Can BYU’s young linebackers slow down SMU’s explosive attack Friday in Big D?

When he arrived on BYU’s campus last June after transferring from UCLA, linebacker Choe Bryant-Strother was mildly surprised with what he found in the Cougars’ linebackers room.
There was talent, toughness and speed, he learned after a couple of player-run practices and team workouts.
Bryant-Strother, himself a tough, talented and speedy three-star recruit out of Atlanta in 2020, was accustomed to being surrounded with three- and four-star and at times five-star recruits in Westwood. When he committed to BYU in early June after four seasons at UCLA, he says he wouldn’t have agreed to play for the Cougars if he thought it was anything less than a Power Four program.
But still, he had a few concerns. They were quickly erased.
“I think the whole room is talented; I am talking the linebacker room. So it definitely brings out the best in everybody every day,” Bryant-Strother said at the beginning of fall camp. “The competition (for starting spots) is intense, but friendly. That brings out the best in people, and that is what we got going on. We are all watching film every day, we are all getting in extra work every day, going in as hard as we can every day.”
Although he didn’t earn a starting spot — those went to Isaiah Glasker, Harrison Taggart and Jack Kelly — Bryant-Strother quickly asserted himself as a Cougar. The half-brother of former BYU basketball star Elijah Bryant got a tackle-for-loss on Southern Illinois’ third possession, bringing down Keontez Lewis 4 yards behind the line of scrimmage.
All in all, BYU’s linebackers performed well in the 41-13 win over the Salukis, head coach Kalani Sitake said Monday in his weekly press briefing. Kelly led the way with five tackles and a quarterback hurry, while Taggart and Glasker had two takedowns apiece.
Utah State transfer Sione Moa recorded three tackles after coming off the bench, while Siale Esera, Bryant-Strother and Aisea “Ice” Moa also had tackles.
“Yeah, the (linebackers) graded out really good,” coach Kalani Sitake said. “There were still some plays to be made, but overall they did some really good things. They feel really comfortable in the system, the scheme. It was just a lot different having those guys there that know what they are doing now, and it is night and day difference when you get to spend more time in this system.”
BYU held SIU to 123 rushing yards, on 25 attempts. Quarterback DJ Williams accounted for 121 of those rushing yards, escaping the pocket several times for big gains. It’s something the Cougars will have to work on, Sitake said, while also lamenting a few missed tackles and a dropped interception by a BYU linebacker.
“So I think there is more to be done with those guys. I like that we rotated and used fresh bodies,” he added. “… So there are a lot of guys that we can still bring in. We feel like that is a deep position group for us, and a lot of guys that have playmaking ability. I feel really good about the entire front seven.”
Indeed, BYU’s starting defensive line of all seniors — Tyler Batty, John Nelson, Blake Mangelson and Logan Lutui — set the tone early and forced SIU into punting on its first four possessions. Isaiah Bagnah relieved Lutui on the second Saluki possession and got a sack.
“We don’t want to be the thermometer. We want to be the thermostat — come in and we set the tone, regardless of who we are playing, “Bagnah said. “Last week we didn’t know who the starting quarterback was until we just got in. At least I didn’t. And so with that being said, I kind of emphasized that to the guys and shoot, it doesn’t matter what quarterback comes out, we are still going to be us and play (according to) our identity.”
BYU’s front seven will be tested more intensely on Friday against SMU, which has multiple quarterbacks with multiple skills. And they are all better passers than Williams. Kickoff is at 5 p.m. MDT at Gerald J. Ford Stadium, and the game will be televised by ESPN2.
“Our guys, we challenged them to be physical and execute their assignment. They did it, and I am really proud of our coaches getting them in place,” Sitake said. “It is one game. Can you be consistent and do it week to week? And can you do it play to play? The thing that we have asked them to be is physical. So that is going to be good for us.”
At linebacker, Glasker might have been a surprise starter to some, but not to those who watched preseason training camp. The former Bingham High receiver is 6-foot-5, has great ball skills, and can cover a lot of ground in a hurry.
“Isaiah Glasker is a really good athlete” said linebackers coach Justin Ena. “He has a little bit of a toughness about him. He’s got a chip on his shoulder. So the way he moves, the way he runs, there are not a lot of guys who I have coached who are as good as him. Excited to see what he can do in the future, him being only a sophomore. The sky is the limit for him.”
Ena said that two-year starting LB Ben Bywater, who had to take a medical retirement due to nerve damage in his shoulder, has helped with the transition, “passing the torch” of outstanding linebacker play to guys such as Glasker, Taggart, Esera and Bryant-Strother.
Esera is coming off a foot injury that cut his season short last year, but Ena said the former four-star recruit out of Timpview High is healthy.
“Siale is fine. He’s good to go. I know he had the injury last year. It is 100% right now. I think some guys are probably outplaying him right now. But again, the depth chart is a living, breathing organism. It can change at any time with injuries, or people getting better,” Ena said. “The depth chart isn’t going to stay that way the whole year.