Darian Thompson told the media after the BYU game that the defense has been working on tackling all season and they “haven’t quite got it figured out yet.” The Washington game had tackling issues as well and BSU corners getting blocked on quick outs and bubble screens. BSU linebackers had trouble getting off blocks versus the Huskies and making balanced tackles.
That problem continues.
Boise State played 4 linebackers, not counting the position formerly known as nickel, 2 freshmen, a red shirt freshman and sophomore. Often times versus BYU those four were in position to make plays but most commonly over ran the ball carrier and missed. I counted at least 10 missed tackles amongst them, seven of which were over pursued tackles or defenders not being in balance. Most all of these misses resulted in big plays for BYU on the way to 229 yards rushing. Young players don’t always have the experience to settle down when making a 1 on 1 tackle and wrap up the ball carrier from waist to knee. Sometimes, they are surprised they are in the position to begin with and dive at the defenders feet.
In particular, Tanner Vallejo, a true freshman starter, had a rough night not reading his keys, getting blocked and not getting separation to make some tackles. He needs seasoning, strength and explosiveness to be a more complete linebacker. Ben Weaver simply over pursued on his misses and is an aggressive player who must balance himself before lunging. He too at times was blocked but shows what one extra year can do for development. Darren Lee had a bad read and several over pursuits, which comes with a true freshman who didn’t play football for 2 years while serving a church mission. Tyler Grey struggled getting off blocks and exploding to the ball carrier. Nance, Lawrence, Tjong-A-Tjoe and Horn all missed sacks and tackles for loss by diving and not taking extra steps and wrapping up. Tired legs will do that to a defensive line that had to tackle a QB who runs like a fullback in Hill. Hill also was elusive and tough to corral, so he added to the misery of Boise State defenders.
CB’s Donte Deayon and Bryan Douglas had some good and bad moments but Boise State doesn’t have many options. Deayon had a TD ripped away from him by Hoffman who is 7 inches taller and 60 pounds heavier. I also really felt for Deayon when he dove at the Mack truck that was 6’6 250 BYU TE Mahina and missed a tackle. Those are physical limitations for him at this point and will continue to be exploited by opponents. Douglas tried to make an interception but misjudged the ball and allowed a TD. It happens.
I didn’t think Grant Hedrick was all that bad either. Coach Pete mentioned making some future adjustments for him that include more deep balls and plays designed to get him on the move. But, against a physically superior BYU defensive front, BSU wasn’t going to risk a lot of zone read plays to the outside where Hedrick had no blocking. The lack of consistent edge blocking cost BSU all night. Hedrick threw some nice balls to Miller, Burkes and a TD to Ware but in the end he isn’t ready to be the Comeback Kid throwing the ball when the team is behind 3 scores.
