BYU fan coming in peace

[BYUfan35]

I posted this originally to the USF 247 page but it looks like this board gets much more traffic. I posted below a preview of the BYU team, I’d love to hear more about your Bulls team! 
 

This has been the most hyped BYU team coming into a season in over a decade. After a 10-3 season that included 6 P5 wins and a ranked finish, BYU returns more production than anyone in CFB (per ESPN). That returning production on offense includes our Quarterback, our 2 best WRs, our 3 best TEs, and what likely will be our best Offensive Line in school history. On defense we return basically our whole squad. 

Players to look out for on offense for BYU:

- Jaren Hall (#3 QB) – He didn’t play against you guys in 2021, but did in 2019 where he was injured and USF came back to win afterwards. He may be our fastest offensive player, and he’s a great passer. I’ve never seen a QB at BYU besides Zach complete such a high % of his deep shots. Maybe his only knock is that he struggles seeing the middle of the field, and as a result our TEs were less of an impact in 2021 than they were in 2020. 

- Chris Brooks (#2 RB) – Cal transfer, coaches have been raving about him this off season. He’s a power back with great receiving skills as well. We still don’t know just how good he’ll be, but he should still be a formidable back. We don’t expect him to match Allgeier’s production.

- Puka Nacua (#12 WR) – Such a great route runner, and he’s incredibly strong. He breaks tackles, catches jump balls, and is even involved in the run game at times as well. He’s our main receiving threat this year, though our WR room does have a lot of talent behind him.

- Blake Freeland and Clark Barrington (#71 LT and #56 LG) – They are both NFL bound, with some analysts saying both could be 1st round picks. Our left side of the line may be the biggest strength of the whole roster. 

Injury Notes on offense – A few guys have been held out of a few practices, we don’t know if any will miss time to start the season. Some of these guys include WR Gunner Romney (Kidney), TE Isaac Rex (Foot, injured in 2021), and TE Dallin Holker. They should all play week 1, but could be something to watch for. If for whatever reason any of all of these guys sit out it would be a big shot to our passing attack.

Key players to look out for on defense for BYU:

- Keenan Pili (#41 LB) and Payton Wilgar (#49 LB) – Pili was injured the week before we played you guys last year. He was our leading tackler after week 3, and the heart of the defense. Getting him back can’t be overstated. Wilgar is also a great veteran LB who we lost around week 12 last year. Our LB depth isn’t perfect behind these 2, but for week 1 that shouldn’t matter. Pili’s main help should be around the line of scrimmage where he is a missile attacking the ball. We hope he can help shore up what was a putrid rush defense last year.

- Kaleb Hayes (#18 CB) and Deangelo Mandell (#5 CB) – Our secondary traditionally has been mediocre at BYU, but it may be the strength of the defense in 2022. These are the 2 incumbent starters, but we also have a Vandy transfer that could end up being a part of the rotation. They both are great in 1 on 1 coverage, and should allow BYU to be more aggressive than usual on defense. 

- Malik Moore (#12 S) – Our other safety position is still to be decided, but Malik has been starting for a few years at Safety and done a great job. He will likely lead the team in interceptions, and is great in coverage. If USF is going to win this game, I suspect it will be due to their ground attack and not anything in the air. 

Injury notes on defense – Chaz Ah You, a former 4*, will likely miss the whole season due to injuries from last year. Incoming freshman logan fano was expected to have a big impact on the DL, but he tore his acl in the spring. 

I know USF added a ton of players this off season, and I’m curious how you guys look. I hope there are growing pains with these newcomers, but I believe USF has the talent to compete with us. We saw Bohanon last year, he wasn’t forced to do much as Baylor’s run game was dominant. Its no secret our DL is our biggest weakness. If USF wants to win they’ll need to do what UAB did and run effectively while keeping our offense off the field. 

I suspect our offense will perform well, especially if your secondary hasn’t improved since last season. BYU has also been excellent the last few years at avoiding turnovers on offense. It would take a special effort from USF to win the turnover battle and I think they may have to to win the game. If I had to guess today, I’d say BYU wins 31-24. I expect USF to cover the 12 point spread, but for BYU to control the game for the most part. 

I’d love to hear some of your thoughts coming into this one. Can’t wait for CFB to kick off, its been a long off season!

[Rocky Style]

Welcome to the board!  I am now scared about this game based on your synopsis.  

Edited August 26, 2022 by Rocky Style

[Rizman]

Welcome

[Triple B]

4 minutes ago, Rocky Style said:

Welcome to the board!  I am now scared about this game based on your synopsis.  

Yeah, no **** ........ only glimmer is that our secondary, on paper, should be improved.

[Rocky Style]

@BYUfan35 Are you traveling in for the game?  It's a fun one to kick off the year.

Edited August 26, 2022 by Rocky Style

[Rocky Style]

1 minute ago, Triple B said:

Yeah, no **** ........ only glimmer is that our secondary, on paper, should be improved.

Well also on paper the QB should be an improvement at least based on what is coming out of camp.  On the comment that we need sustained runs, I have seen us do that in flashes and then go away from it.  Maybe we can pepper in some key 3rd down conversions this time with the new QB vs last year.  We have some players that can get open and catch the ball, but they were missed on some key throws last year.

[Ghostbuster]

4 minutes ago, Rocky Style said:

Welcome to the board!  I am now scared about this game based on your synopsis.  

Lol yeah he's a good hype man.  I too am more concerned after reading that...but I still feel like if our squad from last year could hang around and nearly pull off an upset, that this year we should have a better chance with Bohanon.

BYU can be optimistic about returning a 10 win squad, USF can be optimistic about having more (on paper) improvements since last time.

[BYUfan35]

2 minutes ago, Rocky Style said:

@BYUfan35 Are you traveling in for the game?  It's a fun one to kick off the year.

I wish! I’m flying to our games week 2 against Baylor and week 3 against Oregon, so unfortunately won’t be able to make it to Florida. 

[E.T.]

We are as curious as you are regarding how we'll look . . . lots of new faces and both new coordinators. 

N'Joy the week.

Go BULLS !!!

[Rocky Style]

5 minutes ago, E.T. said:

We are as curious as you are regarding how we'll look . . . lots of new faces and both new coordinators. 

This is a good point.  The major theme you will see on here is that we have made so many justified changes in the staff and through the transfer portal to try to get things up to code that honestly no one knows what will happen.  The execution was bad last year and there was unnecessary confusion maybe coming out of a green leadership.  Nevertheless, we had real flashes at times even with last year's talent level.  So the big question is: IF this new mix will start clicking and when?  We seemed to be close in several games.  It's all speculation on our end...

Edited August 26, 2022 by Rocky Style