With quarterback Ty Detmer and a whole host of returning offensive starters this season, how can BYU lose?
The same way they lost last year: Defense. Or lack thereof.Consider these facts:
- In the Cougars' three 1989 losses, the defense gave up 46, 50 and 56 points.
- In their last six '89 games, they gave up an average of 40 points per contest.
- Seven of 11 starters graduated from a defensive squad that wasn't that impressive to begin with.
So considering all this weighty evidence, it makes sense to assume that Coach LaVell Edwards and his staff spent the offseason devising entirely new defensive schemes, right?
Don't be silly. This is not the kind of group that panics. They have installed some new wrinkles, sure, but Edwards says it's not much more than they do every offseason.
"I don't think there's going to be any mystery or surprises about our defense," he said. "We're a little quicker this year, so we've put in some things to take advantage of that.
"There hasn't been a major shift in our defensive thinking."
While acknowledging that he was concerned about his defense's subpar showing late last year, Edwards indicated that he was not overly concerned, for two reasons:
"First of all, we played against the best offensive teams that we played all year in the second half of the season.
"Secondly, I think we just had a loss of confidence there. We weren't playing with the same kind of reckless abandon that we like to play with."
Some of the things the coaches have changed are designed to get tht recklessness back. At last Saturday's scrimmage, for instance, one or two linebackers frequently lined up as down linemen, then either blitzed or backed off into pass coverage. The idea was to keep the quarterback unsure of how big a rush he'd be facing.
Another defensive change involves the use of more "stunts" - which means that linemen, instead of making a straight charge, can basically free-lance, looking for an opening in the offensive line through which to reach the quarterback.
In both cases, those changes have been made because of personnel changes. Last year's line of Budd Orr, Tim Adams and Rich Kaufusi averaged 275 pounds. This year, the line of Kaufusi, Mark Smith and Pete Harston averages closer to 260 but is much quicker and more suited to stunting.
And at linebacker, the outside players will be Alema Fitisemanu and Jared Leavitt, a pair Edwards has said may be the quickest ever at BYU.
Defensive coordinator Dick Felt summed up the changes this way: "We're trying to get more aggressive off the ball."
That emphasis on aggressiveness appeals to players like Kaufusi, who feels he wasn't able to play his best football under last season's game plan.
Coming out of Dixie College, Kaufusi impressed Cougar fans with a spectacular performance at the spring 1989 Blue-White game. Many expected him to help restore the defensive line to the glory of the Jason Buck-Shawn Knight years.
"In the Blue-White game, the coaches just kind of let me do what I wanted," he said. Then the season began, and Kaufusi found himself playing sit-back-on-your-heels or charge-straight-ahead defense, a style he doesn't feel suits him. "It was our biggest downfall last year," he said.
Now he's happy again. "They've made a few changes, and those changes fit the defensive line just right. We're going to explode into the backfield and make things happen instead of waiting for things to happen.
"That's what defense is all about, just reckless people going crazy. What I see from the defense now is a lot of people hustling to the ball."
Edwards and Felt have been high in their praise of the line and linebackers so far in fall practice, but have said little about their most experienced unit, the secondary.
With two returning starters (Brian Mitchell and Norm Dixon) and three players with varsity experience (Tony Crutchfield, Josh Arnold and Derwin Gray), this group would seem to have the potential to be the backbone of the defense. But the secondary was burned for bunches of yards last season, and needs to prove that it can shut down other teams' passing games if supported by a decent pass rush.
And don't think that because the Cougs are playing it low-key that they won't pull some mild surprises. They have a few tricks - but aren't ready to say what they are.
"I think we'll save those for the opponent," Felt said.