2010 BYU Preview: Secondary

Weak things have been made strong at BYU.

On paper the defensive secondary appears to be the strength of the BYU defense in 2010.

The Cougars return three starters to an area of the defense that is traditionally the weakest link in the program.

However, BYU will be without the leadership and experience of graduated free safety Scott Johnson.

Johnson was the unquestioned leader in the defensive backfield last year and was responsible for making the play calls in the secondary and making sure the DB’s were in proper position.

BYU fans found out how important Johnson was last season when he missed the Florida State game because of injury. The Seminoles moved the ball at will against a BYU secondary that was out of position and off balance throughout much of the game.

This year the leadership role rests upon strong safety Andrew Rich (6'3'', 222 lbs Sr. ).

A preseason All-MWC selection, Rich is a fierce hitter and a prodigious play maker in the middle.

In 2009 Andrew was a second team all-conference selection while leading the Cougars in tackles (85) and interceptions (four).

He also forced two fumbles against Oklahoma and recovered one against Utah State.

Rich will be asked to build on last season’s performance.

He will also likely have the added responsibilities of replacing Johnson as the signal caller in the secondary.

Rich starts the season on the watch list for the Lott Trophy which is given in honor of Hall of Fame safety Ronnie Lott.

Brandon Bradley (6'0'',  200 lbs Sr.) also returns at his boundary corner position.

The Tallahassee, Fl., native turned in a solid and productive performance in 2009. He accounted for 64 tackles, four pass break ups and two forced fumbles last season.

Bradley possesses the kind of size and physicality not typically seen in a BYU cornerback. Brandon started all 13 games last season and brings that experience to what should be an outstanding senior season.

The Cougars also return their starter at field corner in Brian Logan (5'6'', 178 lbs Sr.) .

What Logan lacks in size—he makes up for in skill and toughness. Because of the fact that he stands just 5′6″, Logan is a target for opposing offenses.

In fact he ended up second in the nation last year in passes defended.

There may be no one on the Cougar squad that gets more out of what the good Lord has blessed him with than Logan.

After a bit of a rocky start to the 2009 season, Logan came on strong and became a fan favorite before the end of the season. He ended the year with 14 pass breakups, three interceptions and a total of 44 tackles.

Logan has terrific cover skills and may be the most sure tackler the Cougars have had in the secondary in a long time.

You can bet that Cougar opponents will try to pick on him once again this season, and you can be sure that Logan will be up to the task.

The one fly in the ointment and by far the biggest question in the defensive backfield is at free safety.

In fact it may well be the biggest question mark on the entire BYU defense.

The word from player workouts this summer is that the BYU quarterbacks have routinely had their way with the free safeties in seven-on-seven drills.

Steven Thomas (5'11'', 176 lbs Jr.) , Travis Uale (6'2'', 195 lbs Jr.) and Landon Jaussi (6'5'', 210 lbs Sr.) have been competing to be the starting free safety, with Thomas seemingly gaining the upper hand heading into fall camp.

Thomas saw action in 11 games last season, mostly on special teams.

An interesting thing to watch for as fall practice gets under way is what kind of impact DeQuan Everett (6'2'', 203 lbs Jr.).

Everett comes to BYU as a late 2010 signee that flew under the radar.

He signed in April out of Cerritos Junior College in California and his presence could provide some answers and help at the free safety spot.

Everett had plenty of recruiting attention from Pac-10 programs, but just missed qualifying out of high school and was forced to go the JUCO route.

Everett is billed as a lock-down corner with excellent speed and cover skills—but the Cougar coaching staff may look at him at free safety.

The other possibility may be keeping Everett at corner and moving Bradley or even Logan to safety.

BYU coaches made a point of doing some cross training in the secondary during the spring, giving the cornerbacks an opportunity to get their feet wet playing free safety.

Among the backups in the defensive backfield is Jray Galea’i (6'0'', 193 lbs Fr.) .

Galea'i redshirted last season and is listed behind Rich on the the Cougars pre-fall camp depth chart.

Depth at corner is provided by Robbie Buckner (5'10'', 175 lbs So.) and Corby Eason (5'8'', 174 lbs Jr.) .

Buckner was a contender to start last season before a hamstring injury slowed him up in fall camp. He played in six games during 2009 and started against Utah State.

Meanwhile, Eason saw action in 12 games last year.

Incoming high school talent at defensive back includes Kori Gaines and Jordan Johnson.