BYU has had 79 players drafted in NFL draft during the last 31 years.  Of those 31, 8 have been first round picks. Previously, the Cougar drafted highest has been Jim McMahon at number 5 (though it could be argued that Steve Young would have been a number one pick had he not opted for the USFL)

Tonight, Ziggy Ansah has the opportunity to become the highest Cougar draft choice ever.    So where will Ziggy go and how will he transition to the NFL???  These will be some of the most prominent questions of the 2013 NFL Draft

At the Beginning of last season, Ziggy was fighting for playing time at linebacker and hoping to make an impact during his Senior season.  No one really expected that and NFL career was even in the cards, and if so, only as a free-agent gamble on a talented athlete.    But then, starting Defensive lineman Eathyn Manumaleuna went down to injury in the Boise State game.  Ziggy was about to get his chance to shine.

From a Defensive line position, Ziggy provided strength and speed that BYU has never, and may never see again.  He provided a strong pass rush from  3-4 defense, and when double teamed, allowed Kyle Van Noy to dominate on the outside. Watching Ziggy play has been one of the most exciting things I have ever witnessed as a Cougar fan.  His athleticism and drive allowed him to run plays down from behind, and take players down like a lion after a gazelle. 

Draft “Experts” have Ziggy going anywhere from the 2nd pick to the 19th.  Most figure he will be a sure top 10 selection.  But either way, Ezekiel Ansah will be the ninth first round draft pick wearing Cougar blue.

  Spring Football is always a time of optimism and hope.  It seems every year there are reports of how much harder they have worked, how much better they have performed, and how much more effective they are going to be next year.  There is always an aura of excitement and anticipation!  I get that!  But this year, there is a chance that optimism might be deserved.

First, We have new players. There is hope in the emergence of a new qb, and a feeling that this crop of Quarterbacks offer several better options than Riley Nelson. We return depth and experience at WR and TE, and may have the best crop of Running Backs that BYU has seen since Harvey Unga left.

Second, we have a new offensive staff.  There is a possibility that the past issues at offensive line are being addressed. We have a new offensive scheme, and an old/new play caller.  BYU football next fall might be titled, the fast and the furious.  The new game plan is to go hard and quick, keeping defenses off balance, and trying to blow opponents away, not just defend and hang on for a victory.  

Third, we have, what looks to be a solid defense again.  Though Kafusi may not be Ziggy, he is quite a specimen in his own right.  Linebackers should be great again, the line should be solid.  The secondary has talent, but lacks depth.  We should be fine, as long as injuries don’t take too big of a toll.

And after all, there is just something about spring that brings out the optimist in all of us.

 I have to admit, it is a lot more fun to have the Cougars still out competing for a Title, then to have watched them go one and done in the NCAA tournament.  I guess that is one of the Perks of being a Big fish in a Little Pond.  I have often thought that we were actually better off regularly winning the WAC/MWC, then regularly finishing middle to bottom of a major Conference.  Now, don’t get me wrong, If the Big 12 came calling, I would be leading the cheer section.  But there is more exposure and attention that comes with winning than with losing, even at a lower level.  Look at Boise State, who has developed a great football program, based on dominating a smaller conference.  BYU, Uof U, and TCU, have all benefited from that effect, and while both the Frogs and Utes have gone on to bigger conferences, they are also now discovering what Arizona and ASU have found.  Life at the bottom of a big conference is not as glamorous as it might look.

The NIT is allowing us to play basketball, publicly, in April.  It will put BYU on National TV as one of a handful of College teams not finished for the season.  It will give the Seniors a great sendoff, and the younger players, a great chance to gain valuable experience and confidence for next year.  As one, who was not all that excited to be in the NIT, I am now excited to play in a big venue, against a solid team, on National TV, while most of college Basketball is sitting home watching.

Good Luck tonight Cougars!!!

I have to admit, I was not all that excited to see the cougars in the NIT.  Being in the NIT means you did not make the big dance and do not get to test yourself against the very best in College Basketball.  But, I also have to admit that attending both games in the Marriott Center has been a lot of fun. 

Being in the NIT has allowed tournament atmosphere experience for the younger players on the squad.  It is allowing the Seniors to go out on a more successful note.  It is allowing fans to continue to be engaged in their team into late March (to quote Obi-wan Kenobi…. a basketball date we have not seen in a long time…a long time!)  Last time BYU played this late in March was like 1905

It has been great to see the consistent contributions of Davies and Haws built upon by the development of Matt Carlino, and solid performances by Brock Zylstra and Nate  Austin.

If BYU can go one more round, and make the Final four in Madison Square Garden, It will be the most exciting thing to happen since the last deep run in the NCAA tournament.  Even if not, it has provided a positive ending note to an otherwise disappointing Basketball season.

Many BYU fans are discouraged and disappointed that the cougars will not continue with a seventh straight appearance in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.  I must admit, that I love streaks, tradition, and long standing marks of excellence.

However, this years basketball team is just plain not a tournament team.  They have shown flashes of being that kind of team, but have suffered from inconsistent play at almost every position.  Had they been able to sneak into the Big Show, they would have been shown the door in the first round and sent home.

Many have blamed coaching for this years poor performance.  Though some players have not developed as well as I had hoped, I think several members of this years team are sufficient backup players, but not NCAA quality starters. I am not sure that the coaches have had the material to work with this year, that they have had in the past.  Injuries and a few recruiting misjudgements have resulted in a team that seems to be somewhat under-qualified

The NIT offers this team a chance to grow and develop.  A chance to play more than one additional game.  It also gives them the opportunity of the home crowd advantage.  Hopefully, young players can benefit and prepare for the future.  Outgoing players can enjoy their college careers for a few more games. And Fans can enjoy a few more weeks of basketball.  If not, bring on the Spring Scrimmage!!!

Video on this Kid

I was impressed with the first video I saw of this kid. But it wasn’t on the basketball court. It was in a presentation by the LDS Church General Young Men’s Presidency. Tyler was serving as his wards Teacher’s Quorum President, and their meetings were video taped to show how to correctly work with Aaronic Priesthood Presidencies. Tyler stood up and took control as quorum president and ran things the way they should be run. I know, I know, when you put a camera on a group, they tend to step and and perform. I was assured, however, by Brother Burgess (another great Alpine, Utah name), and uncle to Sam Burgess, that this was how they functioned all the time. I was impressed with his leadership skills.

Numbers on the Court

His numbers on the court would also bare this out.

Points per Game: 21

Rebounds: almost 5 per game

Assists: 3.1

Steals: 1.5

Accolades

He also brings with him a long string of recognitions.

2 time 5A MVP

2 time 1st team All State

Deseret News Mr. Basketball for the State of Utah

Utah Gatorade Player of the Year

1 of 100 Seniors Nationwide invited to NBA Player Association Camp

Excited

Cougar fans everywhere are excited to see him follow in his father’s (Marty Haws) footsteps. I don’t ever remember a kid who has gotten so much fan attention for so long. Coach Dave Rose will be happy to have Haws in the House. I will be looking forward to seeing him on the hardwood in cougar blue!

Ok  now I am totally confused about the wait to name the new coaches.  Last week I theorized that they were in place, but being coaches at other schools, were being allowed to finish up their recruiting classes, due to the closeness to LOI day, and would be named a few days after.  The most prominent  names in the Rumor Mill were Jason Beck for QB and Steve Clark for WR.  There has always been the long-shot rumor of Ty Detmer, but since Ty’s tweets discounted that, that has seemed very unlikely.

So Why the Wait ???

Theory 1 : Detmer is Still in Play.

Rumblings have emerged this week that Detmer might still have somehow exposed a slight chink in his armor, that has BYU is trying to work on and continued to recruit him and make a last hard push to get him here this year.  It has been reported that Ty may be more open to coming than he has in the past, and that he could be showing signs of seriously considering the jump. 

Theory 2:  There is an Surprise player

Since most of the names, Sans Detmer, that are floating around, have been in the mix from early on in the process.  By now they should have been vetted and done.  But since it does not appear to be an approval time thing,  Maybe there is a surprise candidate that is out there.  Beck and Clark seem to be fairly solid candidates, that would seem to jump at the chance, maybe they are still rolling dice, hoping for a bigger fish.

Theory 3:  It is Just BYU being BYU

BYU is not known for moving exceptionally quickly in coaching hires.  Maybe they are just making sure they do due diligence, look under every rock, and take their time to make sure they get the best candidate and fit possible.

Theory 4: Internal Politics

It may be possible that there is not agreement between the powers that be, on who to hire.

Theory 5: Waiting for Dismissed coaches to find other work.

This one is less likely since it has been announced that Cahoon will not be back, and widely reported that Doman has cleaned out his office.

Theory 6: They are waiting for the Pope to be clear of his present responsibilities before announcing him as the new QB coach and recruiting coordinator

Whatever the Reason, with Junior Day in Limbo, and Spring ball soon at hand, I think we can expect that the new coaches will soon be announced.

Today is one of those days where it feels like things are in the air, and no one is quite sure who lands where.  I mean, we have gone through most of the off season with at two coaching positions unannounced.  We have also gone through one of the most “interesting” recruiting years with commits, de-commits, and late offers.  BYU will land perhaps it largest recruiting class, though it is not expected to have stellar star power. (though, what do stars really mean)

Tomorrow should pretty much clear up the picture of which Recruits are going to wear the cougar Blue.  Unlike previous years, where recruiting was pretty much wrapped up and in the bag, (though, until they sign, it ain’t over) this year contains questions of the number of recruits (many lds kids will go mission first) and just who will be in the final group to commit. 

Coaching is another matter.  With the announcement of Robert Anae coming in as the new OC, the whole offensive staff has been turned over.  Weber has gone to USU, Dupaix and Cahoon were dismissed, and Brandon Doman was reported to have cleaned out his office.   Garrett Tujague and Mark Atuaia entered the scene as did Aaron Roderick (until the next day when he went all Aaron Roderick on us)  But Coaching news has been pretty quiet since then, outside of some hopeful talk about Ty Detmer, until Detmers own tweets pretty much squashed that.

I expect that in a few days, a new QB coach and WR coach will be on board.  Rumors have been pointing to Jason Beck and Steve Clark for some time.  It may be that both were allowed to finish up recruiting classes for their employers, before coming on board.  That offers BYU no advantage, but since our current recruiting needs are not at those positions, it seems to have done us little harm either.  Or… BYU may have a total curve ball planned and announce someone totally out of the Blue.

The pieces will soon fall.  The new staff will immediately prepare for spring ball, the team will form and prepare to improve over last year’s performance, and the rest of us can stop worrying and get back to work.

First of all, the Mayans were apparently wrong, or at least contemporary interpretation of them was.  We knew it all along.  For anyone who was scared, remember this for next time: in sports, the first sign of the apocalypse will be the Pac 12 inviting the Cougars into their conference. 

It was a somewhat disappointing year for the Cougars in basketball and football.  The basketball team struggled to “replace” Jimmer Fredette in the season that ended in March and the football team struggled against elite (and even not so elite) competition.  While the basketball team made it to the NCAA Tournament and is showing signs of rebirth this season, and the football team won the Poinsettia Bowl, neither team performed as well as anyone, from coaches to players to fans, would have liked.

We’ll end the year talking about the Poinsettia bowl victory.  7-5 BYU entered the game as a trendy underdog to 9-3 San Diego State.  SDSU had an easier schedule than the Cougars, but most in the media paid more attention to their 9 wins than the teams they beat to get to that number.  Meanwhile, the Cougars, with starting QB Riley Nelson “questionable” for the game, looked to outsiders like a beaten team before they even got to the game.

At other schools, the media might have been right.  A 7-5 team usually doesn’t have much motivation to play hard in a bowl game.  Adding to this point of view is the fact that SDSU sees BYU as a “rivalry game,” while BYU usually has three serious rivals to worry about.  A lot of 7-5 teams get to a bowl game and treat it like a vacation. 

The Cougars aren’t “a lot of teams.”  They may lose a few games, but they don’t give up, and they always put forth their best effort.  There was no way the Cougars were going to be “asleep at the wheel” against the Aztecs.

When James Lark started, it was a chance for him to “prove” that there should have been a quarterback controversy.  It came as no surprise to many, though, that what Lark “proved” is that Coach Mendenhall is smarter than some people have given him credit for lately.  Lark did an admirable job as a fill-in; he has been a top-notch citizen and human being during his time in Provo.  But, against better competition, he definitely did not look like a starting quarterback, or someone who could ever come close to unseating a healthy Riley Nelson.

Nelson won games for the Cougars with his will, his feet, and even his much-maligned arm.  Lark didn’t have to win this game, because he wasn’t asked to.  All he had to do was manage the game, count on the defense, and not do anything to lose the game.  The defense took care of the rest.

The first quarter ended with a 3-0 lead for SDSU, as both defenses played well.  Ezekiel Ansah intercepted a pass for the Cougars on the first drive, after SDSU had moved the ball into BYU territory.  The second quarter saw another SDSU field goal for a 6-0 lead, and it also saw Riley Nelson try to play, only to throw an interception on his fifth play.  Justin Sorenson would score the Cougars’ first points with a field goal as the half ended to close the game to 6-3.

The third quarter started with Lark driving into SDSU territory, only to throw an interception.  From then on, the quarter was another “defensive struggle,” as nothing really happened on offense for either team.

In the fourth quarter, though, the Cougars’ superior conditioning and maturity would determine the outcome of the game.  The Cougars took over on the 50 two plays into the half, and Lark would drive the team smartly to the SDSU 4, where he then threw an interception.  If there was ever a time for SDSU to seize the game and the Cougars to fax it in, it would have been after the interception.  Instead, Kyle Van Noy would recover a fumble in the end zone.  In the space of 5 seconds, the Cougars led, 10-6. 

On the next play from scrimmage, SDSU fumbled again at their own 14, and Jordan Johnson recovered.  Jamaal Williams would take it in for a TD on the next play, and suddenly the Cougars were ahead 16-6 as Justin Sorenson missed the extra point attempt.

The offense got a couple of first downs on the Cougars’ next possession, but didn’t really do much.  Luckily, the defense took care of business as Kyle Van Noy intercepted a pass for another touchdown and a 23-6 lead.  The Cougars would intercept yet another pass, this time by Alani Fua, and the Cougars would then run out the clock.

The first game ball goes to Kyle Van Noy.  Van Noy has been the unquestioned leader of the defense this year, and helped keep the Cougars in every game except one this year.  We hope he decides to come back for one more year, but understand it if he doesn’t.  Kyle Van Noy really should have been given consideration for the Heisman Trophy, but not even Manti Te’o and the Notre Dame hype machine could get a Heisman for someone who plays defense.

The second game ball Riley Stephenson, who had 6 punts downed inside the 20, and 4 punts downed inside the 3 in the second half.  2 of those punts were downed at the 1.  This helped create the turnovers that eventually won the game for the Cougars.

We’ll give the third game ball to Lark: not because he did anything special this game, but because he is a class act, and managed the game well enough to give the defense a chance to win.  He didn’t do anything great, but he kept his poise enough to keep the Cougars in the game until the defense made good things happen.

It wasn’t the best year, but it ended well, and the Cougars have something to smile about as they start thinking about next year. 

We’d like to wish everyone a happy and prosperous 2013, and look forward to a great year for the Cougars.

Poinsettia Bowl Highlights BYU vs SDSU from James B Ellison on Vimeo.