Chillin with the new recruits / WSU Pharmacy School Interview

Well with school/life starting to crank up this last week I haven't had the time to write much, but thanks to MLK Jr., I have a bit of extra time today!

Two weekends ago I was hanging out with some friends at a party and guess who shows up? None other then the BYU football recruits who were on their official visits. Among them that I recognized: the legend himself Manti Te'o, Xavier Su'a Filo (pic above), and Kyle Van Noy (pic below). There were a few other ones but I couldn't recognize their faces. I try and follow most of BYU's recruiting from scout.com and I was wishing that I had spent more time looking at the lower 3 and 2 star recruits' pictures so I could have recognized their faces. Oh well. They all seemed like really cool guys. I actually talked to Van Noy and congratulated him on his committment to BYU. Cool kid. I felt stupid trying to convince Manti and X-Man to commit so I resisted the temptation.
On a side note, I don't have a good feeling about Manti (pic below) coming to BYU. I guess I'm just scared b/c of what happend with Uona Kaveinga last year and Stanley Havili the year before. (They both went to USC instead of BYU) On the other hand, I have a good feeling about Xavier. Jay Drew (Salt Lake Tribune) mentioned on his blog that he heard from a good source that X really like BYU. I trust Jay most of the time. Not as much as Wrubel though. I really need to get a substription to Total Blue Sports (scout.com) which gives tons of inside info on BYU recruiting. But then I'd just spend more time looking at BYU stuff (I already spend too much time).
I can't wait for Feb. 4 which is signing day for all the recruits. I'll probably do a breakdown on all the recruits in February. Come on Manti! We need you!

On a positive sidenote. I have the most important interview of my life coming up this Friday. I'll be interviewing at the Washington State School of Pharmacy in Pullman. It's my only interview at it's really where I want to go to school so I'm really exited/nervous. I won't know until the first week in March if I get accepted so it will be a nerv-racking month and a half. If I do get accepted, I guess I'll become more of a Wazzu fan. I already follow them a little bit but I expect that to increase if accepted.

Wide Reciever / Tight End Preview

Now that Austin Collie has declared for the draft, we can all move on (hopefully). No doubt Austin will be missed. He was a flat out stud. At times he seemed like the only one who wanted the ball in his hands in the crucial situations. With that, the cupboard is not empty. We return four solid WRs and two great TEs to go along with some players that have some great potential.

The Wide Recievers

Back from his mission to save the day is McKay Jacobsen (pic above). Comparisons will be made right away with Austin Collie. Although he is not quite as good as Collie is right now, he has the potential to be just as good. Rumor was that he was the fastest player on the team in 2006. While he may end up being our best reciever next year, kicking off the missionary legs won't be easy.

The next best three recievers are O'Neil Chambers (pic above), Luke Ashworth, and Spencer Hafoka. It was hard to get a read on any of these guys last year because they were rarely thrown to. It will be interesting to see if Chambers can live up to the hype that surrounded him before this year. Maybe a year of knowing the system and working out with coach Omer (strength and conditioning coach) will do wonders for him. Adjusting to Provo life was not easy on O'Neil. Luckily he had a great mentor in Michael Reed to show him the ropes. I predict he will have a much better year next year as Max will have more trust in him and he will be much more comfortable in his surroundings.

To me, Ashworth (pic below) and Hafoka (pic above) are very similar. Both have good hands and are solid route runners. Nothing spectacular but solid. Pretty much the generic BYU wide reciever from the 80s. Also its important to note that both were coming back from missions so maybe a year of shaking off the rust will be great for them and they have breakout seasons as well. I know Hafoka did return some punts last year so obviously the coaches thought he had some talent as far as quickness and speed.

Two sleeper WRs to keep your eye on are Landon Jaussi and Tyler Kozlowski. I really don't see any true freshman or other returned missionaries contributing much. Brett Thompson and Mitch Matthews are two good incoming freshman recievers (3 stars on scout.com) who probably won't play much until after their missions.

The Tight Ends

No doubt that Dennis Pitta (pic above) and Andrew George will be Hall's two main targets next year. They are the two best TEs in the conference and I wouldn't be suprised if they both get drafted in the 2010 draft. Pitta should be a finalist for the best TE in the country next year. He has amazing hands, some of the best I've seen since Jonny Harline. He's an underrated blocker who has good size at 6'5. Plus he served his mission in the best place on earth (the Dominican Republic). His only problem is he doesn't have blazing speed like a prototipical NFL TE. Hopefully he can have a good offseason, get his knee back to 100%, and gain some speed.

Sometimes I feel back for Andrew George (pic above). The guy is playing behind a great TE and he himself would start for any team in the MWC. The guy has great hands, good speed, and with his 6'6 frame, is a great red-zone target.

I believe Kaneakua Friel isn't going on a mission so it will be a battle for the 3rd TE spot with incoming 4-star recruit Richard Wilson (pic below). Friel seems like he has good talent. He played FB last year so he can block. Good hands with a good frame. Wilson is going to be the real deal. He had offers from LSU, Miami, Tennessee, UW, Stanford, and Utah. Wow. Says on Scout.com he has 4.6 speed.
As always we will be loaded at TE.

Next up is the Offensive Line preview. Also note that I will be doing a Mariners preview probably in late-Feb./early March. Right after we have all our free agents signed and right before spring training.

Looking back on the Streak

I will always look back on the last 3-plus years of basketball seasons in the Marriott Center as some of my best sports memories at BYU. Yes that even includes football. For those of you who have not been to the Marriott Center, it is one of the biggest basketball arenas in college basketball. And when it is sold out like it was on Saturday against Wake Forest, it is much like Quest field in Seattle, deafening.

I will remember the amazing white outs (vs. Utah, UNLV, Air Force, and San Diego St.). I'll remember the very first game I ever attended in 2005 which resulted in the only loss I've ever witnessed in person at BYU, which happens to be the last time BYU lost a home game (I've been to almost every game except the Wake Forest game). I'll remember the amazing games (vs. TCU in 2005, vs. San Diego St. last year, vs Utah and UNLV ever year, and beating #14 Air Force in 2006). Thank You Dave Rose and all the players that made it possible. 53 games is an amazing streak! Lets start a new streak tomorrow by beating Western Oregon!

A Few Other Notes

I've found a new favorite team to root for, The Wake Forest Demon Decons. They were amazing to watch yesterday. Yes, the refs from the A-10 did favor them, but they are still a great team. Jeff Teague is tough and calm under pressure. Many players have fallen victim to the Marriot Center but he rose his game to a whole new level. They have future NBA players in Al-Farouq Aminu, James Johnson, and Teague, just to name a few. Head coach Dino Gaudio is a class act. If you didn't read his postgame comments you should check them out. He was full of praise to the BYU program.

BYU should feel no shame in losing to Wake Forest. They literally outplayed them in every aspect of the game, except shooting down the stretch. If Lee Cummard doesn't go 6-20 and 0-4 on 3's, and JT doesn't go 4-13 on 3's, we win the game. Those were shots that normally would fall for BYU. Thats not even including the fact that we lost our starting and backup centers to foul trouble.

Mark's sports wish list for 2009 / Thoughts on BYU basketball

1. BYU basketball beats Wake Forest this year, beats UNLV on the road, and wins an NCAA tournament game. Is that too much to ask?

2. Manti Te'o (pictured below), the best high school linebacker in the nation, picks BYU over USC. I have a good feeling about this one. Oh ya, and for Bronco to be more aggressive on defense (mix up the blitz and don't give a 12 yard cushion).

3. Seahawks select Michael Crabtree (pictured below) with the 4th pick in the draft.
4. Mariners sign someone who can actually hit the ball.

Just four simple requests.

Also wanted to expand a bit on this huge week for BYU basketball. After giving it over a week and a half to sink in, I will no longer consider the loss against Arizona St. a loss. I will refer to it as a win. Because thats what it was. I will not let the Pac-10/stupid officials rule my life. I consider this like the U.S. silver medal against the Russians in the Olympics in 1972. They refused to accept the medal because they knew they were robbed because of politics/stupidity. In their minds they won the gold medal. In my mind, BYU won the game, so thats the way it is.

The positive in the whole situation is that BYU rebounded well against Tulsa to get a huge win on Tuesday. Dave Rose is an amazing coach and BYU is lucky to have him. He has recruited the talent necessary to succeed while at the same time, managing egos such as Trent Plaisted and JT. He is an aggresive coach who knows how to win. Maybe Bronco could learn a lesson or two.

I can't wait for the Wake Forest game on Saturday! This game is going to be huge for the program. Can you say biggest game ever at the Marriott Center?