My top 5 spring camp storylines to watch

Spring camp is almost among us already, and thus my mind has been often wandering back to the gridiron. I picked out my top 5 storylines, and decided to share it with y’all.

5-Competition at ILB… Stout is back. That greatly helps the depth at that position I think. He received playing time as a true freshman, and was in the two deep every year, although being banged up a bit throughout his career thus far. Maybe a year off treated his knees right? Regardless, it leaves me feeling a bit more comfortable depth wise. The battle for the starting position is one of the more intriguing position battles going into spring, and Pikula, Stout, Kautai, JLD, Ho’Ching, Heder, and Pulsipher seem like the 6 that will be battling for the positions this spring. Pikula likely is the front runner for one spot, and Stout, Kautai, JLD, and Ho’Ching will all be battling for the other starting position, and a spot in the 2 deep.

4- RM’s – The spring list of RM’s includes (off the top of my head) Ului Lapuaho, Tanner Balderree, Brian Rawlinson, Kensi Tausinga, Graham Rowley, Travis Tuiloma and probably another one or two that I’m missing. Really excited to see what kind of push Ului can make at a spot at tackle, and all 3 DL’s should be in the 2 deep on the DL in my opinion. I’m interested to see where they put Balderree as well, although I doubt he has as much of an impact as the others I mentioned. Excited to see where these guys are physically, and get a better look at what the DL might look like.

3- Position Changes… Kaufusi, Alisa, Kanuch, and Davis. All three should contribute this season I believe. Alisa played as an outside backer his freshman year before his mission, and I believe will see playing time this year there. Kanuch will be really fun to hear about. That dude was a bully in HS, and could bring a bit or nastiness to the OL. Davis back at wideout makes sense, but Kaufusi is probably the biggest move. It will be interesting to see how he performs there through camp, and how he moves coming in closer to 260-265.

2- DL battle- Johnson, Peck, Peoples, Tuiloma, Rowley, Tausinga are the leaders in my mind to make up the two deep. Seems like a lot of girth. Johnson, Peoples, and Tuiloma are all probably nose guards. It will be interesting to see where Peoples comes in weight wise. If he can get down to around 310 I believe he is athletic enough to play end. This entire group will be probably the most intriguing to keep an eye on, as we should have the chance to watch the 2 deep play out in part this spring.

1… Backup QB. Hopefully we aren’t forced to use one, but we do need one. Christian Stewart, and Billy Green are the most likely candidates to step up and take the reigns as the number 2 guy, with Stewart having the inside track. McCoy Hill left on his mission May 9th, 2012 and I admittedly don’t know if he’s back for spring ball, or not. I kind of doubt it. Hopefully someone can separate themselves and man that spot, or as Bronco said on signing day, they might have to look at adding someone late. McCoy Hill in my mind is someone to keep an eye on as well when he joins the program. He impressed as a TE before his mission, but with his skillset he seems like a fit athletically to play QB with the system BYU is currently running.