what I expect &/or hope to see in Fall Camp. I was going to do this after spring practices were over but didn't. So I did it now. (I don't sugar coat things, but still try to be fair about what I see/saw. These of course are just my opinions, they could be wrong and are subject to change


Lee Aguirre- Like most of you, I haven't seen him yet but have read a lot. Here's to hoping...

Nick Alletto- Looked good before injury but I still see us having a problem with the pass rush against top players coming from that side of the o-line. I'm still am hopeful however that it (the RT spot) will improve over last year (D. Oswald).

Terry Alletto- From film I've seen, other than not being as fast/quick as I had hoped, he looked awesome in every other way. Excited about him down the line. Wonder if he could move up the depth chart to become #2 behind RJ. But with Freeman coming back etc, he might be able to RS.

Luke Ashworth- With Jacobson being out most of spring ball Ashworth got almost all the reps at Z and looked really good and athletic. He repeatedly burned Garrett Nicholson for long receptions and TD's. I would venture to say that in NFL combine type testing, Luke would compare well with Austin. But that he has ground to make up in terms of Austin's sweet routs, having his super strong hands, his intangibles, etc.

Jordan Atkinson- Not bad but not as good as I had hoped/expected. He has large legs. (In case you wanted to know

Trevor Bateman- I've just got a good feeling about him. I think he will be good. This is based on just about nothing. Has a good Bio on byucougars.com though

Matt Bauman- Best Linbacker on the team.

Jeff Bell- Vocal and good football attitude/demeanor but lacks starting D-1 talent/mensurable s.

Craig Bills- Was on the sidlines for most spring practices and looked VERY eager to get in and hit someone right then and there. Looked to be in great shape too (and I'm not talken round).

Brandon Bradley- That play (TD) right before the half against Utah still haunts me and I hope has motivated him to work like crazy to get better (keep working out with Cramardee sp? buddy He looked good in spring before getting injured but I hope he lost a little more body fat % over the summer. Every little bit helps when your at Corner. Not necessarily lose weight mind you, just a little body fat.

Braden Brown- Reminded me of how physical V. So'oto was his freshman year at TE except even bigger & taller and better hands. He is an intimidating presence on the field for sure. Add a little more speed to his game and he will be a truly all-round great TE.

Rhen Brown- Only noticed that he has good straight line speed. If he also has some moves after the catch, he would be a good one to try out at the H spot.

Terence Brown- I don't think you'll even notice T. Bright isn't there this year cause Terence is seriously good. (Go T. Bright and make the cowboys team!)

Thomas Bryson- Excited about his future after this year. With some more weight he will be great at DE.

Robbie Buckner- I remember that I was excited about him in 06 (I remember he got 1st or 2nd in the beep drill test on the first day of camp). I expect him to live up to my expectations while at byu. Hopefully even this year.

O'Neill Chambers- I'll go on record as saying this year Chambers be better than Reed was last year. (I just lost all credibility with some of you I know.) He looked improved in spring and was unstoppable in one-on-one red zone receiving drills. Reed was a great WR blocker but O'Neill is even better IMHO. Reed is a better route runner than Chambers which gives me pause in saying O'Neill will be better but I am hoping Chambers improved that this summer. Also, O'Neill's hands are money.

Coleby Clawson- He is a warrior out there. He is one of the only players I saw stand up to Max and talk trash back to him while scrimmaging. He isn't as good as Kehl or Nixon but he is good and gets his nose in there on all the plays around him. I love his toughness and he will be our best outside LB'er this year.

Jefferson Court- Good for special teams. Just big enough to make some hits once he gets down there on kick offs and is pretty fast so he is one of the first guy's down there.

Stephen Covey- I know a lot of people are talking about how we should use the H position more this year and that Covey should be the man for it. Stephen is an awesome guy but he is not ready to get regular PT yet. He looked slightly lost in spring as to what he should be doing on some plays, dropped to many balls in drills and didn't have the crispest routs which all adds up to not having enough confidence in him if your a coach. When there is not a second RB in a formation, George is still the best option here.

Brett Denney- Although John and Ryan were better, Brett has improved every single year he has been in the program and if that holds true this year he will have a good senior year.

J.J. Di Luigi- I had bought into a lot of the hype that surrounded him coming out of HS with the all the youtube state championship highlights, write ups, etc and although much of that has been tempered for me, I still think JJ can do more than he has (cause he hasn't done much). His running form/style does look a little strange in person but he still makes some nice plays in practice. He did a nice job running off the LT and of receiving on screen plays (yes I said screen plays) in the spring. At the end of spring I would have put him a little ahead of Teo. We'll see who's made the more improvement between the two over the summer within the next week and a half.

Shawn Doman- Underated by many in my opinion. He made a TD saving play/tackle in the game against UCLA in the Vegas bowl that didn't get noticed. It was an awesome play and he is a very good backer. I can't wait to see if he can hold off Hooks this fall from taking his starting spot. I kind of think he will.

Ryan Freeman- The fact that he got PT as a true freshman on an OL that was really good in 06 shows that he is good. I want to see how he looks on the field this fall camp. I'm sure he looks pretty good.

Romney Fuga- If Tialavea doesn't play, Fuga better be ready to go. He was pretty good his freshman year and I hope to see a lot of improvement each and every year from him. I'm watching closely him come fall for sure.

Jray Galea'i- Really good all round athlete. I'm excited to watch him and think he will be an eventual starter for sure. Actually, I wouldn't mind him getting a shot at playing CB at the beginning of camp just to see how he looks/does.

Brenden Gaskins- Good arm but needs to have more confidence in himself. He is always looking to his RB's and TE's for the really safe 2nd and 3rd options in a play. Many times he has WR's wide open down the field and he wasn't even looking for them cause he was just playing it safe and waiting for the dump offs to the RB,TE to come open even if it was 3rd and long. Frustrating. He has physical tools to be good but rarely looks down field.

Andrew George- Still looked good and made some big third down catches in spring scrimages. Is the best guy to put in there as a second TE in the H spot.

Spencer Hafoka- Get well Spencer, were all pulling for you!

Mike Hague- I Can't wait to see how he compares to JJ and Malosi as he gets back in the swing of things coming off his mission. All three of them are similar type of RB's from what I've seen. None of them seem to be head and shoulders above the others.

Max Hall- He took off and ran a lot in the spring so I expect him to try to do that more this year (don't get hurt!) He threw a few picks but overall was nails. When ever he has time to set and throw bad things are going to happen for a defense. If he has good protection this year he is going to have year to really remember.

Braden Hansen- Performed similar to N. Alletto in the spring except in a lighter body. If he shows to be quicker on his feet come fall coaches have got to look at him playing a lot, especially at the times we don't plan on running a lot (2 minute drills etc) and against DE's that are unusually fast. I think Aletto holds him off from starting but that he will push more and more for more PT.

Anthony Heimuli- Manase Tonga part II but faster?

Cody Hoffman- Good size, I'm interested what kind of WR skills he has.

Tevita Hola- One last chance to overcome a bust label.

Tyler Holt- Had some great kicks while practicing alone but struggled in live situations.

Terrance Hooks- While he still didn't show the speed he had right before his spring of 08, he showed that he made great strides from the end of last season to this spring. If he continued at that same rate of improvement over this summer he will be playing a ton if not starting and having a really good year.

Shane Hunter- Pretty thick kid as I remember but didn't really see him play.

McKay Jacobson- Collies first live scrimmage back from his mission he took a short out pattern up field and turned it into a TD. Stud. Well, after sitting out most of spring with a pulled hammy, McKay came back on the last day of practices, entered the live scrimmage over half way into it and caught two long passes getting behind the defense for over 40 yards each. Stud. He will be our best Wide out this year.

Landon Jaussi- Was playing CB in spring. He looked like the white version of Sean Smith. I'm not sure what his true position should be. He seems to be the jack of all trades but the master of none. Should be good on special teams.

Scott Johnson- Was a field general out there in the spring and played real well. Hits hard for his size, isn't afraid to hit either. Being fast and shifty enough to be a CB allows him to make good plays from his free safety spot. If he and Rich stay healthy we have a really good pair of safety's out there.

Jan Jorgensen- We all know about Jan and I expect more of the same from him. If he doesn't have to play lined up between the guard and tackle and can instead be lined up on the tackles outside shoulder, he'll have more hurries, sacks, etc.

Rockey Kalamafoni- Unfortunatley I didn't really get a chance to watch him.

Bryan Kariya- Our speed option at FB. Even though he runs pretty straight up and down I really like him. He hits the whole before it has a chance to close and seems to make good plays almost every time he's able to get his hands on the ball. He is a great change up and compliment back to Manase.

Tyler Kozlowski- Plays with a lot of heart and alway hustles. He did have a big drop in a scrimmage where it was like 3rd and 20 and Max put it right on the money on a post pattern and he dropped it. Happens to everyone at one time or another. Just hopefully not in a game.

Tucker Lamb- Even though he's kinda small, he is real tough to bring down and breaks a lot of tackles. Good player to have in practice cause you know will give great effort which will force the defense to do the same but you aren't worried about him getting hurt for the games cause he probably won't get much PT. Great for the PS.

Aveni Leung-Wai- Can't wait to finally see him play. We'll see how good he is.

Brian Logan- One of these JC guy's better pan out.

Peni Maka'afi- Was he worth bringing in another full back? We will see and I hope so.

Parker Mangum- Won the Elko Challenge. Had some up and down plays during spring ball. What position is he going to end up at? Great guy to have on the team even if he doesn't ever end up seeing the field.

Matt Marshall- Has helped a lot in preparing for Air Force along with Covey. And like Covey, unless he impresses Bronco this fall, he won't see much time at the H this year, if any at all.

Mitch Mathews- Many want to see how good this kid is, including myself. Well I guess we all want to see how good everyone is

Jonathan McCullough- I admire players that can get themselves to stick through practices and workouts, etc, year after year, knowing that the players in front of them are so talented and good that they may not ever see the field.

Carter Mees- Was injured for a lot of spring but looked like he a good body for safety.

Mike Muehlmann- Although he looked a little light in spring, he did really well and made quite a few receptions. Probably caught the most passes at TE behind Pitta and George. Isn't a great blocker but showed some speed and like I said made some nice catches. Kinda reminded me of a taller, leaner, faster Justin Jory.

Ryan Mulitalo- Hope he develops into another great OL for BYU. Don't know much about him other than what I've read.

Grant Nelson- I had heard things like he was better than Paul Posluszny in high school (don't you just love internet hype?) and while that doesn't seem to be true I think Nelson is good. I thought he played just as good as Pendleton in the spring. He should get good PT this year. Right now I'd have him back up both outside linebacker spots.

Riley Nelson- I saw the games he played in at Utah St. He's good and I want to watch him in our system and what we are going to do with him. I still believe Jake is going to come in and be the starter in 2010.

Garett Nicholson- Written reports I've read have been pretty kind to him but I actually thought he struggled during spring scrimmages. He had a lot of trouble with Luke. I didn't know weather to be really excited about Luke or really worried about Garrett. Some of both I suppose. If Garett is the starter (which I don't think he will be) than OK, TCU, etc will have a field day. But if were just talken about who you'd want to hang out with, he be near the top of the list for sure. Plus he is only a freshman and will surely develop and get better. He has the speed to do it.

Austin Nielsen- Seemed similar to Shane Hunter.

Brandon Ogletree- He got hurt before I could really watch him.

Paul Olsen- Looked aggressive in the one scrimmage I saw him in and wasn't afraid to get his face in the pile and hit someone. That was good to see.

John Pace- Did a nice job on his snaps, very underrated and important position on any team.

Mitch Payne- He keeps improving and I think he will prove the writers correct and be first team all mountain west Kicker this year.

Remington Peck-I've heard he's good, can't wait to watch him out on the field.

Jordan Pendleton- Great LB'r body. Didn't shed blockers all that well in practice and isn't as aggressive or have the warrior mentality to the degree Clawson has it. More shy to hit than Clawson. Jordan should still do well considering his speed etc. I'm curious to see how much more comfortable he is within the D's scheme. I badly want him to be like our last two strong side backers have been for us, I'm just not yet sold that he will be. I hope to see much improvement from him this fall. If you combined Colby's strengths with Jordans, you'd a NFL backer for sure.

B.J. Peterson- He's quite good. I think he get some PT at other MWC schools. He looks good in pads due to his muscular arms and has good hands. However, when you don't get many chances in scrimmages, you have to come up big every time you get one. He dropped a pass on a big play last year and I remember thinking, ouch, there went his chance with the coaches. Reminded me of when Jaussi droped one in the endzone at LES in a scrimmage a couple years ago.

Matt Peterson- All I know is what is in his bio on byucougars.com. He did lead the state in tackles for DL in Utah.

Dennis Pitta- Stands out as a man among boys every time he's on the field in game situations. I thought I loved Harline (& I do) but Pitta is truly the man.

Matt Putnam- Didn't like that he had put on more weight in the offseason. I liked him at last years weight. He was slower off the snap in the spring (I believe due to the weight gain). Hopefully he will be good against the run than if he is going to play heavier. He is very disruptive in the passing lanes on pass plays which I love. I heard Jan worked to get his weight back down and I hope Matt did the same (but I don't think he did).

Houston Reynolds- If Russell chooses not to play, than I hope Houston starts out at NT to see how he does. Coming out of HS Houston was struggling trying to decide to play a year or go straight on a mission. The reason why it was even a question was because coach Kafusi told him that he was good enough to start for him on the DL as a true freshman. So he must be good at DL. Since were pretty set on the OL, I think we might as well start him off on the DL.

Matt Reynolds- Although I'd like his gut to be slightly smaller (nit picking I know) what can you say about a guy that dominated like he did last year. How early will he leave for the NFL? The longer he stays the happier for me I'll be. If he goes early, I'll be happy for him.

Andrew Rich- Had a great spring and is a great player. I just hope he doesn't know him self out anymore this year. Great range, nose for the ball, and closes quickly. I'm excited for him. I loved that hit against Godfrey (I believe it was Godfrey) in the Utah game. I don't care if it was called a penalty. That was sweet.

Jordan Richardson- He runs well for his size and I'm looking forward to what he does during camp.

Vic So'oto- I was totally pumped when I heard he was moved to DL. That's the best spot for him in my opinion. If his foot and body are good to go, he good really help us and do some great things. Athletically he's as good as any of the DL's. I hope he isn't in the 270 range as some have said and is still in the 250's or 60's so as to capitalize on his speed. If he is that big, I guess you could play him all over the place on the DL. Come Aug. 10 (that's the first practice I think I will be able to make it to) I might be most excited to observe Vic at DE.

Jason Speredon- Hey, a leaner looking OL, that's nice. He had a great take down move on Denney in a fight that broke out during a spring scrimmage. Paid the price though with so many up downs I thought the whole team was going to lose their lunches. Of all the OL's replacing the starters I am most concerned about Jason being as good as Rey was. But that's only cause I think all the other "new" OL's are just as talented as the starters that graduated. As good as he is, I don't think Jason is as talented as Feinga.

Riley Stephenson- Bronco seems to think he is going to be a stud. Good enough for me.

Jesse Taufi- He for sure would start on most all other MWC OL's and I think will play a lot here. He has a great build for an OL and am excited to see what he does this fall.

Stetson Tenney- Better than I expected. We'll see how he progresses.

Malosi Te'o- Like JJ, he broke off more than a couple real long runs in practice. First day I saw him I thought he had bad hands cause he badly dropped an easy pass but then changed my mind when I never saw him drop another one the rest of the spring. JJ looked a little better but Malosi might have a slightly higher ceiling on his potential.

Shiloah Te'o- I think he will be a starter in 2010 with Johnson graduating and if Craig & Jray goes on missions which I'm sure they will. He shows good instincts and hopefully he got little faster this off season. He will get some good experience this year and be good on special team.

Steven Thomas- He kinda reminded me of S. Johnson while playing CB in the spring but actually a little faster. Personally, I though he did just as well if not better than Nicholson. Not sure if he can stick in the two deep once the season starts like he is now but we will see. He showed pretty well at Punt Returner as well and again, he showed some nice speed on returns.

Brett Thompson- Very excited about this guy. I'm going to watch this guy a lot and closely. I think he's going to break into the two deep at the X and play with Chambers. A lot of people have said he is really good including McKay.

Marco Thorson- I don't know much about him and to be honest I can't remember watching him very much or at all in the spring. I guess I need to give him some attention and see how he looks.

Russell Tialavea- I really hope he can leave a month and a half later and just play this season. He looked a little too light to me in the spring and a bit less effective being at that lighter weight. If he does come back to play, that would concern me a little bit so I hope he can at least gain a little of it back. No matter what though, he was still our best NT during spring.

Masi Tuitama- Pretty fast guy so I'm curious to see how much stronger he's become this off season. If he is stronger, he could push some people. I also want to pay closer attention to his tackling ability since I wasn't really able remember that part of his game right now.

David Tuitupou- Another guy I need to watch more. It's hard when guy's don't get in scrimmages much to really see much from them unless you go watch them during their position specific drills. I want to to that more with the DL come fall.

Travis Uale- Rangy player and did well while Johnson was out. Depending on how missions etc go he might start by his senior year.

Harvey Unga- Offense takes on a whole other dimension when he actually gets a few reps in scrimmages. The game comes very naturally for him and if would dedicate himself staying at 235 I think would be even better.

Fono Vakalahi- He looks mean in his recruiting picture, hope he is nasty on the field too. I've heard he is.

Dan Van Sweden- He looks like an outside linebacker but plays better on the inside. He was backing up Bauman and Ah you in the spring and when Bauman had the surgury he got more reps and actually did pretty well. I was a little surprised cause I had kind of ridden him off but he did do pretty well. I'll always remember during fall camp of Unga's freshman year in a scrimmage when Harvey took the hand off from about 4 yards out and met Dan in the whole right at the goal line and just ran him over. Dan had to leave the field and had ice on his shoulder the rest of practice. That's when I knew Harvey was way better than I had even anticipated.

Jadon Wagner- Hasn't impressed me yet. But he's only a sophomore. He has really skinny legs btw.

R.J. Willing- I didn't see any drop off from D. Reynolds. His snaps were good I think he will do real well this year. I thought he got the better of Tialavea during spring.

Richard Wilson- Already one of top physical specimens on the team. I have no idea how he'll fair at LB but if his mind can match his body he will be awesome. Really excited about him.

Rick Wolfley- Did really good in the spring and in his case I was encouraged to hear that he has been losing weight. Finally a BYU player that needs to lose weight does it. My respect for him is high if this is true. He's not an all conference type player (at least not yet) but can still be effective out there for sure. I'm curious to see how he can do against the elite centers. Actually competing against RJ should prepare him pretty well.

At the end of spring I thought 8-4. I hope I think better than that at the end of fall camp. Stay healthy! Is this the longest post ever. This has made me thirsty for some real football!