Enemy Lines: BYU Ready for Revenge with Revamped Defense

Defensive coordinator Jay Hill's aggression creating buzz around Provo press box

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — When Arkansas marched into Provo, nothing went wrong on offense. The stats are staggering. The Hog offense converted 12-of-15 on third down on its way to 644 yards of total offense. Quarterback KJ Jefferson had a career-high five touchdown passes. Running back Raheim "Rocket" Sanders had a career-best 175 yards. Now-departed defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki's passive defense is a thing of the past. CougsDaily's Casey Lundqvist and I explain the shift in both teams' defensive schemes and everything else fans need to know in this week's Behind Enemy Lines.

Note: Interview has been edited for clarity

Differences in defensive scheme for both teams

Casey Lundqvist: The difference is night and day. BYU deployed one of the most passive defensive schemes in the country last year. The goal of that defense was to force offenses to gain 4-5 yards at a time, preventing big plays by dropping 7-8 in coverage on most plays. The defense unraveled, however, because they couldn't stop the run, prevent big plays, or get off the field on third down. Statistically speaking, BYU was one of the worst units in the country last year by most metrics. The game against Arkansas last year, frankly, was the beginning of the end for that defensive staff.

New defensive coordinator Jay Hill runs the same scheme that he learned when he coached at Utah. The scheme is aggressive, allows the players to get downfield, and aims at pressuring and confusing the quarterback. The first two teams BYU played tried to get the ball out early, but BYU has been able to cause havoc. The BYU defense has four interceptions in the first two games. Expect BYU to pull out all the stops to disguise coverages, pressure KJ Jefferson, and force mistakes.

DS: First-year co-defensive coordinator Travis Williams is a high-energy guy. His MO has been to blitz in the past, but hasn't really felt the need to so far. He may do that quite a bit this week, especially with the potential weaknesses in the secondary.

Quarterback comparison: Slovis vs. Jefferson

CL: As cliche as it sounds, people around the program say it feels like [quarterback Kedon] Slovis has been around forever. He has blended with the other guys on the offenseand is well respected. He was voted a team captain. He looked great in camp. The offensive problems in Week 1 (14-0 win over Sam Houston State) extended well beyond Slovis. BYU killed at least five drives with penalties and there were various problems with protections, wide receivers running the wrong routes, and other things. Slovis is really good when he has time to throw. The problems have come when he is pressured. If BYU gives Slovis time to throw on Saturday, he will be effective.

DS: Hill must account for Jefferson in the box pretty much at all costs. He has talked about how running the ball gets him going and unlocks other parts of his game. If Arkansas throws it over the top a few times, just take your medicine and live with it. Without Jefferson's legs, the game against Kent State gets unnecessarily interesting for Arkansas.

Both Teams' subpar offensive line performance and how it affects the running game

CL: A lack of chemistry [along the offensive line]. The talent is certainly there, but all five starters are playing either in a new offense or at a new position. Week 2 was better than Week 1, but it wasn't good enough. If BYU can't clean up a few mistakes they've been making up front, they won't win the game.

DS: What a mess. It's partially due to injury. Left tackle Devon Manuel has been sidelined and presumably will continue to be for the BYU game. Senior left guard Brady Latham missed the opener. There are a lot of moving parts as well. Right guard Josh Braun is a transfer from Florida, but he didn't start there at the end of the tenure. Beaux Limmer is now the center (former center Ricky Stromberg got drafted) after 23 starts at guard. He has had a couple of bad snaps already.

Being without top running back Raheim "Rocket" Sanders will hurt the rushing attack, but concerns are more pointed toward the offensive line. AJ Green is more than capable of slotting into the starting role, but the rushing attack wasn't particularly good when Sanders played in week 1 either. This is a team that finished seventh nationally in yards per game last year with the exact same running backs. They currently sit 84th in yards per game and 108th in yards per carry.

Comparing the receiver rooms

CL: BYU spreads the ball around to 5-6 wide receivers. Returning wide receivers Kody Epps, Chase Roberts, and Keanu Hill are joined by transfers Keelan Marion and Darius Lassiter. Epps has been dealing with an injury and his status for this game is unknown. Roberts and Lassiter have been the most productive wide receivers this year.

DS: Isaac TeSlaa has adjusted the best of all the transfers and has gotten the most national media coverage. Other names to keep an eye out for are Jaidon Johnson and Andrew Armstrong. Tyrone Broden was supposed to be a deep threat but has one catch for three yards so far.

A LOOK AT SPECIAL TEAMS AND A WORD ON THE CROWD

CL: BYU has one of the best punters in the country Ryan Rehkow. Rehkow was named the Ray Guy punter of the week in week one. Don't be surprised if Rehkow booms a punt of 60-65 on Saturday. The placekicking is a major question mark. Boise State transfer Will Ferrin won the starting job, but he hasn't attempted a field goal this season (but has missed an extra point).

DS: Isaiah Sategna might be one of the fastest players in all of college football, the former track star has already broken a few returns off this year. Max Fletcher is much improved in his second season after coming over from Australia. Pittman has also been lauding Cam Little's increased range all camp, but we have no earthly idea if that's coach speak because he hasn't attempted any field goals in the first two games. 

The tone surrounding this game has shifted within the past 10-14 days. Fans have quickly realized that if they don't win this game, this season will swallow the Hogs like quicksand, especially with the conference schedule to follow.

Read more of Casey's BYU coverage here

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