Provo • Things are changing this week, supposedly.
The details have been sparse regarding what exactly BYU’s defense and coaching staff will look like against Liberty. But there have been hints, and about seven weeks of game film, to suggest it needs to and will look different.
It doesn’t take much deciphering to know the starting point this week starts with coaching duties. Head coach Kalani Sitake has been heavily involved in preparing the defense, stepping in for defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki.
“Kalani has always been involved, and yeah he is a lot more involved this week. It demands it, right?” Tuiaki said after his defense allowed 644 yards and 52 points to Arkansas. “With what we are going through and the way we have played and the way that we lost, it demands a little bit more attention from the head coach.”
Sitake stopped short of saying he would call plays this week, though that is a strong possibility.
And because of the changing leadership, there is an expectation that the substitution scheme BYU uses will change with it.
Starters on defense have only played an average of 56% of the snaps a game. Even in the biggest games of the season, Tuiaki has elected to play backups nearly half the time. Last week, against an SEC offense in Arkansas, starters played 55% of the time.
The substitution scheme was based on the idea of having “fresh bodies” for every play and keeping people healthy. In reality, though, it’s been argued that it’s confused players and led to a lack of chemistry. On critical downs, too, the substitution pattern has often led to second- and third-string players on the field together.
Notably, BYU allowed Arkansas to convert on 12 of 15 third downs. Notre Dame converted on 11 of 16 third downs. Sitake called the third-down lapses his biggest concern.
“We are looking at everything,” Tuiaki said. “It’s a reevaluation of the scheme.”
In no game this season have starters played more than 65% of the snaps (against Notre Dame). Tuiaki played his starters only 44% of the time against Wyoming.
Surprising change at offensive line
Last week, it was a surprise to see BYU change centers from incumbent Connor Pay to Joe Tukuafu.
Until playing Arkansas, Tukuafu had logged just 49 snaps the entire year. Pay, on the other hand, was playing well. He had allowed no sacks and only two quarterback pressures. He was the highest ranked pass blocking center in the country, per Pro Football Focus.
Yet, this week the depth chart was changed to say that Tukuafu will again start. BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick spoke highly of Tukuafu’s play last week. There were some snapping issues in the game.
Overall, Tukuafu graded out at 83.7 in pass blocking and 61.9 in run blocking, per PFF. For reference, Pay was averaging over a 90 grade in pass protection and 60.4 in run blocking.
Pay did dress for the Arkansas game and was on the sidelines.
Sticking with Puka Nacua in the backfield?
Sitake praised Roderick’s use of Puka Nacua in the backfield last week. Playing without running backs Lopini Katoa (concussion) and Miles Davis (shin), Nacua was the next best option behind starter Chris Brooks.
BYU only dressed three running backs for the game last week, as Jackson McChesney was also ruled out for the season.
“That’s creativity and innovation,” Sitake said of using Nacua.
The question is, will Nacua continue to be in the backfield?
BYU expects to have both Davis and Katoa back this week, so there will be less of a need. That said, Nacua was effective and it was an easy way to get him more touches that he’d been missing. He finished with 14 touches for 161 yards and three touchdowns against Arkansas.
There is also still room for Nacua to run the ball on jet sweeps and read options even with Davis and Katoa coming back. Two of his touchdowns came on sweeps last week.
Kody Epps moves up
Despite Gunner Romney’s injury plagued season this year, he has been listed as the starter at wide receiver since the opening game.
That changed this week as third-year freshman Kody Epps moved ahead of Romney on the depth chart. There is no starter listed there anymore.
Epps has scored a touchdown in the last five weeks and Roderick has called him one of the more improved and productive players. He is Jaren Hall’s most-targeted wide receiver this year by a wide margin, with 49 targets and 34 catches.
What this move could also mean is that even if Romney returns this week, Epps will still get a bulk of the snaps.
Roderick has long been looking forward to having the trio of Romney, Nacua and Chase Roberts on the field together at the same time. It hasn’t happened yet this season. Now, even if it does, it might not be what he imagined.
