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Daily Herald Sports Editor and BYU beat writer Darnell Dickson ranks the position battles for fall camp.
10. Tight End
The 1-2 combo of juniors Dennis Pitta and Andrew George could be one of BYU's best. Redshirt freshman Kanaukua Friel will have to wait his turn.
9. Quarterback
Junior Max Hall is the man. Junior Brenden Gaskins served as the backup last season but junior Kurt McEuen is also in the running.
8. Safety
It would appear seniors David Tafuna and Kellen Fowler have the starting spots locked up. JC transfer Andrew Rich and talented redshirt freshman Jordan Pendleton will push for playing time.
7. Offensive Line
Four starters return and junior Tom Sorensen is firmly entrenched at center. So what to watch here? Senior guard Travis Bright is coming off a broken leg suffered in the Las Vegas Bowl and missed all of spring ball. Could be a spot for talented freshman Matt Reynolds to get some reps.
6. Wide Receiver
Senior Michael Reed and junior Austin Collie are locks, but who will be the third receiver? Lots of candidates, including impressive sophomore RM Luke Ashworth and talented freshman RM Spencer Hafoka.
5. Defensive Line
There's good depth at the nose tackle spot, especially since Russell Tialavea appears to have recovered from his season-ending injury of 2007. BYU's two starting ends -- juniors Jan Jorgensen and Ian Dulan -- will be backed up by Brett Denney.
4. Running Back
Certainly sophomore Harvey Unga and senior Fui Vakapuna will get the bulk of the carries in 2008. But the loss of Manase Tonga to academics leaves a third option open for someone like redshirt freshman J.J. DiLuigi or junior Wayne Latu.
3. Linebacker
Only one starter returns in senior outside linebacker David Nixon. But Bronco Mendenhall worked a lot of bodies into the game last year so juniors Matt Bauman and Shawn Doman have decent experience. Junior Vic So'oto, who moved over from tight end in spring, needs more reps but could be very good.
2. Special Teams
The kicking battle should be good with incumbent Mitch Payne, a sophomore, trying to hold back super freshman Justin Sorensen. Kickoffs were a weak point last year, and Sorensen has a huge leg.
1. Cornerback
This spot will be a battle between four players -- Junior Brandon Howard and redshirt freshman G Pittman at field corner and junior Scott Johnson and sophomore Brandon Bradley at boundary corner. All four will get their shot to show the coaches what they can do during fall camp. |
