Jaime Hill savoring BYU's depth and flexibility on defense

BYU's defensive coordinator Jaime Hill is a tough guy to figure out. He's very intense, always focused, rarely horses around in practice and always seems to have his game face on.

But this year, he's appeared a bit more relaxed, jovial and lighthearted. It could be that for the first time since he's been at BYU he's got a lot of choices as to who will play cornerback. That depth, plus some new talent at linebacker and defensive line, has given him great competition in practices and now he can design a defense with a few more wrinkles.

A BYU secondary with more flexibility?

In Provo, that idea will draw a few smiles from critics and diehards.

Reserve cornerback Corby Eason isn't fooled by any talk that Hill appears giddy or looks like he's skipping around on a few teaspoons of extra sugar in his cereal.

"(Hill is) the same guy he's always been," said Eason. "He a wonderful guy. He's like he's always been. I haven't seen much difference, he's always joke-ish.

"He's also a serious guy, but being a serious guy, he's still happy. He is very good at what he does."

Hill is a little more casual with reporters. Where he once said he doesn't single out players in the press, he's talked about individuals this fall. Where he's usually pretty short and gone, he's lingered in front of tape recorders.

Is that because his defense is pretty good? In camp this August, it has been stellar.

Could it be that his defense is significantly improved over a year ago and he's not on edge as in years past, wondering how to fix coverages with smoke and mirrors while praying for some kind of pass rush? Perhaps.

He told reporters Wednesday he's as comfortable with his corners as he's ever been at BYU.

And he admitted, they are making a lot of plays in the secondary.

"I think it's because they're youthful, excited and very athletic," he said.

"They still have the squirrelly kind of youth but they are excited about learning and are trying really hard."

Hill said his secondary guys, safeties Andrew Rich and Steven Thomas and corners Brandon Bradley and Brian Logan need more consistency day to day and their level of intensity also needs to be constant whether they do it right or wrong.

"If they are intense all the time, we can make corrections as we go along," he said.