Kalani Sitake believes BYU is having a productive, enthusiastic spring camp. He likes the attitude and work ethic displayed by players, and the leadership of his coaching staff.
Sitake told reporters this week the offense is making impressive plays, and on defense, the linemen, inside and outside linebackers, safeties and corners “are starting to gel” and have had their share of big plays.
“There’s good and bad on both sides,” said Sitake. “But I really like the progress of the entire team and the tone. When you have very competitive players on a team, you are going to have big plays on offense and defense, and that’s what we’ve seen.”
According to SuperWest Sports, BYU has 64% of its production returning, just behind UCLA (67%), Oregon (66%), USC (65%) and Washington (65%) in the West, and just ahead of Big 12 brother Arizona (64%).
This should give the Cougars a big step forward in offseason preparations. In a big scrimmage last weekend, Sitake said the most live work was done by the third-string players.
“We wanted to give them a chance to tackle and hit in the stadium and feel what that is like.”
Sitake said new defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga has “exceeded his expectations” so far this spring. “Even when Jay Hill was here, it was my job to get him prepared to take over and it was evident that he would be our defensive coordinator.”
According to Sitake, Poppinga has brought a lot of knowledge and experience from a broad background and is applying it to what BYU’s defense is already doing well. Poppinga’s imprint on BYU’s defense with the departure of Hill to Michigan remains a key element of this spring.
Cougar Insider predictions
Question of the week: With spring football winding down, what has turned your head and what can folks look forward to seeing with this version of Kalani Sitake’s football program?
Jay Drew: When it comes to analyzing BYU’s spring football practices, I’ve come to learn that no news is good news, because priority No. 1 is to get through spring camp with as few injuries as possible. For all that we know, the Cougars have done just that.
True, they have only held one major scrimmage to this point — if you can call it a scrimmage. Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick said it wasn’t a full scrimmage, although there was plenty of 11-on-11 stuff, while defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga said a lot was accomplished when the team got together in the stadium a week ago Saturday and it sure felt like a scrimmage.
Head coach Kalani Sitake said Monday that it was mostly for the threes and fours on the depth chart, younger players who are still trying to learn the defensive schemes and offensive plays.
Which players have turned heads? Almost every time coaches are asked about the position groups that have stood out, they mention the tight ends — newcomers Walker Lyons and Roger Saleapaga and returning veterans Noah Moeaki and Keayen Nead.
Now’s probably a good time to mention that reporters have not seen much of spring practices this year, and when we are allowed to watch the last 20 minutes or so, the team is usually at the far end of the practice field, while we are on the deck of the Student Athlete Building.
Other surprises are probably the young receivers. Guys such as Tei Nacua, Reggie Frischknecht and Cody Hagen have looked good as they chase a spot in the rotation. And from all accounts, receiver JoJo Phillips is also making a lot of plays as he steps into a bigger role.
What can folks look forward to seeing this fall? Certainly, Bear Bachmeier looks polished and clearly has a firm grasp on the offense. Running back LJ Martin is said to be ahead of schedule on his return from offseason surgery.
Defensively, everyone is talking about the competition in the linebackers room with the additions of Cal’s Cade Uluave and Kansas State’s Jake Clifton. Throw in veterans Isaiah Glasker, Ace Kaufusi, Miles Hall and Siale Esera, and BYU will once again have an outstanding group of linebackers.
Dick Harmon: In our limited exposure, and from comments from defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga, it is evident that Bear Bachmeier has taken a step forward with his ability to throw the ball on time, with accuracy, and more efficiently go through his progressions. His development with the pass game will prove to be a huge step for offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick.
Hand in hand with Bachmeier’s progress is how he is using the tight ends. Because of this, transfers Roger Saleapaga and Walker Lyons have been able to show their athleticism. This is huge because of how much it opens the playbook in the absence of Chase Roberts and Parker Kingston.
Speaking of receivers, I like how JoJo Phillips is using his size and length and Tei Nacua, Reggie Frischknecht, Cody Hagen, and Oregon transfer Kyler Kasper are making plays. I like freshman Legend Glasker’s skills. Freshman Terrance Saryon has another gear and I could see him replacing Kingston on jet sweeps and quick sideline routes or down-and-outs. One of the most experienced receivers is Tiger Bachmeier and he’s acting like it, leading out with Phillips.
One of the bright moments of spring is seeing running back Sione Moa practicing hard. His return is huge for the recovering LJ Martin and BYU’s RB depth.
Finally, it is impressive to see a spring where BYU has so many experienced, returning starters. This enables newcomers like linebackers Cade Uluave (Cal) and Jake Clifton (Kansas State) to get a ton of reps as there’s a protective bubble around veterans Isaiah Glasker and Siale Esera, keeping these playmakers from injury.
Because we haven’t seen full pad and full hitting, it is impossible to get a true grasp on how the offensive and defensive interior lines are winning or losing. They are doing a lot of thud pad drills with no take downs, although Sitake says you can’t tell any of the linemen they aren’t getting after it and it isn’t competitive in the trenches, because it is.
Cougar tales
Sophomore Delaney Gibb surpassed 1,000 points in leading the Cougar women to a blowout win over Missouri Monday in the WBIT, advancing to the quarterfinals Thursday against Stanford in the Marriott Center.
Freshman Jane Hedengren was named the National Indoor Track Athlete of the Year and her coach Diljeet Taylor was named the National Assistant Coach of the Year by the USTCCA. Hedengren won both the 5,000- and 3,000-meters at the NCAA’s Indoor Championships.
At least one NBA general manager has AJ Dybantsa listed as the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft. Other mock drafts are now declaring that is the growing consensus.
Here is a report on how former Cougars performed at NFL Pro Day hosted by BYU on campus last Friday. Mory Bamba ran one of the fastest 40 times (handheld) by scouts.
BYU has a commitment from 6-foot-7 wing player Bruce Branch III, who is projected to be among the top three NBA picks in 2027. Here is a video of his preparation and life leading up to his time at BYU.
The Cougars are among five Big 12 gymnastics programs invited to the NCAA championships.
Lee Cummard hits a milestone with BYU women’s basketball for wins.
Here is Doug Robinson’s story highlighting the remarkable climb of Ethan Shuley from a BYU cross country runner to Olympic hopeful.
From the archives
From X-verse
Extra points
- High expectations better than none at all (Deseret News)
- NCAA loss microcosm of season (Deseret News)
- How does Young assess season? (Deseret News)
Fanalysts
Comments from Deseret News readers:
Lazy team, no heart, no grit. Throwing money at a couple guys guarantees you nothing. Building a winning team is much more than money. You have to have leadership, established roles, a system and guys that buy into the team concept. You had none of that. Losing Saunders really hurt. I saw a bunch of mercenaries who couldn’t be bothered to try hard and don’t care about byu or its mission. You used to know that byu would give its all every game, win or lose. That certainly was non-existent this year, these guys didn’t care. Finally, you had very little talent on your team. One or two good guys (or even three, with Saunders) isn’t going to win you anything. Poorly constructed roster, poorly coached team with apathetic players. I don’t care who you bring in, until you address the aforementioned issues it’s not going to matter. Randomly throwing together a few good players doesn’t necessarily lead to winning.
— Taylor99
Yes. Injuries really made an impact on the success of this team, mainly because there was no depth and not enough guys who could shoot the 3 well. Also the scheme was flawed for the college game. They had much success when they moved the ball well and played as a team. Granted, they saw some success in the isolation game, but only when AJ was having a great game. Last year they played with teamwork and had more success than this year’s team with less talent. Hmmmm.
— idablu
Up next
- March 25 | TBA | men’s swimming | NCAA championships
- March 26 | 8 a.m. | men’s golf | @ The Goodwin, Palo Alto
- March 26 | 8 a.m. | track and field | UVU Invitational
- March 26 | noon | women’s tennis | Kansas State
- March 26 | 6 p.m. | baseball | Oklahoma State
- March 26 | 6 p.m. | softball | Kansas
- March 27 | noon | track and field | @ Trojan Invitational
- March 27 | 5 p.m. | men’s tennis | Texas Tech
- March 27 | 6 p.m. | softball | Kansas
- March 27 | 7 p.m. | men’s volleyball | Pepperdine
- March 28 | 11 a.m. | women’s tennis | Oklahoma State
- March 28 | 11:30 a.m. | softball | Kansas
- March 28 | noon | volleyball | Utah
- March 28 | 1 p.m. | baseball | Oklahoma State