Short on hype, high on motivation: BYU football vows to improve on 4-9 season

PROVO — Butch Pau'u doesn't need reminding of what the BYU football program went through in 2017.

Finishing a dismal 4-9 and missing out on a bowl game for the first time in a dozen years, the Cougars were rated among the worst offensive teams in the nation and were often mediocre — at the high points — on defense.

Even Pau'u, a fifth-year senior linebacker who finished third on the team with 74 tackles, was disappointed with his own performance.

"It was a bad year," said Pau'u, who ballooned up to 240 pounds of unhealthy weight in an attempt to play middle linebacker at 6-foot. "My goal was to get bigger, but it wasn’t a healthy weight that I gained. I struggled with mobility, and with everything — then with injuries, I struggled more."

Now playing at a leaner 225 pounds, Pau'u is determined to not let his final season end in a similar fashion.

And he's not alone.

"It's a double motivation for me, because it’s my last year of football here at Brigham Young. It might be my last year of football; I don’t know what the future holds," said Squally Canada, the team's lead returning rusher who finished 2017 with 710 yards and six touchdowns.

"I'm treating this as my last year of football, ever."

BYU football players and coaches gathered Friday morning on campus to look ahead to the 2018 season at the team's annual media day. But the preparation for the 2018 season started long ago.

Just days after the season ended with a win in Hawaii, Pau'u, linebacker Sione Takitaki and several other seasons started a group chat thread. The goal was singular: Bring BYU football back from the depression of the 2017 season, which was the last for former offensive coordinator Ty Detmer and most of his offensive staff.

As the administration moved swiftly to install new coordinator Jeff Grimes, as well as quarterbacks coach Aaron Roderick, wide receivers coach Fesi Sitake and offensive line coach Ryan Pugh — not to mention running backs coach AJ Steward — the players were formulating their own plans for recovery.

Even quarterback Tanner Mangum, who missed the final three games of the season with a torn Achilles' tendon, was working to get back into the game, eager to show that BYU's season was a one-off and not indicative of more adversity to come.

"We what it's going to take: it’s going to take a lot of hard work and determination, but that’s part of the beauty of the journey — that’s what makes it worth it," said Mangum, a senior who will compete with Beau Hoge, Joe Critchlow and true freshman Zach Wilson for the starting quarterback role in fall camp.

"I think it's easy when you are winning or you are successful. But after a bad year, what are you going to do? I would definitely say (last year) has been character building."

Even though the day was devoid of breaking news or historic announcements, two players, running back Ula Toluta'u and tight end Joe Tukuafu, were not among them.

The 6-foot-1, 242-pound Toluta'u ran for 303 yards and two touchdowns a year ago for BYU, at times looking like the Cougars' back of the future and at other times beign publicly reprimanded for his suspension after being cited for marijuana possession.

Tukuafu, who transferred from Utah State after serving a two-year mission for the LDS Church in Argentina, sat out last season, per NCAA transfer rules.

Neither player was listed on the team's depth chart or roster. But Grimes left the door open to a return for both players in the fall, and Sitake remained hopeful on the offer, though BYU policy prevents him from talking about individual player cases.

"There's attrition in every program, but this one gets a lot of attention to key guys. There are reasons for guys not being on the roster, and that's personal to them," Sitake said. "But there are also opportunities for guys to be back with us. The history of BYU football has shown that. When and how is not my decision, but I’m looking forward to getting the guys we have right now and leaving the door open for those who would like to be here."

Toluta'u is still friends with several players on the team, and plays tennis regularly with linebacker Butch Pau'u, among other teammates.

Tukuafu's potential departure leaves BYU's tight end room shorthanded, with just returning freshman All-American Matt Bushman, converted wide receiver Moroni Laulu-Pututau, converted lineman JJ Nwigwe and true freshman Dallin Holker among the lineup.

Still, even that news has optimism. Laulu-Pututau was fully healthy after suffering a Lisfranc injury in the final days of fall camp a year ago, and defensive back Troy Warner — who will likely move to safety in the fall — was "about 90 percent" healthy after suffering his own Lisfranc injury in a loss to woeful East Carolina.

"By fall camp, I’ll be more than ready to perform at a high level," Warner said.

The rest of the team hopes to say the same.

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