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Crowton's Cougars Change in the air at BYU's first spring post-LaVell
For BYU quarterback Brandon Doman, this was an odd sight. Here was his head coach, taking the ball from him in the middle of a spring drill and literally showing Doman how to throw a better pass. Soon, he would be off to show the receivers how to run their routes, and, quite possibly, the timekeepers how to keep time. Not that LaVell Edwards didn't hover over practices himself. But while the legend was content in his latter years to oversee from afar, new skipper Gary Crowton is your textbook micromanager. And his attention to detail is rubbing off in countless ways on the Cougars, who over the weekend wrapped up their first spring in 29 years without Edwards. "My personal opinion is that BYU and Provo were in need of some youth and some energy," said quarterback Doman, a senior and Salt Lake City native. "Coach Edwards was so great for BYU for so many years, but it's good to have someone like coach Crowton come in with his youth and his energy. He's replacing a legend, but I'm sure coach Crowton make his own legend one day." Indeed, the general consensus in Provo was that BYU during Edwards' latter years was slipping from its traditional perch as king of the Mountain (West). Cougar fans, their expectations elevated ever since Edwards' 1984 national championship team, were unaccustomed to seasons like last year's 6-6 debacle. So in his first months on the job, Crowton has been treading a fine line between upholding the traditions established by Edwards, under whom Crowton launched his own coaching career in 1982, and making the changes necessary for the Cougars to compete in a new era. He's retained longtime offensive assistants like Lance Reynolds and Robbie Bosco, but they've had to adapt to completely new terminology as the Cougars shift from Edwards' famed West Coast offense to the type of one-back, spread attack Crowton employed at Louisiana Tech.
In 1998, Crowton's final season at Tech before a two-year stint with the Chicago Bears, the Bulldogs took their unique offense to Lincoln, Neb., and racked up a record 590 passing yards against the vaunted Husker defense. Upon his return to college, though, Crowton started watching video and learned that everyone from Oklahoma to Northwesten was now running the same thing. "What teams like Northwestern and Louisiana Tech did, they said, 'We're going to spread you out to create islands for our one or two good players' -- the others being just OK players -- and that way we can create mismatches,'" said Crowton. For the well-traveled Crowton, changes at BYU don't start and end with the offense. In an effort to raise the team's graduation rate, Crowton hired academic coach and Bronx native E.J. Caffaro to install a rigorous accountability system he picked up while at Boston College in the early 1990s. And, in the change being felt most dramatically by the players, Crowton brought in Georgia Tech strength coach Jay Omer, an acquaintance from Crowton's one season (1994) in Atlanta, to beef up BYU's conditioning program. "We had all conditioned and run, but not with the intensity and structure of [Omer]," said Doman. "The second that whistle blows, we're like an army. And boy, we were throwing up all over the place. But we were ready to go in the spring, and we've had hardly any injuries." The most pressing matter for Crowton this spring has been finding personnel suited for his system. The top two rushers from 2000, Luke Staley and Brian McDonald, return, and they both looked good this spring. The receiver spot is marked by the return of Junior Mahe, WAC freshman of the year in '98 before an honor code violation exiled him to Dixie State College. And tight end, an important position in Crowton's offense, will be boosted in the fall by the arrival of Spencer Nead, a juco All-America from Ricks. Defensively, the Cougars are fairly sound. Two names making waves in the spring were Jernaro Gilford, a tall (6-foot-1), speedy cornerback who had 70-yard interception return in the spring game, and Washington transfer safety Levi Madarieta. Of course, in the house Jim McMahon and Steve Young built, nothing matters more than who's playing quarterback, and there the Cougs are in a bit of a gray area. Doman, who engineered late-season victories against Utah and New Mexico last year, is the starter by default. The best alternatives, Bret Engemann and Charlie Peterson, have been injured all spring, with likely No. 1 Engemann even questionable for the fall. The uncertainty has raised much concern in Provo -- though less from Crowton. "You never know with quarterbacks," he said. "With [former Louisiana Tech star] Tim Rattay -- no one recruited him but us. Now he's on the 49ers. From what I can see, we may have guys here with those intangibles. Several of these guys were heavily recruited, more than anyone I've ever had."
Illini, Spartans go wideBoth Illinois and Michigan State slipped from bowl seasons in 1999 to 5-6 campaigns in 2000. Their hopes of climbing back up the Big Ten ladder may just hinge on a pair of receivers whose services neither had a year ago. For the Illini, QB Kurt Kittner is thrilled to have back top target Brandon Lloyd, who set a freshman receiving record (511 yards) before missing all of last season with a broken leg. It didn't take long for him to make an impact this spring, hooking up with Kittner for a 75-yard touchdown on the third play of the first scrimmage. In East Lansing, Spartans fans are foaming at the mouth waiting for Charles Rogers' first game. The redshirt freshman was a top-five recruit nationally in 2000 and has already emerged this spring as a deep-ball threat for QB Jeff Smoker. "Overall, our receivers have had an excellent spring," said MSU head coach Bobby Williams. "We have three big-play threats in Charles Rogers, B.J. Lovett and Marcus Waters. " While Kittner's production went down last year without Lloyd, Illinois' bigger problem was on defense, prompting head coach Ron Turner to replace defensive coordinator Tim Kish with Oklahoma State's Mike Cassity. Williams, meanwhile, tried to fortify the Spartans' defense by converting productive tailback/receiver Shawn Foster to cornerback, only to move him back to offense a week later.
Worth notingCal head coach Tom Holmoe lured offensive coordinator Al Borges from UCLA this winter to revamp the Bears' moribund offense and help junior QB Kyle Boller finally live up to his considerable potential. The results so far have been good, with Boller completing 10 of 16 passes for 137 yards in Cal's first scrimmage. ... Michael Munoz, the first true freshman since 1981 to start on Tennessee's offensive line, is considering whether to have surgery on his left knee that may sideline him this fall. It would be Munoz's third-such operation. ... Texas A&M's star of the spring was receiver Dwain Goynes. The speedy junior, with only 170 yards his first two years, has stepped up to fill the void left by NFL defector Robert Ferguson. ... Star Arkansas RB Cedric Cobbs, who missed most of last season with a torn ACL, has looked just fine in his few full-contact appearances, averaging over 8 yards a carry in scrimmages. ... No Shane Battier yet, but Duke football finally has someone to get excited about. QB D. Bryant was 17-of-28 for 171 yards in Duke's spring game, with similar numbers in previous scrimmages. CNNSI.com's Stewart Mandel will offer his latest Offseason Beat notes regularly from now till Kickoff 2001. If you have questions, comments, ideas or scoops for the Beat, click here.
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