Jimmy Chitwood
Hall of Famer
lost amidst the 31-0 dismantling of BYU by Michigan in the Big House were two key facts:
1) despite being handicapped by an offense that totaled (during the entire game) a mere 55 yards passing (on 28 attempts), 55 yards rushing (on 22 attempts), and punted the ball 11 times, BYU's defense actually held Michigan scoreless in the second half and played very good football.
2) the BYU defense's top two players on the day were White defensive backs. safety Michael Wadsworth, a former walk-on who wasn't even on the two-deep to start the year, finished tied for a team-high with 10 tackles (6 solo). Wadsworth has started the last 3 games for the Cougars and has had team-highs in tackles twice (11 against Boise State and 10 at Michigan) while emerging as a team leader. one "wonders" why he hasn't seen the field aside from special teams throughout his career until injuries to the "real" players happened this season ...
at cornerback, sophomore Michael Hannemann has played better every game this season. against Michigan, he gave up only one completion, a highlight-reel catch that i'll post below in which he was in good position but was simply beaten by a superb effort. otherwise, he was a complete White-out to the opposition, including breaking up 2 passes in beautiful fashion. he played strong in run support, as well, tying for the team lead with Wadsworth with 10 tackles (5 solo). he played through an injury much of the second half, and ended up leaving the game with a couple minutes left. it remains to be seen if he will play tonight against UConn.
[video=youtube;a2R_jsR9FRw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2R_jsR9FRw[/video]
the only completion Hannemann gave up on the day
1) despite being handicapped by an offense that totaled (during the entire game) a mere 55 yards passing (on 28 attempts), 55 yards rushing (on 22 attempts), and punted the ball 11 times, BYU's defense actually held Michigan scoreless in the second half and played very good football.
2) the BYU defense's top two players on the day were White defensive backs. safety Michael Wadsworth, a former walk-on who wasn't even on the two-deep to start the year, finished tied for a team-high with 10 tackles (6 solo). Wadsworth has started the last 3 games for the Cougars and has had team-highs in tackles twice (11 against Boise State and 10 at Michigan) while emerging as a team leader. one "wonders" why he hasn't seen the field aside from special teams throughout his career until injuries to the "real" players happened this season ...
at cornerback, sophomore Michael Hannemann has played better every game this season. against Michigan, he gave up only one completion, a highlight-reel catch that i'll post below in which he was in good position but was simply beaten by a superb effort. otherwise, he was a complete White-out to the opposition, including breaking up 2 passes in beautiful fashion. he played strong in run support, as well, tying for the team lead with Wadsworth with 10 tackles (5 solo). he played through an injury much of the second half, and ended up leaving the game with a couple minutes left. it remains to be seen if he will play tonight against UConn.
[video=youtube;a2R_jsR9FRw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2R_jsR9FRw[/video]
the only completion Hannemann gave up on the day