Cougars open Arizona game week by naming captains, explaining depth chart

PROVO — Tanner Mangum was informed he would be the starting quarterback Friday afternoon, shortly before BYU announced its two-deep depth chart.

On Monday, he was informed by head coach Kalani Sitake that he would be a captain for his senior season.

Mangum joins fellow seniors Brayden El-Bakri, Austin Hoyt, Butch Pau’u, Zayne Anderson, Corbin Kaufusi and Sione Takitaki as captains, along with junior wide receiver Micah Simon.

"You look at that group of guys, and I have known a lot of them for a long time," Mangum said. "Butch, Austin, Brayden and I are all from the same recruiting class. I remember Sione in 2015 when he picked me off in one of our practices in fall camp, and I thought ‘man, this guy is good.’ Now here he is a senior. It’s cool to see our unique journeys."

Mangum and Pau’u were named team captains for the second-straight year, while the others are in their first stint on team leadership.

Sitake said only four captains will represent the team during the pre-game coin toss, per NCAA regulations, but the other four would be involved with "other" leadership responsibilities in the locker room before the games. He expects to use them more than "to win the coin toss," as Washington State coach (and former BYU rugby player) Mike Leach has popularly joked.

"I figure if you look at our responsibilities, I’m asking the captains to do more than just the coin toss," Sitake said. "I’m asking them to serve the team and be there for more than to be a coin-toss guy."

Of the eight selected, Simon is the only non-senior selected as a captain. A former quarterback from the Dallas area, Simon played in 15 games prior to his junior season, including four starts in 2017. He averaged 14.3 yards per catch for 386 yards and three touchdowns as a redshirt sophomore.

"You never know how your career is going to pan out," said Simon, a redshirt junior. "I came in as a freshman, switched from quarterback to receiver, and just didn’t know. You hope for the best, and you work your tail off to be reliable and somebody your teammates can count on.

"To be the only junior is humbling."

Successful turnaround

Perhaps the biggest surprise pick as captain is Takitaki, but not for anyone who has known him recently.

Takitaki made headlines during his career after being kicked off the team and heavily disciplined for actions that included two Class B misdemeanors for theft as a sophomore in 2015. He returned to the team a year ago, moved to outside linebacker and ended the season with 119 career tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks.

"Teammates recognize people who sacrifice and work hard, and the same goes for Sione," Sitake said. "He’s grown up quite a bit, and he has wonderful people in his life, including his wife, that have been good influences on him. I’m proud of him."

New face, old place

Mangum wasn’t the only surprise player to emerge from a competition in fall camp.

Freshman Darius McFarland, the 6-foot-2, 265-pounder from Box Elder High, emerged as the backup fullback behind El-Bakri.

McFarland, who signed with BYU as a defensive lineman in 2016, was the No. 14 overall prospect in Utah by ESPN and Scout.com prior to serving a two-year church mission to Washington D.C. He returned this summer to the defensive line, but was beat out by a stacked front that runs three-deep — so coaches moved him to fullback.

"We would be asking him to gain more weight right now, but I think naturally, he fits a great fullback body," said Sitake, a former BYU fullback himself.

"He has great hands for a big guy, and I’m always looking for good fullbacks. He has a good nasty streak in him."

Missing Wildcat

BYU’s opening weekend opponent Arizona announced a significant change to its roster Monday, when head coach Kevin Sumlin told Tucson-area media that linebacker Santino Marchiol was no longer with the program.

“He was informed this morning that he’s no longer on the team,” Sumlin said briefly during the Wildcats’ media availability.

Sumlin did not name a reason for Marchiol’s dismissal, but a video surfaced over the weekend from Marchiol’s Hudl account that shows two people using the word “monkey” when describing Marchiol’s black teammates at Texas A&M.

Marchiol followed Sumlin from the Aggies in the offseason, and petitioned the NCAA for immediate eligibility by alleging that new A&M coach Jimbo Fisher and his coaching staff committed NCAA violations in the offseason.

Notes

Only two quarterbacks are listed on the roster, but Sitake suggested that freshmen Baylor Romney and Stacy Conner will take the bulk of the reps running the Cougars’ scout team. Romney once committed to Nevada and Conner to UNLV, and Sitake said he will look to utilize their athleticism in simulating opposing team defenses in 2018 …. Addison Pulsipher is the only tight end not list as a co-starter at tight end, behind Matt Bushman, Dallin Holker, Moroni Laulu-Pututau and JJ Nwigwe … Freshman Gunner Romney made his debut on the two-deep roster as the backup wide receiver to co-starters Neil Pau’u and Akile Davis.

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