Anyone with a rudimentary understanding of physics and human biology would know that in a football practice, tackling is more likely to hurt than just tagging someone.

What is a little more complicated is for a college football program like BYU to decide when to tackle in practice and when not to.

This spring, Cougar head coach Kalani Sitake has noted on multiple occasions that there has been more live work.

“It’s a physical and violent game,” Sitake said in a teleconference after practice on Saturday. “Things will happen. Guys have been banged up but nothing too serious right now. We’re crossing our fingers and but at the same time we have a job to do. We can’t go into this this year, into this conference, easing into it. We’ve got to work and get out of our comfort zone and try to find ways to improve. So far, it’s working.”

The obvious cost involved is the potential for players to get hurt. While its likely everyone on the team has bumps and bruises, there have been no announcements of any season-ending injuries to this point.

Part of that is probably due to the fact that the Cougars are focusing heavily on trying to push the athletes hard without pushing them too far.

“We’re trying to work smarter with our players,” Sitake said. “This has been a very physical camp, but at the same time there’s been deliberate attention paid to the details of how we work out, of what time we do things, the type of nutrition, the breaks, the level we have of intensity.”

He explained that BYU is using technology to help them understand just where guys are at.

“We have GPS systems attached to our guy so we can gauge their heart rate and see how much output they’re putting into the workout, to see if they are hitting max speed,” Sitake said. “We’re able to get the most out of our guys because of the technology and the expertise that we have in our program. That’s been key for us.”

So how do the players feel about the added intensity?

Not surprisingly, a defender like sophomore Talan Alfrey is fully in favor of more tackling.

“We’ve loved it,” Alfrey said. “Personally, I like to be more physical. I think size and physicality are some of my strengths. It’s been good that we can display full live tackling reps during practice. But we have a scheduled where we practice live and then we’ll take a day to rest with lifting and meetings. Then the next day we’ll practice live again.”

He grinned when he said that the bottom line for the defense is to get guys down.

“We like football and we like to hit,” Alfrey said. “So it’s been awesome.”

It might be slightly more surprising to hear that an offensive player like wide receiver/punt returner Hobbs Nyberg, a junior, feels similarly.

“I like it a lot actually,” Nyberg said. “It does maybe enhance the chance of getting injured but also we’re making a big step into the Big 12 and we need to be ready. I think it’s been really good getting us ready for games. We’re not waiting until September to start tackling. We’re getting it in now and getting ready for the season.”

He also feels like BYU offensive players get some benefits by getting hit, like being able to work on breaking tackles and ball security.

“Sometimes you get used to people just tagging off and touching you but when you go live it really exposes taking care of the ball,” Nyberg said. “They’re actually coming in, punching it full on. I think there’s a lot of benefits from going live from both sides of the ball.”

While tackling is one of the fundamental skills needed by defensive players, it’s also important to know where to be and what is expected.

With defensive coordinator Jay Hill installing a new defense, spring camp is a critical time to get the work in on that. Sitake said he likes the current status of that installation.

“When we’re installing the defense, it’s not stuff that they’re recognizing,” Sitake said. “But when we get this all done and all of the practices in spring, we’re going to be able to teach throughout the summer and going into fall camp with our guys doing it. He (Hill) is trying to basically feed them through a firehose, but that’s just how it has to happen. Our guys are smart. They can take it. It just takes a little bit extra work on their behalf. What I see from today is that they’re doing a great job with the install.”

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