BYU Football releases 2016 Week 1 depth chart

The preseason is over and with the release of the depth chart today, so are position group battles. Many questions are answered and some may come as a surprise for BYU fans. The biggest question of the offseason was who the quarterback would be and we got that answer from Ty Detmer late last week.

All the coaches have put in countless hours working and preparing this offseason to ultimately determine who the 11 guys on both sides of the ball and special teams that they feel the most comfortable starting are.

Players have given their all to try and start or make the two deep. Fans now get to see who made the cut, similar to kids running to the bulletin board in junior high to see if they made the team.

Offense

Defense

Special Teams

Names on the list worth noting

Aside from quarterback, the position that got the most attention was the starting cornerback opposite of Michael Davis. Well, we got the answer Monday morning during Kalani Sitake’s press conference.

Troy Warner was a big pickup for BYU when he switched his commitment from Oregon to the Cougars. Many thought Akile Davis would grab the starting spot, but for now it belongs to the talented freshman.

The backup for the other corner spot is also intriguing as freshman Austin McChesney made the two-deep backing up Michael Davis. Many assumed that Dayan Lake, the redshirt freshman four-star prospect wold grab that second spot.

Both Southern Utah University transfers, Andrew Eide and Keyan Norman earned starting jobs on the o-line. Offensive line has been a concern for BYU this offseason and perhaps the coaching staff’s efforts to grab a few more from other colleges will pay off.

Parker Dawe beating out Tuni Kanuch should also surprise some people. Tuni started seven games last year and Parker only started two. Past performance really doesn’t matter in the game of football though and it seems that Parker Dawe can offer BYU more now according to the coaching staff.

Algernon Brown saw significant time at running back last season and he has officially been moved to fullback. This makes sense given Jamaal’s health and Squally Canada’s reportedly great offseason that they would be the two running backs. BYU fans should expect to see all three of these guys get a decent amount of carries.

As far as special teams go, it looks like Trey Dye will be returning kicks and Mitchell Juergens will return punts. Sitake announced also that Aleva Hifo, Matt Hadley, Jonah Trinnaman, and Garrett Juergens will be involved in the return game.

Names not on the list worth noting

Sione TakiTaki and Brad Wilcox are not listed on the depth chart as questions about their future with BYU continue to loom. Ben Criddle reported this during Kalani’s press conference Monday morning.

With the release of the week one depth chart, the football season is finally here, get ready.