Estimated read time: 6-7 minutes
PROVO — Presenting a competitive offensive unit on a consistent basis is a complicated process that can prove a challenge for even the brightest and most accomplished coaching minds.
It's a fact not lost on the BYU football coaching staff as it looks to improve its offensive production considerably come the 2024 season after incurring a bevy of challenges during the Cougars' debut in Big 12 play last year.
For this reason several changes have been made within the Cougars offensive apparatus in regards to both administration and strategy with the hope of boosting production.
New offensive line coach TJ Woods was brought in during the offseason in pursuit of boosting BYU's lackluster offensive line play from a season ago, along with new tight ends coach Kevin Gilbride.
The two will pair with BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick, along with receivers coach Fesi Sitake and running backs coach Harvey Unga, in helping improve BYU's meager offensive marks last season of 309.8 yards per game and 23.1 points.
Both numbers were at the very bottom of the Big 12 last season, making it very tough for the Cougars to legitimately compete within conference play on a weekly basis.
According to BYU senior center Conner Pay, the improvements hoped for in making those specific coaching changes is already becoming apparent.
"The balance that coach Woods brings with his combination where he kind of gets to manage the run game and A-Rod gets to be the pass game guru that he is," Pay said on ESPN 960. "It feels very similar to the Grimes-A-Rod relationship. It felt that way during spring ball where they complement each other really well, and I think that's where A-Rod thrives."
Indeed, Woods isn't just BYU's new offensive line coach, he's also taking over the run-game coordinator responsibilities, much like when Jeff Grimes was BYU's offensive coordinator from 2018-20 when he shouldered the run-game coordinator duties.
"He has a guy he can turn to in the run game, and he can spend a lot of his time and energy, not only overseeing the run game, but getting really detailed in the pass game, which is what he's great at," Pay said of Roderick. "So I think that relationship is going to work out real well; and as long as we can do our job up front, I'm pretty optimistic that we can improve quite a bit on offense."
The person who brought about these necessary changes is BYU head coach Kalani Sitake, who is well aware of what brings about positive results on both sides of the football.
"We need more consistency from the line of scrimmage," Sitake said on ESPN 960 during Big 12 media days. "That's the key, and I think that it's hard when it breaks down, and it's hard to call what's on the call sheet if we don't know if we can block this. (The offensive line are) the big boys and they have to make it work. The physical part of the game leans on them."
Back to the A-Rod-Grimes model
Both Grimes and Roderick joined BYU's staff as full-time assistant coaches in 2018; and although the two of them didn't realize dramatic progression immediately, each season saw notable improvements that were punctuated by 2020's high octane offensive attack.
The bifurcation of the pass and run game coordinator responsibilities has worked in the past, and I believe it will work this year for BYU's offense.
Consider Grimes' first season as BYU's offensive coordinator where the offense saw progress but still garnered just 27.2 points per game and 364.9 yards per game.
Those numbers improved in 2019 (28.6 and 443.8, respectively) especially after back-to-back losses vs. Toledo and USF. Those two losses elicited a change prior to the Boise State game that showcased Roderick in the box and Grimes on the field and much more engaged in the run game.
The 2020 season saw Roderick and Grimes engineer a unit that scored 43.5 points and gained 522.2 yards per game.
Of course, BYU will be facing tougher defenses in 2024 than in any of the three years with Grimes at the helm, but there's also good reason to believe BYU's offense is further ahead of the curve set in 2018.
A big reason for BYU being ahead of the curve is the presence of Roderick. And although more than several fans are quick to lay all the blame on him, those same fans can't completely ignore the fact that Roderick was at the center of producing some of the Cougars' best offensive units.
Roderick took over the primary play-calling responsibilities from the booth midway through the 2019 season and was immediately met with success. Roderick ultimately had the final say on a play-call, but was collaborative and would lean heavily on Grimes in the run game.
This change took place right before the Boise State game in 2019, to which BYU scored 28 points against the then-ranked No. 14 Broncos.
It got better from there.
Roderick's play-calling elevated BYU's offensive totals for the remainder of the 2019 season, leading up to a breakthrough 2020 offensive campaign where the Cougars finished No. 6 nationally in total offense.
With Woods securing an effective run game, which begins at the point of attack, there's good reason to believe that BYU's offense will again issue much of the identity showcased during Roderick-Grimes years at the helm.
Criddle's conclusion
Much of the pessimism leading up to the 2024 season resides among the fans that have little belief in Roderick and his offense, but does the lack of offensive productivity last year fall squarely on Roderick's shoulders?
Not according to the leader and face of the BYU offense in Pay.
"In reality, we're the ones that screwed the offense last year," Pay said. "(We have) to be the biggest area of improvement."
The addition of Woods balances Roderick in a way that allows his strengths as a play-caller to be showcased. We will see a different offense this year than what we experienced in Year 1 of Big 12 play, and hopefully more reminiscent of the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
How BYU fans would describe Roderick as a play-caller and how his players would describe him are two different things. When I asked Pay how he would describe Roderick as a play-caller, he responded:
"It may not always look that way, and especially last year, but he's an aggressive play-caller," Pay said. "He wants to attack. He wants to pound the rock and he wants to throw it over your head. It's hard to see that when we're not executing what he's calling. … But he calls games to win and not to lose."
I expect an improved run game with a good progressional play action pass game built off of it.
I keep asking myself this question: Will BYU football look like it did versus TCU and Texas, where it combined for just 15 points last year, or how it looked versus two top-25 teams in the country (Oklahoma and Oklahoma State) where they produced 60 total points?
I personally think it's more probable they look like they did against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.
Through the early stages of fall camp, it's obvious Roderick feels largely the same.
"I like this team a lot," Roderick said on Day 3 of fall camp. "I think we have good players on offense, and we have a lot of guys that know what they're doing now, whereas a year ago we had a lot of good players that didn't know what they were doing and it took awhile for our execution to come together.
"It took way too long. This year the execution through three days is a lot better than it was last year."
