BYU Football: Offseason To-Do List for the Cougars

BYU recently completed its spring practices, which officially kick off preparation for the fall. Head coach Bronco Mendenhall and his team face a daunting schedule this fall, but they look forward to the opportunity. According to Bailey McMurdie of KSTU Fox 13, Mendenhall is particularly confident about his team's outlook for the upcoming season: 

We have a good team, and we have a really tough schedule, so that is a fantastic opportunity. [We have] a senior quarterback coming back that is one of the best in the country and an offense that scored most points since 2001. Really good leadership, I think, on the defensive side in a proven system with a proven staff. So, it could be a really fun year.

But what do the Cougars need to take care of before the kickoff at Nebraska? Here is an offseason to-do list for BYU.

Several projected starters either didn't participate or practiced sparingly during fall camp. Namely, running back Jamaal Williams sat out while recovering from a knee injury, and quarterback Taysom Hill took it easy while nursing one of his own.

Other players—including Manoa Pikula, Teu Kautai and Harvey Langi—didn't attend practices because of academic issues. BYU will need to have all of its players ready to go in August, and that will be a big focus over the summer.

BYU had serious struggles on the defensive side last season, and a lot of that was accredited to Nick Howell taking over the reins as defensive coordinator. Bronco Mendenhall reassumed the role of defensive coordinator this spring, but he hasn't seen a whole lot of improvement.

"I would say [the defense] is a work in progress, still," Mendenhall said, according to Jay Drew of the The Salt Lake Tribune. "The physical conditioning, mental toughness and resiliency, if we get all that exactly right, then eventually the schematic part and the execution will [come]."

Mendenhall won't be able to fix all of those problems in fall practices, so it will take lots of work over the next few months for the defense to improve.

BYU returns one of the nation's top dual-threat quarterbacks in Taysom Hill, but the depth chart below him is worrisome.

The most experienced backup is sophomore McCoy Hill, who has completed two passes in his collegiate career. Freshmen QBs Beau Hoge and Tanner Mangum will arrive in Provo, Utah, in time for fall practice, and they will also battle for the backup spot.

Obviously, if Taysom Hill stays healthy, there's no reason to worry. But it's better to be safe than sorry—which BYU has learned the hard way.