Part 3 - Defensive Line



The 2011 season turned out to be quite a roller coaster, as Jake Heaps entered the season as an entrenched starter, but struggled more and more as the year wore on. Enter Riley Nelson, and the Cougars managed a ten-win but turbulent season behind the once again split leadership. Now Heaps has transferred, and Nelson finally gets his chance as a senior to have the team all to himself, as the Cougars embark on their second year as an independent. The coming season features a more challenging schedule, particularly on the road, so the Cougs have their work cut out for them.

When considering players who would have started all season but were injured along the way and players who started at least 6 games, BYU has 13 full-year starters coming back in 2012. There are 6 returning starters on offense, while 7 starters return on defense, along with 8 other players who also started at least one game at some point during the 2011 season. There are also 2 return missionaries back who were multi-year starters prior to leaving.

Defensive Line:

The Cougar defensive line takes one major hit in losing graduation senior Hebron "Loni" Fangupo. Fangupo only played a single year for the Cougars after transferring from USC, but had a major impact on the effectiveness of the unit a year ago. Fortunately BYU returns a remarkably experienced and talented two deep, chock full of multi year starting seniors. So many seniors, in fact, that the prospects for 2013 are a little frightening. But for the coming season, it's hard to imagine a more battle tested unit than that which will take the field for the Cougars this fall.

Personnel:

BYU has 4 starters returning on the dline, when two returned missionaries are accounted for, each of who started for 3 years prior to their missions. The first player returned from a mission and coming off a redshirt is Ian Dulan. The other is redshirt senior Russell Tialavea, who also played for three years as a starter prior to his mission. Both should be very familiar names to Cougar fans. Redshirt senior Romney Fuga returns having played and started 12 games last year, notching 25 tackles with 2 tackles for a loss. Also back is true senior Eathyn Manumaleuna, who started every game a year ago with 33 tackles.

Other defensive linemen that return with playing experience include Jordan Richardson, Mike Muehlmann, Justin Blackmore, and Simote Vea. Redshirt senior Richardson played in 8 games, totaling 4 tackles with .5 tackles for loss. Muehlmann, a redshirt junior, played in 8 games in 2011, with 3 tackles including 2 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, and 1 forced fumble. Redshirt sophomore Blackmore played in 2 games and had 1 tackle. Vea, a redshirt senior, played in every game last year, recording 5 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and 1 sack. Ezekiel Ansah may also play some defensive end this year.

The sole dlineman who has been on the team but without playing time is Moses Kaumatule, a redshirt freshman who redshirted last year.

Newcomers to the defensive line include freshman walk on Michael Doman, rugby transfer junior Ray Forrester, JC transfer junior Marques Johnson, returned missionary true freshmen Tuni Kanuch and Bronson Kaufusi, and incoming true freshmen scholarship players Tofi Taumata, Theodore King, and Austin Hoyt, who may play offensive line.

Projected Starters:

Unlike most units, it probably doesn't matter much who is designated a starter on the defensive line this year. In the spring prospectus, the starters are listed as Eathyn Manumaleuna at left end, Romney Fuga at nose tackle, and Ian Dulan at right end. Those three are currently backed up by Jordan Richardson, Russell Tialavea, and Ziggy Ansah, respectively. Each of those six players is a senior with game experience, and four of them have been starters for more than two seasons. The dline this season won't be hurting for practical knowledge. It's likely that there will be a lot of rotation to keep players fresh without much if any drop off from one unit to the next. Mike Muehlmann has also made the most of his limited minutes and should be a nice player down the road.

Outlook:

The dline will almost certainly be the strongest unit for BYU in 2012 anywhere on the team. It's rare that you get two deep senior starters with so much playing time, and they ought to hit the ground running. Of course, in BYUs 3-4 scheme, the defensive lineman are not designed to get the majority of tackles. As long as they are taking up blockers and freeing up the linebackers to make plays, then they are doing their job. Cougar fans should expect success in that regard. Anything less than a strong season would have to be a disappointment considering the strength of the position.

Defensive Summary:

2011 was, for the most part, an effective season for the BYU defense. A ton of players are back, and there are only a few holes to plug. Accordingly, the Cougar defense ought to be good, and fans are justified in having high expectations. At the same time, the BYU defense will be tested early and often. The schedule has a number of difficult road games, and BYU will likely have to rely on a stout defense to rise to the challenge in those games. On paper, the pieces are in place. Assuming those units can gel quickly, the 2012 Cougar defense is likely to be fierce, and in terms of players in the right spot, it should be the kind of defense capable of taking on the difficult travel schedule.

You can read Part 2, Linebackers, here: http://www.cougarboard.com/board/message.html?id=8719026

And Part 1, Defensive Backs, here: http://www.cougarboard.com/board/message.html?id=8714262