have the added benefit of playing under Hill for a season or two and we shouldn't see any drop-off. G Pittman is said to be close to 6 feet and gained some weight and is lightning fast. He has a great chance to play next season. Bradley is only a freshman this year and has great size too. Brannon Brooks will be RS Freshman, Howard is getting some play time and will only be a sophomore, Scott Johnson played very well in fall camp and will be a junior. The list just goes on and on (Steven Thomas, Chris Warner.)

I noticed that Gabriel is still on the roster, they may be able to get him back IF he want to.

Thanks for the info Peter. Scott Johnson played great in the Spring and Fall camps. Hopefully some of our younger athletes will be game ready sooner thanks to Coach Hill.

He is making an impact (literally) on special teams, the best way to get on the coaches good side. He has made 8 tackles in 6 games and a force fumble.