Phall
Master
Since 2005, the white starter count for the Cougars has been 18,16,15,16,16,16,14,12,14,9,9,8,11,12, 12, and 12. This year they will probably end up holding steady at 12.
The Cougars are led by coach Kilani Sitake, a Tongan who played fullback for BYU twenty years ago. The roster includes a preponderance of Polynesians, as the Mormon pontificate does plenty of proselytizing in those parts. Many of the white athletes go off on missions and are significantly older than their usual class designation. The missions often occur in the middle of their eligibility, so some familiar names disappear and reappear from time to time. In any case, the Cougars used to be nearly all-white, but liberalized church and university policy combined with a push to ‘modernize’ the football team has reduced the white athlete percentage down toward the national population average. Sitake seems about as “fair” an evaluator as you can expect in modern times. It's unfortunate that non-whites have come to dominate the running back, receiver, and defensive back positions. Although it's easy to critique this roster for its creeping racial overhaul and caste uniformity, it’s still a relatively white-friendly team with legitimate top 25 aspirations.
The starting QB won’t be named until August 26th. Last year’s backup black quarterback Jaren Hall is being pushed by Baylor Romney (brother of WR Gunner) and freshman Jacob Conover. I’ll make the edit if Hall gets usurped. I’m including both projected top tight ends as starters since BYU runs a lot of power sets behind their snowplow offensive line.
WR Gunner Romney has 83 career receptions and will look to see his role increase for the fourth consecutive season. He will be tasked to fill Dax Milne’s role as the go-to receiving option. Last year, he averaged 19.7 yards per reception.
Rush end Tyler Batty put up four sacks in four games as a true freshman and should expand on that going forward. Starting linebackers Tooley and Wilgar amassed 101 tackles between them last season. Defensive back Hayden Livingston expects to be promoted into the starting lineup as a safety (he was originally a cornerback). Morgan Pyper may back up the safety or middle linebacker positions. Unfortunately, no white players are in line for minutes at the forbidden cornerback position.
Every Cougar walk-on will have their tuition paid by healthy snack sponsor Built Bars thanks to the NIL rule overhaul, a nice gesture that could end up fostering some "local" talent down the road.
Starters:
WR: Gunner Romney
TE: Isaac Rex, Dallin Holker
OL: Blake Freeland, Clark Barrington, James Empey, Connor Pay, Harris LaChance
DE: Tyler Batty
LB: Payton Wilgar, Max Tooley
FS: Hayden Livingston
Backups:
QB: Baylor Romney, Jacob Conover
WR: Brayden Cosper
TE: Carter Wheat, Masen Wake
OL: Campbell Barrington, Cade Parrish, Brayden Keim
DL: Caden Haws, Gabe Summers
LB: Ben Bywater, Morgan Pyper, Drew Jensen
S: Mitchell Price, Matthew Criddle
The Cougars are led by coach Kilani Sitake, a Tongan who played fullback for BYU twenty years ago. The roster includes a preponderance of Polynesians, as the Mormon pontificate does plenty of proselytizing in those parts. Many of the white athletes go off on missions and are significantly older than their usual class designation. The missions often occur in the middle of their eligibility, so some familiar names disappear and reappear from time to time. In any case, the Cougars used to be nearly all-white, but liberalized church and university policy combined with a push to ‘modernize’ the football team has reduced the white athlete percentage down toward the national population average. Sitake seems about as “fair” an evaluator as you can expect in modern times. It's unfortunate that non-whites have come to dominate the running back, receiver, and defensive back positions. Although it's easy to critique this roster for its creeping racial overhaul and caste uniformity, it’s still a relatively white-friendly team with legitimate top 25 aspirations.
The starting QB won’t be named until August 26th. Last year’s backup black quarterback Jaren Hall is being pushed by Baylor Romney (brother of WR Gunner) and freshman Jacob Conover. I’ll make the edit if Hall gets usurped. I’m including both projected top tight ends as starters since BYU runs a lot of power sets behind their snowplow offensive line.
WR Gunner Romney has 83 career receptions and will look to see his role increase for the fourth consecutive season. He will be tasked to fill Dax Milne’s role as the go-to receiving option. Last year, he averaged 19.7 yards per reception.
Rush end Tyler Batty put up four sacks in four games as a true freshman and should expand on that going forward. Starting linebackers Tooley and Wilgar amassed 101 tackles between them last season. Defensive back Hayden Livingston expects to be promoted into the starting lineup as a safety (he was originally a cornerback). Morgan Pyper may back up the safety or middle linebacker positions. Unfortunately, no white players are in line for minutes at the forbidden cornerback position.
Every Cougar walk-on will have their tuition paid by healthy snack sponsor Built Bars thanks to the NIL rule overhaul, a nice gesture that could end up fostering some "local" talent down the road.
Starters:
WR: Gunner Romney
TE: Isaac Rex, Dallin Holker
OL: Blake Freeland, Clark Barrington, James Empey, Connor Pay, Harris LaChance
DE: Tyler Batty
LB: Payton Wilgar, Max Tooley
FS: Hayden Livingston
Backups:
QB: Baylor Romney, Jacob Conover
WR: Brayden Cosper
TE: Carter Wheat, Masen Wake
OL: Campbell Barrington, Cade Parrish, Brayden Keim
DL: Caden Haws, Gabe Summers
LB: Ben Bywater, Morgan Pyper, Drew Jensen
S: Mitchell Price, Matthew Criddle
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