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PROVO — To the surprise of very few, BYU wasted little time in naming a starting quarterback for the Cougars’ season opener next Monday, Sept. 7.
Junior signal caller Zach Wilson has won the job, the Cougars announced in releasing the first two-deep depth chart of the 2020 season Monday.
Wilson had been competing with two other quarterbacks with starting experience in 2019; Maple Mountain product Jaren Hall and fellow redshirt sophomore Baylor Romney are listed as co-backups for the Cougars.
“I would say the best thing about that is that he earned the job based on what he did in fall camp,” BYU offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes said on his weekly Coordinators Corner radio show. “We really didn’t have to say we were looking at the entirety of his career, because he earned it based on what he did this fall camp.
Wilson, who has started when healthy for 1 1/2 years of his BYU career, threw for 2,382 yards, 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions in nine games as a sophomore in 2019. He threw three times as many picks as a sophomore as he did as a freshman.
A lot of that could be attributed to a pair of injuries Wilson struggled to heal during the 2019 season, including in his shoulder and thumb. But the Corner Canyon product maintains he is completely healthy — and having a healthy offseason made all the difference in being ready to leave little doubt in impressing his coaches and seizing the starting role that alternated between all three quarterbacks last year.
Wilson doesn’t mind the competition, either, after throwing for 3,960 yards, 23 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in two years.
“It shows your teammates you are willing to earn it,” he said. “That’s how every spot in football should be: you should have to earn it.
“Competition always brings back the best in everybody.”
Grimes believes his QB1’s decision-making may improve the most with a healthy shoulder and a shortened spring season due to the pandemic.
“He’s healthier than he has been, certainly than any time last year with the shoulder and the thumb,” Grimes said. “But he’s also further ahead mentally than he’s been. During the down time, he did a lot to increase his knowledge of the game.”
The healthy shoulder also allowed Wilson to take advantage of the offseason. He traveled to California to work out with former BYU quarterback John Beck’s camp circuit and spent time at Stroformance in Utah County while the Cougars had much of their spring and summer offseason plans derailed by guidelines to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“No matter what, the work I put in was going to be exactly the same as what I did this offseason,” Wilson said. “You can never get complacent with your spot.”
Offense
Beyond backup quarterback, BYU’s depth chart is remarkably settled in the first week of a 2020 season that has been upended by the pandemic. Only two starting spots contain “OR” tags next to their names, and none on the offense: Bracken El-Bakri and Lorenzo Fauatea are listed as co-starters at defensive tackle, and Max Tooley and Pepe Tanuvasa are co-starters at the Jack linebacker role, a new position.
Lopini Katoa and Tyler Allgeier are co-starters at running back, though both are likely to see extensive time at the position. Lone Peak alum Masen Wake is the starting fullback, and tight end Matt Bushman is back to lead the tight ends.
"He and Lopini have a lot of things in common, but they also have their own strengths," BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said of his two running backs, before adding, “we’ll need more than just those two guys.”
Gunner Romney, Neil Pau’u and Dax Milne are listed as the starting wide receivers, and the offensive line starters are, from left to right: Brady Christensen, Clark Barrington, James Empey, Tristen Hoge and Chandon Herring.
That doesn’t mean there won’t be a rotation in the trenches; backups Harris LaChance, Kieffer Longson, Joe Tukuafu and Blake Freeland all have starting experience, and freshman Connor Pay was a two-time all-state offensive lineman at Lone Peak prior to serving a two-year church mission in Washington, D.C.
It’s also a group that has played together for at least a year, with the obvious exception of Pay.
“Chemistry is really big on the offensive line. We’re the one unit on the offense that has to work five in one unit,” Hoge said. “Having little things like injuries last year can really throw you in it. Knowing that we have each other is huge … and it helps off the field, as well. We’ve built the rapport off the field, and that helps on the field, as well.”
Defense
BYU’s starting front should include Zac Dawe, Khyiris Tonga, the aforementioned competition between El-Bakri and Fauatea, and Alden Tofa. Keenan Pili, Isaiah Kaufusi and Payton Wilgar are the three starting linebackers in traditional roles, with Chaz Ah You the starter at the “cinco” linebacker spot — another new hybrid position — and Kavika Fonua at nickel, a linebacker/defensive back hybrid.
The two new roles — jack and cinco — are hybrid roles, like the more commonly used nickel package, where a player could alternate between linebacker, safety and even cornerback roles, head coach Kalani Sitake explained. The jack linebacker is traditionally a hybrid linebacker-defensive end or pass rusher.
“There’s a chance you’ll probably see the nickel, the flash, and the cinco doing a lot of different things that may not be a traditional safety or outside linebacker type of role,” Sitake explained.
“If I show you five plays, they might be doing different things on all five. It takes a unique player to play those positions.”
Troy Warner will start at strong safety, Zayne Anderson at free safety, and Chris Wilcox and Keenan Ellis are the starting cornerbacks.
Special teams
Jake Oldroyd will handle placekicking duties on the field-goal team, with freshman Ryan Rehkow as full-time punter. Both players could see time on kickoff, special teams coordinator Ed Lamb said.
Also among the specialists, Hayden Livingston returns as starting holder, Olympus product Britton Hogan has an edge over freshman Austin Riggs at deep snapper, and Milne will be the primary punt returner. Lamb said freshman Caleb Christensen, a Sky View High product, will be the primary kick returner, though Lone Peak alum Jackson McChesney will also be in the mix.
As is usually the case, the depth chart is subject to change, Sitake was quick to add — and that may even require significant changes from week to week, depending on the opponent.
“It’s not anything set in stone,” Sitake said. “The guys who perform the best will be on the field.”
