I apologize for the delay in getting these out this year; busy times. Better late than never, I hope.

Part 1 - Defensive Backs



In 2012, the BYU Cougars were a Jekyll and Hyde team, with one of the most dominating defenses in school history paired with an offense that largely struggled, in spite of flashes of ability and some playmakers in the skill positions. Even with the offensive struggles, BYU was in each of their five losses a year ago deep into the fourth quarter, with the majority of those games coming down to the last possession. But a loss is a loss, and Bronco Mendenhall ultimately addressed the issue by changing out much of the offensive coaching staff and rehiring offensive coordinator Robert Anae. With one of the more challenging schedules BYU has ever had on tap for 2013, the BYU will need to continue to play great defense and improve on the other side of the ball to be successful.

When considering players who would have started all season but were injured along the way and players who started at least six games, BYU has 14 full-year starters coming back in 2013. There are 8 returning starters on offense, while 6 starters return on defense, along with 6 other players who also started at least one game at some point during the 2012 season.

Defensive Backs:

For the last couple of seasons BYU has enjoyed a lot of depth in the secondary with some great players filling the front lines. In 2013 that depth is going to be tested. While three excellent starters return, the players behind them are largely unproven, and some bad luck with injuries in the spring and the MLB Draft have already negatively impacted the Cougar secondary, creating some holes that will have to be filled. From the 2012 team, BYU loses outstanding boundary corner Preston Hadley, and free safety Joe Sampson, who was suspended mid year.

Personnel:

The most experienced returning secondary players are full year starters Daniel Sorenson and Jordan Johnson. Sorenson, a senior, started every game last year, with 68 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 3 interceptions, 5 pass breakups, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 fumble recovery. Johnson, a junior, started 12 games last year, with 48 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble, and a stellar 15 pass breakups. Craig Bills, a junior, is also a returning starter after taking over for Joe Sampson midway through the year. Bills started the last 5 games while playing in every game, with 47 tackles, 1 forced fumble, and 5 passes broken up.

Other players that have seen playing time include Mike Hague, Adam Hogan, Cameron Comer, Skye PoVey, and Blake Morgan. Hague is a redshirt senior coming off a medical redshirt after playing in 4 games last year with 6 tackles. The senior Hogan played in 4 games last year but did not record a statistic. Comer, a redshirt junior, did not play last year but has prior minimal playing experience. PoVey, a senior, played in 3 games last year with 2 tackles. Redshirt senior Morgan played on the scout team last year, but made some contributions before a mission.

Defensive backs who have been on the team but without playing time are redshirt sophomore Trevor Bateman, who was on the scout team last year; redshirt fresmen returning missionaries DJ Doman and Levi Gifford; redshirt freshman Connor Noe, who redshirted last year; and redshirt sophomores Drew Reilly and Michael Wadsworth. Reilly redshirted last year after transferring from Colorado State, while Wadsworth did the same after transferring from Hawaii.

Newcomers at defensive back include juco transfer juniors Trent Trammell, Robertson Daniel, and Sam Lee. Trammell was injured for the year in spring ball and will have to redshirt. Also incoming are true freshmen Jordan Preator, Kai Nacua, and Dallin Leavitt.

Projected Starters:

Three quarters of the defensive backfield is set as far as starters go. Daniel Sorenson is back at strong safety as a multi year starter. Jordan Johnson returns at field corner after a nice first year starting full time. Craig Bills will assume full time starting duties after taking over mid year in 2012. That leaves boundary corner as a major question mark. Coming out of spring football, Mike Hague is listed as the starter at boundary corner. Hague will almost certainly see a lot of playing time, presuming he can stay healthy, whether at boundary corner or spotting other positions.

Other players who will vie for the boundary corner spot are Sam Lee and Robertson Daniel, and possibly the transfer safeties Michael Wadsworth and Drew Reilly. Coming out of spring, Wadsworth is listed as Sorenson's backup, Adam Hogan as Johnson's, and Blake Morgan as the backup to Bills. Jacob Hanneman was listed on the two deep at boundary corner but instead will go to work for the Chicago Cubs.

Outlook:

All things considered, the defensive backfield looks very solid with the returning starters, but with some major question marks at boundary corner and in the depth behind the three returning starters. The most important thing for the coaching staff to figure out in fall camp is to get a starter at boundary corner. Odds are it will either be Hague, one of the JC transfers, or one of the two safety transfer players. Once that first priority is set, the next issue will be finding players to back up the starters and start getting them some experience for the future. Presuming that the starters can stay healthy, though, BYU fans should anticipate a continuation of the great secondary play they've seen in recent years.