BYU Cougars

[Colonel_Reb]

Can anyone tell me how many blacks started for BYU when they won the National Championship in 1984. I know there were just a handful, but I wanted to know for sure. Any help would be appreciated. Their 2005 class of recruits is still mostly white, although their main RB recruit is black. Edited by: Colonel_Reb

 

[robcat]

I don't think BYU had more than 4 or 5 nonwhite starters in 1984. Theyre still mostly white but like a lot of Western football programs they heavily recruit Samoans and Hawaiians.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Yep, I recently purchased the 1984 National Championship Bowl game in which BYU won. They were very white, even by 1984 standards. I have noticed many foreign sounding names as of late. BYU has a campus in Hawaii, and I'm not sure how many people know this. I imagine that is why that trend exists.

 

[okra63]

Although I don't agree with the religion BYU has, it has produced some outstanding football players like Steve Young the former quarterback for the San Fransico 49ers. He is one of my favorite players of all times. Mike Vick must have gotton some of his moves, cause Steve Young did the same thing Vick does when he played.

 

[kevin]

There have been many talented mormons that have went on to play well in the nfl TE toad heap, qbs ty detmer and koy detmer, og Jim mcmahon, NT chris hoke, LB rob morris, TE doug jolley, TE chad lewis, TE chris cooley, OT john tait, OT jordon gross, DT travis hall, and don't forget RB luke staley. I too don't agree with thier faith, but they have had a major impact on the NFL.

 

[Don Wassall]

I think McMahon is Catholic. Don't forget Merrill Hoge (the last white startingrunning back in the NFL), and Kevin Curtis, who has the talent to be a superstar if given the chance. Here's a link to a site which lists famous Mormons. Mormons generally lead a healthier lifestyle than other white Americans, including playing sports more, and thus they continue to produce lots of great athletes. It's too bad though to see more and more of the Mormon football players turn out to be Samoans and other non-whites.


http://morgannews.us/famsports.htmlEdited by: Don Wassall

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Your right Don, McMahon wasn't mormon. The undergraduate student body is about 94% mormon at BYU. When McMahon played there, it was a very rare thing. When did Merrill Hoge last start?

 

[Don Wassall]

Hoge went to Idaho or Idaho State. He was the main running back for the Steelers from '88 to '91. Chuck Noll retired after the '91 season and was replaced by Bill Cowher, a fervent caste system advocate who has mellowed slightly in recent years. Cowher immediately converted Hoge into a blocking back and Barry Foster became the tailback in '92.


Hoge was at his best in playoff games. He had back to back tremendous games against Houston and Denver in the '89 playoffs, running for over 100 yards in both. In fact he had over 100 yardsjust by halftime against the Broncos in Denver in a game the Steelers should have won but ended up losing.He wasalmost impossible to bring down in that game. Ironically the key turning point was a crucial drop on a third down play late in the fourth quarter by Mark Stock, a white receiver. Stock was plenty talented and had great hands but simply dropped that one. He later went on to set what may be the record for junkyard dog treatment of white receivers, bouncing from team to team for quite a few years but getting almost noplaying time in the regular season.


The '89 Steelers are one of my all-time favorite teams. They started off the season 0-2, losing 51-0 to Cleveland at home and then 41-10 to Cincinnati. From that miserable start they clawed and fought and ended up making the playoffs as a wildcard team and then damn near made it to the AFC championship game. They had Bubby Brister at quarterback, who was sort of a poor man's version of Terry Bradshaw, Hoge as the running back, Mike Mularkey at tight end, and Weegie Thompson and Stock as backup receivers.


They were really coming together, but then the next season Noll brought in Joe Walton who completely revamped the offense into a super-complicated system that Brister could never comprehend, and the team quickly regressed. Bringing Walton in and changing the chemistry of that up and coming team led directly to Noll being pressured into resigning after the '91 season.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Don, thanks for the info. I remember some of those guys, but I didn't follow the steelers back then.

 

[Gary]

I was glad to see BYU beat Notre Dame this year.It's funny because I used to be a big Notre Dame fan.I remember when they were an all white team and very good.Ty Willingham was not the right guy for the Irish and I don't believe he will help Washington either.I hope Boise State has another great season.

 

[Gary]

Dick Hoak was a running back for Pittsburgh.He had 5,417 career yards and made the pro bowl in 1968.He has been the Steelers running back coach for 33 years.Mike Webster was the Strongest Man in the NFL.Lambert and Ham were two great linebackers.Would like to see the Steelers get more white players in the draft.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

I hope that BYU's new coach isn't a big Caste System groupie. I don't know a lot about him, but I'm sure that will change this fall. I hope to keep up with the Mountain West and Boise State as well. I can't wait until they play in Provo next year. I will be there with bells on.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Some recent info on the 2005 BYU team can be found at

http://www.byucougars.com/Filing.jsp?ID=6464[/URL]

 

[bigman]

Willingham my not have been the right coach for ND.. but that only
shows how far bad ND has gone.. Willingham was a good and decent man..
much like Solich he got the raw deal from the suits.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Good and decent man he may be, but that doesn't win games and it surely doesn't keep your job. Just ask David Cutcliffe.

 

[kevin]

It is hard to recruit at Notre dame in recent year because there isn't alot to do in the area, except go to school and focus on football. That is something a huge chunk of recruits son't care to much about. Placing like miami, Usc, and flodia state. all have beautiful women and a nice atmosphere, which is alot easier to get recruits.

 

[bigman]

that is the raw truth of it... just think about it... consider that a
good-ole Okie Shokey didnt go to OU or Nebraska... he went to
Miami....

 

[Colonel_Reb]

I guess there may be some truth to that, but I think it says something more about our society and our priorities.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

BYU's white, or should I say non-black, starters look like this for 2005. Keep in mind that BYU runs mostly 3 or 4 wide out pass plays and has only 1 RB position and no tight end.

Offense
QB-John Beck
(H)WR-Bryce Mahuika
(Z)WR-Matt Allen
TE-Jonny Harline
LT-Eddie Keele
LG-Dallas Reynolds
C-Lance Reynolds
RG-Terence Brown or Brian Sanders
RT-Jake Kuresa


Defense
LE-Manaia Brown-Hawaiian
NT-Daniel Marquardt
RE-Vince Feula-Hawaiian
LLB-Paul Walkenhorst
MLB-Cameron Jensen
RLB-Justin Luettgerodt
LC-Nate Soelberg
LK-Spencer White
CGR-Dustin Gabriel
RK-Quinn Gooch
RC-Kayle Buchanan

Wow! 10 out of 11 positions are white starters, including the whole secondary. Man, I can't wait to see those guys take the field in the old-style uniforms against BC on September 3.

Some other guys who will probably see the field are WR's Brett Cooper, Zac Collie, and Bryce Mahuika, RB/WR Nathan Meikle, RK K.C. Bills, and RC Chris Hale.Edited by: Colonel_Reb

 

[white lightning]

Remember to keep an eye especially on Nate Soelberg.He
will probably be the fastest player in the whole division.The big question is,will the nfl not allow him
to play corner.Just look at Dustin Fox.I get so sick of
how they force these kids to switch positions.This kid
is a track & football stud.He is cut out to be a corner
just like Fox is!Go Cougars.

 

[Don Wassall]

What happened to Austin Collie, who was a star right off the bat at WR as a freshman last year? Edited by: Don Wassall

 

[white lightning]

He went on his Morman Mission.He is gone for 2 years.
What a shame as he is probably the 2nd fastest guy on
the team.What a deep threat he is.He will be back and
hopefully will be another K.Curtis type in the nfl in
around 4 years or so.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

I'm looking forward to being there when they come out onto the field. This will be the whitest college team I've ever seen play, and that may not seem big to you guys, but I'm stoked about it. I mean, they have more whites starting than the whole SEC has playing defense. I can't wait to get all the Mountain West info together and make some SEC/MWC comparisons, which will no doubt be interesting.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Well, those comparisons are striking already, and I haven't even done half of the MWC yet.

By the way, I added some subs for BYU into my post on page one of this thread. Edited by: Colonel_Reb

 

[Colonel_Reb]

BYU has had a couple of player changes in the last week. Black RB recruit Harvey Unga has decided to delay his enrollment at BYU until January. Even though he would have redshirted his first year, I see this as a positive move, and hopefully it will give a White RB a chance to play or at least be recruited and signed at BYU. Also, OL recruit Peter Vailahi has left the team to find a place to play closer to his home in North Carolina. Vailahi isn't white either, so I thought I would mention his departure as well, as it could help the O line be even more white in the future.