2007 BYU Cougars football team

2007 BYU Cougars football
MWC Champion
Las Vegas Bowl, W 17-16 vs. UCLA
Conference	Mountain West Conference
Ranking
Coaches	#14
AP	#14
2007 record	11–2 (8–0 MWC)
Head coach	Bronco Mendenhall
Offensive coordinator	Robert Anae
Offensive scheme	Spread
Base defense	3-4
Home stadium	LaVell Edwards Stadium (Capacity: 64,045)

2007 Mountain West Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
#14 BYU $		8	–	0					11	–	2
Air Force		6	–	2					9	–	4
New Mexico		5	–	3					9	–	4
Utah		5	–	3					9	–	4
TCU		4	–	4					8	–	5
San Diego State		3	–	5					4	–	8
Wyoming		2	–	6					5	–	7
Colorado State		2	–	6					3	–	9
UNLV		1	–	7					2	–	10
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 2007 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University (BYU) in the 2007 college football season. In this year, BYU clinched its second consecutive Mountain West Conference (MWC) championship title outright after defeating Utah on 24 November.^[1] It was BYU's second consecutive, undefeated season in the MWC, its fourth MWC championship since the league began in 1999, and its 23rd conference title. At the beginning of the season the Cougars had won an MWC record 16 straight league games dating back to 2005 and were on a ten-game overall winning streak, the longest winning streak in the country at the time. The Cougars began the season with the second longest winning streak in the country at 11 wins until their loss to UCLA in the second regular season game. The Cougars ended this season ranked 14th in the nation, highest of all schools from non-AQ conferences. This finish was the highest back-to-back rankings in the AP Poll since the Cougars won the national championship in 1984.

The Cougars improved their bowl record for the second year in a row. They defeated UCLA 17-16 in 2007 and blew out the Oregon Ducks 38-8 in 2006 in the Las Vegas Bowl at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Cougars played their home games at LaVell Edwards Stadium, named after its legendary coach, LaVell Edwards.

Pre-season

Spring Practice started March 19 and ended April 14 at the annual Blue/White Spring game. The key question was who will fill the empty quarterback position left behind by John Beck: Max Hall, a redshirt sophomore, or Cade Cooper, a junior college transfer from Snow College. On the third snap during the April 14 scrimmage, Cooper suffered a season-ending injury (Lisfranc fracture). Hall was named the starting quarterback the following Monday, and Brendan Gaskins as the back-up. Jacob Bower transferred out in late January. Cooper then decided to transfer in July.

Among the 7 returning starters on offense and the 5 returning starters on defense are: Sete Aulai (center), Travis Bright and Ray Feinga (offensive guards), Dallas Reynolds (Offensive Tackle), Manase Tonga (fullback), Matt Allen and Michael Reed (wide receivers), Jan Jorgensen (defensive end), Bryan Kehl and David Nixon (linebackers), Ben Criddle (cornerback), and Quinn Gooch (free safety). Dustin Gabriel had a foot injury during Fall camp to end his 2007 season, and make him unable to start as KAT. Russell Tialavea, nose tackle, went out in Fall camp with a torn ACL and MCL.

Fall camp started August 4. In the preseason, several players suffered foot and leg injuries (Gabriel, Tafuna, Cooper), like Lisfranc fractures, that may be related to the Nike shoes the players were wearing.

MountainWest Sports Network

Fans, coaches, players, and officials of the Mountain West Conference (MWC) eagerly hoped for progress on national distribution of the MountainWest Sports Network (the mtn.), particularly on satellite. DirecTV continued to negotiate with Comcast for distribution in the MWC "footprint", but Dish Network discontinued negotiations until the FCC resolved a legal question regarding the Big Ten Network (BTN) that could potentially affect the mtn. While satellite distribution seems closer, national distribution appears unlikely for the 2007 season. Currently Dallas-Fort Worth is the only remaining MWC market that has no provider for the mtn.

During the season

The Cougars were ranked #25 in Sporting News pre-season ranking. They started the season unranked in the Coaches Poll (with 47 votes)^[2] and unranked in the AP Poll (with 14 votes).^[3]

Injuries

Garret Reden suffered a season-ending injury. Starting free safety, Quinn Gooch ended his season when he tore his ACL in the second half of the TCU game.

Postseason awards and citations

Freshman Harvey Unga was named to the Rivals Freshman All-America Second Team. Unga, has 1,211 rushing yards and 629 receiving yards for the season, is the Cougars' all-time leading freshman running back and the first BYU freshman to pass the 1,000-yard mark in a single season. He has rushed for over 100 yards in seven games this season, the most for a freshman at BYU. He is five yards short of the MWC all-time leading freshman running back.^[4]

Senior wide receiver Matt Allen was named one of 11 finalists for the Wuerffel Trophy.^[5]

All-Mountain West Conference Football Teams

^[6][7]

Harvey Unga was named as the MWC Freshman of the Year, BYU's third recipient of that award following Luke Staley in 1999 and Austin Collie in 2004.

First Team Offense: Max Hall, Dennis Pitta, Ray Feinga, Dallas Reynolds, Harvey Unga* and Austin Collie*.
First Team Defense: Jan Jorgensen and Bryan Kehl.
Second Team Offense: Austin Collie and Harvey Unga.
Second Team Defense: Kelly Poppinga.
Honorable Mention: Austin Collie (KR) and Quinn Gooch

*CFN only

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent#	Rank#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	3:30 pm	Arizona*		LaVell Edwards Stadium • Provo, UT	Versus	W 20–7	64,525
September 8	3:30 pm	at #14 UCLA*		Rose Bowl Stadium • Pasadena, CA	Versus	L 27–17	72,968
September 15	8:00 pm	at Tulsa*		Skelly Field @ Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK	CSTV	L 55–47	24,445
September 22	1:00 pm	Air Force		Edwards Stadium • Provo, UT	mtn.	W 31–6	64,502
September 29	6:30 pm	at New Mexico		University Stadium • Albuquerque, NM	CSTV	W 31–24	34,204
October 13	6:30 pm	at UNLV		Sam Boyd Stadium • Las Vegas, NV	mtn.	W 24–14	38,026
October 20	3:30 pm	Eastern Washington*		Edwards Stadium • Provo, UT	mtn.	W 42–7	64,522
November 3	12:00 pm	Colorado State		Edwards Stadium • Provo, UT	mtn.	W 35–16	64,441
November 8	7:00 pm	TCU		Edwards Stadium • Provo, UT	Versus	W 27–22	64,241
November 17	12:00 pm	at Wyoming		War Memorial Stadium • Laramie, WY	mtn.	W 35–10	19,827
November 24	12:00 pm	Utah	#23	Edwards Stadium • Provo, UT	Versus/ CSTV/mtn.	W 17–10	64,749[8]
December 1	3:30 pm	at San Diego State	#19	Qualcomm Stadium • San Diego, CA	mtn.	W 48–27	28,473
December 22	5:00 pm	vs. UCLA*	#19	Sam Boyd Stadium • Las Vegas, NV	ESPN	W 17–16	40,712
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to game. All times are in Local to gamesite.

Game notes

Arizona

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	0	0	7	7
Cougars	7	6	0	7	20

This was the 21st game between Arizona and BYU. BYU was favored to win in this defensive contest. BYU quarterback Max Hall took his first snap in Division I football after a 4-year hiatus of not playing a real game since high school, and the Wildcats began their first year using a version of BYU's spread offense. BYU's experienced defense held the Wildcats scoreless until the last minute of the game. Bronco took blame for calling a blitz that allowed an Arizona touchdown. The offensive line was solid allowing Hall to show his competence with 66% completion, 288 passing yards and some decent scrambles. Unga impressed with 196 all-purpose yards. But special teams revealed room for improvement. Starting BYU fullback Manase Tonga was suspended only for this game due to an arrest related to a traffic stop. BYU Backup inside linebacker Terrance Hooks was also suspended for this game. At half time, BYU retired the number 14 at halftime in honor of Gifford Nielsen and Ty Detmer. Hodgkiss will continue to use the number until the end of the season. Redshirt Freshman, Harvey Unga was named the MWC Offensive Player of the Week with 67 yards rushing, 127 yards receiving, and two touchdowns.^[9][10]

Arizona Leads Series 11-9-1

UCLA

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cougars	0	3	14	0	17
Bruins	10	10	0	7	27

This was the 8th game between UCLA and BYU with UCLA favored to win by 8 points or so. This game was widely considered to be the Cougars' toughest regular season game. Emotions were high as Ben Olson, who originally committed to BYU, transferred to UCLA after his mission and was the starting quarterback for the Bruins. The Bruins jumped out to a commanding lead at the end of the first half scoring their first touchdown on a 56-yard interception. The Cougars drew within 3 points in the third quarter, and were poised to pull ahead reaching the "blue zone" with less than 6 minutes in the game. However a forced fumble, as Hall intended to pass, stopped the Cougars final, successful drive. Max Hall outplayed Olson; he impressed completing 30 of 52 passes for 391 yards compared to Olson's 126 yards. Despite the score, the Cougars outplayed the Bruins, even in the first half; the Cougars got 431 total yards to the Bruins' 236, but 11 penalties and 3 turnovers cost the Cougars the game. This game ended the Cougars 11-game winning streak and their best chance at a run for a BCS bowl game this year.^[11]

UCLA Leads Series 7-1

Tulsa

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cougars	7	27	6	7	47
Golden Hurricane	14	17	14	10	55

This was the 7th game between Tulsa and BYU. The Cougars defeated the Golden Hurricane 49-24 in Provo last season, but were handed a loss in this game. Coach Mendenhall took responsibility for the loss; he stated that he did not prepare the team for the superior offensive prowess Tulsa possessed. Tulsa's offense was led by its senior quarterback, Paul Smith, who drew BYU's secondary out of their zones and then threw over the top for large gains several times. BYU's defense adjusted well in the second half, nevertheless, the team was also plagued with 14 penalties for 138 yards, 4 turnovers including a pick six for 49 yards early in the third quarter, and some poor kicking (including 2 missed PATs and a 29-yard field goal attempt). Statistically BYU gained more yards than Tulsa in this shootout at 694 yards versus 595 yards of total offense. Collie impressed with 8 kick returns for 237 yards, and Hall passed for 537 yards, but not enough for the offense to seize the win.^[12]

BYU Leads Series 6-1

Air Force

	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	0	6	0	0	6
Cougars	7	10	7	7	31

This was the 28th game between Air Force and BYU for BYU's Homecoming game. Air Force hired new head coach Troy Calhoun this year after Fisher DeBerry retired.^[13]

BYU Leads Series 22-6

New Mexico

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cougars	7	7	7	10	31
Lobos	0	6	15	3	24

This win was the 57th game between New Mexico and BYU. BYU beat the Lobos 42-17 on Senior Day last year. This game featured the MWC's leading passer, UNM's Porterie, and was expected to test BYU's secondary particularly after the Cougar's shootout with Tulsa. The game was tied at the end of the third quarter with a 71-yard touchdown reception by the Lobo's running back, Ferguson, and a 2-point conversion after BYU jumped out to lead with a pick six by Kehl in the first 2 minutes of the game and took advantage of five turnovers and a blocked PAT by Criddle. Overall the Cougars showed balance and performed well in all aspects of the game on both sides of the ball. Bryan Kehl was named the MWC Defensive Player of the Week with 10 tackles including a sack, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and an interception for a 36-yard touchdown.^[14][15]

BYU Leads Series 42-14-1

UNLV

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cougars	0	7	10	7	24
Rebels	3	3	0	8	14

This was the 14th game between UNLV and BYU. BYU won the last meeting, 52-7, in 2006 and was favored to win this game by 10 points. The game was at Sam Boyd Stadium, and will be Family Weekend for UNLV. It was estimated that 15,000 BYU fans attended the game.^[16]

BYU Leads Series 11-3

Eastern Washington

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	7	0	0	7
Cougars	14	7	14	7	42

This was the first matchup between Eastern Washington and BYU. Corby Hodgkiss took a 39-yard touchdown interception on Eastern Washington's first drive. Bryan Kehl and Quinn Gooch also came away with an interception each. Due to weather and an early defensive touchdown, BYU went away from the pass fairly early. The final quarter was one of the shortest in recent memory as the refs were very liberal with the clock. This was mostly due to the fact the score was 42-7 and there was a blizzard. The last 10 minutes in the game it was hard to see the field yet the cougar faithful cheered loudly until the end.^[17]

BYU Leads Series 1-0

Colorado State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	0	3	0	13	16
Cougars	7	14	7	7	35

This was the 65th game between Colorado State and BYU. BYU beat the Rams 24-3 on the road in 2006. BYU extended its conference record to 4-0 (including a conference win-streak of 12-0), its home-win-streak to 10-0, and became bowl eligible. The Rams reached the redzone 3 times in the first half, but only came away with one field goal. Hall completed 22 of 30 passes for 355 yards and three touchdowns, and his first game with no interceptions. Unga rushed 11 times for 51 yards making him BYU's all-time leading freshman running back with a season total of 735 yards. Unga also grabbed three receptions for 110 yards including a 53-yard catch and scramble. Collie caught 8 balls for 111 yards including a 45-yard touchdown reception. Pitta added a 45-yard reception in the final quarter. Gooch took his second interception of the season, and Jorgensen added 2.5 sacks to lead the team with 6.5 sacks. Gaskins came in for Hall in the last minutes of the game to throw his first pass in a Division I FBS game which resulted in an interception and a 31-yard return for a CSU touchdown.^[18]

BYU Leads Series 35-27-3

TCU

	1	2	3	4	Total
Horned Frogs	3	6	6	7	22
Cougars	7	10	7	3	27

This was the 9th game between TCU and BYU. BYU went on the road to win 31-17 in this meeting last year, sparking their 8-0 run through the MWC. Kelly Poppinga was named the MWC Defensive Player of the Week with a career-high 17 tackles including a tackle for a loss and an interception in this game.^[19][20]

BYU Leads Series 7-2

Wyoming

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cougars	7	14	7	7	35
Cowboys	0	3	7	0	10

This was the 72nd game between Wyoming and BYU. BYU dominated the Cowboys from the opening kickoff last season, 55-7. This year BYU controlled the game from the beginning taking a 21-3 lead at half time. Sophomore Max Hall was named MWC Offensive Player of the Week with 331 passing yards, over 70% completion and three touchdowns. Hall broke the MWC's all-time sophomore passing leader by reaching 3,121 passing yards. In BYU quarterback-factory history, Hall ranks third behind Ty Detmer and Robbie Bosco for passing yards in their first 10 games as a starter. Hall went out in the third quarter after suffering a shoulder separation.^[21][22]

BYU Leads Series 39-30-3

Utah

1 2 3 4 Total Utah 0 0 3 7 10 • BYU 0 3 3 11 17 Date: November 24 Location: LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, UT Game start: 2:00 p.m. EST Source:

Scoring summary 2 4:47 BYU Mitch Payne 22-yard field goal BYU 3-0 3 9:45 UTAH Louie Sakoda 35-yard field goal Tied 3-3 3 2:52 BYU Mitch Payne 23-yard field goal BYU 6-3 4 13:48 BYU Mitch Payne 35-yard field goal BYU 9-3 4 1:34 UTAH Darrell Mack 1-yard run (Louie Sakoda kick) UTAH 10-9 4 0:38 BYU Harvey Unga 11-yard run (Max Hall to Austin Collie pass) BYU 17-10

This rivalry game, unofficially dubbed "The Holy War," is typically the most anticipated conference game for each of these two teams. In 2006, the rivalry was ranked in the Wall Street Journal as the 4th best college football rivalry game in the country. (See also Utah-BYU rivalry.) This was the 83rd game between Utah and BYU with the series going 49-30-4 for Utah since 1922. Utah dominated the series 34-2-4 through 1964. Since that time BYU has led the series 28-15. Utah's 4-game-winning-streak against BYU ended last year with a game-winning, last-second play. In 2007, BYU achieved its first back-to-back wins over Utah since 2000-2001.

The game was largely a defensive struggle until the last few minutes of the fourth quarter. The Utes took the lead 10-9 when Darrell Mack scored the first touchdown of the game with just 1:34 left. On the ensuing possession, however, BYU converted on fourth and eighteen from their own 12 with a 49-yard pass from Max Hall to Austin Collie. Harvey Unga made the game-winning touchdown run with 38 seconds remaining, and Austin Collie caught a pass in the back of the end zone for a two-point conversion, putting the Cougars up 17-10. Unga became BYU's first freshman running back to gain 1,000 rushing yards in a season. This was also Collie's 6th game for over 97 yards receiving. BYU racked up 424 offensive yards to Utah's 244. Unga was named the MWC Offensive Player of the Week, and freshman kicker, Mitch Payne, was named MWC Special Teams Player of the Week making 3 of 4 field goals.^[1][23][24]

Utah Leads Series 49-30-4

San Diego State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cougars	13	7	14	14	48
Aztecs	7	6	7	7	27

This game was originally scheduled to be played on October 27, but was rescheduled due to wildfires in southern California. This was the 32nd game between San Diego State and BYU. The Aztecs fell 47-17 in Provo last October. This game marked the Cougars' MWC record 16th straight conference victory. Freshman running-back Harvey Unga scored a career-high four touchdowns with 161 rushing yards and 29 receiving yards. Sophomore quarterback Max Hall completed 19 of 26 throws for 227 yards and three touchdowns. BYU was slow to put the game away, but had a 14-point lead by the end of the third quarter. Harvey Unga and Jan Jorgensen were named MWC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week.^[25][26]

BYU leads the series 24-7-1

Las Vegas Bowl

	1	2	3	4	Total
UCLA	3	10	0	3	16
BYU	3	14	0	0	17

Eathyn Manumaleuna blocked a last second field goal by UCLA and BYU hung on to beat the Bruins 17-16. BYU quarterback Max Hall went 21-35 for 231 yards and two touchdowns. Manase Tonga led the rushing with 3 carries for 21 yards. The MVP of the game, Austin Collie had 6 catches for 107 yards and 1 touchdown. For UCLA, quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson went 11-27 for 154 yards and 1 touchdown and interception. The rushing game was led by Chris Markey who ran 27 times for 117 yards. This was the first time the Cougars gave up 100 yards rushing to a single player. Bethel-Thompson's favorite target was Brandon Breazell who caught 4 passes for 44 yards and 1 touchdown. The Bruins struck first with a 22-yard Kai Forbath field goal. A 29-yard field goal by BYU kicker Mitch Payne made it 3-3 after the 1st quarter. In the 2nd, Hall hooked up with Austin Collie for 14 yards and a touchdown to make it 10-3. Forbath then hit a 52-yard field goal to cut the lead to 10-6. With 1:03 left in the 1st half, Hall found Michael Reed for 13 yards and a touchdown. As time expired, Bethel-Thompson hit Breazell to make it 17-13 in favor of BYU at the end of the 2nd quarter. There was no scoring in the 3rd. In the 4th, Forbath made it 17-16 with a 50-yard field goal. BYU punted to UCLA with around 2 minutes left to set up a final drive for the Bruins. Bethel-Thompson, a fourth-string walk-on quarterback, along with Chris Markey drove to the BYU 49. On 3rd and 8 Bethel-Thompson hit Logan Paulsen to get to the BYU 13. That set up a chip-shot 28-yard field goal for Forbath, who already hit 2 50+ yarders. The kick was too low and Manumaleuna blocked it and sealed the game for the Cougars.^[27]

Statistical leaders

Passing
Player	COMP	ATT	Pct.	YDS	TD	INT	QB Rating
Max Hall	298	496	60.1	3,848	26	12	137.7

Rushing
Player	ATT	YDS	YPC	TD
Harvey Unga	244	1,227	5.0	13
Manase Tonga	88	305	3.5	8
Fui Vakapuna	73	252	3.5	2

Receiving
Player	REC	YDS	YPC	TD
Austin Collie	56	946	16.9	7
Dennis Pitta	59	813	13.8	5
Harvey Unga	44	655	14.9	4
Michael Reed	41	449	11.0	4
Matt Allen	31	358	11.5	3
Manase Tonga	27	248	9.2	0

Tackles & Broken plays
Player	Solo	Asst	Total	TFL	Sacks	Int
Kelly Poppinga	46	67	113	7.5	-	1
Bryan Kehl	52	39	91	11.5	4	3
Jan Jorgensen	40	37	77	20	14
David Nixon	38	28	66	10	4
Corby Hodgkiss	30	27	57	3.5	-	3
Ben Criddle	37	19	56	1	-	2
Mark Staffieri	26	28	54	5	1
Quinn Gooch	22	30	52	.5	-	3

Coaching staff

Name	Position	Year at BYU	Alma mater (Year)
Bronco Mendenhall	Head Coach/ Defensive Coordinator	5th 2003–present	Oregon State (1987)
Lance Reynolds	Assistant Head Coach Running Backs	25th 1983–present	BYU (1980)
Robert Anae	Offensive Coordinator/ Inside Receivers	3rd 2005–present	BYU (1986)
Brandon Doman	Quarterbacks	3rd 2005–present	BYU (2002)
Patrick Higgins	Outside Receivers/ Special Teams	3rd 2005–present	William Penn University (1986)
Barry Lamb	Outside Linebackers/ Safeties	15th 1994–present	Oregon (1978)
Paul Tidwell	Inside Linebackers	7th 2001–present	Southern Utah University (1979)
Mark Weber	Offensive Line	1st 2007	Cal Lutheran (1980)
Jaime Hill	Defensive Backs	2nd 2006–present	San Francisco State University (1986)
Steve Kaufusi	Defensive Line	6th 2002–present	BYU (1994)
Jay Omer	Strength and Conditioning	7th 2001–present	Southern Utah University (1972)

Players

Roster

Edit
Wide Receivers 2 Bryce Mahuika† - Junior 3 Michael Reed†† - Junior 7 Ryan Kessman - Freshman 9 Austin Collie† - Sophomore 10 Matt Allen†† - Senior 16 Parker Mangum - Sophomore 20 Reed White - Junior 22 Tyler Kozlowski - Freshman 80 Jordan Smith - Freshman 82 Ryan Neeley - Junior 83 Saia Hafoka - Junior 84 Matt Marshall - Freshman 85 Landon Jaussi - Sophomore 86 Daniel Tervort - Sophomore 87 Griffin Miller - Freshman 89 Cortny Barton - Junior Fullbacks 11 Manase Tonga†† - Junior 27 Joe Semanoff - Senior 30 Inoke Hafoka - Freshman Offensive Linemen 51 Mark Freeman - Freshman 53 Tom Sorensen - Sophomore 64 R.J. Willing † - Sophomore 65 Dallas Reynolds - Junior 66 Garrett Reden - Freshman 67 Sete Aulai†† - Senior 68 David Oswald† - Junior 69 John Barrett - Sophomore 70 Matt Reynolds - Freshman 72 Nick Alleto - Freshman 73 Jason Speredon - Freshman 74 Travis Bright†† - Junior 75 Walter Kahaialii - Freshman 76 Ray Feinga†† - Junior 79 Manaaki Vaitai - Freshman Punters/Kickers 24 Bryan Smith - Freshman 26 C.J. Santiago† - Junior 38 Mitch Payne† - Freshman		Tight Ends 32 Dennis Pitta - Sophomore 37 Vic So'oto - Sophomore 84 Jeff Allen - Sophomore 88 Andrew George† - Sophomore 95 Kaneakua Friel - Freshman 96 Matt Shirley - Freshman Quarterbacks 4 Kurt McEuen - Sophomore 6 Brenden Gaskins - Sophomore 7 James Lark - Freshman 11 Jason Munns* - Freshman 12 Sam Doman - Freshman 15 Max Hall† - Sophomore Running Backs 1 Fui Vakapuna† - Junior 13 J.J. DiLuigi* - Freshman 23 Ryan Folsom - Freshman 29 Ryan Love - Freshman 31 Isaac Taylor - Junior 33 Wayne Latu - Sophomore 45 Harvey Unga - Freshman Defensive line 52 Russell Tialavea* - Sophomore 54 Kyle Luekenga* - Junior 55 Eathyn Manumaleuna - Freshman 56 Chris Muehlmann† - Junior 57 Matt Putnam - Freshman 59 John Pace - Freshman 63 David Angilau - Freshman 71 Rick Wolfley† - Freshman 77 Ian Dulan† - Sophomore 84 Jan Jorgensen†† - Sophomore 90 Mosese Foketi - Junior 91 Judd Anderton - Senior 92 Brett Denney - Sophomore 93 Sean Sullivan - Senior 94 Brock Richardson - Junior 97 Spencer Wolfley - Freshman 98 Steven Fendry - Freshman (†)† (Returning) starter at position * Injured		Linebackers 31 Chris Bolden - Senior 35 Matt Bauman - Sophomore 36 Markell Staffieri† - Senior 39 Grant Nelson - Freshman 41 Bryan Kehl†† - Senior 42 Shawn Doman - Sophomore 43 David Nixon†† - Junior 44 Dan Van Sweden - Sophomore 46 Kelly Poppinga† - Senior 47 Terrance Hooks - Sophomore 48 Austen Jorgensen - Freshman 49 Jadon Wagner* - Freshman 50 Tom Steele - Freshman 51 Franco Improta - Sophomore 52 Tyler Beck - Freshman 58 Jeff Bell - Sophomore Levi Mack* - Junior Cornerbacks 4 Brandon Howard - Sophomore 9 Brannon Brooks - Freshman 17 G Pittman - Freshman 19 Andre Saulsberry - Senior 20 Gary Nagy - Freshman 21 Ben Criddle†† - Senior 34 Kayle Buchanan† - Senior Safeties 14 Corby Hodgkiss† - Senior 16 Kellen Fowler - Junior 18 Aaron Attig - Sophomore 23 David Tafuna* - Senior 25 Quinn Gooch*†† - Senior 26 Jordan Pendelton - Freshman 28 Dustin Gabriel* - Senior 29 Scott Johnson - Junior Defensive backs 5 Brandon Bradley* - Freshman 10 Blake Morgan - Freshman 13 Steven Thomas - Freshman 27 Evan Kleinhenz - Sophomore

Depth chart

Defense FS Kellen Fowler Ben Criddle ⋅ WLB BLB MLB SLB David Nixon Markell Staffieri Kelly Poppinga ⋅ Chris Bolden Shawn Doman Matt Bauman ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ Terrance Hooks ⋅ KAT Corby Hodgkiss Aaron Attig ⋅ CB Ben Criddle Andre Saulsberry ⋅ DE NT DE Ian Dulan Eathyn Manumaleuna Jan Jorgenson Brett Denney Rick Wolfley Judd Anderton ⋅ Mosese Foketi ⋅ CB Kayle Buchanan Brandon Howard ⋅ Offense SE/XR Michael Reed Matt Allen ⋅ SB/HR Bryce Mahuika Daniel Tervort Reed White LT LG C RG RT Dallas Reynolds Ray Feinga Sete Aulai Travis Bright David Oswald R.J. Willing Walter Kahaialii Tom Sorensen Jason Speredon R.J. Willing ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ TE/YR Dennis Pitta Andrew George Vic So’oto FL/ZR Matt Allen Austin Collie ⋅ QB Max Hall Brenden Gaskins ⋅ Key Reserves FB Manase Tonga FB Joe Semanoff DS John Pace H Bryce Mahuika RB Harvey Unga Fui Vakapuna ⋅ Special Teams PK Mitch Payne P C.J. Santiago P Brian Smith KR Bryce Mahuika PR Austin Collie LS Chris Muehlmann H Matt Allen

References

BYU Cougars football Venues LaVell Edwards Stadium (1964–present) Bowls & rivalries Bowl games San Diego State Utah: Holy War (Beehive Boot) Utah State (Beehive Boot, The Old Wagon Wheel) Culture & lore Cosmo the Cougar "The Cougar Song" BYU Cougar Marching Band Miami Beach Brawl People Head coaches NFL draftees Seasons 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 National championship seasons in bold

Mountain West Conference football champions BYU, Colorado State, & Utah (1999) Colorado State (2000) BYU (2001) Colorado State (2002) Utah (2003) Utah (2004) TCU (2005) BYU (2006) BYU (2007) Utah (2008) TCU (2009) TCU (2010) TCU (2011) Boise State, Fresno State, & San Diego State (2012) Fresno State (2013) Boise State (2014) San Diego State (2015)