BYU Football: Cougars will go back if they can stay healthy

Harvey Unga knows a couple of things about a great back game, being himself an excellent ball carrier for BYU.

So when Cougars ’second-year running defenders coach says the teams gathered in Provo this season are eager to show that it can carry the load until which quarterback selected to replace Zach Wilson gets up to speed, it’s probably worth listening to.

We have a really good group of guys running in the back room, each with their own niche or specialty if you want, Unga said on BYU football media day on June 17th. If we can stay healthy, we are going to put in that position.

Maintaining health has not been easy on the back of BYU for years, enthusiastic followers of the program know. Last year, for example, Hinckley Ropati received a knee injury at a drop-off camp from junior training, and red-shirt freshman Sione Finau never returned from a knee injury she had practically suffered the previous season. Promising freshman Jackson McChesney suffered a season-ending Lisfranc leg injury at the season’s opening over the Navy.

It was a good thing that Lopini Katoa stayed mostly healthy, with Tyler Allgeier rising as the 1000-yard rush hour and perhaps the Cougars as the next brilliant rear. Allgeier has an NFL capability, Unga said.

Tyler Allgeier was given the opportunity to showcase his talents, and he offered a phenomenal season, said Cougars ’career was accelerated by career record holder Unga until Jamaal Williams came along and broke it in 2016.

Unga said he hopes all the pressure will be on the RBs this season as Jaren Hall, Baylor Romney and Jacob Conover battle it out as a starting player.

It’s one of the things we talk about in our room is carrying a load, carrying a load, getting pressure. I want to put pressure on us, Unga said. The more pressure we can put on us, I feel like I would help everyone else get hurt, especially with the new quarter builders and others. So hopefully these guys will take it for themselves.

Sitting at the same table a few hours later during Media Day, Allgeier and Katoa said it was a plan, but they also did not diminish the benefits of a deep host.

Between us and the receivers and tight ends, we should be fine when they choose the right person as a quarterback, said Allgeier, who ran last year for 1130 yards and 13 TDs. I trust the coaches will make the right decision and then we will do our best to help the new beginner feel comfortable there.

Allgeier is coming to his fourth season on the program, but he’s not entirely sure it will be his last. He can count 2018 as the Red Shirt Year because he played in only four matches, and technically 2020 doesn’t need to be counted because of either COVID-19 and the NCAA, allowing for an extra year due to the season-changing pandemic.

I consider myself a junior this year, Allgeier said. Or maybe I’m a redshirt sophomore. Who knows? As far as I turn into a professional (after a season), we see what happens. But I’ve always come back for another year. I love it here.

If he enlarges NFL sketch discs this season, Allgeiers ’remarkable story will be told time and time again. He started walking the BYU because the Cougars were out of grants in 2018, then transferred to linebacker for a while in 2019. He announced he was on the RB to stay when he rushed 132 yards against only 14 transports against the fleet.

I am blessed to have the opportunity to be in the position I am in, he said. It’s always about making the most of your opportunities. I try to stay humble and think to stay hungry and be grateful for opportunities.

Somewhat surprisingly, the third and final return listed on BYU’s post-spring depth chart was Miles Davis, who came to the program as a receiver from Las Vegas. Davis got 15 positions for 96 yards last year, then he had a great spring as he grew up in a more comfortable location.

A lot (Davis ’rise) is his playing ability, Unga said. We had a speed and space practice where the guys had to make people miss it and he had the skill to do it. He was good at it. And that was one of the things where he’s a great wide receiver, but his ability to make people miss in a cramped space was excellent.

Until the end of the room, the Cougars hope McChesney, Ropati and Finau will be healthy at the pre-season training camp on August 4th. Converted midfielder Mason Fakahua and converted linebacker Fakaosi Nasilai could also move into the mix.

We have a fun group, Unga said. The energy brought in by new guys is fun, but we also have experienced guys. It is a unique room. It’s different. I have friends who came from a wide receiver, a quarterback, a linebacker. I like it.