Jim brought this up a few years ago when Van Noy first came to BYU, now I am seeing it again…
when Kyle came to BYU he was not a starter, later he would prove he was the best linebacker we had, but for some reason Bronco did not start Van Noy until he was forced to due to injury…
I noticed that Pau (Sp?) was listed as backup to Langi as linebacker, but when they moved him to DE, Pau started and has proven to be a stud who likes to lay the lumber on poor unsuspecting running backs.
So my question is Why does this happen? Is it because these guys are not good practice players? or what…
I need someone who may have coached to help me understand how this young man was not starting all along.
I’m not a coach and have never been. But, I think the picture is pretty clear. Pau’u redshirted in 2012 and then went on his mission. Last year, he was a freshman and played in 8 games for Bronco. His best game was against Fresno State, he had 3 tackles. Pau’u earned letterman honors as a freshman. I think coaches were impressed with his development to that point. In Spring and Fall camp, he continued to progress. Credit Sitaki for a defensive scheme where Pau’u is able to thrive. Sitaki has been moving players around in an effort to put them in the best position to succeed. Pau’u was turning heads in practice. That’s why he won the starting spot. Are you wondering why he didn’t start as a freshman? He wasn’t having this kind of success in Bronco’s defense but he was still getting playing time as a redshirt freshman. That’s pretty impressive.
I think it is simple: situations and people are dynamic. Attitudes change, people change, and as Glenn pointed out sometimes people thrive in new circumstances. How many times have you heard about people struggling until they got the right job, education, position, opportunity…often times different than they thought best but they then thrived. I was going to be the best fighter pilot in the Air Force. Never got the opportunity even though I tried really hard and long to get the chance. I now lead the design and construction of space launch infrastructure and was highly recruited to do that for a special Gov’t agency. It is a long way from what I tried to do but turns out I do it very well. Construction was never something I was interested in but within the realm of what I do, I am one of the best. Thank goodness I ended up finding my place.
Looking at a somewhat opposite secnario I believe Heaps was an amazing practice player and a great HS baller. That talent rarely seemed to translate to game day when facing solid opposition. Why? Bad coaches? Talent ceiling? Personal problems? Something in Jake’s head we do not understand? I don’t know but there was a lot of praise and excitement from coaches, players, and fans until Jake did not perform for a long enough period of time that he earned a spot on the bench. He has had a host of opportunities since then even a short stint in Seattle. I was amazed he got that chance but Seattle clearly saw something in him but in the end not enough to keep him around. Maybe the practiced or tried out really well?
Who knew Ziggy would be so awesome? Glad the coaches saw it and developed it.
Glad KVN got the coaching and opportunity that helped him become such a force for football good. Glad the coaches saw it and developed it.