January 14 - Recruit Visit Day

Interesting news from Bronco about this date (from Jay Drew interview):



OL Manu Mulitalo has decided to go on a mission, and this departure coupled with Jake Heaps leaving, has free'd up two spots. This weekend there will be 18 committed players coming in on the visit, and along with other non-committed players. Therefore, there will be two or three players that we are still considering for the two spots that just opened recently.



Bronco stated:



"And with our biggest need right now, we are graduating five senior defensive lineman after this [coming] year, and so in terms of now addressing what we will probably do with those exisiting [openings] we will probably target defensive linemen.



We added one already, that's Marques Johnson. So he's here now and our hope with him, and he was recruited to redshirt this year, so again when the seniors leave we will have him for two more years.



There is a chance we will take a two [years] for two junior college defensive lineman that would play this year, and be a senior next year. And we would probably take a freshman, and so again with the remaining spots, that will be most likely the direction we will head."



I hope we also land Hiva Lutui the very large OL from Trinity who knows how to pancake a DL.

How about taking the best available athlete?

Any updates on the visit or surprising news about additional recruits that might be signing? I understand several were at the SC BBall game.

Tenny Palepoi was offered but did not accept on the spot. Our track record with athletes who don't commit on the spot is not very good.



according to Gurney tweets.



He did say he really liked his visit though.



EDIT: here's the Dnews article that showed up 5 minutes after I posted this.



http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705397430/BYU-football-Top-junior-college-prospect-Tenny-Palepoi-visits-BYU.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

But Palepoi is getting married this week so I can't really blame him for not wanting to make the decision on the spot. Looks like he's putting off his honeymoon to take trips to Seattle, Logan and Corvallis for official visits. Not sure how my wife would have reacted if I told her we'd have to wait for the honeymoon for a bunch of interviews I could have done a lot earlier.

We may have an inside track - he was hosted by Iona Pritchard (his close friend as well as being close to the family - same Samoan ward) and Ian Dulan. Favorably impressed with coach Kafusi (could see himself playing for him). He really liked his meeting with coach Mendenhall. Can't see him picking OSU, UW and others over us when the DL position is one where Bronco wants additional bodies due us losing Manumaleuna, Fuga, Dulan, Tialavea next year 2013.



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jvquarterback wrote:
But Palepoi is getting married this week so I can't really blame him for not wanting to make the decision on the spot. Looks like he's putting off his honeymoon to take trips to Seattle, Logan and Corvallis for official visits. Not sure how my wife would have reacted if I told her we'd have to wait for the honeymoon for a bunch of interviews I could have done a lot earlier.

What's up with bashing Poly Standard Time. NO different than you showing up to church late. :-)

IF he is good, I want him. WE need some good Dline guys who can fill a gap but pass rush. After seeing the Giants run a 3-4 against the Pack yesterday with great effect, it is clear to see it can be done.

He is very good. Academic casualty coming out of high school.



I swear it said Skyline High School and meant the one in SLC East Bench that my wife, generations of Doman's, generations of our RB coach's family whose father coaches there. Knows Kaufusis. I got a couple of those in my Ward.



But the Kaufusi family also has Ute ties. This guy grew up not liking BYU but liking U. U offered him out of High School but was not on the list of teams that pursued him in high school that have offered him again now like BYU, USU, OSU, and UW.



It sounded to me like he put off the wedding and the honeymoon - not just the moon. Better hurry up and get hitched so HC exposure goes away. Marry her today and then honeymoon on all of those recruiting trips - then sign BYU.



Hopefully his wife is willing and able to do BYU as she is still a student.



BYU would redshirt him. One of the other schools might need him in 2012. It may come down to that. Or maybe he is still hoping U offers again.



I am guessing BYU or UW. USU should never beat out BYU for an HC worthy recruit and Oregon State is vulnerable to coaching changes if they have another bad year.



But if one of them will start him immediately - he may not want to wait. But unless he is NFL material, an extra year of free school should be a plus.



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Cougarbib2 wrote:



BYU would redshirt him. One of the other schools might need him in 2012. It may come down to that. Or maybe he is still hoping U offers again.



I am guessing BYU or UW. USU should never beat out BYU for an HC worthy recruit and Oregon State is vulnerable to coaching changes if they have another bad year.



But if one of them will start him immediately - he may not want to wait. But unless he is NFL material, an extra year of free school should be a plus.



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Bronco said he was looking for a JUCO DLman to play right away. The already plan on redshirting another JUCO DLman Marques Johnson.



If he want to play right away, live by the HC, and play for a top 25 program then BYU should be his choice.

I think Johnson is going to play NT for us, and we have Fuga taking most reps there now, and Manumaleuna has taken some in the past. We are more thin at DE/DT than NT. Especially on 3rd down situations, where we need a pass rusher. If this kid can rush the passer, he will take the role Putnam would have filled all year.



Schematically, this D is great. Now we just need the Dline guys to create havoc to really take it to the next level.

Lawboy wrote:
IF he is good, I want him. WE need some good Dline guys who can fill a gap but pass rush. After seeing the Giants run a 3-4 against the Pack yesterday with great effect, it is clear to see it can be done.

Wouldnt you say that it's not quite apples and oranges? Giants have corners who can virtually cover one on one. Our dine is more vulnerable to screens and mobile qb,s so they are forced to stop the run and contain. Jan Jorg had many more sacks his fresh year compared to the other three years. Scheme and philosophy seemed to change. IMO.



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dmcougar wrote:

IF he is good, I want him. WE need some good Dline guys who can fill a gap but pass rush. After seeing the Giants run a 3-4 against the Pack yesterday with great effect, it is clear to see it can be done.

Wouldnt you say that it's not quite apples and oranges? Giants have corners who can virtually cover one on one. Our dine is more vulnerable to screens and mobile qb,s so they are forced to stop the run and contain. Jan Jorg had many more sacks his fresh year compared to the other three years. Scheme and philosophy seemed to change. IMO.



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I think we have Preston Hadley can cover man straight up if he's allowed to play bump once-in-a-while to keep the defense honest. As of now, we just don't have two cover corners, but you're right DM the philosophy has changed. JJ has said it himself that at first he was more of a rush end first, then slowly he evolved into a two-gapper.

Cougarbib2 wrote:
He is very good. Academic casualty coming out of high school.



I swear it said Skyline High School and meant the one in SLC East Bench that my wife, generations of Doman's, generations of our RB coach's family whose father coaches there. Knows Kaufusis. I got a couple of those in my Ward.



But the Kaufusi family also has Ute ties. This guy grew up not liking BYU but liking U. U offered him out of High School but was not on the list of teams that pursued him in high school that have offered him again now like BYU, USU, OSU, and UW.



It sounded to me like he put off the wedding and the honeymoon - not just the moon. Better hurry up and get hitched so HC exposure goes away. Marry her today and then honeymoon on all of those recruiting trips - then sign BYU.



Hopefully his wife is willing and able to do BYU as she is still a student.



BYU would redshirt him. One of the other schools might need him in 2012. It may come down to that. Or maybe he is still hoping U offers again.



I am guessing BYU or UW. USU should never beat out BYU for an HC worthy recruit and Oregon State is vulnerable to coaching changes if they have another bad year.



But if one of them will start him immediately - he may not want to wait. But unless he is NFL material, an extra year of free school should be a plus.



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Something else to consider is that any state school outside of Utah would require his wife to pay out of state tuition unless she is originally from that state. I wonder where she is from. I would imagine it would most likely be from Utah.

Cougarbib2 wrote:
Hopefully his wife is willing and able to do BYU as she is still a student.

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That's an interesting prospect you usually don't stop to think about in recruitng an athlete--the recruits ability to be able to get their fiance into the same school. There's always UVU around, but she wouldn't even be able at this point to know what her chances were at BYU. Hmm. That might not be good.

Brett Richins/DSB interviewed Butch Pauu about his experience with the January 14 recruit trip. He and his cousin Jeremiah (another commit) attended together. Butch was hosted by Uona Kaveinga (his cousin). He really enjoyed the atmosphere and spirit of the trip and said all the recruits he met were very humble despite their accolades garnered during HS. He especially liked Phillip Amone, Dylan Collie, Jamaal Williams and the current Poly Players whom he met.



Although he is 5-11 he said he took on Goliath's in SoCal 6-5/300 and won because he studies film extensively and find ways to attack weaknesses by playing intelligent. Uona is same height and told him to play as hard as he can - also play smart and fast. His ability on the field was called the best defensive player in CA. His dad/mom critique every game and point out areas of improvement to keep him humble and level-headed.



He said he attended the Catholic HS Servite - which is a powerhouse in FB and plays in top flight competition. Played 42 games from Frosh to Senior. Plays tennis well and says it has helped his lateral quickness. He comes from a strong S&C program - lifts 4 days/week for entire year. While his players on team were 5-11 as well, they dominated because of their S&C fitness. Had to study very hard (3.4 gpa) - great preparation for BYU. Learned to not judge people of other faiths but recognize the good in people. Service of 100 hours required to graduate from this school. He looks forward to being around similarly spiritually minded students. This fits with Bronco's philosophy. He feels it is the right place and right atmosphere for his needs. He is going on a mission after 1 semester - not sure if he will red-shirt when he returns because he wants to contribute as much as possible.



Clearly this is the type of recruit the Y goes after and attracts. Not to worried about loss of some other players if they don't feel comfortable with Y standards and requirements. His cousin JLD - not a member - is excited to attend school and be on the team. He loves everything he has

experienced at the Y. He is a load at 6-2/240.



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Byu.scout reported about Tanner Mangum's experience during the January 14 recruit visit. His host was Riley Nelson. He had this to say:



“Riley Nelson was my host for the trip and he’s an awesome guy,” Mangum said. “He was a lot of fun to hang out and is a funny guy. He’s really cool and he was lot of fun to hang out with. I was actually pretty glad that he was my host because he was a lot of fun to hang out with.”



Mangum got a chance to pick the brain of his quarterback host.



“Yeah, I spoke to him a little bit about what it’s like being a BYU quarterback, and he gave me a lot of great information of what’s expected. He helped me to better understand what to expect and it was great being able to hear it from him. I’m actually pretty excited to be a part of that BYU fraternity. Overall I had a blast out there for the day being with all the guys.”



Key take-away - Riley is a fun guy to hang out with.



Secondly, I love the way the coaches pair up the Y players with the recruits. Some real thought goes into finding the best match and helping the commits feel at home and look forward to attending and playing football. Seems like the visit just reinforces that they made the right choice.

Hopefully Riley told him to work hard and attend every voluntary practice!

hawkwing wrote:
Hopefully Riley told him to work hard and attend every voluntary practice!

Hopefully he doesn't need to tell him something that should be generally understood by team leaders.

byucougar1 wrote:
Byu.scout reported about Tanner Mangum's experience during the January 14 recruit visit. His host was Riley Nelson. He had this to say:



“Riley Nelson was my host for the trip and he’s an awesome guy,” Mangum said. “He was a lot of fun to hang out and is a funny guy. He’s really cool and he was lot of fun to hang out with. I was actually pretty glad that he was my host because he was a lot of fun to hang out with.”

Tanner Mangum is Rebecca Black?



hopefully Mangum is a bit more articulate after a few college English classes.