With lessons learned, BYU’s defensive mood is shifting

BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill yells to the team during a practice on the SAB outdoor practice fields at the start of spring camp in Provo on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. Hill is in his second year calling the defensive shots for the Cougars.

This week’s chilly and damp weather for the final spring workouts at BYU is not unlike the conditions last Thanksgiving weekend in Stillwater, Oklahoma. That’s where the 5-7 Cougars first Big 12 season ended, leaving them out in the cold — one win short of the postseason.

Fortunately, in the spring in Provo, BYU can practice indoors. The work getting done today is to make sure when they are back out in the cold in November, hosting Houston (Nov. 30), they will be in much better shape and playing much better football.

A stinging 0-5 finish in 2023 gave the players in Kalani Sitake’s program two options — complain and mope about it or learn and do something about it. Defensive rush end Isaiah Bagnah, who will also moonlight in pass coverage this fall, wasted no time debating which direction to go — he returned for his final year of eligibility to go all-in.

With drills wrapping up Saturday and with his sociology degree coming in May, Bagnah beams with optimism. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound Boise State transfer is excited about his life with a BYU diploma and his team’s chances during the Cougars second season in the Big 12.

“I can’t wait,” said Bagnah with a smile on his face and eagerness in his eyes. For a guy who just finished a two-hour practice, he looked like a kid in a candy store with a pocket full of cash. “We will be ready!”

The seven conference defeats served notice that BYU wasn’t ready in 2023. Being a football independent for 12 years served a purpose, but it could only do so much to prepare the Cougars for nine-straight weeks of Power Five…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/lessons-learned-byu-defensive-mood-191829895.html

Author : Deseret News

Publish date : 2024-03-27 19:18:29

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.