PROVO — What do Jared Lee, Luke Staley, Fahu Tahi, Bristol Olomua, Tyson Smith and Chris Hale have in common? A year ago, they were names on the Cougars' annual national letter-of-intent list.
In the fall, each contributed to BYU's 1999 season to varying degrees. Lee led the team in tackles. Staley led the team in touchdowns scored. Tahi had a 100-yard rushing game, and Smith earned a starting position at safety before leaving school for alleged honor code violations midway through the campaign. Olomua caught a touchdown pass and was a solid on the Cougars' special teams. And, of course, Hale caught the Cougars' most memorable touchdown of the season in the opener against Washington.
The BYU coaching staff, which wrapped up another successful signing day on Wednesday, believe the Class of 2000 includes athletes who will help the Cougars right away, too.
"We got some players who will make an immediate impact," said BYU coach LaVell Edwards.
Overall, BYU landed pretty much all the recruits they wanted. High school signees highly regarded by national recruiting services include linebacker K.C. Bills, defensive lineman Michael Marquardt and offensive lineman Junior Kato.
The Cougars signed just one quarterback, Timpview High's Danny Southwick, stepson of talk show host Larry King and nephew of Cougar QB Bret Engemann. Southwick turned down Penn State in favor of BYU.
About 10 of the incoming freshmen will serve missions before enrolling.
A former Cougar, Mike Rigell, will rejoin the team. The receiver/kick returner led the conference in kickoff returns in 1998 before transferring and attending Foothill JC in California. He'll have two years of eligibility remaining, said recruiting coordinator Chris Pella.
While the Cougars' 24-member class was packed with defensive and offensive linemen — nine — and linebackers — four — those who are expected to make the most noise next fall are running backs and cornerbacks.
At the end of last season, BYU's offense experienced a major-league meltdown, blamed primarily on the dearth of depth in the offensive backfield. Staley, Tahi and Kalani Sitake all suffered injuries, rendering the Cougar rushing attack ineffective. "We don't want to be in that position again," Pella said.
Meanwhile, since the end of the season, Staley has undergone knee and shoulder surgery; Tahi has opted to serve an LDS mission and Jaron Dabney withdrew from school. Junior Mahe, who had an impressive season two years ago as a freshman, will likely return, though nothing is official. Meantime, the Cougars are taking no chances.
They signed three running backs who could turn some heads in 2000 — prep stars Isiah Joiner and Marcus Whalen and JC product Brian MCdonald (this is how he spells his surname).
"We hope all three will contribute next year," said newly appointed offensive coordinator Lance Reynolds, formerly the running backs coach. "They're all athletic and can make plays. That's why we went after them. Now, we hope they can pick up the system."
Another major concern for BYU this off-season is replacing corners Brian Gray and Heshimu Robertson. Coaches think JC transfers Danny Phillips and Derrus Wilson will be able to fill that void, along with Jernaro Gilford, who signed in 1999. Phillips, like Robertson, comes from Cerritos JC.
"Cornerback is a hard position to recruit because everyone wants a good cover corner," Pella said. "Both Phillips and Wilson are good covers. They're physical, bump-and-run guys."
Pella says safeties coach Barry Lamb and cornerbacks coach Brian Mitchell deserve credit for attracting talented defensive backs to BYU.
"Kids know that if they come here, they have a chance to go to the NFL, because of Barry and Brian," Pella said. "Here, they learn to defend the pass."