Bleacher Report - Articles by Cougar Digest

BYU: Mid-Year Signing Day Thread

Cougar Digest — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 12:32:00 -0500

Signing Day is upon us! Not the big one on the first Wednesday in February but the Mid-Year Transfers one is upon us.

There is some excitement for Cougar faithful this year as there are some offers on the table for three prospects we know about. Two linebackers in Aaron Gress and Jordan Atkinson, then a cornerback from Fullerton College in Lee Aguirre.

All of these players will be able to enroll come January and prepare for Spring Practices, at which ever school they do decide to sign with.

Mid-Year transfers have until January 15th to sign with a respective school, to be eligible to enroll in Winter semester.

With no official press release yet on anyone who has signed. Here is some links to info I have gathered on the three recruits.

Lee Aguirre, CB

10:54 a.m.: Aguirre has offers from BYU, Hawaii and New Mexico, but it looks like it will come down to the Cougars and Warriors.

Hawaii's commitment list on Scout.com is showing the Warriors already have three commitments from JUCO cornerbacks, one of which is a "Soft Verbal" from Kevin Williams of Los Medanos JC. The Warriors also have a high school cornerback commitment on that list as well.

From looking at that, I would think BYU's chances of landing Aguirre increased a lot, due to all the other Corners Hawaii already has committed.

Jordan Atkinson, LB

Found this link over at CougarBoard.com in regards to Atkinson having a commitment to BYU. Just waiting for it to be official.

This is no surprise, I had a good feeling that he would probably commit to BYU after reading the recap of his visit to Provo over at Total Blue Sports. But ya never know what could happen, we have to wait till it becomes official.

Aaron Gress, LB

Gress had his decision down to BYU, Marshall and Illinois, all of which had offered. He visited BYU, but shortly after his trip to Cougar Town he just went to Champaigne to visit Ron Zook and Fighting Illini of Illinois. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

—For The Record: The recruiting "Dead Period" starts on Friday so there can't be any contact with recruits during the bowl season.

I will post updates as soon as there is more information revealed on these three and other recruits.

UPDATE (11:52 a.m. MT): Gress signs with Illinois

Mountain West Football: How Accurate Were Preseason Magazines' Predictions?

Cougar Digest — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:04:00 -0500

Every summer, in anticipation of the upcoming College Football season, local Barnes & Nobles and grocery stores get bombarded with College Football preview magazines.

There was a lot of preseason buzz surrounding BYU this season, and that showed in the predictions for the Mountain West Conference picks.

Here is a review of how the four major publications fared in picking the Mountain West standings. I just did a basic point system. For example, if Team A finished the actual season in seventh place, and they were picked third in the preseason, that would be three points (spots). The lower the score, the more accurate the predictions. In the case of a tie on scores, the magazine that picked the most accurate spots gets the edge.

Now you can get an idea of what magazine is the best for future years when it comes to accuracy in predicting the league.

Final 2008 MWC Standings

1. Utah
2. TCU
3. BYU
4. Air Force
5. Colorado State
6. UNLV
7. New Mexico
8. Wyoming
9. San Diego State

Lindy's Predictions

1. BYU (2 spots off final spot)
2. Utah (1)
3. TCU (1)
4. New Mexico (3)
5. Wyoming (3)
6. Air Force (2)
7. San Diego State (2)
8. Colorado State (3)
9. UNLV (3)

Total: 20

Athlon Predictions

1. BYU (2)
2. Utah (1)
3. TCU (1)
4. New Mexico (3)
5. Wyoming (3)
6. Air Force (2)
7. Colorado State (2)
8. UNLV (2)
9. San Diego State (0)

Total: 16

The Sporting News Predictions

1. BYU (2)
2. TCU (0)
3. Utah (2)
4. Air Force (0)
5. New Mexico (2)
6. Wyoming (2)
7. Colorado State (2)
8. San Diego State (1)
9. UNLV (3)

Total: 14

Phil Steele's Predictions

1. Utah (0)
2. BYU (1)
3. TCU (1)
4. UNLV (2)
5. New Mexico (2)
6. Wyoming (2)
7. Air Force (3)
8. San Diego State (1)
9. Colorado State (4)

Total: 16

-- Note on Steele's predictions: Steele usually picks two teams at a particular spot in his conference rankings. In his magazine he has both New Mexico and Wyoming at No. 5. He has Wyoming listed after, so I put it at the six spot to make it even with the other magazines.

So here's how the final magazine rankings go (if you can't figure it out on your own):

1. The Sporting News: 14 points
2. Phil Steele: 16 (tiebreaker)
3. Athlon: 16
4. Lindy's: 20

There you go. So next year wait around for The Sporting News that usually comes late in June to get your accurate Mountain West picks.

The difference in the predictions came down to teams like Air Force, Colorado State, and New Mexico. It was pretty clear the top three in the Mountain West this season would consist of Utah, TCU, and BYU. It's those middle of the pack MWC teams that are hard to figure out because they are so inconsistent on a yearly basis.

Even though it wasn't the most accurate overall, Phil Steele's is still the Taj Mahal for info with its two-page breakdowns. And to Phil's credit, he was the only one who went out on a limb and picked Utah as the MWC champion, where BYU was the talk all offseason.

Lindy's year-in and year-out is one of the more inaccurate magazines, but I buy it every year because it's the first one to come out, usually the day after Memorial Day in late May.

Athlon is unique because they have magazines designed for certain conferences, which is really cool. It gives a lot of fans a chance to pick up a preseason magazine with a player from their favorite team on the cover. This year BYU quarterback Max Hall graced Athlon's Western cover.

Three Mid-Year Junior College Transfers Looking at BYU

Cougar Digest — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 00:14:00 -0500

One of the forgotten parts about College Football Recruiting is the Mid-Year Signing Period for transfers. Usually from the Junior College ranks and occassionally high school student-athletes that receive their H.S. Diploma in the Winter.

This particular signing period starts this Wednesday, December 17th and runs through January 15th of 2009. It gives these guys time to decide where they are going to sign, and they can immediately join a program for Spring Practices, which is always a plus for newcomers to get a early edge on the learning curve.

Last month, Greg Wrubell mentioned in his blog, "Cougar Tracks" that Bronco was going to hit JC's for some defensive help. I can't find the link at this time, but its apparent Bronco is living up to his words as Junior College recruits have been visiting Cougar Town lately. Here are the three mid-year players that BYU has offered.

Lee Aguirre, CB, Fullerton College

At around 5-9 or 5-10, Aguirre is a guy that has plain and simple tore it up at Fullerton College. The only reason more colleges aren't going after him is mainly due to his size. Aguirre currently holds two offers from both Hawaii and BYU*. (*=Subscription Required at TotalBlueSports.com --- Highly Recommended!)

Aguirre visited Hawaii the weekend the Warriors played BCS-bound Cincinnati. I watched that game on my DVR, and I spotted Aguirre in the third quarter on the sidelines with around 9:20 left in the quarter.

Apparently he enjoyed his trip to Hawaii, mainly due to the weather I would assume. I can't imagine he was impressed with the facilities. Remember when former Hawaii QB Colt Brennan said his team didn't even bars of soap during Spring Practice? Well that's still the same program, and with the nation being in a recession I can't imagine the facilities have been upgraded much since last year.

Then there's BYU where the facilities are probably the best in the West and some of the best in the nation, and that includes the NFL. Also, another positive to BYU is he can be a part of a Top-15 program and have the opportunity to play right away if he works hard and learns the defense fast.

That's why Spring ball is critical for a Cornerback. Juco's that come in the Fall tend to be late bloomers and don't flourish till late in their Senior seasons. (i.e. Andre Saulsberry, Chris Bolden, just to name a few.)

Hope to see him come to BYU, from what I've read he is a great specialist. He blocked many kicks his Freshman season at Fullerton.

Here's a good article on him that was posted earlier this month at his school's website. LINK

Then here's two highlight videos from his Freshman season at Fullerton. Kind of hard to watch, but in the first one you clearly see his ability for blocking kicks. In the second vid, I noticed he is a very good open field tackler which would be a welcomed trait to our Secondary, and has a flat-out knack for finding the ball and getting picks, another skill needed in our Secondary.

Jordan Atkinson, LB, Diablo Valley Community College

Atkinson is the cousin to fomer Cougar Linebacker, Bryant Atkinson a.k.a. "The Silencer." Jordan is projected to play the "Will" Linebacker spot at BYU. Atkinson attended the Boise State game along with David Nixon and Aaron Gress who we will talk about later in the article.

Here's some video on Atkinson. He appears to be very fast on the edge and wraps up instantly. Has great size at 6-3 235. He just looks like a prototypical big BYU Linebacker. He had a visit this past week at Colorado State, and the Rams did in fact offer him. So it comes down to CSU and BYU. I would sure like to see Steve Fairchild cry again.

A side note about Atkinson he was a Pre-Season 2nd Team JC All-American Selection by Scout.com, so he is no slouch by any means. LINK

Aaron Gress, LB, College of the Sequoias

Gress is a 6-1, 225 pound Linebacker who visited BYU along with Atkinson to get a better feel for what BYU had to offer.

Gress is a Non-LDS athlete and has been offered by three schools now. BYU, Marshall and Nevada. Gress though has no interest in Nevada, and has stated his decision to which college he will attend will come down to BYU, Marshall and Illinois. Gress visited the Fightin' Illini on Friday according to Scout.com. No reports wether or not Illinois has offered.

Gress racked up 135 tackles in his two years at the Sequoias and has three years to play two at whatever college he opts to sign with.

Here is some highlights on YouTube of Gress:

I'm glad to see Bronco is going after some JC's to maybe sure up some holes in the Defense, its needed. Many coaches around the country are usually very stubborn when it comes to JC players and refuse to sign any.

Sometimes BYU needs to take some gambles with in recruiting and JC players are probably where its at, but if any of these guys were to commit to BYU I think they could make immediate contributions right away and make waves on the two-deep depth chart.

Three very talented players. Bronco and staff have an eye for talent regardless of what people in the media say.

BYU Cagers Are 10-0 for First Time Since 1988

Cougar Digest — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 23:05:00 -0500

BYU basketball is experiencing the most success right now in non-conference play since the 1987-88 Cougar squad led by Michael Smith and Jeff Chatman started out the season 17-0 and was as high as No. 2 in the AP Top 25 Poll. That team's streak ended at UAB with an 83-102 loss.

From that point on the team was up-and-down the rest of the way out and was eliminated on the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

Fast-forward to the 2008-2009 BYU squad that is currently 10-0 and has their toughest test of the season to this point coming up this Saturday in Arizona State at University of Phoenix Stadium, home of the NFL's Arizona Cardinals.

This game for BYU basketball is probably the biggest game for the program since the 2003 Oklahoma State matchup in the Delta Center, where Rafael Araujo poured in a career-high 32 points to lead BYU to a 76-71 win over the Cowboys, who eventually went to the Final Four that season.

The reason I point to that game is that both Oklahoma State and Arizona State were ranked, both BYU teams were streaking and had very talented teams, it was a neutral floor, and it was a chance for BYU to make a huge statement—to show the nation that BYU is the real deal this season and is a team that you should expect to see creating some havoc in March.

This Saturday's game will be a good measuring stick of where this team and program are at. There has been so many close calls against good teams since that Oklahoma State breakthrough that it's time for one of the big games to go in BYU's favor.

Arizona State is 8-1 right now and is currently ranked No. 18 in the Coaches Poll. They had a close call today on a neutral floor against IUPUI. Down by 16 at half, the Sun Devils found a way to eke out a 59-58 win in overtime over the Jaguars of Ooooie Poooie.

The Sun Devils also had struggles against a team BYU has struggled with the past few years in San Diego State. It was the second game of the season for ASU on CBS College Sports, and the Aztecs controlled most of the game until the final five minutes, where the Sun Devils hit three straight three-pointers to pull away and get a hard earned seven-point win.

From that game, I realized that ASU was a beatable team. They have a ton of talent in All-American candidate James Harden, Jeff Pendergraph at center, and Rihards Kuksiks at forward, but they are not the most efficient offense you have ever seen.

A team like BYU can score in bunches. ASU hasn't faced an offense like BYU's yet—the Cougars can score at will, and when they get on a roll, they are almost unstoppable.

The keys for BYU to win this game in my opinion will be the following.

Quick Start

In big games, BYU has been known for struggling out of the gates under Dave Rose, particularly the Texas A&M game in the tourney last season. If BYU can hit a couple of threes early out of the gate, BYU will be in good shape to win the game.

Shut down Pendergraph/Not allow second chances on boards

Jeff Pendergraph is probably the best center in the Pac-10 this season, and BYU's centers will be put to the test. They did a very good job against a mechanical Gary Wilkinson at Utah State, but Pendergraph has a lot more athleticism. Miles and MacGregor need to alter shots and make sure to lock up defensive rebounds. Offensive boards kept Utah State in the game in the first half at the ESA.

ASU is a team that will be a lot more at ease than USU was against BYU, so you have to figure ASU will capitalize at a higher ratio than the Aggies did when given opportunities.

Cummard needs to get back on track

Since the Utah State game, Cummard has been struggling to find his shot again. Cummard needs to have a big game, and if it's not on the offensive end, just doing the little things: boards, steals, and blocks, like he is so accustomed to doing.

Hopefully he can get his rhythm back in this one in front of his home crowd and find that rhythm he had against Long Beach State and Weber State.

It's an exciting time for Cougar Hoops—hope to see more and more people getting into it and going to the Marriott Center for home games. This team deserves your support, and some of the crowds this season have been pretty sad, to say the least.

The game this Saturday is on at 2:30 P.M. on FSN Arizona. So tune in for this big game!

What Makes a Good Offense?

Cougar Digest — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 06:55:00 -0500

What makes a good offense?

Change

In 2001, BYU football fans experienced a dramatic change in the team that they had followed for the past 29 years. With the hiring of Gary Crowton, fans were treated to a high powered, aggressive, spread offense utilized by standout players such as Luke Staley, Brandon Doman, and Reno Mahe.

If you look at the 2001 team, you will realize that they were stacked with a very talented depth chart on both offense and defense. Coach Crowton was an offensive genius, and walked into any coach’s dream of running a successful spread offense.

BYU led the nation in almost every offensive category, and Luke Staley finished the season as the best running back in College Football, winning the Doak Walker Award. Both Staley and Brandon Doman were Heisman Trophy candidates throughout the season.

What If

What if you were to take away Luke Staley and Brandon Doman from that offense? Can we imagine that the Cougars would have produced similar results with Charlie Peterson and a healthy Brian McDonald? All we can say is …maybe. I mean, who knows?

Following the 2001 season, Doman graduated and went on to the NFL along with Luke Staley who declared himself for the draft a year early. What happened to BYU’s offense and Gary Crowton during the next 3 seasons? We all know what happened. Do we even want to talk about it?

Difference

What is the difference between the 2001 team and the teams that couldn’t go above .500 for three straight years after ’01? I see only one difference. The quarterback.

To make a successful Gary Crowton offense, you need to have that special ingredient to allow it to taste just right. That ingredient is the person lining up behind the center.

Brandon Doman was able to get things done and win games through the air and on the ground. We saw several examples of this. When you have a dual threat “Tim Tebow” style quarterback, Crowton’s offense is much more productive and dangerous.

Could you rely on Brandon Doman or Tim Tebow to effectively run a Texas Tech offense? Could you rely on John Beck or Colt Brennan to be the dangerous weapon to Coach Urban Meyer’s wild option run and gun offense? When it’s the fourth quarter, and the game is on the line, you want that perfect ingredient. During 2002-04, BYU and Gary Crowton lacked that perfect ingredient.

Stepping Down

I have the utmost respect for Coach Crowton. Don’t get me wrong, I think he is an offensive mastermind and a genius to the game. But why did not succeed during the losing years of BYU football? What was the cause to the “Great Apostasy”?

Obviously, we understand that the reason Gary Crowton wasn’t successful is because of the lack of players he needed for his offense. Fans were getting frustrated, and while the short tenure of Coach Crowton was fun at first, the memories of LaVell Edwards were being greatly missed. It was time for a restoration. Coach Gary Crowton resigned following the 2004 season and BYU hired Bronco Mendenhall as head coach and Robert Anae as offensive coordinator.

New Offense

In 1972 when LaVell Edwards was hired to be the head coach at BYU, what was the first thing he did? He went out and found a new offensive coordinator. When critics and fans look at the success of BYU’s passing game, they tend to give LaVell Edwards all the credit. Sure, he guided and presided over BYU’s successful program, but the actual offensive masterminds were the ones wearing the headsets and holding the clipboards.

The men running the show were names like Dewey Warren, Doug Scovill, and Norm Chow. They consistently pumped out conference championship teams and All-American quarterbacks and tight ends.

Why? Because they were consistent. They weren’t trying to re-invent the wheel. They had the mechanics. They had the ingredients. Crowton didn’t. So what did Bronco Mendenhall due when he was handed the whistle and clipboard in December of 2004?

Texas Tech

Why is Texas Tech so successful on offense? Simple. They are consistent. They don’t try and pull something new out. They see what works, and continue to do it.

Every year, they are at the top of the nation in passing and total offense. They have winning records and go to bowl games. They have top recruits and speed. They have all-conference quarterbacks and wide receivers.

Does that sound familiar? Maybe Provo, Utah from about the 1970’s through the 1990’s? If you were a BYU fan, would you want to have that kind of success back? That kind of consistency?

Bronco wanted it back. So he called up former BYU Football alumni Robert Anae and bought him a one way ticket to Provo, tossed him an empty notebook and said, “Write me a playbook. Oh, and by the way, you’re hired.”

Consistent

When we look back at the 2005 season, we recognize it was the transition period from Crowton offense to the brand new Robert Anae offense. Crisp passing, accurate routes, more yards, more attempts, more touchdowns, more wins. The Cougars were starting to look like the ones we remember from the glory days.

The next three years would be summed up in one word: consistent. The Cougs reeled off two conference titles and four straight bowl games. Consecutive all conference quarterbacks and three straight double digit win seasons. Who can we credit it to? I guess what you are wondering is what the theme to this blog is.

Blame Game

Over the past few weeks, I have heard lots of criticism in the direction of Coach Anae. If you look at all that he has done for this program, you would understand that he is a valuable piece to all the recent and “consistent” success BYU has had and will have in the future.

Looking back at BYU’s history, you see a bunch of two- or three-loss seasons over the years, and only one undefeated. Sometimes I think as BYU fans we get a little too impatient. We want that undefeated season now.

If we don’t get it, we want to immediately find someone to blame. Many BYU fans have pointed the blame towards Coach Anae. They look right past the consistent success that we have seen. No one looks at the defense, or lack of talent, or injuries, or opponents, etc. It’s time to start being humble. Let us be grateful for what we have.

A Successful Offense

If you look back at the last four years of BYU football, ask yourself these questions: Have you seen consistent success in BYU’s offense? Has it improved? Do we see future improvement?

Right now, I sleep happy knowing that Coach Robert Anae is holding the clipboard. And you should be too.