RB Preview Part VII

[scott715]

The 2011 season turned out to be quite a roller coaster, as Jake Heaps entered the season as an entrenched starter, but struggled more and more as the year wore on. Enter Riley Nelson, and the Cougars managed a ten-win but turbulent season behind the once again split leadership. Now Heaps has transferred, and Nelson finally gets his chance as a senior to have the team all to himself, as the Cougars embark on their second year as an independent. The coming season features a more challenging schedule, particularly on the road, so the Cougs have their work cut out for them.

When considering players who would have started all season but were injured along the way and players who started at least six games, BYU has 13 full-year starters coming back in 2012. There are 6 returning starters on offense, while 7 starters return on defense, along with 8 other players who also started at least one game at some point during the 2011 season. There are also 2 return missionaries back who were multi-year starters prior to leaving.

Running Backs:

Two departing seniors who combined for just under 900 yards rushing and 9 touchdowns have graduated and moved on. Those two familiar players are J.J. DiLuigi and Bryan Kariya. Both players made major contributions to the team without ever being a feature back. As juniors and seniors each played in a running back committee system. With the loss of experienced leaders at the position, the Cougars will need to rely on up and coming talent, some with playing time and some without, to fill a two deep at the running back position in 2012.

Personnel:

BYU has no starting players back at running back when a starter is defined as having started 6 games in a single prior season.

Other running backs who return with experience include Michael Alisa, Joshua Quezada, Iona Pritchard, David Foote, and Zed Mendenhall. Alisa is a junior and practically a starter, having played in 12 games last year while starting 4, recording 85 carries for 455 yards and 3 touchdowns, to go with 5 catches for 55 yards and 1 touchdown. Alisa is the leading returning rusher yardage wise except for Riley Nelson. Quezada enters his junior season having played in every game last year, notching 86 carries for 298 yards and 1 touchdown with 4 catches for 21 yards. Now a redshirt sophomore, Pritchard redshirted due to injury last season after playing extensively at linebacker and fullback prior to his mission. A redshirt senior, Foote played in every game last year, with 13 carries for 146 yards and 7 tackles and 1 fumble recovery on special teams. The senior Mendenhall played in every game last year primarily as a blocker, with 2 catches for 7 yards.

Running backs who have been on the team but without playing time are redshirt freshmen Adam Hine, Nate Carter, and Colby Hansen, who each redshirted in 2011.

Newcomers at running back include incoming scholarship freshmen Jamaal Williams and fullback Jherremya Leuta-Douyere; freshmen walk ons Levi Te'o and Brett Heldt; and sophomore rugby transfer Paul Lasike.

Projected Starters:

The 2012 spring prospectus lists a two deep at running back and fullback. The listed starter at running back is unsurprisingly Michael Alisa. Alisa came on strong last year to jump start what had been a tepid running attack. Many have compared his running style to that of Harvey Unga, except that Unga weighed about 30 more pounds. Alisa is primed to have a big year as Unga-lite. Listed as his backup is Joshua Quezada. The Juice had a disappointing campaign last year while playing injured after a very solid freshman season. If healthy, look for Quezada to bounce back. Both players should get a lot of touches. Zed Mendenhall, meanwhile, is listed as the starter at fullback, with Iona Pritchard listed as his backup. While it might look that way on paper, Mendenhall will likely serve as the blocking fullback, as Cougar coaches have publicly mentioned a Manase Tonga-like roll for Pritchard, who is coming off a year ending leg injury. Alisa, Quezada, and Pritchard should get the majority of touches, while Adam Hine, Paul Lasike, and perhaps Jamaal Williams or others battle for additional opportunities.

Outlook:

There's a lot to prove for the running back corps. Alisa had some flashes of brilliance last year, but still rushed for less than 500 total yards. Clearly there is some talent, but it is young and hasn't spent a lot of time on the field. Fortuitously for BYU, tailback is perhaps the position where experience is least important. Alisa and Quezada have both shown in the past two years that they are capable; now they have to show they can shoulder an increased roll in the offense. The players providing depth have a ton of talent, in particular Adam Hine, who was widely recruited because of his outstanding athleticism. Meanwhile, reports on Paul Lasike have been very positive as he seeks to transition from rugby to football. They may not be battle tested, but there are a lot of gifted players waiting in the wings. The aggregate should lead BYU fans to be cautiously optimistic about the running backs moving into 2012. It will be one of the younger units on the team, but with plenty of potential.

---

You can read Part 6, Wide Receivers/Tight Ends, here: http://www.cougarboard.com/board/messag ... id=8742119" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Part 5, Offensive Line, here: http://www.cougarboard.com/board/messag ... id=8737148" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Part 4, Special Teams, here: http://www.cougarboard.com/board/messag ... id=8730648" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Part 3, Defensive Line, here: http://www.cougarboard.com/board/messag ... id=8724450" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Part 2, Linebackers, here: http://www.cougarboard.com/board/messag ... id=8719026" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And Part 1, Defensive Backs, here: http://www.cougarboard.com/board/messag ... id=8714262" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[hawkwing]

Not sure I can agree that Quezada has proven himself capable. From recollection it seems his freshman season wasn't much better than the disappointing sophomore season. Please correct me if I'm remembering wrong.

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

[SpiffCoug]

Quezada in 2011: 86 carries 286 yards 1 TD
In 2010: 99 carries 505 yards 5 TD

[mizzoucoug]

Alisa.

[hawkwing]

Quezada in 2011: 86 carries 286 yards 1 TD
In 2010: 99 carries 505 yards 5 TD

So I'm still not seeing a lot of having proved it yet. Hope he can this year.

[YNot]

Can Alisa handle double the 2011 workload but maintain his numbers? I think he can and will. If so, we will be fine. If Quezada can get back to his 2010 campaign numbers, then we are looking great.

Alisa, 175 carries, 900 yards, 5.1 YPC, 10 TD's
Quezada, 100 carries, 500 yards, 5.0 YPC, 5 TD's
Nelson, 100 carries, 550 yards, 5.5 YPC, 4 TD's
Pritchard/Others, 75 carries, 335 yards, 4.5 YPC, 5 TD's

Per game, that's about 37 carries, 190 yards, 5.1 YPC, 2 TD's. That's perfect for a balanced offense that is gaining 250-275 yards passing per game and 2-3 TD's. (add a field goal each game and that's 31-38 points per game...)

What is left to be seen is whether these RB's can contribute in the passing game. Ideally, we will see 4-5 receptions per game for 50 yards or so. (and the TE's grabbing 6-7 receptions per game for 75+ yards....but that's a different thread). I think Alisa, Quezada, and Pritchard are athletic to contribute and do more than pick up the slack in the passing game left by Di Luigi.

[Dwight]

The injury that Iona Pritchard sustained, as it was described in the paper, would be very difficult to fully recover from. I am hopeful, but a bit suspect. Some injuries have a life long impact. This seems like it would be that type of injury. A bit of a heart breaker. I hope he surprises me. There were times last year when BYU couldn't pound out a 1st down yard to save their life.

[SpiffCoug]

Quezada in 2011: 86 carries 286 yards 1 TD
In 2010: 99 carries 505 yards 5 TD

So I'm still not seeing a lot of having proved it yet. Hope he can this year.

Not showing he's proven, just that his FR season was much better than his SO season. You said his FR season wasn't much better than his disappointing SO season. Which I don't think is the case. his FR season was MUCH better. It may not have proven much, but it was good production.

[hawkwing]

Quezada in 2011: 86 carries 286 yards 1 TD
In 2010: 99 carries 505 yards 5 TD

So I'm still not seeing a lot of having proved it yet. Hope he can this year.

Not showing he's proven, just that his FR season was much better than his SO season. You said his FR season wasn't much better than his disappointing SO season. Which I don't think is the case. his FR season was MUCH better. It may not have proven much, but it was good production.

Yes, I agree. I had remembered his Freshman year as being less productive than it was. It's certainly something to give hope for the future, but lacks the "he's proven he can do it" thus far. I really hope he breaks out this year.

[Cougarbib]

Alisa and Juice have proven that they are ok - decent. Neither has proven that they are going to dominate a game or rush effectively on the road vs teams like ND, Utah, BSU, and GT.

They might step up with now being more experienced and hopefully healthy. May not. I also worry about Pritchard's full recovery.

This unit is unproven for the level of competition we face.

So - maybe we can hope for a pleasant surprise.

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]