BYU entered the 2001 football season for the first time since 1971 without LaVell Edwards standing on the sideline as head coach. And the Cougars moved into the year without much momentum after a 6-6 record in Edwards’ last season.

A year ago, the pressure was on Edwards’ replacement, 43-year-old Gary Crowton, who served as a student assistant under Edwards in 1982. Before succeeding Edwards, Crowton spent two years as offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears. Before that, he compiled a 21-13 record in three seasons at Louisiana Tech.

Most observers believed it would take Crowton several years to restore the proud tradition of BYU football, even though Edwards left behind 50 lettermen, seven offensive starters and six defensive starters.

Crowton was apparently impatient. Imagine the surprise of BYU fans when the Cougars came up with a 12-2 record and the program’s first outright Mountain West Conference championship. The Cougars put together the nation’s top-rated offense and won their first 12 games as Crowton was voted the conference coach of the year.

"Last season we had a lot of success," Crowton said. "We had great leadership and some talented players. They are gone now, and it is our job to find new leaders and equally talented players to continue winning championships."

Also in 2001 the Cougars led the nation in scoring while featuring running back Luke Staley, who won the Doak Walker Award, was voted a consensus All-American and led the nation in scoring.

Staley announced after the regular season he would not return to BYU for his final season in order to enter the 2002 NFL draft.

Staley suffered a broken leg against Mississippi State on Dec. 1. He underwent surgery on Dec. 18 to repair ligaments in his ankle damaged as a result of the broken bone in his leg and did not play in the Liberty Bowl.

BYU returns 20 offensive lettermen, including five offensive starters. On defense, BYU brings back 19 letter winners, including six starters. In addition to a solid list of returning players, Crowton and his staff assembled one of the nation’s top recruiting classes. Many of those signees will be expected to contribute in 2002.

After opening with 12 straight wins last year, the Cougars lost at Hawaii, 72-45, and then lost in the Liberty Bowl to Louisville, 28-10.

In January, Crowton announced the hiring of Steve Kaufusi to succeed retiring Tom Ramage as defensive line coach. Kaufusi, who has been a member of Ron McBride’s coaching staff at Utah since 1994, is returning to coach at his alma mater, where he lettered as a defensive lineman in 1986 and ’87.

Gone is starter Brandon Doman, but Crowton has four capable quarterbacks on the roster with the nation’s top-rated signal caller on his way to Provo as well.

Junior Bret Engemann (6-4, 220) is listed as the frontrunner. He started in 2000 before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury at Syracuse. Engemann is best remembered for leading the Cougars to a come-from-behind, overtime victory at Virginia in only his second game as a starter. He red-shirted last season while learning Crowton’s sophisticated system.

"Some might see this as a rebuilding year at quarterback," Crowton said. "I’m not sure that’s the case. I think we have a lot of talent at quarterback, but we’ll just have to see how everyone does. We’re going to make sure we get a good look at everyone and make decisions from there."

In the spring game, Engemann was 19-of-28 for 177 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

"My arm felt 100 percent today," Engemann said. "I’m trying not to force things and just take things one play at a time."

Clearly, Engemann made the most of spring practice.

"Repetition and being able to go with the first team on a regular basis builds confidence," Engemann told the Salt Lake Tribune midway through the spring. "And I’m starting to feel that kind of confidence come back, just to the point that you know you’re going to be successful when you step out there, instead of having to worry about it."

Sophomore Todd Mortensen (6-4, 221) also returns. He saw limited action last season, playing in just five games. He completed 4-of-8 passes as a freshman, including one for a touchdown against Hawaii.

One of the Courgars’ top recruits from 1999 is back after serving a two-year LDS Church mission to Panama City, Panama. Red-shirt freshman Matt Berry (6-5, 218) worked out with the team during spring drills.

Another quarterback in the picture is red-shirt freshman Lance Pendleton (6-0, 180), who has good quickness.

In the spring game, Mortensen completed 4-of-10 passes for 33 yards while Pendleton was 4-of-10 for 27. Berry finished 3-of-11 for 18 yards with two interceptions.

The Cougars signed Ben Olson (6-4, 210), a Parade and USA TODAY All-American. He threw for 2,989 yards and 38 touchdowns as a senior at Thousand Oaks (Calif.) High School. Olson was listed as the top high school prospect by SuperPrep. He holds three single-game records at Thousand Oaks, including longest pass play (86 yards), most touchdowns (6) and most yards passing (497).

BYU first noticed Olson after he had just completed his sophomore season at Thousand Oaks. Olson attended camp at BYU and immediately caught the attention of quarterbacks coach Robbie Bosco.

"Just watching him throw and go through drills, I knew we needed to be aggressive and go after him hard," Bosco told the Provo Daily Herald. "I don’t know if we’d find anyone better. I thought he was special at that time."

The biggest challenge faced by Crowton and his staff will be replacing Staley, one of the nation’s top running backs last season who was responsible for nearly 30 percent of the Cougars’ offense.

Heading the depth chart is sophomore Marcus Whalen (6-0, 215), who is back after a red-shirt season. He competed in nine games as a freshman in 2000, rushing 38 times for 209 yards. Against Utah State, Whalen had 91 yards on 10 carries.

During spring drills, sophomore Logan Deans (6-0, 220) took several first-team repetitions while Whalen was nursing hamstring and groin problems. Deans is a powerful runner and an effective blocker.

Others who competed for playing time in the spring were sophomore Jared Harper (6-0, 225), sophomore Curtis Holder (5-7, 175), senior Kyle Wilson (6-0, 226), senior Steve Later (5-9, 174), sophomore Rick Swensen (5-11, 204) and junior Glenn Havea (5-10, 217).

Several of the Cougars’ high school signees could see playing time as well.

The Cougars return eight-of-10 receivers who were credited with at least one catch last season, including All-American candidate Reno Mahe (5-11, 185), a senior and a first-team All-MWC pick in 2001. He is best remembered for his gutsy performance last year against Utah only days after having his appendix removed.

Mahe, despite still learning Crowton’s offense, led the Mountain West with his 91 catches, 93.2 receiving yards per game (1,211 for the season) and nine touchdowns.

In the spring, Mahe said a knee injury he suffered against Hawaii had healed nicely after surgery, and that he had used his off-season time wisely, learning more of Crowton’s offense.

Also back is sophomore Rodney Wilkerson (6-1, 176), who caught 15 passes for 292 yards and three touchdowns last year. Senior Andrew Ord (6-2, 203) also returns. He caught 17 passes for 183 yards last year and hauled in the game-winning touchdown at New Mexico.

Junior Toby Christensen (5-11, 192) is a good receiver and a solid downfield blocker. Junior David Christensen (5-9, 193), who sat out last season, is also back, along with Justin Anderson (5-10, 183), who returns for his final season with the Cougars.

The Cougars will feature two of the best tight ends in the conference, and possibly the country, in seniors Spencer Nead (6-4, 265) and Gabriel Reid (6-4, 251).

Nead, rated as one of the Cougars’ top blockers, caught 22 passes for 266 yards and five touchdowns. Reid had five catches for 79 yards and three touchdowns.

Two starters return in left tackle Dustin Rykert (6-7, 317), a junior, and right tackle Ben Archibald (6-4, 317), a senior.

Rykert started all 14 games last year and earned All-MWC honorable-mention honors. He earned Football News first-team All-MWC honors and was voted the most outstanding offensive lineman at the Liberty Bowl.

Archibald was a key player last year as BYU averaged 46.8 points and 542.8 yards per game. He and Rykert provided protection from the outside as quarterback Doman threw for 3,500 yards. Archibald earned honorable mention media All-MWC honors.

The other starters should be senior Ryan Keele (6-4, 293) at center and senior Isaac Herring (6-4, 314) and junior Scott Jackson (6-4, 298) at the guard positions.

Depth will be provided by sophomore Hanale Vincent (6-5, 313), senior Quinn Christensen (6-6, 305), junior Vincent Xanthos (6-3, 297), junior Matt Griffith (6-6, 310), sophomore James Eastman (6-6, 295), red-shirt freshman Nate Hall (6-3, 304) and red-shirt freshman Jeff Rhea (6-4, 267).

This year’s projected starters average nearly 6-5 and 308 pounds.

Returning is place-kicker Matt Payne (6-4, 238), a sophomore. He earned All-Academic MWC honors last year after making 73-of-76 extra-point kicks and scoring 109 points. He tied an NCAA record for most PATs in a single season.

Payne was 12-of-17 on field-goal attempts and posted a 50-yarder at UNLV. He also kicked a game-winning 25-yard field goal against Mississippi State.

Payne worked in the off-season on improving his distance and accuracy on both kickoffs and field-goal attempts.

The backup will be sophomore Forrest Hansen (5-7, 160).

Several standouts will be hard to replace on the line by new coach Kaufusi.

Sophomore John Denney (6-6, 272) returns at one end after being red-shirted last year, along with red-shirt freshman C.J. Ah You (6-4, 264), who showed positive signs for the future before suffering a season-ending knee injury.

Sophomore Brandon Stephens (6-6, 268) also returns, and sophomore Moa Peaua (6-0, 269) has been switched from linebacker to defensive end. Peaua will compete for time against sophomore Brady Poppinga (6-3, 250).

BYU caught a break in late April when Scott Young (6-5, 305) a junior college All-American from Dixie (Utah) College, was granted a waiver by the NCAA and declared academically eligible. The NCAA’s Clearinghouse had earlier ruled Young, who enrolled at BYU in January, ineligible after processing Young’s high school transcript and determining he hadn’t taken a core English class. It was later learned that Young took the class. Had the NCAA’s first ruling been allowed to stand, Young would not have been on scholarship or allowed to play in 2002.

BYU compliance officer Jim Kimmel devoted four months to correcting the problem, and Young hired a lawyer to prepare a possible suit. Legal action wasn’t necessary when the NCAA granted its waiver.

"This was the right and fair thing to happen for him and he deserves the chance to now compete in football and continue his academic work without worry," Crowton told the Provo Daily Herald.

Young led Dixie College with 15.5 sacks as a sophomore, earning both NJCAA and JC Gridwire first team All-America honors.

The defensive tackle position will be in good hands with junior Ifo Pili (6-3, 315), who played in every game last year after returning from a church mission. He had 28 tackles, included five for a combined loss of 24 yards.

Joining Pili in the starting lineup should be junior Ryan Gunderson (6-3, 286). Senior Jeff Cowart (6-5, 265) should also see considerable playing time. Gunderson and Cowart combined for 43 tackles last year.

After red-shirting last year, freshman Daniel Marquardt (6-2, 287) played well in the spring.

The Cougars also signed tackle Mania Brown, a transfer from Nebraska. Because of NCAA transfer rules, Brown must sit out a year.

Gone are linebackers Justin Ena and Isaac Kelley, who accounted for a combined 190 tackles last year -- 19 for a combined loss of 56 yards.

Returning is junior Paul Walkenhorst (6-5, 250), who ranked third in tackles behind Ena and Kelley with 69. He will move to middle linebacker this year with junior Bill Wright (6-3, 234) and sophomore Colby Bockwoldt (6-1, 218) the probable starters on the outside.

The Cougars moved Levi Madarieta (6-3, 221) from safety to linebacker in an effort to focus more on speed and overall quickness for pass protection. Madarieta will compete with Wright for a starting position. Last year, Madarieta was the Cougars’ fifth-ranked defender with 65 tackles.

One of the corners will be junior Jernaro Gilford (6-2, 187), an All-America candidate. He led the team with six interceptions last season and made 56 tackles with 11 pass deflections.

At the other corner, red-shirt freshman O’Neil Howell (5-10, 185) is listed No. 1 on the depth chart.

Senior Mike Sumko (5-10, 168) and sophomore Micah Alba (5-8, 162) will also compete for playing time, along with junior college transfers Walt Williams (6-0, 170) and James Allen (5-10, 170).

Williams, a native of Miami, Fla., will enter fall camp after being listed as one of the top 25 recruits in the country. He was a first-team all-conference performer at Easter Arizona Junior College.

Allen, a speedster out of Southwest Junior College in Inglewood, Calif., will have three years of eligibility.

The Cougars lost Dustin Staley to graduation, but have an experienced group returning at safety. The free safety will likely be sophomore Aaron Francisco (6-2, 195), who started three games last year and saw action in all 14. He made 27 tackles and intercepted two passes.

A potential starter at strong safety is junior Brandon Heaney (5-10, 175), who made 46 tackles last year (39 solo).

Payne, the place-kicker, will compete against red-shirt freshman Jared McLaughlin (6-3, 200) and junior Tyson Dunham (6-1, 190) for the punting duties.

Aaron Edmonds punted 46 times for a 39.8 average last year. Payne had one punt for 45 yards.

Crowton assigned running backs coach Paul Tidwell to take over as special teams coordinator in order to give the special teams more of an offensive flavor.

Denney will be the deep snapper, while Mahe, David Christensen, Toby Christensen, wide receiver Curtis Holder (5-7, 158) and Whalen have been listed as possible punt and kick-return specialists. Junior college transfer Williams will get a chance to return punts.

"I think Walt is one of the best athletes I’ve ever evaluated," cornerbacks coach Brian Mitchell told the Provo Daily Herald. "As a punt returner he is awesome. I think he has the ability to be every bit as good as James Dye."

The BYU coaching staff had a lot to be happy about after the signing class it landed in February.

Prep standout Olson will compete for playing time at quarterback and junior college standout Young will be a force on the defensive line. Two more junior college players, Allen and Williams, will be in the hunt at defensive back.

The coaching staff believes several of its high school signees can make an impact at running back. Most notably, they are excited about Curtis Brown (5-11, 185), a speedster out of Palmdale, Calif. An honor-roll student, Brown had more than 7,000 career rushing yards, including a 1,500-yard, 27-touchdown performance as a senior.

Reynaldo Brathwaite (5-10, 170) from Grossmont (Calif.) College should make an immediate impact, although he had offseason surgery to repair an ACL injury. Thomas Stancil (5-7, 165) led Bakersville High School to an undefeated season and CIF title as a senior, scoring 20 touchdowns and rushing for 1,772 yards.

Other signees at running back were Taufui Vakapuna (6-0, 210) from East High School in Salt Lake City; Aaron Singh , a standout at Carlsbad (Calif.) High who plans to serve a church mission before coming to BYU; and Mulivai Pula (5-11, 215) from Kahuku High School in Kahuku, Hawaii.

The Cougars will also look for help at wide receiver from Daniel Coates (6-2, 200) from Layton, Utah, who was selected Class 5A Most Valuable Player and Utah Player of the Year. He had 2,386 yards and 23 touchdowns in his last two seasons at Northridge High School. Another receiver is Ferron Fonoimaona (5-8, 165) from Kuhuku, Hawaii.

BYU’s banner season in 2001 resulted in five Cougars being selected in the NFL draft for the first time since 1995. Tight end Doug Jolley and defensive end Ryan Denney were both selected in the second round.

The two second-round selections marked the first time two Cougars have been drafted in the first two rounds of the NFL draft since Shawn Knight and Jason Buck were picked in the first round of the 1987 draft.

In addition to Jolley and Denney, quarterback Doman was selected on Sunday in the fifth round by the San Francisco 49’ers. Staley was a seventh-round selection by the Detroit Lions.

Don’t be surprised if the Cougars open with another long winning streak. Crowton has a talented squad capable of winning the Mountain West championship and finishing in the Top 25 once again.