2015 BYU Football Prospectus

BYU football has released its 2015 prospectus, which recaps spring and previews the 2015 season. The Cougars wrapped up spring practices April 3 and will conduct the first practice of fall camp on August 8.

“We have a passionate, passionate fan base that is amazing. We have a good team and a really tough schedule, so that is a fantastic opportunity, BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "We have a senior quarterback coming back that’s one of the best in the country and an offense that scored the most points since 2001. We have really good leadership on the defensive side and a proven system with proven staff, so it could be a really fun year.Ë®

With a legitimate Heisman Trophy hopeful at quarterback leading a group of nine returning starters and five others with starting experience, BYU looks to build on the success of Robert Anae’s offensive system that in 2014 produced more points than any Cougar offense since the 2001 season.

Quarterback Taysom Hill led BYU to a 4-0 start and No. 18 national ranking in 2014 before a season-ending injury put a premature end to his Heisman-caliber production. Despite being held out of contact drills in the spring, Hill showed he is ready to lead BYU again in 2015 and will be 100 percent recovered this summer. Among the many potential weapons Hill can utilize in the offensive attack are two unique talents in tailback Jamaal Williams and wideout Mitch Mathews. Williams, who spent spring rehabbing a knee injury that forced him to miss half of last season, is on pace to become BYU’s all-time rushing leader in 2015. Mathews, meanwhile, led BYU with 922 receiving yards and nine touchdowns last year and seems determined after a monster spring to put his 6-foot-6 frame to special use his final season in Provo.

The Cougars will look to fill the holes left with the departures of receiver Jordan Leslie (55 rec., 779 yards), tight end Devin Mahina (20 rec., 244 yards) and right tackle De’Ondre Wesley. With a strong starting group at offensive line and the promise seen in spring from other weapons like running back Algernon Brown and last year’s receiver transfers Devon Blackmon and Nick Kurtz, the BYU offense should be a highly productive unit in 2015.

The BYU defense returns seven starters and eight others with starting experience after a 2014 season where 12 different Cougars received first-time starting assignments. Another individual returning to the Cougar defense in 2015 is its architect Bronco Mendenhall. The BYU head coach returns to his previous full-time role on the defensive side of the ball after a year away, adding an additional resource to his defensive staff that together has helped produced some of BYU’s best-ever defenses. With Mendenhall returning to the defensive staff room and practice field, Mendenhall and defensive coordinator Nick Howell continue in their collaborative roles from 2013 with Howell directing the defense whenever Mendenhall is away for head coaching responsibilities.

The strength of the defense is its front seven, particularly an experienced defensive line. Senior Bronson Kaufusi is a key player to watch in 2015. After playing outside linebacker in 2014 and overcoming injury, the tall and athletic defender returned to defensive end in the spring and is expected to be a playmaker who will give the defense an added degree of versatility at end or outside backer. Another key player is junior Travis Tuiloma, a two-gap run stopper able to play nose or end.

With many young players getting earlier-than-anticipated experience last season due to injuries, this year’s BYU defense hopes to take advantage of that added measure of experience, particularly in the linebacker corps and secondary, to put an improved defense on the field in 2015.