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PROVO -- The cannon has been fired and fall camp for BYU football is officially underway. Going into camp Cougar fans have a lot to be excited about.
Along with the excitement there are plenty of questions to be answered as fall camp continues to move forward.
Here is a list of the top five things for cougar fans to be excited about:
- Jake Heaps - The returning sophomore quarterback/starter is not disappointing anyone with his needle threading passes in practice. Heaps continues to turn heads as he prepares for arguably the toughest road schedule BYU has ever had in one season.
#tease
"The fact that he's started some games, and that he's been through some battles, and his teammates have seen him go through these battles, they respect him now," said BYU offensive coordinator Brandon Doman. "They're still trying to feel Jake out, earn his trust more and more."
- Linebackers - Brandon Ogletree, Jameson Frazier, Jordan Pendleton and Kyle Van Noy are all returning starters at the linebacker position. Add the compliment of having USC transfer Uona Kaveinga, and you get one of the most talented all-around linebacker crews BYU has ever had. Frazier grabbed national attention early on by being added to the Lott trophy watch list among the best linebackers in the nation for 2011.
- Running Backs - The Cougars have three major contributors returning to the backfield from last season. JJ Di Luigi, Bryan Kariya, and Josh Quezada all had over 500 yards rushing for BYU last year. With those three, and David Foote complimenting with nice gains we can potentially see some of the best running back combinations for the cougars since Ronnie Jenkins and Brian Mckenzie back in 1996.
- Transfer players - BYU, as usual, has plenty of transfers to be excited about. Mainly Kaveinga in the linebacker crew, Hebron Fangupo at the defensive line, and Joe Sampson in the secondary. A lot of these guys could be considered question marks, but the coaches have already expressed plenty of confidence in their abilities. "Joe is learning the culture. In order to play BYU/Bronco Mendenhall defense it takes a tremendous amount of effort, and it's unlike anywhere you could go in the country. He's just figuring out the work load and I'm going to try and help him to get into that work load as best as I can. He's got good sense and great athleticism," said defensive backs coach Nick Howell. Kaveinga and Fangupo are both transfers from USC. Sampson is a transfer from San Mateo junior college.
- Brandon Doman- The 2011 season will mark Doman's rookie season as BYU's offensive coordinator. Fans have a lot to be excited about with what Doman has accomplished since being the quarterback's coach at BYU. Two former BYU quarterbacks that learned the offense under Doman's teaching are now on NFL teams in John Beck (Washington Redskins,) and Max Hall (Arizona Cardinals). With the offense returning a lot of key starters, it will give Doman a chance to be creative in his play calling. ----
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