Here is a look at the projected Depth Chart as we wrap up Spring football. A couple items to keep in mind:
1. The injury notes only reflect players whose participation in Fall Camp is in quatstion. Current injuries (such as Ammon Olsen’s knee) which are not expected to hinder a player’s fall availability have been removed.
2. The depth chart is our estimate of how things will look on the opening day of Fall Camp. Players will still move up/down during camp before the Depth Chart is locked in for the Virginia game.
Please comment below if you have any corrections or email us here.
You can download the PDF version here.
That is some SICK depth in the secondary!
I like what you have done. I can appreciate the amount of work involved in putting this together.
I only have one suggestion. Please double check the roster against those that you have listed as leaving the program. If they are on the current active roster how did they get on the leaving the program list?
Thanks again for your efforts in putting this together. You made my day.
Byron Kump
Thanks for the kind words. I can assure you we’ve checked and re-checked and no one on the active roster is listed as having left the program. I noticed today that I forgot to remove Folsom and Mees from the current roster, but that has since been corrected. Keep coming back and helping us make this a better site!
-Brandon
Thanks for the kudos. You are right – tracking all this is an insane amount of work but we love it. We got some bad intel on David Foote leaving the program. We are glad he is sticking around!
One more suggestion if you don’t mind. I would remove the players from the leaving the program list unless they can be confirmed as such. Many of them are on missions and likely will return. It seems unfair to list them as leaving unless it can be confirmed by a coach or family member. Seems a bit misleading.
Byron
Byron,
The players shown on the “Left the Program” list have returned from missions and not re-joined the team. In most cases, they are currently enrolled at BYU, but not participating with the team. I have most listed with a question mark until I can confirm that they are done with football. A player will only show up on only one list: either the “Current Roster”, the “Current Missionaries”, or the “Left the Program” list. It’s not intended to be misleading at all and I can guarantee you that every player on that list is not currently on a mission.
-Brandon
we double/triple check all this. we tweak all the rosters (missionaries, players, etc) every day during spring practice and will do the same during fall practice.
Sampson is the #1 FS. Day one he shared it with Hague. Since then he’s been with the ones every time.
James,
Thanks for the comment. Sampson and Hague are both being cross-trained at FS and BC. Rather than list them both at both positions, I just put one at BC and one at FS. Since Hadley will be coming back to start at BC, you’re probably right that I should put the better of the two at FS. And right now, I agree that is Sampson. But, I fully expect the coaches to look for as many situations as possible to get Hague on the field.
-Brandon
Great resource, guys. Thanks for the hard work.
Thank you. We love your stuff as well! We’ll have another update to the Depth Chart later this week to show our best guess for what things will look like heading into Fall Camp. Then, we begin a long 4 months without any updates.
What are your thoughts on your depth-chart versus the 2 to 3 deep depth-chart that BYU put out here: http://byucougars.com/files/2012%20BYU%20Spring%20Prospectus_4.pdf
JJ,
Thanks for the comment. I reviewed BYU’s official depth chart when it was released in April and found it to be mostly a best-guess, favoring seniors and players with game experience. Our depth chart is designed to be more of a “if a game were played today” effort and we also list all the players on the roster. Here are my thoughts on each position:
WR: Mitch Mathews, Brett Thompson, and likely Terren Houk are all on track to see playing time before Dallin Cutler, the other three receivers listed will likely see the most PT and receiving yards this season, so that’s dead on.
TE: I think Austin Holt, Devin Mahina, and Richard Wilson should also be considered in the mix as of now. Any of the three of them could emerge during Fall Camp.
OL: As far as starters, the battle for the fifth spot is between Stringham and Tushaus and that will likely be decided in camp. I agree with the backups, with the possible exception of Solomone Kafu over Kahaiali’i.
RB/FB: We may see the emergence of Adam Hine and Paul Lasike at some point, but I think this is accurate for now.
DL: I tend to agree more with the positioning shown on our depth chart. I don’t think Tialavea is big enough to play Nose again, but we’ll see how much weight he’s added in the offseason. It should be a battle between Jordan Richardson, Simote Vea, Ezekiel Ansah, and Mike Muehlmann for the fifth and sixth spots on the line.
OLB: I tend to think that Ansah will see more time on the D-line and I would slide Kevan Bills into the #2 slot at Will. Otherwise I agree.
ILB: Lots of depth, I agree with BYU’s listing, but would add that Pikula and Unga are pushing for the backup spots.
CB: Agree with the order. Hague should be the #5 DB and the first in Nickel situations.
S: I think Skye PoVey may see the initial backup reps at Free in fall camp, but I agree that Craig Bills will likely move into that role as camp progresses. I see Chase Pendley pushing hard and likely ahead of Jray Galea’i for the backup at Kat at this point.
ST: Agree with all specialists.
So, there’s my analysis for what it’s worth. It’s all hypothetical until Game Day and that’s the Depth Chart that really matters.
Judging by who actually got in the game and when, it seem obvious to me that Sampson is ahead of Apo on KR and Williams is ahead of Hine at RB and Vea isn’t really #2 at NT, but lower and that Ansah isn’t really #3 at both his positions but higher. Thanks for all your work, I enjoy your site.
You may be right about KR. After the top 2, it’s mostly a moot point anyways. I didn’t know Sampson saw time back there last week. After rewatching WSU’s two kickoffs, it looks like Hoffman and Hague were back for the opening kick and then Hague and Sampson were back for the second. So, more accurately, it could be 1.Hoffman, 2.Hague, 3.Sampson, 4.Falslev. I’ll watch the return unit on Saturday and make the appropriate adjustments for next week’s depth chart. As for the RB, I think I’ll leave it as is. I like to match BYU’s official release whenever possible. Just because Baby-J got into the game and got some carries doesn’t mean he’s the replacement if Alisa goes down (see Hill and Lark for example). I also think Vea is the #2 Nose. He did come into the game and see time there, and he’s definitely ahead of Crichton. He may not be ahead of some of those I show on the ends (Peck, Kaufusi, Muehlmann, and Ziggy), but I’m comfortable with how we show it. With Dulan out, Ziggy was the #2 end, so that’s why he had the playing time there. He would also likely be ahead of JLD at Will, but due to his being used situationally, I think JLD would be the every down replacement and I’m going to leave him with the 2′s as shown by Bronco’s depth chart.
Thanks for your input and I’m glad you enjoy the site!
I wasnt trying to say Williams is Alisa’s replacment (Foote is), I was saying williams is ahead of Hine. Hine hasnt even taken a snap yet, even Lasike got a run vs weber. Also, you said you like to match official release whenever possible but it doesnt in a few spots. Like Kuresa is Apo’s backup but you dont even have him as a Z, which he is now, as seen by Saturdays game and here: http://byucougars.com/files/utah_game_notes.pdf some others as well. Also cutler is still out, Mahina played last week and Foote is listed as Falsleve’s backup. And Hague Is ahead of Sampson as a KR blocker but Sampson is ahead of him as the KR returner. But I’d keep it how you said on that too.
Yup, a lot is still based on how I expected things to go heading into the season. I assumed Kuresa’s reps would likely come behind Falslev in the HR spot, but that has not proven to be the case. I’ve since moved him over to the Z behind Apo. The difficulty at RB is that I show two separate positions and BYU only lists one. So, the overall pecking order is likely Alisa-Foote-Pritchard-Williams-Lasike-Hine, but when split into the two positions, it comes out more like Alisa-Williams-Hine and Foote-Pritchard-Lasike. As long as people can find the player based on how they line up, that’s what’s really important I guess. BYU has updated their KR pairing to match what I observed in the first two games: Hoffman and Hague are the listed returners, then Sampson.
I think Kaufusi has been playing ahead of Muehlman.
Possibly true. Peck may very well be ahead of Muehlmann as well. We’ll wait to see what BYU puts out officially for this week, but up to now, they’ve still been showing Muehlmann as the official #2, which I hesitate to go against unless there’s hard evidence to the contrary. Thanks for the tip!
Here are some changes you may consider. At KR: It’s Sampson, then .Falslev. At RB: It’s Williams and Foote: At QB: It’s Nelson, Lark and Kuresa, who was moved back from ZR to fill in for Hill. At H: It’s Falslev and Raymond, who was just moved up to cover for Kuresa who got moved to QB.
Thanks for the great notes! I’ve made the changes for the upcoming week at KR and QB. I hadn’t heard about Kuresa being moved (probably because I’ve been so busy). I show Williams and Foote as the 1/2 running back guys (Foote is listed as a Combo back) and I also believe that Foote is the #2 slot receiver if J.D. goes out. Thanks again for your help!
Craig Bills is not a strong safety. He is a free safety. He has even said he doesn’t enjoy playing SS as much as FS. And he is the starter there. I would put anything on him starting there at FS over Hague. Bills and Sorensen will be best safety duo at byu in a long time. (Hague will probably be the starting nickle safety when we go with 5 DB’s.)
With Hague coming back from injury, I think Sorensen and Hague will be the starters going into camp. The coaches tend to put the Senior leaders at the top of the Depth Chart to open camp. Bills shined in his time last season and I agree with you that by the time the season rolls around, Bills will be the starting FS with Hague as his backup (and as the starting nickel back). I think it would more likely be listed as an -OR- situation heading into Spring ball.
I’d bet that Sorensen and Bills will be listed at top of depth chart by end of spring camp and maybe (if they are being honest and straightforward) even headed into spring camp, despite the truth of what you say concerning the coaches tendency to put seniors at the top of the depth charts that don’t really count (their pre-season charts). Many players have been talking about how Sorensen and Bills will be locking it down together next year. They all already know it will be and want it to be them. And I like Hague as a player. He is good and will be a great asset this coming season. So glad he is coming back. Crazy he has been in the program since 2006.
You’re right. The Depth Charts going into Spring don’t really matter all that much. What’s important is who will take the field on August 31 in Charlottesville. And we both agree it will be Bills and Sorensen with Hague in nickel situations. Here’s hoping Bills gets as many reps as possible through Spring and Fall to continue honing his skills at FS. Lots of reps are needed at that position as the Free Safety, along with the Mike LB, are the quarterbacks of the defense.