Logan and Company anxious to host the Aggies
When Brian Logan puts his hands on receivers, they complain.
And he likes it.
Ask him about how prissy wide receivers can be and he gets a big smile on his face. “They start complaining when you touch them. First, they say something to me, like I’m cheating, then they say they’re going to tell the refs.”
Logan and the rest of BYU’s secondary will get plenty of opportunities to defend the spread offense by Utah State’s Dave Baldwin today when the Cougars host the Aggies in LaVell Edwards Stadium.
The Cougars could play he Aggies straight up with a base defense, they could bring some heat and there might be an opportunity to bring in a nickel back to try and counter the Aggies. USU will spread out the Cougar defense and try to hook up passes or get big, fast running back Robert Turbin in the open. QB Diondre Borel, an above average passer, likes to carry the ball and get to the edge or find a seam and he has exceptional speed.
Borel is just the kind of QB that gives the Cougars trouble. He is shifty and fast and when BYU’s defense gets spread out, he can be dangerous with his feet. BYU cannot practice against that kind of athleticism from the QB spot on the scout team. It will be interesting to see how they adjust to game speed.
All that makes for an interesting game. How will be defend it and how many points will BYU score on USU’s pass defense, which has struggled stopping big plays.
When the Cougars bring in a nickel package, it will be similar to what Jaime Hill did in the later part of the CSU game. He moved free safety Scott Johnson to the nickel back spot and brought in freshman Craig Bills to replace Johnson at safety.
Logan is very familiar with Turbin. He played against him in high school and both had the same personal trainer in the offseason after high school. Logan said he made a recruiting trip to Utah State and saw Turbin and was surprised to see he had gained 15 pounds of muscle. “He’s a tough guy to tackle,” said Logan, who said he looks to improve his play over a week ago when he got an interception and caused another one on a hit on a CSU receiver.
Interesting to note, when Logan did not look back at the quarterback in the CSU game during red zone plays, it is a technique Hill asks of his corners, not to look back but to keep eyes on the receiver and close the gap. A guy not looking back then has to read the receiver’s eyes and be sure to be in position when the receiver’s hands go up for the ball.
BYU’s defense will look to be opportunistic against the Aggies like they were with the Rams. Turnovers will be key.
Logan has an interesting practice of writing a scripture in white ink in the black under his eyes.
Against Oklahoma it was a New Testament verse about anything being possible, against Tulane, it was a verse about being humble, in the Florida game it was a verse from the old Testament on enduring. In the CSU game, it was Psalms 55:22 which reads: “Cast they burden upon the Lord and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”