My apologies if this has been talked about too much on CB...

I have been mulling over the differences in coaching philosophies over the years at BYU, particularly how Robert Anae coached vs how Ty Detmer will structure the offense. As many of you know I was a vocal supporter of Bronco/Anae and was sad to see them go. I have also come to the conclusion that the change was good and I see BYU football getting to a new level with Kalani Sitake and Co. I also have come to believe that Bronco and his staff had hit their ceiling and that 8-9 wins was all that was every going to happen. Which leads me to my musings about Robert Anae vs what I anticipate Ty will do.

I was surprised this season when there were many occasions where the receiving corps (one of the most talented across the board corps in BYU history) were covered completely with no one open. I also got a bit frustrated that the offense required the receivers to make plays because they were bigger than the DB's who were covering them. And while the Michigan game was certainly a dumpster fire for the entire team, the fact that the receivers could not get an inch of space on the Michigan DB's was particularly problematic. And it was why I think BYU lost to Mizzou and Utah. And while I do not pretend to know more than Robert Anae about offenses, I think this reveals a significant flaw in his offensive scheme, this coupled with the idea that the spread is an offense that is intended to get speed guys into space and then for them to make plays. The problem with this is twofold. 1) BYU's receivers sometimes were not open because the coaches believed that they could just make plays because they were so big and 2) BYU's recruiting base is not one where they would be able to get receivers that fit the "speed kills" model. Even Devon Blackmon who was the closest thing to that type of receiver this year did not possess blinding speed. And this is why certain teams with athletes were able to really slow down BYU. In the Vegas bowl this was evident early on and what led to several of the turnovers.

Which gets me to Ty Detmer. When he was at BYU his fastest receiver was probably Eric Drage (certainly fast, but not that fast). And when I think about all of the BYU greats, Todd Watkins is probably the fastest wide out BYU ever had. The greats, Glenn Koslowski, Austin Collie, Andy Boyce, Mark Belleni, Cody Hoffman, Margin Hooks and others were all great receivers but with the exception of Hooks and Watkins none of them possessed great speed, and none on the list had game changing speed. What excites me about what Detmer is that rather than being stubborn in the way that Robert tried to fit BYU type players into his style of offense, Ty will more likely than not run an offense that compliments BYU's type of receivers. I heard Boyce talk about BYU returning to the vertical passing game, which is code for just what I am talking about. BYU's receivers don't have to be the fastest (although getting someone like this would be nice) but if they can run precise routes, which is more than "executing a button hook in super slow mo" the thing we will most likely be complaining about next year is that Taysom and/or Tanner won't be fast enough in their read progressions to find the open man. (I am confident however that they will get it eventually)

The other thing that i am really pumped about is BYU bringing back the Tight End. We went from having excellent tight ends through the years with occasional All Americans at that position to having to convert a D-Lineman because of injury and a lack of depth (due to recruiting). It may take a couple recruiting classes, but BYU will get back to having those great tight ends who not only make plays but open up space for the other receivers.