Courtesy BYU Photo

Daily Herald sports writers Darnell Dickson and Jared Lloyd give their opinions on the hot BYU sports topics this week:

1. With Miles Davis entering the transfer portal and Aidan Robbins declaring for the NFL Draft, what does the running back situation look like for the BYU football team?

DICKSON: As long as LJ Martin is still on the roster, the Cougars are in good shape, at least as far as a starter is concerned. There are two other young running backs (Enoch Nawahine and Nuke Helu) who have potential.

It would be great if BYU could get Hinkley Ropati back after he missed the entire 2023 season because of injury.

Would Davis reconsider coming back now that Robbins is leaving? It would be an option.

I still think the Cougars need to do their due diligence and see what’s in the transfer portal to add to that group. Dallin Havea, a Provo High grad, is a really good athlete returning from a church mission and could add to the room as well.

Courtesy BYU Photo

I would say BYU is in decent shape at running back, though I would have liked to see what Robbins could have done healthy for a full season. I guess with the transfer portal that’s what you get.

LLOYD: The good news, as Darnell pointed out, is that the program’s leading rusher in 2023 (LJ Martin) is returning. He finished the season with 109 carries for 518 yards and four touchdowns.

But he only played in 10 games and anyone who has followed BYU football knows how rare it is for running backs to make it through a season fully healthy.

Now the next three best running backs from last season are gone (Robbins, Davis and senior Deion Smith). How good is the next group?

We don’t know because we haven’t seen them in games, but I think we will see how confident offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick and running backs coach Harvey Unga are in them.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

I expect the Cougars to add a transfer, given the limited depth now in the room, and then we’ll see how the competition plays out.

2. For the first time since 2017, the BYU football team isn’t in a bowl game. How does this affect the program?

LLOYD: Want to know what I believe is the harsh reality of mid-level bowl games for .500 teams? They don’t really help all that much.

Programs often talk about the benefits of the extra practices, but I’m not sold that the extra practices in December really make an enormous amount of difference the following September – particularly in the topsy-turvy world of transfers and other distractions. What happens in spring and fall camp is much more significant in my opinion.

The time between seasons also makes any potential momentum from a win or disappointment from a loss moot as well.

I see the biggest impact on the Cougar program being what missing a bowl game might be how it affects the BYU mentality. I think it could and should be a driving factor in pushing the returners to raise their game going into 2024.

Courtesy BYU Photo

DICKSON: Coaches love to talk about the extra practices available for bowl teams but I think it’s always good to get some TV exposure when you are the only game on, or at least you’re just competing against a couple of other games.

There are plenty of players and coaches leaving early for the NFL or new jobs, which means the bowl season can also be an audition for 2024.

BYU gets none of that after a 5-7 season. I don’t believe you gain a lot of momentum winning a bowl game but you do get some more work together, which is always good.

We can all agree there are probably too many bowl games but being able to take advantage of another three or four weeks together would have been nice for Kalani Sitake and his crew.

3. What do you think of the reported hiring of Georgia Southern offensive line coach T.J. Woods?

DICKSON: Woods has 20-plus years of college coaching experience. He’s spent some time coaching on power conference teams, including run-heavy Wisconsin. Those are good things.

Courtesy BYU Photo

The only questions I would have would be about his career trajectory. After being on the rise at Wisconsin, he took a job at Oregon State that eventually included co-offensive coordinator and then run game coordinator. Then it was back to offensive line with Western Kentucky, Utah State, UNLV and Georgia Southern.

There are a lot of reasons for sideways or even backwards moves. College coaching can be brutal sometimes, especially for assistant coaches because so many things are out of their control.

Regardless, it’s good BYU is moving quickly so Woods can get started as soon as possible.

LLOYD: I found the reactions from some Cougar supporters after this hire was reported somewhat head-scratching. Many vocal ones appeared to be quite critical, despite likely having no idea what Woods is bringing to the table.

Like many assistant coaches, he’s moved around a lot during his career — which can be good and bad. He has certainly worked with a variety of offenses.

Courtesy BYU Photo

How will he do at BYU? I don’t know. No one does at this point.

When Jeff Grimes re-joined the Cougar staff as offensive coordinator, he said he thought one of the advantages BYU had was in having big, physical offensive linemen. I think that is true, but they also need to be a cohesive unit.

That’s the job that Woods is taking on and I think there is potential to be very successful. But the proof (for him and any other position coach) is what we see on the field in the next couple of years.

4. What do you want to see from the BYU men’s basketball team in the next four games leading up to the Big 12 opener?

LLOYD: I’m going to keep it simple: I want to see wins.

This is a team that has shown me what it is capable of already and frankly I don’t expect the other non-conference opponents to push the Cougars all that much.

So the big fear is a let down, having BYU come out flat and let a team that has no business being close have hope late in the second half. If that happens, suddenly all the pressure is on the Cougars and that’s when upsets happen.

So the most important thing for me is for BYU to not leave that door open. I want to see the Cougars play solid from the start and eventually secure the victories to go into league play with just the one loss.

DICKSON: It would be great to get Dawson Baker into these four games. The former UC Irvine standout is reportedly one of the best creators on the team and that would give the Cougars another dimension. Whether he’s healthy enough to start playing is the question.

I also think this is a critical time for someone like Trey Stewart, who has been getting more playing time and can help with depth.

Certainly everyone would like to hope the bad shooting night against Utah was an anomaly, so getting their touch back will be something to watch.

Remember, this is a tough time for athletes going through finals and focus can be fuzzy sometimes. Some of these games might not be so pretty to watch.

5. As the BYU women’s soccer and volleyball programs head into the offseason, what are some key areas of interest for Jennifer Rockwood and Heather Olmstead?

DICKSON: For soccer, Rockwood has to keep developing younger players just like she’s been doing for more than 30 years.

It would seem like there would have to be a little bit of a drop-off because of the loss of so many seniors, but there is some excellent talent still on the roster. Allie Fryer, Ellie Walbruch, Erin Bailey, Tara Warner, Izzi Stratton and goalkeeper Lynette Hernaez will all have to take big steps forward in leadership.

As for volleyball, Whitney Bower was basically a five-year starter (the additional season came because of COVID) who is one of the all-time greats at BYU.

While the Cougars need to develop some young middles and possibly hit the portal for some defense and passing, the setter position is most critical. Former Timpview standout and two-time state champion Silina Damuni has a tremendous amount of talent and she’ll be joined by redshirt transfer Kalia Thunstrom and another Bower, Alex, who will be a freshman next season.

LLOYD: I see these two teams being in different positions overall, although there are some similarities. Both will have to have players step up to fill big shoes being left behind by some elite players.

To me, clearly Rockwood and her staff have the bigger task to do that, since you don’t lose nine seniors (many of whom started or played significant minutes for multiple years) and not have some decisions to make. While there are some good, experienced young players to build around, the 2024 team will need to find its own identity.

Olmstead’s situation is much more certain. Yes, BYU will miss Whitney Bower, no doubt. I think the Cougars will also miss the contributions from middle blocker Whitney McEwan-Llarenas and libero Kamaile Hiapo.

But BYU has a lot of excellent returning players as well and the hope is that youngsters like Mia Lee and Eden Bower continue to improve. If they do, and Erin Livingston is the player everyone knows she can be, the Cougars should be really good if they focus on building the chemistry.

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