If all of those things happen the consequent will be 13-0.

McGregor, as always, your information and posts are a must read.

I am sure you didn't mean to leave them out, but we got Tialavea coming back, as well as Nixon. The DL and LBs will be just fine and to hear you speak so glowingly of the DBs who will be playing 2008 makes it sound like the defense will truly be better than it has the past 3 seasons. You get a couple of lock down corners, or even at least one lock down and another very good corner, then the front seven can have a field day harassing the QB and shutting down the run.

I know DiLuigi is supposed to be special. I was watching a repeat of one of Air Force's games and most noticeably, I was paying attention to Chad Hall. Is it too much to think DiLuigi could do what Hall did? Perhaps not his first full season, but at some point during his career? I noticed Hall had better moves and shiftiness than I remembered, something I think DiLuigi adds, though Unga does well enough.

Further, what about Latu? With Unga established, DiLuigi coming on, and the next round of stellar RBs in this recruiting class, when will we see Latu, if ever?

Weber will have had a full year to work with the OL. Can he teach the old dogs new tricks with the stable of runners BYU now has? I know it's been said before, that BYU recruits pass blockers, not run blockers, but with the speed we are seeing on many DLs, don't we need run blockers who can run block instead? Meaning, we need athletic ability and quickness to counter the speed the new breed of DLs now have?!!!

Both Anae and Bronco are entering their senior seasons in their respective positions. Anae has a QB with a year's performance behind him and did wel enough to be 1st team all conference. The talent around the QB is returning as well, so I agree with you that this next season he should be able to open up the play book more and use more deception. Bronco has been a very quick learner for head coaches. I would say that BYU's talent has been slightly above average for the MWC, yet he's turned that talent into the BEST TEAM without qualification in just 3 years. Now that he knows more, learns from his mistakes, anything but BCS would be a let down next season.

Just an aside and forgive me for bringing it up, but Urban Meyer was in his 6th season as a HC when he won the NC last year. I know he coached at 3 different schools, but the nature of college football is that players are only around for a couple of years and usually only play 2-3 seasons at most. What I am getting at is coaching at three different schools is not much different than coaching at one when you get right down to it. (There are obvious differences, but I am ignoring them for now.) So, Bronco has done a remarkable job at BYU and his ultimate goal to compete for and win a NC is obtainable. I've visited other cougar boards that think it's impossible for a non-BCS school to win a NC and I understand why, but I think BYU is unique to other non-BCS programs since it has won a title before and had a history of success over the past 30 years. I believe he's actually ahead of his timetable to win a title. It took Edwards 10 years to win one. I really think BYU will be in the mix if not in 2008, certainly in 2009. Of course, Edwards thought it was his 1985 team that would actually compete for the title, not his 1984 team!!! If only history repeats for BYU!!!

I hope that last paragraph made sense, but Faulkner made a career out of such ramblings.

McGregor, thanks again for your insights. I look forward to your answers.

CP

CougarPeasant wrote:

I am sure you didn't mean to leave them out, but we got Tialavea coming back, as well as Nixon. The DL and LBs will be just fine and to hear you speak so glowingly of the DBs who will be playing 2008 makes it sound like the defense will truly be better than it has the past 3 seasons. You get a couple of lock down corners, or even at least one lock down and another very good corner, then the front seven can have a field day harassing the QB and shutting down the run.

1) I don't know if Tia will be 100% by fall. His injury was significant. But I think Foketi, among others, or perhaps a new recruit like Mauga, will fill in just fine.

2) Yes, Nixon will come back. I hope he works on his technique. I'm concerned that against quick and strong TE's and OT's he does not break free fast enough.

3) The thing that will save us next year are two great corners. We need to be able to stack the box with little worry. This will prove true against Washington's Jake Locker. We need to contain him. That's hard to do, but not nearly as hard when you have corners that can both play man coverage.

CougarPeasant wrote:

I know DiLuigi is supposed to be special. I was watching a repeat of one of Air Force's games and most noticeably, I was paying attention to Chad Hall. Is it too much to think DiLuigi could do what Hall did? Perhaps not his first full season, but at some point during his career? I noticed Hall had better moves and shiftiness than I remembered, something I think DiLuigi adds, though Unga does well enough.

Further, what about Latu? With Unga established, DiLuigi coming on, and the next round of stellar RBs in this recruiting class, when will we see Latu, if ever?

That same comparison--Hall to DiLuigi--has crossed my mind. I'm hoping that DiLuigi develops into a similar role.

Forget about Latu.

CougarPeasant wrote:

Weber will have had a full year to work with the OL. Can he teach the old dogs new tricks with the stable of runners BYU now has? I know it's been said before, that BYU recruits pass blockers, not run blockers, but with the speed we are seeing on many DLs, don't we need run blockers who can run block instead? Meaning, we need athletic ability and quickness to counter the speed the new breed of DLs now have?!!!

First, you make a great point: BYU recruits pass blockers. I hope people understand this. We will NEVER be a Georgia or run the stretch. That's not our identity.

Bronco wants our pass blockers to enhance their run blocking in order to keep us from being one-deminsional. That means getting our pass blockers to be able to run block when necessary.

So, Cougar fans should always expect that, until we recruit a Jamal Charles, we will never see a 300 yard rushing game against a BCS team (at least not this decade).

Weber was brought in to make a minor adjustment. He still needs one more off-season to do it.



Another point--Size does make up A LITTLE for lack of speed. It's just simple geometry: It's takes less time to get around a 280 lb OL than a 320 lb one. I think we will look to trim a few lbs on our OL in order to get a little quicker, but I don't expect an identity change.

CougarPeasant wrote:

Just an aside and forgive me for bringing it up, but Urban Meyer was in his 6th season as a HC when he won the NC last year. I know he coached at 3 different schools, but the nature of college football is that players are only around for a couple of years and usually only play 2-3 seasons at most. What I am getting at is coaching at three different schools is not much different than coaching at one when you get right down to it. (There are obvious differences, but I am ignoring them for now.) So, Bronco has done a remarkable job at BYU and his ultimate goal to compete for and win a NC is obtainable. I've visited other cougar boards that think it's impossible for a non-BCS school to win a NC and I understand why, but I think BYU is unique to other non-BCS programs since it has won a title before and had a history of success over the past 30 years. I believe he's actually ahead of his timetable to win a title. It took Edwards 10 years to win one. I really think BYU will be in the mix if not in 2008, certainly in 2009. Of course, Edwards thought it was his 1985 team that would actually compete for the title, not his 1984 team!!! If only history repeats for BYU!!!

I think Urban's circumstances were much different than Bronco's. In his last to moves he walked into excellent recruiting classes. Bronco has had to build from the ground up.

I disagree with the many Cougar fans that feel a NC is out of reach. to the contrary, it's imaginable for the 2009 season.

2008 is too soon. Our best hope is to bust the BCS. A win in a 2008 BCS bowl would give us the publicity, and preseason ranking, we need to contend for a NC should we go undefeated the next year (2009). The key would be the communication to the voting media that the playmakers on the 2008 BCS-crashing team were juniors (or younger). I think this would set us up nicely. It would also help for the USC's of the world to lose, too.