2010 BYU Preview: Linebackers

BYU football fans are salivating at the thought of having four linebackers with NFL-caliber athleticism on the field at the same time.

Jordan Pendleton, Uona Kaveinga, Zach Stout, and Kyle Van Noy would represent perhaps the most athletic group of linebackers in the history of the program. The question is, will we see that combo together in 2010?

As BYU opens fall camp this Saturday, the Cougars find themselves needing to replace three of four starters at linebacker.

Jordan Pendleton (6'2", 228 Jr.) is the lone returning starter. The former Bingham High star burst onto the scene last year with a rousing performance after making the successful switch from safety to outside linebacker.

He recorded 30 solo tackles, 52 total tackles, three sacks, five quarterback hurries, an interception, three pass break-ups, and a fumble recovery.

Those stats really don’t tell the full story though, as Jordan was a disruptive force throughout the season and regularly demonstrated his tremendous athleticism on the strongside. This year, Pendleton will need to take on a new role, that of being a leader on the defense, especially among the linebackers.

Pendleton is one of three linebackers with family ties to the BYU program. His father Kirk was a receiver for the Cougars in the early 1980s.

Heading into fall practice, Pendleton is backed up by Jameson Frazier (6'2", 201 Jr) . Jameson made huge strides this spring after being switched from safety to linebacker himself. Though undersized, Frazier showed in spring drills that he can handle the responsibilities and assignments very capably. He has good speed and quickness, but may need to add size and weight for the position.

Frazier is a former walk-on and the son of Danny Frazier, who played for the Cougars in the late 1970s.

Jordan Atkinson (6'3", 243 Sr) enters fall camp listed as the starter opposite Pendleton at outside linebacker.  After transferring from Diablo Valley Junior College, Jordan played in all 13 games for the Cougars in 2009 and was a backup on the weakside. He looks to step into the starting role vacated by the hard-hitting Coleby Clawson.

In a limited role last year, Atkinson made seven tackles and forced one fumble. Although he didn’t get a lot of opportunity to show it, Atkinson does have the ability to pressure the quarterback from the edge. At Diablo Valley he had the reputation of ruining quarterback’s days with pressure, tallying 11 sacks and a bushel of hurries in two seasons of play.

Atkinson is the third linebacker with family ties to BYU. Jordan’s father Dave played for BYU in the early 1970s and still holds the season and career interceptions record. His grandfather “Chick” Atkinson was the head coach at BYU from 1949-55.

Many expect Kyle Van Noy (6'4", 209 Fr) to push Atkinson during the course of the season for the starting spot on the weakside. Van Noy is a freak of an athlete whose arrival in Provo has been greatly anticipated. He was supposed to enroll in 2009 before a DUI charge kept him from attending BYU.

During spring camp, Van Noy also served a short suspension for violating team rules. If he can show that he can handle the responsibility of representing BYU as a student athlete and everything that goes with it, Van Noy has star written all over him.

Bronco Mendenhall said this past spring that Kyle was still learning what it means to be a BYU football player. The word coming from the coaches is that they would like to see Van Noy be more aggressive as well.  His listed roster weight of 209 pounds appears to be light, he looked to this observer during the spring to be in the 225 to 230 range.

While there is a semblance of order on the outside, question marks abound at inside linebacker in Provo.

Matt Bauman and Shawn Doman are gone, and there are no solid answers as to who will fill those positions as fall camp gets under way. Brandon Ogletree (5'11", 222 So) from McKinney, Texas has been penciled in at one of the inside spots, while the other is wide open at this point.

As a freshman last year, Ogletree appeared in 10 games and was credited with 19 tackles, five of those coming against Florida State when he appeared to be one of the few defensive players making plays in that contest.

Ogletree is one of those guys that is just a football player, the kind of guy who will strap it on and get after it. In his limited time on the field last year, Brandon showed an ability to fly to the football. His lack of height and always-on motor is reminiscent of the play of former NFL star and fellow Texas native Zack Thomas.

It is likely that BYU fans will see a lot of  Brandon on the field this season, and don’t be surprised if his style of play makes him a fan favorite.

The Cougars may end up relying on a true freshman straight from high school at the other inside spot. Zac Stout (6'2", 235 Fr) arrives in Provo from Oaks Christian High School in California, where he was one of the top middle linebacker recruits in the country.

On video, Stout is just that against the run and he shows great inside-out pursuit as well.

Zac told Deep Shades of Blue in June that the Cougar coaches have told him to come ready to contribute and he expects to make an impact on the field in 2010.

Austen Jorgensen (6'3", 230 So) returns from his mission in time for fall camp and will have some say as to who starts at inside linebacker as well. Jorgensen logged time on the field as a true freshman from North Sanpete High in Utah in 2007 and showed a great deal of promise.

Shane Hunter (5'10", 236 Sr) and Aveni Leung-Wai (6'1", 220 Jr) are also in the mix. Hunter is a former transfer from Snow College who contributed last year with 15 tackles, one forced fumble, and one recovered fumble.

Leung-Wai returned from his mission in time to participate in spring camp. He seemed to show signs of mission rust and looks to improve his standing this fall. Aveni played two years at Grossmont JC in California before his mission.

The wild card at linebacker is USC transfer Uona Kaveinga (6'0", 245 Jr) . Last word was that Kaveinga is still waiting to hear from the NCAA on his waiver petition. If he is allowed to play this year he should be one of the starters on the inside. He played in 16 games for the Trojans at middle linebacker behind All-America candidate Chris Galippo.

Other incoming freshmen from high school include Sae Tautu, Collin Keoshian, and Alani Fua (also a DL/TE prospect).