BYU's biggest deficiency and liability: Coach Kaufusi

I'm stealing this from Cougarboard. But I think it nails the problems on the defense. If there is ONE coach and only one coach I would change out first, it would be Coach Kaufusi. He's the defense's Coach Weber.



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If you look back at the D-Line recruits for the 2009-2013 classes, it's easy to see why the defense is struggling so much.

2009

Peck 3* DE - Serviceable player, should probably be a backup.

Chrichton 3* DT - Washed out of program



2010

Afo 3* DT - Washed out of program

Kanuch 3* DT - Switched to O-line

Tuiloma 2* DT - Serviceable player

Kafusi 4* DE - Moved to OLB for incomprehensible reasons

Rowley 4* DE - Shaking off mission rust



2011

Olomua 2* DE - Washed out

Kafusi 2* DE - Outgrew football

Lesatele 2* DE - On a mission?

Reden 2* DE - Moved to TE

Tausinga 3* DT - On roster, injury issues

Kaamatule 3* DT - On a mission?

Pritchard 3* DE - Transferred



2012

Taamuta-* DE - Washed out

King -* DE - Can't find the field

Johnson 2* DT - Serviceable player



2013

Laulile 2* DE - Seeing time

Pulsipher 2* DE - Mission



That's 19 guys from the 5 classes that should be stocking our current D-Line. Of those guys, only 6 are on the roster and playing D-Line, (including King, who doesn't actually play). Of those 6, you have 1 4* (Rowley), 1 3 star (Peck), 3 2 stars (Tuiloma, Laulile, and Johnson), and a guy who wasn't evaluated (King). We have done a terrible job landing talented D-Linemen, and a bad job developing the ones we do get. Fixing that has to be a priority going forward. The 2014 class had some decent prospects in Leaitaua, Dawe, Nacua, and Fuga, unfortunately all of those guys are at least another year away due to missions. The 2015 class has some really good prospects as well (Hunt, Tafua, and Mounga), but I think we need to bring in a couple of JC guys if we are going to see immediate improvement. Otherwise, next year's D could struggle just as much as this year's.

I think Weber got the last (current) laugh during USU game when his line LIT up BYU.

Trailer Trash, Spiff. I expect more from you. You seriously denegrated CC with CB? You should be put on warning. At least make a case on your own. This idiots stats are padded and misrepresentative. Kaufusi #2 played Oline during spring ball before his mission. Tui C was a mess and totally out of shape. there are others. Peck was overrated and done very little this year.

But seriously, a lack of talent is all kaufusis problem? How about the scheme that Bronco is so wedded to? He doesnt want his linemen putting pressure on the qb--he wants them chewing up blockers. What monster recruit wants to do that? Ask Jan Jorgenson why he went from a freshman stud to all but a dud, at least statitically, BC the the scheme changed and he had to take up blockers.

What has Bronco's mantra been all year? 'STOP THE RUN. THATS IT" Thats almost a verbatum quote. What Dlinemen wants to come play for that? The big dogs want to eat. Broncos scheme has bled out and bred out the big dogs from coming to BYU. Anyone who wants stats goes to a 4-3.

Maybe you can accuse Coach K of saving his own son by getting him in a Ziggy position of coming off the edge and so he got him off of DE. WHY? Bc Bronson fits better in a a 4-3 scheme, like Ziggy. Manu and Fuga were very solid.I could go on.

But is Howell kicking butt and taking names with his D-backfield? NOPE

Is Poppinga killing it with his OLB's? NOPE

And lets not even start on Poppingas Special teams masterpieces.

Is Tidwell killing it with ILB's? NOPE

And then there is "Mr running [WITH] the Wind". How has that move paid off? Or better yet, how did it pay off to take back over play calling? WORST D PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR.

And why we are at it--and i am tempted to start a thread with a Poll as to reasons why Bronco really handed back the clipboard and DC duties--why did he give them back???? Where is the urgency?? I will tell you. Bc Bronco knows he has had bad bad misfortune with injuries and medicore preparation by Howell for the last 8 months and he knows this D is not going to recover. So why let himself get thrown under the bus? Poor Howell. He is going down with his DC ship. My prediciton is he gets fired or leaves end of season.

So, you tell me? Tell us? THE DEFENSE HAS BEEN MISMANAGED ONCE AGAIN AND HE DOESNT HAVE THE HEART TO TAKE IT BACK UP THIS YEAR AND/OR FIRE HOWELL (like Hill) and he knows he cant recpature this D and has to start over in the off season. Anybody want to Bet me?

THis notion is bunk, bunk, bunk. The D wasnt solid with healthy players. And it is a mess with new, albeit some talented upcoming players. Does BYU need better Dlinemen? most assuredly. Funny how so many, including Bronco himself toolk credit for Ziggy when it was Coach Kaufusi who coached him up.

I like Bronco. I dont even want him fired. But he has stepped back and that is obvious to most fans and i bet his players--especially the ones who have tweeted and questioned (KVN, Hoke, etc). Maybe Bronco is tired. Maybe he has finally hit his ceiling at ten years. remember when he said he didnt want to stay as long as LaVel? Was that smoke and mirrors? Has he earned his tenure, 2mm, and now wants to pull it back a little? Has he gotten sick and tired of the whiny fans, entitled boosters, disloyal former players, pesky media, etc, etc? I hope not. I hope he is just trying to save this team and is looking to restart after the season.

So, everybody is looking for a scapegoat. I guess Kaufusi had to take his turn.

FWIW



Rivals had Rowley as a 3 star not 4. They also had Lesatale as a 3 star and so was Johnson.



The point remains, the recruiting on both lines have been really weak.

The scheme is sound. Top 10 defenses over the past few years prove that. Most good run defenses are in the 3-4 scheme if the DL can demand double teams. (And the reason why 3-4 defenses are generally better at stopping the run is because it's usually harder to block a LB for a OL than a lineman).



The problem right now is the DL aren't eating up blockers. Is it a talent issue or a coaching issue? I don't know. Is Bronco still coaching the NT's?



The experiment with Bronson at OLB hasn't gone well (to put it mildly). I think part of it was his injuries during fall camp and the injury at the beginning of the year. I hope he moves back to end next year as I think he can have a Ziggy type impact at that position if a good NT and LBs develop for next year.



As far as the order I'd replace the coaches:



Kafusi

Tidwell

Howell

Anae

BroncoBot wrote:
I think Weber got the last (current) laugh during USU game when his line LIT up BYU.

Nailed it. The receivers coach fans hated landed at Purdue with some success. What was his name?



Anae - Arizona and back.



It was the fan favorites like Doman, Cahoon, and buddy Dupaix, that could not even find jobs.



So maybe fan favorites Kaufusi and Popping a should be looked at and fan favorite TE coach prospect did belong in administration.



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Nailed what? What's your point, Bib? Your sloppy grammar, as usual, is confusing.

So, Chad Lewis is to blame? You thought Weber was effective at BYU?

Cougs_Rule wrote:
Nailed what? What's your point, Bib? Your sloppy grammar, as usual, is confusing.

So, Chad Lewis is to blame? You thought Weber was effective at BYU?

My point is that the track record of the fans, who of course, always seem to have their sacred cows as well as a stable of goats regarding players and coaches is not very good.



Crowton was going to take us to the next level

Doman was going to take recruiting to new heights and also show Anae how play calling should be done.

Anyone named Kaufusi - and I know some of their family members and love them - is Godlike, NFL and NBA bound

Cahoon will make the receivers catch like Spiderman

Etc.



Weber can obviously coach an OL when the talent is there and cannot, when it is not. Like all coaches. Like Higgins. BTW, I am not claiming that any of them are great. BYU has not had great assistant coaches lately. They do not have great assistant coaches now.



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So the witch hunt continues....

To be fair, shouldn't this list of D-linemen Kafusi recruited go back to 2002 when be became the D-line coach? BYU has had some big names leave and there are some misses in recent years. There is always ups and downs when it comes to recruiting. This feels a bit like cherry-picking with some recent misses.

This makes the presumption that recruiting for each position group is done entirely or even mainly by that position coach. I am not a recruiter, but know one from another team now and have read about BYU recruiting over the years.



You have recruiting coordinators. You have recruiting assignments, which are often more regional than by position group. Then you have closers like the head coach or a coordinator.



You have a head coach that only wants players that recruit BYU.



Recruiting is not a strength of Bronco's outside of the paradigm established, because he does not like to hit the road and play the game. He is an excellent closer with those players that get to see him and their families.



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Cougarbib wrote:
They do not have great assistant coaches now.

You're including Anae, right?

Gunk wrote:

They do not have great assistant coaches now.

You're including Anae, right?

If the caveat is "great" I would include Anae. I do think he's a good assistant.



If I were putting together an order of merit for both sides assistants, mine might look like this:



Offense:

1. Anae

2. Tugjae

3. Holliday

4. Beck

4. Atuaia



Defense:

1. Bronco

5. Poppinga

5. Howell

5. Kaufusi

5. Tidwell

SpiffCoug wrote:

Cougarbib wrote:
They do not have great assistant coaches now.

You're including Anae, right?

If the caveat is "great" I would include Anae. I do think he's a good assistant.



If I were putting together an order of merit for both sides assistants, mine might look like this:



Offense:

1. Anae

2. Tugjae

3. Holliday

4. Beck

4. Atuaia



Defense:

1. Bronco

5. Poppinga

5. Howell

5. Kaufusi

5. Tidwell

Given Hill's progression this year, I'd give Beck a higher grade than Atuaia....I'm not sure why Atuaia is on staff other than he's Anae's buddy.

SpiffCoug wrote:

Cougarbib wrote:
They do not have great assistant coaches now.

You're including Anae, right?

If the caveat is "great" I would include Anae. I do think he's a good assistant.



If I were putting together an order of merit for both sides assistants, mine might look like this:



Offense:

1. Anae

2. Tugjae

3. Holliday

4. Beck

4. Atuaia



Defense:

1. Bronco

5. Poppinga

5. Howell

5. Kaufusi

5. Tidwell

Yes. I would include Anae, which is exactly what I stated with the specific adjective "great" as the qualifying adjective.



The last great assistant coach at BYU was probably the OL coach that preceded Weber. What was his name?



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Gunk wrote:

They do not have great assistant coaches now.

You're including Anae, right?

Yes. Until he becomes a hot "head coaching" candidate or someone I view as the best next BYU HC, I would go with good not great. I still think he might be the best realistically available OC for BYU at this time.



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Cougarbib wrote:

Cougarbib wrote:
They do not have great assistant coaches now.

You're including Anae, right?

Yes. Until he becomes a hot head coaching candidate or someone I view as the best next BYU HC, I would go with good not great. I still think he might be the best realistically available OC for BYU at this time.



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I would disagree with this. The OC doesn't have to be LDS. If we are comfortable with a revolving door at that position (ie changing every 2 or 3 years because they move on to a bigger program or HC position), then there are plenty of better options.



Is he terrible? No. Do I wish we had someone better? Yeah. But I really wish we had our QB back because we were really good when we had him.

stuckinbig10country wrote:

Gunk wrote:

They do not have great assistant coaches now.

You're including Anae, right?

Yes. Until he becomes a hot head coaching candidate or someone I view as the best next BYU HC, I would go with good not great. I still think he might be the best realistically available OC for BYU at this time.



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I would disagree with this. The OC doesn't have to be LDS. If we are comfortable with a revolving door at that position (ie changing every 2 or 3 years because they move on to a bigger program or HC position), then there are plenty of better options.



Is he terrible? No. Do I wish we had someone better? Yeah. But I really wish we had our QB back because we were really good when we had him.

What exactly was it that you disagree with. Gunk asked if my comment that we do not have GREAT assistant coaches includes Anae. He asked because I think Anae is good, solid, not GREAT. I will label him great when P5 programs start courting him or when I start viewing him as the next BYU head coach. He is good. He is not great.



What did you disagree with?



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stuckinbig10country wrote:

Gunk wrote:

They do not have great assistant coaches now.

You're including Anae, right?

Yes. Until he becomes a hot head coaching candidate or someone I view as the best next BYU HC, I would go with good not great. I still think he might be the best realistically available OC for BYU at this time.



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I would disagree with this. The OC doesn't have to be LDS. If we are comfortable with a revolving door at that position (ie changing every 2 or 3 years because they move on to a bigger program or HC position), then there are plenty of better options.



Is he terrible? No. Do I wish we had someone better? Yeah. But I really wish we had our QB back because we were really good when we had him.

But this is exactly part of the problem. The All hail Taysom Hill approach got him injured and for the most part tanked this team. It was UNSUSTAINABLE--period!! His speed and agility should have been used to help him escape with the means of finding a receiver downfield. Anae's version of Run Taysom, Run killed the guy which then killed the system. How long is it going to take Anae and THill to figure out that if your run you die??

Signed, RGIII.

In other words, if you really want your Qb back, you have to forfeit some of the upsides of his. Ability to run. Figure out the fricken passing game! Get a TE! Use screens w heavy rush! Run smartly, like Stwart, like Russell Wilson--it can be done! And wow, look what happened when ANAE relied upon Lasike and Brown--they actually stepped up, fired up, etc. so did JW. But if a team believe that THill will save us, why do the others need to step up?

Better figure it out, ANAE. And you too THill. Or you ain't gonna do squat as a fifth round pro who can't run near as fast as he used to with a third season ending injury in 2015 (assuming he even comes back).

When Anae relied on Williams, Hine, Brown, and our Rugby playing fullback,



Williams sprained both ankles whole hobbling around on a sprained knee after he got off suspension. JW, rated himself at 85% yesterday.



Hine got a high ankle sprain. He has been out a few weeks, but is expected back Vs MTSU.



Brown got the worst sprain. There are rumors that he is done for the season. He is definitely still out vs MTSU.



And our fullback was seen getting his thigh attended to vs Nevada over on the sidelines, and was used more sparingly than usual vs Boise State.



It is football.



Having said that, Hill (assuming he returns healthy enough to play next year) and CStew both need to become a threat to throw over the top with accuracy, and that will open up everything else.



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I really believe we've missed the boat here thinking the D-lineman and D-Line coach are to blame.



My biggest worry before the season(and I mentioned it here) was linebacker.



The linebackers IMO are the biggest problem with this defense. SOOO many good LB's graduated last year and we had very few experienced guys coming into this season.



Byu's Dline as mentioned is all about stuffing the run and letting the linebackers make the tackles. It's how it's designed and our run D this year(DL) has done a decent job.



Our Linebacker blitz's are working; KVN is long gone getting 1 v 1 pressure. This has let the opposing QB have to much time to pass-give a qb tons of time and ANY WR will get open regardless of the DB.

The sideline to sideline speed of Hadley, Unga, KVN is gone. Guys are killing us on the edge( DB gets blocked by WR and linebackers are to slow to get over)

When teams run up the middle on us its up to the LB's to clog the holes. Usually you have an extra blocker on O when running, its up to the LB to make the tackle.

Who are the leading tacklers on our defense right now(usually a MLB) It's out safeties. Heck Povey is 2nd in tackles. Our LB's aren't doing their jobs and the safeties are left to stop the run from going the distance.



I don't think it's a coaching issue either. Byu's aka Bronco's defense has proven itself to be effective. We are VERY inexperienced and not as talented at LB. To me it starts there.