Sorensen move to LB fits a pattern
Daniel Sorensen’s elevation to linebacker follows a familiar theme with BYU’s coaching staff: Creating contingencies and utility players.
Sorensen’s move came because of what he brings in pass coverage, with a hope that he will be physical enough to handle the bash and hit aspects of taking on blocks and stopping the run game.
We’ve seen this type of contingency at both safety positions where Kellen Fowler and David Tafuna will start, but Andrew Rich is cross-trained at both positions and will be the first replacement in the game for either guy.
“We’ve always basically had three guys,” said outside linebacker coach Barry Lamb. “This is a move towards getting us four, but we’ve had three trained to play both positions.”
Sorensen’s move is to shore up aspects of the linebackers corps where Lamb said Jadon Wagner has excelled in some aspects of his job, but found difficulty in others. “We really like what Jadon is doing and how he’s doing it, but we need some flexibility.”
That change made on Monday gives Lamb one full week of teaching and coaching to get Sorensen the work he needs before game prep begins for Northern Iowa. On Monday, he was a little overwhelmed with the position change, as one can imagine.
“Those big offensive linemen are not all that nice, you know,” he told reporters after Monday’s morning session.
Sorensen earned all-conference honors on both sides of the ball out of Colton, Calif., with six interceptions as a junior and seven his senior year. He’s known for his heads up play, knowledge of the game and athletic ability.
On a personal note, Daniel’s father Cory played basketball with my younger brother Kent at Provo High School (also on the team were Brett Vroman , Veryl and Vance Law and Gifford Nielsen). Cory’s brother, Kim, was a classmate of mine at PHS, ahead of those guys by a couple of years. Kent and Cory worked together in a medical instrument business near Colton when Daniel was born. It is interesting to see sons of people you know come through the ranks and start playing Division I football.
Daniel’s grandfather, Wilson Sorensen, was one of the founding personalities behind the creation of Utah Technical College in Provo which later transitioned into Utah Valley State College and is now Utah Valley University in Orem. The Sorensen family has been a bedrock entity in Utah Valley for many years and Daniel will have an army of relatives in Provo in his corner, including cousin Justin, the freshman kicking sensation.
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Interesting on my column about Bernard Afutiti today that Hans Olsen (1280 AM) has been chirping about him for a week on the air. I interviewed Afutiti after Saturday’s scrimmage, centering the piece on the JC transfer hurdles to getting in school. Great guy to interview.
On Monday, Olsen, a former Cougar lineman, pointed out to me that Afutiti was exactly the kind of lineman he hated to go up against. “His size makes it hard to get your hands on him to control and he goes underneath your arms. He’s fast enough that you can’t keep in front of him. He’s a real load to handle and you can see it out there right now.”