Spring Game

Blue-White game...whatever it is being called now...I have heard it is the 24th of March. Anybody know a time? What generally goes on in terms of length of game? Interaction with players? Other stuff for the kids? (Young and old alike...myself included)



I have to be back in Idaho Falls before 5p. Is it worth making the drive?



Thanks for any help and feedback.



Go Cougs!!!



J. Child

Ammon, ID

We could make it worth your drive. In previous years the game lasted about an hour and there have been kid clinics before as well.



But we could have a Cougar Corner "Climb the Y" event to coincide with the spring game and go get some burgers after the game as well.

As Spiff mentioned, we've had some great CougarCorner get togethers in the past. The game itself is worth going to because it's Cougar football after a few months of not seeing any! But it is also not as intense as live action.



I will be unable to attend the spring game or the CougarCorner events this year, because I will be in Disney Land (I wish I had planned that better before hand!). But I hope you guys have a great time without me.

CougarCorner get together in DISNEYLAND???????

SpiffCoug wrote:
We could make it worth your drive. In previous years the game lasted about an hour and there have been kid clinics before as well.



But we could have a Cougar Corner "Climb the Y" event to coincide with the spring game and go get some burgers after the game as well.

I'm very appreciative of the additional activities but can I still make the 4 hr drive back to IF by 5p if we do all that stuff? What times does the game usually begin? How much longer do the festivities of the game (meet & Greet stuff) go much after the game?

In years past, kids activities (if they have them) have started around 11am - noon. Then there is a series of practices and drills, followed by a 20-30 minute scrimmage. The whole thing typically gets out at about 1:30.

I would petition BYUtv to broadcast the practice. I think many BYU football fans like you would love it if they did. They need to do the same fr the 1st mens hoops practice. Seriously, BYUtv needs to make it happen.

hawkwing wrote:



I will be in Disney Land (I wish I had planned that better before hand!). But I hope you guys have a great time without me.

Anaheim, Ca. or Florida??

Ddawg wrote:

I will be in Disney Land (I wish I had planned that better before hand!). But I hope you guys have a great time without me.

Anaheim, Ca. or Florida??

Anaheim, CA

hawkwing wrote:

hawkwing wrote:



I will be in Disney Land (I wish I had planned that better before hand!). But I hope you guys have a great time without me.

Anaheim, Ca. or Florida??

Anaheim, CA

I'm highjacking my own thread but serious you need to get ridemax from ridemax.com! It will be the absolute best $15 bucks you will spend the whole trip. PM me if you want further info!



J. Child

Ammon, ID

Nelson had a great 3rd day - 9-10 with 5-5/60 yd drive on last series with TD pass to Hoffman (3 catches). Alisa had several nice catches as well and several good runs.



Sampson and Johnson had picks and Minoa Pikula and S. Hadley had sacks.



It appears that our defense (DL, LB, DBs) will be quite talented, and we are loaded at RB.



Overall, Dupaix said he loves the attitude of the team and Ian Dulan says he won't be satisfied unless we are undefeated. This year's team seems to have a much more intense nature to them than last year - the entire personality of the team (coaches and players) are taking on a personality that seems to mirror Bronco's previous fanatical approach on defense. I may be way too optimistic - but one gets the feeling that this season may be special.

I wouldn't say that we are "loaded" at rb. Alisa disappeared running against good teams, Juice didn't have a good year, save a few games, and Timo-Hine sounds like he will light it up, but he is unproven at this point.



Also, I have serious worries about our offensive line. I think it is very likely that the unit is worse than last year, which doesn't seem possible remembering how bad last years unit was. But then you look at our depth chart, and we lost a few big minute guys last year.

When Dupaix says we have talent at RB this year I trust him. Right now it looks like Juice and Alisa in backfield. That is versatility galore (run, pass, block) and some speed - both o which we didn't have in abundance. Juice was hampered by high ankle sprain last year coupled with emotional loss of his brother - it affected his play dramatically. He is recovered and appears faster this year - likely playing in the form of the UTEP bowl game. Alisa has another year under his belt after only playing a portion of the games towards end of season. He has shown great potential and has more upside than downside.



As for OL - we are missing five starters and playing 6-8 positions while developing solid backups or two deep. We have 2 seniors returning - the Braden brothers - seems just as solid as last year to me seeing how we had Reynolds and Brown.



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Yeah, I read all the articles too.



But here is what the articles didn't tell you...



M. Reynolds - starting left tackle - GRADUATED

Marco Thorson - started most games at left guard - GRADUATED

T. Brown - starting center - GRADUATED



Also, if you include the fact that Ryker Mathews is probably going to be asked to train at right tackle this year, instead of left (to protect Riley's backside), then that means that Braden Brown needs to learn left tackle. Is Ryker even practicing yet?



Also, H. Reynolds routinely got bullrushed, and he is one of our "prejected starters" he is out with surgery meaning less snaps, and much less weights training.



The good news is that BYU knew this was coming, and has some talent in the freshman and sophomore ranks. The bad news is that means they are young, and the OL coaching is very suspect to me currently.

As far as I am concerned, there is not a game on the schedule that BYU could not win. In fact, I'd put the lowest Winning % of any game this year at 40% (Utah, ND). I call BSU/GT both 50/50 games as of today. And I think we do not lose at home, with Wazzou being a 65-35 BYU win.



All bets are off if RN goes down, because we really have no idea how good Lark can be. That injury would change our season.



Keys to the year for me will be Dline play and Oline play. If both play well, we will be really tough to beat.

There is something about this team that seems to vibrate with energy and high expectations - Stout, Pritchard, Dulan and Tialavea have all described it as a chip on their shoulder and a desire to perform better than last year. With guys coming back from injuries and wanting to get out and crack heads or shake off mission rust - I take that as a positive and believe that attitude can pay dividends. From my perspective - I think this team has more talent and hunger than last year which will help overcome a lot of adversity. Remember they have a field general who has proven he will never give up - that inspires people to play better and reach their potential. Thus, I see them playing with greater moxy, grit and determination. Let's see how it unfolds.



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BlueIsBetter wrote:
Yeah, I read all the articles too.



But here is what the articles didn't tell you...



M. Reynolds - starting left tackle - GRADUATED

Marco Thorson - started most games at left guard - GRADUATED

T. Brown - starting center - GRADUATED



Also, if you include the fact that Ryker Mathews is probably going to be asked to train at right tackle this year, instead of left (to protect Riley's backside), then that means that Braden Brown needs to learn left tackle. Is Ryker even practicing yet?



Also, H. Reynolds routinely got bullrushed, and he is one of our "prejected starters" he is out with surgery meaning less snaps, and much less weights training.



The good news is that BYU knew this was coming, and has some talent in the freshman and sophomore ranks. The bad news is that means they are young, and the OL coaching is very suspect to me currently.

So who are those freshmen and sophomores that could dramatically help out our O-line?? Will Kafusi be switched over from D-line ?? We are in trouble on the offensive side of the trenches



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beauso79 wrote:

Yeah, I read all the articles too.



But here is what the articles didn't tell you...



M. Reynolds - starting left tackle - GRADUATED

Marco Thorson - started most games at left guard - GRADUATED

T. Brown - starting center - GRADUATED



Also, if you include the fact that Ryker Mathews is probably going to be asked to train at right tackle this year, instead of left (to protect Riley's backside), then that means that Braden Brown needs to learn left tackle. Is Ryker even practicing yet?



Also, H. Reynolds routinely got bullrushed, and he is one of our "prejected starters" he is out with surgery meaning less snaps, and much less weights training.



The good news is that BYU knew this was coming, and has some talent in the freshman and sophomore ranks. The bad news is that means they are young, and the OL coaching is very suspect to me currently.

So who are those freshmen and sophomores that could dramatically help out our O-line?? Will Kafusi be switched over from D-line ?? We are in trouble on the offensive side of the trenches



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Oh, I agree that we are in trouble. (Hopefully not, but it looks to be so)



As far as the "youngins" that could contribute:



Ryker Mathews and Blair Tushaus seem to be the best prepared to step in and get major minutes.



As it stands right now, we would have:



at tackles - Ryker and Brown

at guard - Braden hansen, Blair Tushaus and/or Walter Khilalaiaialaialaialaiala

at center - H. Reynolds, (if he can get well and learn the spot well enough).



Manaakai Vitai is making some noise with all the reps. I wonder where he will land.



All in all, the O line ooks to be a MAJOR downgrade from last year. Bummer and all that.

Characterization stating a major letdown on OL is a bit extreme. Hansen and Brown are three year starters and Reynolds is a returning starter. Where is the drop off with those three? We are replacing M. Reynolds with R. Matthews - more athletic and stronger - he was going to get serious minutes last year until the injury occurred. Granted he doesn't have the experience but he was going to play a lot as a freshmen - that says much about talent and skill. Tushaus is center to be and was being groomed as Brown's replacement. He is quicker than Brown, better snapper, but smaller and less experienced. Bottom line is the line last year underachieved, and they won't this year because Riley won't tolerate it. They have more respect for him than they did for Heaps. Get this - with a patchwork OL these guys are still scoring at the end of the series against our starting D line that is the core strength of our team. Which means Riley can bring out the best in the O when needed and will do this on the starters return in Fall. Plus side is that right now we are developing a very solid set of backups to the starters.



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The D line is not even close to the strength of our team. This comes from someone that played defensive end.



Hansen is a 3 year starter, Brown is a 2 year starter.



- Senior M. Reynolds > freshman R. Mathews

- H. Reynolds got routinely dominated last year, and he is missing out on spring ball/weights training, and possibly summer workouts as well. This leads me to believe he won't have much improvement at his position.



- If Tushaus was better than Brown, I am sure they would have switched to him last year, regardless of experience. Brown's snapping was terrible, and his Oline pre-snap blitz reads were terrible. Tushaus might easily develop into someone better than Brown, but he might not.



The O line was plenty dedicated to Riley last year, and they sucked on ice. To say that "Riley can will them to be good" is just nonsense. And by the way, they aren't hitting in full pads yet. The linebackers are the deepest and best unit on the team (no contest), and until they start practicing at full speed and hitting, the offense has a serious advantage.



The Dlines job in a 3-4 is to set up the linebackers to make the play. The linebackers can't hit at full speed yet. And they are still dominating the offense on a day by day basis.



I'm not saying that the sky is falling, but the Oline is an area of serious concern. To handwave it and to say that we will be better because "Riley won't let them be bad" is just a poor and baseless argument. We are less physical and less skilled at 3 of the 5 positions on the Oline. We have "projected starters" that won't participate until fall.



I bet the coaching staff is very concerned about the Oline. There is cause for it.