Watching TCU score 51 points against Michigan in the College Football Playoff was another reminder of the firepower BYU can expect to face every week during its debut season in the Big 12 Conference.
“I will blitz. I will put every guy at the line of scrimmage rather than just sit there and let people pound us. That’s not my philosophy, but you have to have the right guys to do that.” — BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill
The Cougars also noticed the 42 points Texas Tech scored against Ole Miss, and the 53 that Kansas put on the board before falling short against Arkansas. Not every Big 12 team had productive bowl games, but the league’s body of work over the 2022 season screams offense and that has BYU scrambling to build a defense.
Head coach Kalani Sitake orchestrated an overhaul that sent four defensive coaches to other jobs while he retained Jernaro Gilford and added four others — Jay Hill, Kelly Poppinga, Sione Po’uha and Justin Ena.
While Sitake is the boss, Hill is his ringmaster as defensive coordinator. They think alike. They worked together on Utah’s staff when Sitake was Kyle Whittingham’s defensive coordinator. They get it. And, if there is a running theme to the restructuring, it is that everything starts with the first line of defense — the defensive line.
Po’uha coached the defensive tackles at Utah for four seasons (2018-21). Poppinga coached the edge rushers at Boise State (2022) and Ena coached the defensive line at San Diego State (2022).
They won’t all focus on the boys up front, but you get the picture. They all know how run stoppers can alter an opponent’s game plan and how a pass rush can paralyze it. Doing the opposite can make for a long 8-5 season.
BYU’s five losses last fall can’t be placed completely on the defensive line — but that’s where the blame begins. Oregon averaged 4.8 yards per carry and 16.2 yards per completion and scored 41 points.
Notre Dame averaged 5.2 yards per carry and 11.9 yards per completion and scored 28. Arkansas averaged 6.6 yards per carry and 12.7 per reception while amassing 52 points. Liberty averaged 6.2 per run and 10.3 per catch and scored 41. East Carolina averaged 6.3 per rush and 13.1 per completion to go with their 27 points.
The Cougars’ 2022 season can best be summed up as allowing too many yards, too many completions leading to too many defeats.
In a rebuild, securing the foundation is priority No. 1 — and the foundation must be the defensive line.
BYU returns experience with the likes of Tyler Batty, John Nelson, Blake Mangelson and Caden Haws, but is shopping for size and strength in the transfer portal. Attracting a pair of former Boise State rushers, Isaiah Bagnah and Jackson Cravens, is just the beginning.
In the Big 12, offense wins championships, but the team that plays just enough defense can tip the scales. Just enough of a pass rush or a run stop can give BYU an extra bullet during a shootout and the Cougars will need all the ammo they can find.
Hill, a talented recruiter, says he isn’t the kind of defensive coordinator that will sit back and bleed a slow death.
“I will blitz. I will put every guy at the line of scrimmage rather than just sit there and let people pound us,” he said when he accepted the job last month. “That’s not my philosophy, but you have to have the right guys to do that.”
The right guys — both on the roster and on the staff. Hill, Ena, Poppinga, Po’uha and Gilford will be stewards over different areas, but they all know what lies at the core of their overall success — a big, aggressive first line of defense.
