BYU Offense Will Lean on Brian Kariya

Brigham Young University running back Brian Kariya has some big shoes to fill.

The junior from Kaysville, UT is the one guy in the Cougar backfield this season who is a jack-of-all-trades type of back.

He is the guy that will shoulder a considerable amount of the load from the departed Harvey Unga this season.

Brian is a proven commodity running, receiving and blocking.

He will be joined in the backfield by J.J. Di Luigi and Josh Quezada in the primary rotation.

J.J. brings some flash and dash to the BYU backfield and “Juice” may be the future, but for now it's the guy who’s plain vanilla that the Cougars will rely on as the staple ingredient in the backfield.

BYU coaches know that they can trust Kariya early in the season while a guy like Quezada gets up to speed.

Brian filled in well for an injured Unga in the first couple games of the season in 2009, and those close to the program believe that he is up to the task this year.

We visited with Brian Friday evening after the Cougars first practice of the 2010 season to get his thoughts about picking up the slack in the BYU backfield.