Y. offense makes improvement

PROVO — Compared to the two previous seasons, BYU's offense made significant strides in 2004.

A year ago, the Cougars were ranked No. 65 in passing offense, No. 102 in total offense, No. 110 in scoring offense and No. 110 in rushing offense. They turned the ball over 39 times.

In 2004, BYU improved in every area, finishing No. 12 in passing offense, No. 48 in total offense, No. 70 in scoring offense and No. 103 in rushing offense. It had 30 turnovers.

Despite that improvement, it wasn't enough to propel the Cougars to a winning season or save head coach Gary Crowton's job.

Crowton, who took over as BYU's offensive coordinator a year ago and brought in plenty of new talent, is gone. Still, a foundation has been laid for the future as seven starters return next season.

A look at the BYU offense in 2005, by position:

QUARTERBACKS

Starter returning: John Beck

Others returning: Matt Berry, Jason Beck, Jackson Brown

Beck, who will be a junior, went through some serious growing pains as a true freshman in 2003. In 2004, he showed glimpses of his potential, competing 192 of 343 passes for 2,563 yards, 15 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

If Utah's Alex Smith forgoes his senior year for the National Football League draft, Beck will enter next fall as the Mountain West Conference's top QB.

Unlike the previous two years at BYU, there was no QB carousel. Instead, there was stability. Beck stayed healthy, though he played almost the entire season with a shoulder injury. His arm strength allowed him to connect with his receivers on numerous long passes for touchdowns.

Berry and Brown will be seniors next season while Jason Beck, a junior college transfer, is expected to apply for a medical redshirt after sustaining an injury in the Stanford game.

Then there's Ben Olson. The All-Everything high school star, who made national news three years ago when he signed with BYU, returned from his mission last month and has been taking a number of recruiting visits. He'll likely wind up at a Pac-10 school. Olson redshirted as a true freshman at BYU in 2002.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Starters returning: Jake Kuresa, Lance Reynolds Jr., Brian Sanders

Starters lost: Scott Young, R.J. Willing