5 BYU Football Players Whose Play In 2022 Will Make (or Break) the Season
It’s no secret that BYU’s 2022 schedule is going to be full of tough matchups. Highly touted teams like Notre Dame, Arkansas and Oregon are sure to make 2022 just as exciting as 2021. Of course, the big question on Cougar fans’ minds is whether the team will have it in them to win the big games (as well as the games they should win) and notch a third-straight top 25 season.
Sure, football is a team sport, and there are a lot of factors that go into whether a team will find success on the field. But at the end of the day, the wins and losses are largely dependent on the players who take the field.
With that in mind, here are some key cogs in the Cougars’ 2022 unit that will go a long way in defining the outcome of the season.
1. Jaren Hall
Sure, Jaren Hall is an obvious choice, but that’s what you get when you are the starting quarterback at BYU. And Hall showed some impressive stuff in 2021. The sophomore QB completed 63.9 percent of his passes while throwing for 2,583 yards, 20 touchdowns and only five interceptions. Hall also added 307 yards on the ground, with three rushing touchdowns.
It was quite frankly a stellar year, and Hall gave fans plenty to be optimistic about. The one drawback, of course, was injuries. Hall missed three games due to injury over the course of the season, including the bowl game. There were also times when his running ability seemed limited due to injury. Keeping Jaren Hall healthy is going to play a big role in building off a strong 2021 season.
2. Christopher Brooks
Replacing Tyler Allgeier is no easy task. While quarterback Jaren Hall will have a strong offensive line and receiver corps, running back still remains a bit of a question mark for the Cougars. This is where grad transfer Christopher Brooks comes in. Cal’s leading rusher in the 2019 and 2021 seasons, Brooks has already shown plenty of potential.
At 6’1” and 235 pounds, Brooks is more of a strong, patient runner than the speedster that Tyler Allgeier was. However, Brooks is likely to immediately compete for the starting role, given that the current running back room has no clear-cut starter.
With a solid offensive front, Brooks will need to show what he’s made of so that the BYU offense doesn’t become one-dimensional with a pass-only attack. The ability to grind out the clock using the run game was key for BYU in 2021, and that strategy will likely be needed at times in the 2022 season as well.
3. Keenan Pili
Keenan Pili’s impact on the defense in 2021 was incredible, for better and for worse. Pili only played in the Cougars’ first three games of the season, but during that stretch, he notched an impressive 31 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. In 2020, he was the team’s second-leading tackler with 72 tackles in 10 games played.
Pili’s skills and versatility were especially telling in how much the defensive scheme seemed to change after he went down with a season-ending injury. In the first three games, the defense was surprisingly aggressive, incorporating varied looks and frequently getting pressure on the quarterback.
After his injury, however, the defense became much more “vanilla,” and opponents regularly gouged the Cougars in the run game. A healthy Pili makes a shockingly big difference for the Cougs on defense.
4. Payton Wilgar
Payton Wilgar was another big loss on the defensive side of the ball. Another defensive captain, Wilgar recorded 57 total tackles, while also getting two interceptions and forcing a fumble. Wilgar played in the first ten games of the season for BYU before undergoing a season-ending shoulder surgery.
Wilgar has been a consistent contributor and a leader who had helped make the linebacker position a point of strength on defense. His injury was one of many that seemed to pile up and leave the defense hanging by a thread by the end of the season.
Currently, he is expected to miss spring football, but be ready to return in time for fall camp. Fingers crossed that his recovery goes smoothly so he can be ready for the 2022 season.
5. The Entire Defensive Line
Yes, naming an entire position group is a bit of a cop-out. The thing is, the defensive line has plenty of returning players who have shown potential over the last few seasons.
Guys like Tyler Batty, Lorenzo Fauatea, Caden Haws, Earl Tuioti-Mariner, and Pepe Tanuvasa have all been great at times. The problem with the defensive line has been its failure to consistently generate pressure on the quarterback and keep the run game in check.
All too often this season, BYU’s opponents were able to string together long drives that wore out the defense and kept the potent offense on the sidelines. The team’s ability (or inability) to dominate the line of scrimmage has often made the difference between a win and a loss. While the offense will likely still be able to score plenty, the defensive line’s play will prove key in allowing BYU to build a comfortable lead over its opponents.
For the Cougars, success in 2022 certainly seems likely — but the 2021 season also brought up its fair share of concerns as well. BYU has plenty of talent on both sides of the ball, and if these players live up to their potential and stay injury-free, we can expect great things in 2022.
