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PROVO — BYU is trying to move on following the withdrawal from school of running back Jamaal Williams.
Algernon Brown and Nate Carter make up the current two-deep chart at the position. But could former all-state running back-turned-linebacker Harvey Langi make an appearance in the backfield?
"Of course it's going to run through my mind," Langi said after practice Monday. "I'm like, dang, that would be cool to run the ball. But it's not my call.
"I'm down to do that; I'm willing to do that. But I'm just going to be my mike linebacker and get my calls and my responsibilities down as a defensive player before thinking of going on that side."
Langi was a standout running back at Bingham High, where he led the Miners to back-to-back Class 5A state championships and earned a berth in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in 2015.
After signing with Utah as an offensive talent, he served a mission for the LDS Church in Tampa, Florida, and returned home to sign with the Cougars.
The 6-foot-2, 240-pound middle linebacker has been trying to adapt to his defensive role at BYU, where he had 14 tackles — three of them solo — in 2014 as a sophomore. Langi had a career-high five tackles in a 31-24 loss at Central Florida on Oct. 9, and totaled two tackles each against Nevada, Boise State and Memphis.
If the junior switches to the offensive side of the ball, he would be joining Brown, Carter and return specialist Adam Hine, among others.
"One of my brothers is down for the season, and my call is just to be a defensive player, a mike linebacker, and be the best mike linebacker I can be," Langi said. "That's too much stress. Why am I going to be thinking of that? We've got a lot of great running backs. I have faith in them; I love them and I trust them."
Contributing: Sean Walker, Greg Wrubell
