Player's stepping up?

stuckinbig10country wrote:
Yep, back when the . . . rosters were bigger

Not true...at all.



Until '74, rosters were limited to 40 players, and went to 47 in '74 after the players strike. Since then it has bounced around between 43 and 49 players, but it currently sits at 53--only 46 dress for games, but the active roster now is larger than it has ever been. Not only that, but the league has expanded by 4 additional teams since the 80s (Carolina, Jax, Baltimore, and Houston).



So, even if you go by the previous high of 49-man rosters ('82-'84), back then there were only 1,372 active roster spots. Today there are 1,472 players on the roster dressing for games, and 1,696 on active rosters. More than in what people perceive as BYU's players-to-the-NFL heyday.

I am enthused about Kalani's focus about putting the best 11 players on the field.



The defense has undergone quite the change with former OLBs Takitaki, Hinds and Tautu moving to DE. Appears that they want speed and pash rush specialists where they can exploit their talent. New LBs include former RB Francis Bernard and former safeties Grant Jones and Morgan Unga.



In the defensive backfield, moving Akile Davis to CB, and Warner to Safety puts some ball-hawks that can lay lumber with the Davis boys (Michael and Akile - fast, long-armed/legged, rangy corners) capable of playing man-man press coverage. Backups are Dayan Lake (nickel), Jordan Preator (dime), and safeties Matt Hadley and Eric Takenaka.



This is what I consider players stepping up to play in positions that best showcase their talent. Will be interesting to see how this pans out in the summer and the additional changes that we can expect in the fall camp.