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PROVO — There were a lot of puzzled faces on BYU’s video conference call with the media after announcing the first depth chart of the 2020 season Monday afternoon.
Few of them had to do with personnel — Zach Wilson was named the starting quarterback, and the offensive line was as set as it has ever been for a group returning as much experience as it does. Most of the names on the two-deep were familiar, as well.
But the question marks came from the other side: the positions.
What’s a rover? How about the cinco? Linebackers split into jack, mike, rover and flash?
“They’re all hybrid positions,” said BYU coach Kalani Sitake, whose background at Utah and Oregon State came in running the defense. “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 traditional safety or outside linebacker type of roles.
“If I show you five plays, they might be doing different things on all five. It takes a unique player to play those positions.”
How BYU will line up Monday in the season opener against Navy (6 p.m. MT, ESPN) may be anyone’s guess until kickoff. But at the very least, several players will be doing so with different terminology.
Isaiah Kaufusi, who was named a team captain Friday, and third-year sophomore Drew Jensen will play the “rover” linebacker position, which adds an athletic wrinkle to the traditional spot Kaufusi is used to playing. Both played multiple positions in their time at Brighton High, with Jensen being a standout quarterback in his prep days.
After a breakthrough 2019 season, former Dixie High standout Payton Wilgar will start at the “flash” linebacker, a role filled by Zayne Anderson (who has since moved to free safety) a year ago. Olympus product Ben Bywater will be the backup.
Another former quarterback, Chaz Ah You (Westlake/Timpview) will lead the “cinco” role after functioning as a hybrid flash linebacker and defensive back in 2019. George Udo, who played eight games at cornerback as a freshman, will be the backup at the position.
Udo’s ability to tackle a new position shouldn’t be a concern, though; he’s a computer science major, considered to be one of the more difficult programs on the university’s campus.
Defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki said much of the new terminology came from Sitake, and safety Zayne Anderson said linebackers coach Ed Lamb also played a role in the nomenclature, too.
“Different offensive schemes require different types of people to stop them,” Tuiaki said. “That’s a good challenge to have, when you talk about different hybrid guys to have and getting them on the field.”
Added Anderson: “They’re definitely positions we are using out there. It’s different than the past, but we’re expecting a lot of guys to be playing in different packages.”
Fellow senior safety Troy Warner, who has bounced between safety and cornerback during his four years at BYU, echoed his teammate and defensive coordinator — having six capable starters for what is a 3-4 man defensive unit is a good problem to have, depending on the situation.
And while each will require different plays and multiple formations to learn, at the end of the day, each player is tasked with just playing football.
“It allows the coaches and defense to get the best players on the field,” said Warner, another defensive captain. “I think at some point, it does become football and the confidence that exudes from you as a player. You want to know you are capable of being able to do multiple things and help the team win games.
“One thing I pride myself on is if I can’t do things one way, I can do it another way.”
