I’ve seen many fans point to the absence of Ricks football as a significant contributor to BYU’s current struggles. While many quality players came through the that program, the Ricks impact is often overrated. What is underrated is the amount of high level junior college players that have contributed to BYU football, but the role of juco players has significantly declined from year’s past.
I understand why the coaches may not want to bring in juco guys. With the limits of how many players a school can sign in a class getting a guy for 2 years can seem less valuable than a 4 year player. However, juco players can provide valuable experience and fill holes caused by missions and transfers.
In 1996, BYU won the ultimate juco lottery with a roster that included Sark, McTyer, Morgan, Bloomfield, Ellison, Lamb, Lewis, Roderick, McKenzie, Kealaluhi among others. There were 24 juco players on the 96 team.
There were 23 juco players on the 2006 team including Jensen, Harline, Robinson, Criddle, and Meikle.
The 2009 team had 13 juco players. The 2018 team had 5. The 2019 team had 6. Utah had 11 last year.
Does Kalani not believe in juco players, or are his hands tied and that route has been cut off for the most part?