Today I want to look at BYU's non-primary contributors -- I'd use the word secondary but then we'd get confused between defensive backs -- and see how many snaps they've played in their careers compared to the primary contributors at their position.
Chandler Bing voice: could I have made that intro any more confusing?
Let's try this again: Today I'm going to analyze how experienced BYU's backups are.
For example, say Gunner Romney has played 1,200 career snaps and his backup Brayden Cosper has played 120. Under this scenario you could say Cosper is 10% as experienced as Romney, right? The higher the percentage, the more experienced BYU's "next man up" is, or to put it in the half-glass empty way, the lower the percentage, the greater the dropoff in experience between the starter and his replacement.
Note that this post won't really attempt to determine how "good" these backups are, just how much they've seen the field.
Let's get to it. All snaps referred to below represent career snaps. To see the 2021 version, click here.
QUARTERBACK
Starter: Jaren Hall (824 snaps)
Backups: Jacob Conover (39 snaps, 5%)
TIGHT ENDS
Starters: Isaac Rex (1,322), Dallin Holker (671)
Backups: Carter Wheat (212, 21%), Lane Lunt (83, 8%)
For example, say Gunner Romney has played 1,200 career snaps and his backup Brayden Cosper has played 120. Under this scenario you could say Cosper is 10% as experienced as Romney, right? The higher the percentage, the more experienced BYU's "next man up" is, or to put it in the half-glass empty way, the lower the percentage, the greater the dropoff in experience between the starter and his replacement.
Note that this post won't really attempt to determine how "good" these backups are, just how much they've seen the field.
Let's get to it. All snaps referred to below represent career snaps. To see the 2021 version, click here.
Starter: Jaren Hall (824 snaps)
Backups: Jacob Conover (39 snaps, 5%)
Hello danger area. Our starter is elite, but his injury history is not. Backing him up is no longer the reliable Baylor Romney, but rather a 39 snap man of mystery. We don't know much about Conover, but we know three things.
1) He doesn't have much game experience
2) He has tons of practice experience, given this is year 3 of his BYU journey
3) We'll likely see him play meaningful moments sometime
Frankly as curious and hopeful as we are about Conover, let's all do our part to protect Jaren Hall. I for one will be breaking into my Ute coworker's home and confiscating his Jaren Hall voodoo dolls. What are you going to do to keep our signal caller safe?
Status: extremely shallow
RUNNING BACKS
Starters: Christopher Brooks (1,017), Lopini Katoa (1,204)
Backups: Jackson McChesney (118, 11%), Miles Davis (32, 3%)
This is another area of the offense that feels a bit shallow. Katoa is such an asset - experienced, reliable, versatile. But he's not an offensive engine. No one debates this, which is why BYU recruited a mercenary from Cal and instantly promoted him to top dog status. So what happens if Brooks were to go down?
Starters: Christopher Brooks (1,017), Lopini Katoa (1,204)
Backups: Jackson McChesney (118, 11%), Miles Davis (32, 3%)
This is another area of the offense that feels a bit shallow. Katoa is such an asset - experienced, reliable, versatile. But he's not an offensive engine. No one debates this, which is why BYU recruited a mercenary from Cal and instantly promoted him to top dog status. So what happens if Brooks were to go down?
As an aside, I'm not sure we collectively realize how important Allgeier was to BYU last year. Trivia question time: how many skill players in the history of BYU football touched the ball more than Allgeier did in 2021?
Zero.
Allgeier was efficient, durable, and relied on more than any running back ever had been before in Provo. I wonder if BYU passes the ball more this year to reduce the burden on the running backs.
Status: you'll bruise your butt if you cannonball
TIGHT ENDS
Starters: Isaac Rex (1,322), Dallin Holker (671)
Backups: Carter Wheat (212, 21%), Lane Lunt (83, 8%)
(combined with fullbacks below)
FULLBACKS
Starter: Masen Wake (766)
Backup: Houston Heimuli (305, 40%)
Our first area of strength! I'm lumping tight end and fullback together because Roderick likes bouncing these guys around. I like it too! Versatility is the name of the offensive game. I love having four guys (Rex, Hulk, Wake, Wheat) who have an average of 742 snaps a piece. I dream of a team with no injuries, but if I had to pick a spot to absorb one, it'd be this group. (whispers: actually it'd probably be the defensive line cause I'm not sure if any of them are very good to begin with.)
Status: Tight end U is back!
WIDE RECEIVERS
Starters: Gunner Romney (1,403), Puka Nacua (640), Keanu Hill (467),
Backups: Brayden Cosper (217, 26%), Kody Epps (119, 14%), Chase Roberts (0, 0%)
From a snaps perspective, BYU isn't particularly deep at WR, with players 5 and 6 on the depth chart totaling 119 snaps, all of which came against inferior competition in the Covid year. However, talent wise Kody Epps and Chase Roberts have huge ceilings and while I'd be disappointed to see them promoted to the frontlines due to injury, I think they could be stars in the long run. Cosper on the other hand ... alas after what feels like nine years of hoping, I'm beginning to think the old man who told me Cosper was the best high school receiver he'd ever seen was, in the words of Veep, a senile old piss sponge.
Status: top heavy, bottom hopeful
OFFENSIVE LINE
Starting Tackles: Blake Freeland (1,830), Campbell Barrington (484)
Starting Guards: Clark Barrington (1,792), Joe Tukuafu (1,041)
Starting Center: Connor Pay (778)
Backup Tackles/Guards: Harris LaChance (551, 48%), Brayden Keim (189, 16%), Kingsley Suamataia (11, 0%)
Backup Center: Joe Tukuafu (snaps specifically at center: 317, 41%)
Having Harris LaChance as your sixth lineman is an ace up the sleeve. Having Kingsley Suamataia as your seventh is like having a kid with an ace up his sleeve, meaning the chance for success is high, but so is the lack of experience. And maybe Kingsley or Harris starts and 484 snaps of Campbell Barrington is your 6th man. Whatever the case this position group is dreamy. Brayden Keim with a couple hundred snaps to his name is no slouch either. They can mix and match quite a bit.
Status: Very well stocked (knock on wood)
DEFENSIVE LINE
Starting Defensive Ends: Earl Tuioti-Mariner (1,009), Tyler Batty (573)
Starting Defensive Tackles: Gabe Summers (813), Caden Haws (504)
Backup Ends: Alden Tofa (390, 49%), John Nelson (233, 29%), Fisher Jackson (110, 14%), Blake Mangelson (76, 10%)
Backup Tackles: Lorenzo Fauatea (816, 100%), Atunaisa Mahe (603, 92%), Josh Larsen (22, 3%), Alema Pilimai (2%)
On the one hand this is a deep group, with Fauatea and Mahe the most experienced backups on the team by my snaps percentage metric. On the other hand, this group may be deep because no one is good enough to demand a snap monopoly.
Status: the well is deep but the water is not fit for consumption
LINEBACKER
Starting Linebackers: Payton Wilgar (1,767), Keenan Pili (870), Ben Bywater (724)
Backup Linebackers: Max Tooley (1,178, 100%), Pepe Tanuvasa (814, 72%), Drew Jensen (335, 30%), Jackson Kaufusi (335, 30%)
What great wealth of riches have we been blessed with here? Our fourth and fifth linebackers have nearly a combined 2,000 snaps to their name? Our sixth and seventh men have each played 335?
Status: the well is deep and the water is icy fresh
CORNERS
Starting Corners: D'Angelo Mandell (1,575), Kaleb Hayes (1,149), Jakob Robinson (539)
Backup Corners: Gabe Jeudy-Lally (770 snaps, 71%), George Udo (380, 35%), Matt Criddle (326, 30%) Jacob Boren (167, 15%), Caleb Christensen (113, 10%), Mory Bamba (unkown)
The loss of Isaiah Herron to medical retirement (a whopping 910 snaps!!), the ongoing absence of Chaz Ah You (895 snaps!) from fall camp, and the early retirement of Shamon Willis (548 snaps) really puts a hit on what could've been an exceedingly deep position group. That's about 2,400 snaps of experience erased from the secondary in one swoop. (And yes I know last year Chaz played mostly at LB, but for his career PFF has his highest volume of snaps coming at corner) A successful season from Jeudy-Lally and good health from George Udo would do wonders for this group.
Status: Deep enough that I can't touch and keep my head above water, but shallow enough that I can't dive
SAFETIES
Starting Safeties: Malik Moore (1,103), Ammon Hannemann (334)
Backup Safeties: Micah Harper (377, 52%), Hayden Livingston (345, 48%), Talan Alfrey (0, 0%)
Malik Moore has to stay healthy this season. He's not only an elite player, he may be our only elite player in the safety room.
Status: "Like, I've got a bad feeling about this Scoob"
ASIDE NUMBER ONE
It's crazy how little experience BYU lost on the defensive side of the ball. BYU returns their top 10 most frequently used players by snaps from last year, and if Chaz Ah You makes his way onto the team BYU will return their top 12 most frequently used players, and 14 of their top 15 overall (the only departure being Uriah Leiataua). That's bananas.
ASIDE NUMBER TWO
Who is this year's winner of the most BYU name award? Your top candidates are:
a) John Nelson
b) Caleb Christensen
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