NATIONAL CHAMPS.NET
Coach: LaVell Edwards
251-95-3, 28 years
1999 Record: 8-4
Sep 09 Washington Won 35-28
Sep 16 Colorado State Won 34-13
Sep 25 Virginia Lost 40-45
Oct 01 @Utah State Won 34-31
Oct 09 California Won 38-28
Oct 16 @New Mexico Won 31-7
Oct 23 @UNLV Won 29-0
Oct 30 Air Force Won 27-20
Nov 06 @San Diego State Won 30-7
Nov 13 @Wyoming Lost 17-31
Nov 20 Utah Lost 17-20
MOTOR CITY BOWL
Dec 27 Marshall Lost 3-21
1999 Final Rankings
AP-NR,  BCS-NR,  Coaches-NR
2000 Outlook

Injuries, Injuries, Injuries! There are 12 returning starters coming back at Brigham Young and 9 of them sat out the spring Blue-White game. Some will likely return and some won't. Coach LaVell Edwards enters his 29th season and once again feels his team has a chance to have a good football team. It surely won't be easy as the Cougars possess the toughest schedule in school history traveling nearly 11,000 miles while playing three games on the East Coast against tough opponents. Depth will be the major issue as BYU can not afford any more injuries like the end of last season. All eyes will be on a huge quarterback battle with coaches claiming they will not be picking a starter until the fall starts. Ouch! Although the QB personel may be solid, the defending National Champions will greet the youngsters in the 100+ degree August Florida heat as BYU travels to Jacksonville to play in the Pigskin Classic against FSU. Probably not a good way to start off especially with depth concerns. Following that up will be road trips to Virginia and Syracuse and a home date with Mississippi State. The road will be tough, but BYU still sits atop the Mountain West Conference.
Projected record: 8-5

Brigham Young
2000 Schedule

BRIGHAM YOUNG
*POWER RATINGS
Offense
Defense
QB - 3 DL - 3.5
RB - 2 LB - 3
WR - 4.5 DB - 2.5
OL - 2  

 

 



BRIGHAM YOUNG COUGARS
2000 FOOTBALL PREVIEW



For complete coverage on the BYU 2000 season.

2000 OFFENSE
Strengths: The Cougars top senior trio of wide receivers from a year ago is where it all starts. The cast will be led by Margin Hooks who needs 943 yards to become BYU's all time leading receiver. Last year he totaled 60 receptions and 7 touchdowns for 1,067 yards. Together with Horton and Pittman Coach LaVelle Edwards has said there is a good chance this crew will be as good as there has been in a while at BYU. Throwing them the pigskin will be anyone's guess. There are three QB's who will see action next fall and none of them are clear cut starters at this point. The names are Bret Engemann, Charlie Peterson, and Brandon Doman and all three are quality players. But one has to go back to 1995 to find the last time a starting QB has been named in the spring and even the early 1980's to find the next time it happened. Just ask the QB coach Robbie Bosco who led the Cougars to a 1984 National Championship. A legend will be kicking this season as Owen Pochman readies for his fourth season as a starter. The record setting kicker will put most of his kick-offs out of the end zone and was 20-24 in the field goal category in '99.
Weaknesses: The running back position will be a huge question mark as the Cougar offense may start the 2000 season with a completly new backfield. At tailback it is likely that last years Mountain West Freshman of The Year, Luke Staley, will redshirt with knee and shoulder injuries and Fahu Tahi may also sit out with an injury or a famous LDS mission call. And veteran fullback Kalani Sitake is recovering from a fractured foot. So next years backfield, which finished last in the conference in rushing, may be either loaded or empty. Last season the offensive line took alot of major heat for BYU's late season drop-off and needs to develope some new players in the middle. Just like most positions, injuries have plagued the line everywhere but it seems that all should be healed by fall. Although the QB situation can be looked at in two ways, a weakness or a strength, there is no doubt the fans in Provo will miss the MWC's leading quarterback from last season, Kevin Feterik, who threw for 292 yards per game.
OFFENSIVE DEPTH CHART
QB Bret Engemann 6-4 230 So. Charlie Peterson 6-2 200 Jr.
TB Fahu Tahi 6-2 240 So. Luke Staley 6-2 220 So.
FB Kalani Sitake 6-0 240 Sr.   Mike Nielson 6-2 220 Sr.
WR Margin Hooks 6-0 190 Sr.   Jonathan Pittman 6-0 180 Sr.
WR Ben Horton 5-11 190 Sr.   Mike Rigell 5-7 175 Jr.
T Aaron McCubbins 6-4 285 Jr.   Dustin Rykert 6-7 295 So.
G Teag Whiting 6-3 288 Jr.   Brandon McFerren 6-5 295 So.
C Jason Scukanec 6-2 290 Jr.   Scott Jackson 6-4 270 Fr.
G Kam Valgardson 6-3 285 Sr.   Isaac Herring 6-4 310 So.
T Ford Poston 6-6 285 Sr.   Ben Archibald 6-4 280 So.
TE Tevita Ofahengaue 6-2 250 Sr.   Doug Jolley 6-4 250 Jr.
K Owen Pochman 6-0 180 Sr.   Aaron Edmonds 5-11 185 Jr.
Returning starters in bold.

Key Losses: Kevin Feterik-QB, John Skiba-OG, Jimmy Richards-C, Matt Johnson-OG,
Carlos Nuno-TE, Donny Atuaia-FB


2000 DEFENSE
Strengths: Three returning starters will shine on the defensive line in 2000 with Chris Hoke, Hans Olsen, and Setema Gali. BYU led the Mountain West in almost every statistic last year finishing second in total pass defense and #1 in rush defense (81.7 yards/game), total points allowed (14.0) and sacks. Setema Gali led the conference in the sack column totaling six of them. In the backfield coaches feel there is not a better safety anywhere then senior Jared Lee who had 4 picks in 1999 and a whopping 96 tackles. Two talented Junior College players, Derrus Wilson and Danny Phillips, are expected to step in and solidify the cornerback spot again making it the second time in three years that transfers will need to play a vital roll at DB.
Weaknesses: Injuries have slowed a promising linebacker group as three of them have sat out the spring. Not to mention the fact that super middle man Rob Morris has moved on after leading the team in tackles last year. It will be key that Jeff Holtry step in at middlebacker and produce tackles. Josh Lowe has serious back problems and he may not play. That would be a big loss and create a major depth problem for Coach Edwards. Depth will also be a problem up front where there are three tackles and three ends, but after that a huge drop-off. Two new cornerbacks will need to be broken in and they will get tested as departing star Brian Gray saw many opposing quarterbacks never throw in his direction.
DEFENSIVE DEPTH CHART
DE Ryan Denney 6-7 265 Jr. Brett Keisel 6-6 260 Jr.
DT Chris Hoke 6-2 285 Sr. Chris Watkins 6-2 285 So.
DT Hans Olsen 6-4 295 Sr.   Jimmy Betham 6-1 275 So.
DE Setema Gali 6-5 250 Sr.   T.J. Sitake 6-4 255 So.
SLB Justin Ena 6-3 255 Jr.   Josh Lowe 6-4 245 Sr.
MLB Jeff Holtry 6-3 250 Sr.   Ammon Mauga 6-0 215 Fr.
WLB Isaac Kelley 6-4 245 Jr.   Colby Bockwoldt 6-1 210 Fr.
CB Jernaro Gilford 6-2 185 So.   Derrus Wilson 5-9 180 Jr.
CB Danny Phillips 6-1 190 Jr.   Michael Lafitte 5-7 160 Sr.
SS Tyson Smith 6-0 203 Sr.   Dustin Staley 6-1 185 Jr.
FS Jared Lee 6-0 200 Sr.   Elan Edwards 6-1 195 Jr.
P Aaron Edmonds 5-11 185 Jr.   Matt Payne 6-4 215 Fr.
Returning starters in bold.

Key Losses: Byron Frisch-DE, Brian Gray-CB, Tyler Nelson-DB, Rob Morris-MLB,
Jesse Sowards-P, Heshimu Robertson-CB