‘Sacks will come’: Cougars aren’t fretting about pass rush ahead of facing Arkansas QB KJ Jefferson
It is obviously a small sample size, and the competition has been subpar, but through two games the defense that former Weber State coach Jay Hill has installed at BYU has been adequate, even above average.
But there’s one aspect that almost all great defenses have that has been missing in wins over Sam Houston and Southern Utah and a bit troubling to BYU fans: sacks, or lack thereof.
“If you are talking about sacks specifically, we can be better at that, I mean, that is not sugar-coated. I like the stuff we are doing. The sacks will come. I like interceptions more than sacks.” — BYU coach Kalani Sitake
The Cougars (2-0), who play at Arkansas (2-0) on Saturday (5:30 p.m. MDT, ESPN2), have recorded just one sack this season — defensive end Tyler Batty’s trip of Sam Houston QB Keegan Shoemaker on the Bearkats’ first series of the opener.
Since then — nothing.
The Cougars are tied for 122nd in the FBS in sacks per game (.5), but hey, at least they are in good company. Georgia, Iowa and LSU also have just one sack in two games. Last year, the Cougars had just 15 sacks, among the fewest in the country.
Are Hill and his boss, head coach Kalani Sitake, concerned?
Not really.
“If you are talking about sacks specifically, we can be better at that,” Sitake said Monday. “I mean, that is not sugar-coated. I like the stuff we are doing. The sacks will come. I like interceptions more than sacks.”
In that regard, the Cougars are doing well. They are tied for 14th in turnovers, with five (four interceptions and a fumble recovery). They are tied for eighth in turnover margin.
“I think we’ve had a lot of pressure on quarterbacks. They have thrown four interceptions now to our corners, throwing off their back foot,” Hill said. “I would rather have turnovers than sacks. … We just got to do a better job confusing quarterbacks so they are not throwing on time. Sacks will come. I am not worried. Those are going to come.”
Related
Adopted at birth, Jakob Robinson proud of his Vietnamese and Black heritage
‘I remember it vividly’: Why revenge won’t be in play when BYU visits Arkansas
Special teams coordinator Kelly Poppinga, who also coaches the edge rushers, said the Cougars hit the quarterback 10 times in the opener, eight times last week.
“We’re getting a lot of QB hits. We just gotta move one step faster,” Poppinga said. “Yeah, only one sack. But pressure is a part of it. There were a couple pressures we wish we would have ran a little bit more (against SUU) that we practiced a lot during the week. … Sometimes that is how it goes.”
Starting rush ends Batty and Boise State transfer Isaiah “Zay” Bagnah are the guys most responsible for putting pressure on the QB; junior Blake Mangelson has also seen significant playing time there.
The pass rush “has got to be better, yup,” Batty said Monday. “I think that’s where we stand. I think it has improved since last year. But through the first two games, I definitely think it is something that we need to continue to work on.”
Bagnah said the defensive ends have faced a lot of double teams in passing situations — such as the play in which SUU QB Justin Miller had plenty of time in the pocket and threw a 33-yard TD pass to Isaiah Wooden — but acknowledges there is room for improvement.
“We are getting quarterback hits and all that. It really all just comes down to getting home,” Bagnah said. “And I feel like we are doing a better job of growing at that aspect of it. It is only two games. We have a long season ahead of us.”
Everybody involved says it will be a long day for the Cougars in Fayetteville if they can’t take down Arkansas QB KJ Jefferson a couple of times in the backfield. The 6-foot-4, 250-pounder was a beast last year in the Hogs’ 52-35 win in Provo.
“He is one tough, big, physical dude, for sure,” Batty said.
Other than the low sack total, and the same shortcomings on third down that plagued them last year, the coaches are pleased with the way the defense has played. BYU is 10th in fewest points allowed (8.0), tied for 10th in rush defense (61.0) and 26th in total defense (265.5.). Of course, the level of competition skyrockets this week and throughout the rest of the year.
“In terms of just that one category, of sacks, it could be better, and it will be,” Sitake said.
Added Hill: “When we are getting interceptions like we are, then you just stay the course. You don’t make stuff up. You might have one sack one game and eight the next. You just stay the course.”
As far as personnel is concerned, Poppinga said the talent is there to increase the sack total, but noted that as coaches recruit more to this defensive scheme Hill has put in place, they will get players better suited to employing it.
“I do feel good with where we are at,” Poppinga said. “I think we are going to continue to get better at it.”
Poppinga said he is “really happy” with the way Mangelson, a walk-on from Juab High School in Nephi, is playing and that his role will increase in Week 3.
Related
“We got to get Zay going,” Poppinga said. “He’s got to be more productive in what he is doing. He’s doing some good things, doing his assignments, but he’s got to be more productive making plays. I am happy where Batty is at. He’s done some good things.”
Poppinga said Weber State transfer Logan Lutui has been sidelined by an injury but should be available against the Razorbacks. Michael Daley, Bodie Schoonover and Weber State transfer Nuuletau Sellesin and redshirt freshman Aisea Moa are making strides, he said.
“There are a real handful of guys getting close, but nobody that has gone in there and taken that fourth spot,” Poppinga said. “Those guys, they are sharing that role until somebody comes in there and takes it.”
Poppinga said recently returned missionary John Henry Daley is “probably our best pass rusher right now” but isn’t ready to play yet.
“He has shown flashes where I am like, ‘Wow, he’s the David Nixon, Bryan Kehl, Kyle Van Noy type of guy coming off the edge. It is exciting,” Poppinga said. “And some guys that we are recruiting right now for next year will be fun to keep an eye on.”
