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BYU football: Cougars working receivers

Go WR's! | 12:10 a.m. April 1, 2009

I wish they also would've mentioned Spencer Hafoka but they're just quarantining him because of disease. Man, the sick bug has been plauging the team lately. He will be an impact player. With the exception of Luke Ashworth, the projected 2 man rotation all run 4.4's. Ashworth is a 4.6 guy but so was Michael Reed, so the speed is certainly there. They simply need the reps and the practice and the WR spot will be outstanding.

BYU Blue | 7:51 a.m. April 1, 2009

It will be payback time. Beat up on little Brother up north. That is the team from SLC

Down at WR | 8:14 a.m. April 1, 2009

Wow. Looks like the team is really lacking experienced wide receivers. Hall will be having to pass to his tight ends and backs more than usual.

To "Go WR's!", how can you assert that "simply" reps and practice will make the WR spot outstanding? Jacobson is the only one that has proven anything at all. Most missionaries take a year to be back to speed. Collie was obviously an exception. I'll take a wait and see approach.

Comments continue below

I wish Collie would have stayed | 8:18 a.m. April 1, 2009

As a Ute fan, it might not be good that Collie left. I think that was part of Halls problem. The last thing the rest of the conference needs is for Hall to actually read the defense and go through his progressions instead of trying to force passes in to Collie. Hopefully he'll just pick Pitta as his new security blanket and close his eyes and fire like he did last season.

BYU,the Oral Roberts of the West | 8:24 a.m. April 1, 2009

BYU would have had an undefeated season if it wasn't for the refs!!

Agreed | 9:42 a.m. April 1, 2009

Collie was a crutch for Hall

4.4? | 9:42 a.m. April 1, 2009

None of these guys runs a 4.4 except maybe Jacobson. But high-end speed is the most overrated charactistic of a wideout (Tyler Anderson, Rod Wilkerson). These guys should be quite good.

Put red on them | 10:03 a.m. April 1, 2009

Perhaps, if you put RED jersey's on the receivers Max would be able to see them better. I worked last year!

Huge fan | 10:08 a.m. April 1, 2009

I just wish these receivers were good. It looks like they will be pretty slow. maybe they have good hands.

Re: 4.4 | 10:14 a.m. April 1, 2009

Yes they do, all of them run 4.4's but Ashworth. What evidence do you have that they don't run 4.4's? No one listens when they say BYU is recruiting better. It's true. There is just as much speed on the skill positions on offense at BYU than anywhere else. I'm not saying we recruit a roster full of 4.5's and 4.4's but they are becoming more common now than you think. Chambers and Hafoka are both 4.4 guys, I'm positive. Anyway, it's like the earlier guy said, high end speed is overrated at WR but it's so overly emphasized. Talk to dumb people and they say EVERYTHING is about speed, well, it's not. Also, John Beck's senior year in 2006, the recievers were pretty young as well. Reed was a sophomore, Jacobsen was a freshman, Matt Allen was a junior. There was also Nate Meikle and Zac Collie, but I don't know that they contributed any more than the other guys did. So there's no reason to think that this year could be very similar to 2006.

Speed | 10:47 a.m. April 1, 2009

Chambers does NOT run a 4.4. If he did he wouldn't be at BYU. However, he offers a lot of other things. That will be helpful.

Zac | 10:48 a.m. April 1, 2009

There's no way any of the receivers, except maybe Jacobsen, run 4.4. How do I know? Because they were all slower than Collie was and he runs a 4.6 on a good day. That's not to say that they still can't be good. I expect them to be like most receivers are at BYU: get open by running good routes and have good hands. The receiving corps is the least of our worries this year. It's the O line and D.

To 4.4 | 10:54 a.m. April 1, 2009

Look, I'm as big a BYU fan as anyone but, other than Jacobson, we do not have 4.4 receivers. And Jacobson may not be anywhere near 4.4 until he gets in top shape again. Good routes and good hands can be sufficient when playing against the middle of the pack MWC teams. But BYU's lack of speed was majorily exposed against Utah and Arizona and particularly against TCU. Even New Mexico gave us fits with faster defenders. Let's see how real 4.4 speed looks when we play Oklahoma and Florida State and then we'll talk. And at the next level, speed really makes a difference. BYU's best receiver EVER is a 4th round pick at best simply because he does not have the speed and athleticism required in the NFL. You can still be a BYU fan and not pretend our LDS all-star team also has top notch speed. Outside of 1 or 2 examples we simply don't and likely never will.

Re: to 4.4 | 11:47 a.m. April 1, 2009

Speed wasn't MAJORILY exposed in the Utah and AZ games! Give me a break, we hung around with Utah for 3 and a half quarters, it was Max Hall being a dufus that got exposed. Also with Arizona, we lost by 10 points, I wouldn't call that majorily exposed by speed. That was a very winnable game. We missed 3 field goals, and turned the ball over three times, and all three turnovers were Max Hall's fault. I recall one play where one of the AZ receivers got behind BYU and almost made a touchdown, but Brandon Bradley chased him down before he could get there. The ESPN commentator even said "looks like he didn't have the SPEED to get there."

The ONE game, and I do emphasize ONE, the ONE game where we were outmatched by speed was TCU. It's because their defensive front had speed, and the O-line was outmatched by it, NOT because the skill players weren't fast enough. The difference was in the trenches.

Why do you deny that BYU has speed in certain spots, because they do. Collie was anything but slow, and they other receivers are faster.

speed demon | 12:11 p.m. April 1, 2009

During the glory years BYU didn't have many speedsters. They did have guys that could catch the ball. The best teams seem to have both speed and guys with great hands in the 21st century. The cougars will be ok, but lack of speed will hurt BYU against the stiffest competition. (Oklahoma,FSU,TCU and even the grasshopper gobbling Utes)

"Majorly Exposed?" | 12:11 p.m. April 1, 2009

Even with Max's errors in the first part of the Utah game BYU was still right in the game until turning it over in the fourth quarter.

Speedy receivers are important but precise routes, great hands, and ability are vital. When you are talking 4.4 to 4.6 you're also talking about a 40 yard dash. Few receivers will be running 40 yards before the ball is thrown. What matters is their moves and initial speed off the ball.

Not all great NFL receivers had blazing speed. So much of a great receiver is defined by much more than just running fast. BYU's deficiency is not the receiver speed.

Anonymous | 12:16 p.m. April 1, 2009

Hall will need to spread it around. Too much Collie especially again'st Utah. We have the talent lets just put it together. Hall needs to be smart and run when he needs to. The day of the drop back passers are dead. You need a running QB as well to get yards when nothing is open. I don't know if Hall can do that. I want to see what REILLY can do. He is very athletic. Had an excellent frosh year at USU.

Michael T | 12:20 p.m. April 1, 2009

BJ Peterson is the one to watch. He's big and he's got speed. Watch out for him.

Facts | 12:20 p.m. April 1, 2009

In college it can be tough to really know what a kid's forty time is. But go to ESPN and check out the times at the combine. Collie - the best at a speed dominated position we have ever had - did not clock a good 40 time in comparison to the other receivers. He is pretty quick and he has good hands and toughness but the dude is not fast. Granted Jacobson, when in shape, is fast by any standard. Pendleton will bring good speed to our linebackers. Bradley has good speed and athleticism at db. Chambers is probably a step faster than Collie was. But across the board BYU is not fast or athletic. I'd like to believe they are but they aren't.

Majorly exposed | 12:25 p.m. April 1, 2009

is correct.
A horrible, zero-win Washington team was faster than byu.
The tallest grass in the NCAA is at LES, they keep it long to equalize the speed of their opponents.
None of them have 4.4 speed.
That said, 4.4 speed is probably the most over-rated stat there is.
Collie was 4.6 but always got open and burned supposedly faster players all the time.

40 times are always wrong | 1:27 p.m. April 1, 2009

Who cares what who runs at what 40 time. I guarantee you, anytime an athlete is timed by NFL scouts their 40 time is always 0.2 of a second slower than their claimed time. Those times are non-biased because NFL scouts really do care what your true time is if you are going to work for them. Sean Smith was claimed to run a 4.3 but timed at 4.52 by NFL scouts, just as one example. Paul Kruger was claimed by some Ute fans (not a very credible source) to run a 4.5 but he was time by NFL scouts at 4.84. So may I be the first to say RAW SPEED IS OVERRATED. That's right, you heard it first. Other skills, including quickness, good vision, mental toughness, good hands, stregnth, and good killer instincts and great heart all play in to how well a player does, not just speed speed speed. Watch game film and that's what really shows the true nature of a team.

SEPARATION | 2:28 p.m. April 1, 2009

Speed doest not equal automatic separation from a defensive back. It also takes other skills to catch the ball. Hands, fakes, knowledge play a part in yards receiving.

Anonymous | 3:26 p.m. April 1, 2009

Maybe they should have one guy go out there in Red in order help hall overcome his bad habit of throwing interceptions.

Anonymous | 3:27 p.m. April 1, 2009

Anyone remember 50/50 Wilkerson? He was the fastest guy on the team and had the worst hands. There was a reason he was a db in high school.
Re: Facts No way is Chambers a step faster than Collie. You could tell the difference just in kickoff returns. Chambers is slow. But he is big and strong and I think he'll be a good receiver.

Re: Go WR's! | 3:51 p.m. April 1, 2009

Who do you think you are? Bronco Mendenhall? Robert Anae? The best thing to happen to college footballoffensive coordinating since the forward pass?

How do you have the audacity to come on this blog and throw your worthless two cents around, acting like we actually care about your opinion? I don't know who you are, but time for most people is a valuable commodity. Your comment was so insignificantly pointless I felt my time was not only wasted, but applied to a genuinely wasteful deconstructive purpose. I'm sure everyone feels the same way as well.

Think you know about football? You think you know about life? Get out of mom's basement and throw out your old 49ers videos. The 80's are over and believe it or not the world is still spinning. Try dating. Try meeting a woman outside of your trashy E Harmony account. I've never before had the displeasure wasting my time reading your garbage and I hope I never will.

You're the problem with society. You're the problem with the world, the universe, everything. Everything that exists. Past, present, future, every atrocity. It's because of people like you.

Realistic BYU Fan | 4:15 p.m. April 1, 2009

As I recall Tyler Anderson had speed but no hands, Eric Dredge was slow but could catch anything. I think having alot of heart is what you need.

Re: Re: Go WR's! | 4:41 p.m. April 1, 2009

Who's wasting time now? Who's a little too obsessed with the internet now? Who's overreacting a little too much now?

REALIST | 4:49 p.m. April 1, 2009

HEY YEWTS.....

YOU MAY HAVE WON THE MWC....BUT HANDS DOWN TCU WAS BETTER THAN YOU WERE LAST YEAR......YOU GOT OUT OF THE RICEBOWL LUCKY LAST YEAR...

YOU DIDN'T BEAT TCU?

TCU BEAT THEMSELVES AND BEAT THE U IN EVERY PHASE OF THE GAME....SPEED, STRENGTH, ATHLETICISM, ALL EXCEPT SCORENBOARD....THAT WIN FOR THE YEWTS WAS LIKE KISSING YOUR YEWTFAN SISTER! BITTER AND UGLY!

Ywetes Rule | 5:49 p.m. April 1, 2009

No matter. The Ywetes showed their grits last year and had a fantastic team. BYU on the other hand has alot of work to do in the offseason. It is what it is.

Re: 3:51 p.m. | 5:52 p.m. April 1, 2009

Who are you talking to? First of all, if you are talking to the first post, you are WAAAAYYYY overreacting, and apparently all those problems you were talking about are the ones you struggle the most with. What the first poster said was more intelligent that 9/10's of the pollution on these blogs. He was simply expressing his optimism about the WR position and how it has the chance to be really good. You on the other hand are the outward expression of everything wasteful and ridiculous on these blogs.

I really don't think I need to say anything more. Read your own post and that says it all.

NUMBERS TALK | 5:56 p.m. April 1, 2009

this is Bronco's away from provo in Non conference road games record... 2-7

2008 0-13 WASHINGTON (28-27) win contraversial
8-5 ARIZONA (31-21) lost
2007 UCLA (27-17) lost
TULSA (47-55) lost
UCLA (17-16)WIN
2006 ARIZONA (13-16) LOST
BOSTON COLLEGE (23-20) LOST
2005 NOTRE DAME (23-49) LOST
CALIFORNIA (28-35) LOST

RE: NUMBERS TALK | 6:12 p.m. April 1, 2009

KYLE WHIT... 6-3 IN GAMES AWAY FROM res

08.. MICH. (25-23) WIN
ALAB. (31-17) WIN
07.. OREG. ST. (7-24) LOSS
LOUISVILLE (44-35) WIN
NAVY (35-32) WIN
06.. UCLA (31-10) LOSS
TULSA (25-13) WIN
05.. N.CARO. (17-31) LOSS
GEO.TECH (38-10) WIN

RE: NUMBERS TALK | 7:00 p.m. April 1, 2009

So what your saying is, BYU is an awsome team when playing at home.

AK Cougar | 8:24 p.m. April 1, 2009

RE: Numbers Talk

True BYU does not hold a good out of conference road record in the past 3 years. However, from the scores given, you have to admit they were in most of these games. The difference between the winners and losers is not very much in D1 Football. One missed block, a slip on the grass, getting faked out and going the wrong way, throwing a foot too far or not far enough. Such little things separate the wins form losses. Only the Notre Name game was a true trouncing.

chester blue | 8:47 p.m. April 1, 2009

Stephen Covey will be a sophomore in 2009 Jeff, just a minor correction. Now, concerning the 4.4 guys, definitely Jacobsen by mid-to-late summer, maybe Covey by fall practices (Covey was clocked at 4.4 before his mission and a 4.5 last season). Hafoka could creep back down to a 4.5 but has to get healthy first. Chambers could possibly be a 4.5 guy but a true 4.6 and as pointed out earlier, he's not shifty enough to be a dangerous kick/punt returner so those duties should go elsewhere. Kickoffs ought to be fielded by two of the fastest and shiftiest runners in a BYU uniform which are Jacobsen and Covey. Punt returns should be a lock for McKay after dazzling Cougar nation with a 77 yd TD return for his only punt return in '06. Covey could look good there as well. Ashworth could also do well fielding punts and kicks with sure hands and good field vision as well. Nice crop of receivers on paper. We'll see what they do on the field but they all could contribute.

Majorly Exposed? | 9:23 p.m. April 1, 2009

Folks, go back and watch the game again - the turnovers started with an INT late in the first half. That was followed by another INT and a fumble in the 3rd quarter. The wheels really came off in the 4th, but half the TO's occurred before that.

Regardless, no matter how good BYU's receivers are or aren't, it won't matter a bit unless a) Hall learns to check off his primary receiver, b) BYU's defense figures out how to stop UNLV and CSU from putting up 40+ points at LES, and c) Anae figures out how to adapt mid-game to what the opposing defense is giving you.

Cougars Fan | 9:55 p.m. April 1, 2009

Hall has plenty of options to throw too, he just needs to spread the ball around and take what the defense gives him. As much as I liked Collie, not having him as a crutch for Hall to lean on will benefit him this season.

UTE Fan | 7:14 a.m. April 2, 2009

I hope the kittens receivers wear masks, 'cause they will be eating PLENTY of DUST from the might UTE defenders.
Looks like another mediocre season for bYu.
Oh well, you all can watch the Sugar Bowl reruns of my UTES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To: UTE Fan | 7:14 a.m. | 2:04 p.m. April 2, 2009

The only dust the cougars will be eating is the dust that is caused by the BYU UNGA Stampede mowing down every ute defender in sight driving their backs into the ground cause dust to arise from the field.

Here lies a ute at LES, RIP 2009.

As for reruns, I'll catch BYU reruns on KBYU.

TrueRed | 3:57 p.m. April 2, 2009

re:Realist? Is that anything like a Washington game? LOL

Montigo | 11:15 p.m. April 2, 2009

Utah's receivers make byu's recievers look like a joke besides Jacobsen byu has No One at that positon and hopefully they reshaped their secondary or David Reed and the receivers in red will have another hay day like last year

Re: Montigo | 12:23 a.m. April 3, 2009

Which receivers are you talking about? You lost all of your starting receivers the only playmaker that you still have is Jereme Brooks. And you can't have receivers without a quarterback, so it looks like you have no receivers. Luke Ashworth has already played in games, including bowl games, and will be good. Chambers got about 900 return yards, so, yeah, that also makes him better than everyone else you have. And when Hafoka gets better he has shown good speed there too. So, who looks like the joke now?

To: Montigo | 11:15 p.m. | 10:06 p.m. April 3, 2009

Oh so you think? Think again u of whoville lover.

Re:Re:4.4 | 6:23 p.m. April 7, 2009

Fact check when John Beck was a Senior he also had Johnny Harline at TE to help
Flash back he was the on who caught the game winning catch against utah thats right when BYU BEAT UTAH in that amazing game

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