BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick wants more out of his players.
Specifically, he wants more snaps.
At Baylor, BYU only had 55 snaps — 20 fewer than the Bears. So as the Cougars prepare to play Washington State on Saturday, Roderick believes the team can have more success if his players can get back to the 75 snaps per game they have averaged for most of the year.
“If we get back up there around 75 snaps, we’re going to be somewhere [around] 35-40 points — and that’s the goal,” Roderick said. “We’re working on that.”
Part of that will be reinvigorating a running attack that hasn’t been as effective of late as the Cougars would like. Roderick said there wasn’t one issue he could pinpoint from a week ago, when the Bears defense shut down BYU’s rushing game from all sides.
But the offensive coordinator is confident the Cougars will be able to run the ball again.
“I’m not expecting to have those types of issues running the ball again,” Roderick said. “And the explosive plays have picked up a lot.”
However, through the recent struggles, the Cougars have been able to grow and improve on their attack through the air.
In both losses, season starter Jaren Hall has thrown for consecutive career-high yards. Against Boise State, Hall threw for 302 yards and at Baylor he threw for 342 yards.
Hall sat out two games earlier this season with a rib injury. Since his return, Hall’s arm has looked fine. But, with the exception of the 56-yard rush at Baylor, he hasn’t been himself running the ball. But a case could be made that BYU won’t need Hall to run if he continues to throw the way he has, especially if he continues to complete more than 70% of his passes as he did at Baylor.
“We are improving every week in the passing game,” Roderick said. “Jaren Hall is playing really, really well. I was really happy with him throwing the ball down the field, made great decisions, was very accurate and he’s super aggressive at finding his guys down the field. And we’ve obviously got some guys that can go get it.”
Roderick has been impressed with what he’s seen from his starting quarterback, particularly because Hall has only played five complete games.
And, with what he’s seen through Hall’s short career, Roderick would put his starting quarterback “up there … with some of the best that have played here.”
Personally, Hall has noticed the biggest jump in his performance has come from learning better game management. And he will continue to look into improving as the season continues.
“You touch the ball every single play, so that’s the most important thing for me,” Hall said. “That’s how I secure my job and help our team win. So, just taking care of the ball and doing that every single play and then getting the ball into our guys’ hands. I think that just gets better every week, and that’s my focus on what I need to do better every week no matter what the result is of the last game.”
