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Show DAILY C6 HERALD Wednesday, February BYU FOOTBALL RECRUITING "This is our core philosophy. We understand the unique requirements of BYU. Some schools just take who they want and some take leftovers. Our idea was to identify as soon as possible the athletes who meet our criteria spiritually, academically BYU and athletically and address our needs." Recruiting a at the Class of 2006 year ago, BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall brought in his first full recruiting class. Here's look at how that class impacted the 2006 season. Now is the time head football coach Bronco Mendenhall On the Cougars' recruiting philosophy BYU front-runn- (oral commitments) unique requirements of BYU," Mendenhall said. "Some schools just take who they want and some take leftovers. Our idea was to identify as soon as possible the athletes who meet our criteria spiritually, academically and athletically and address our needs." Mendenhall noted that the number of returned missionaries in the program will increase in this plan. Last year ihere were only a handful; this season, there are eight Jason Munns, 225 5-- 5 Marcus Mathews, 200 6--5 Biggest Disappointment QB, Kennewick, Wash. T1CO PRINGLE AND ANDRE SAULS BERRY (CB) WR, Beaverton, Ore. 265 Magnum Mauga, Cade Cooper, 6-- 205 QB, Lehi, Utah (JC) DE, El 6--1 Cajon, Calif. (JC) FILEDaily Herald 225 TE, Upland, Calif. Ryan Kessman, 60 190 WR, San Jacinto, Calif. J.J. DiLuigi 188 RB, Canyon County, Calif. Devin Mahina, 6--6 5-- 9 G Pittman 175 5-- Manaaki Vaitai, David Angilau, DB, Rancho Cucamonga, 296 OLDL, Euless, Texas 6--3 255 6--2 Houston Reynolds, Levi Mack, 64 Star Lotulelei, Jordan Pendleton, Scotty Ebert, DB, South Jordan, Utah 220 QB, DB, Kahuku, Hawaii 180 1 Eathyn Manumaleuna, Brannon Brooks, 0 WR, Sandy, Utah 6-- 275 175 CB, Elk Grove, Calif. 64 195 OL, Provo, Utah Spanish Fork, Utah Austen Jorgensen, 3 210 LB, Mt. Pleasant, Utah 6-Aveni Leung-Wai- , 225 LB, Aiea, Hawaii (JC) Jordan Smith, WR, 6-- 2 Kaneakua Friel, Famika Anae, Tyler Beck, strategy." So what does the Class of 220 6-- 5 6--5 260 205 6-- Steven Thomas, 1 so BRANDON BRADLEY (CB) AND TOM SORENSEN (OL) 28 catches for 547 yards (19.5 average) and Both to BYU from Divtransfered players three touchdowns. He also returned a punt 77 ision schools suffered season-endin- g but yards for a touchdown against Wyoming. Jainjuries before the season started. Players r mission. cobson is off to Japan for a raved about Bradley's offseason works and Sorensen was pushing for playing time on the Biggest offensive line before the injuries. Both will be ready to go in the fall. IAN DULAN (DE) on at team the Dulan, 17, youngest player won a starting job at defensive end in fall camp. A broken leg sidelined him after Game 7 but he'll be back in 2007. Impact, Defense Biggest Surprise RYAN FREEMAN (OL) When pressed into action because of injuries, the former Orem High standout proved himself more than capable of playing at the Division level. He plans on serving a mission. FILEDaily Herald Cornerback Andre Saulsberry WR, Honolulu, Hawaii LB, Murrieta, Calif. 180 There are 10 local recruits, ina third Reynolds brother, Houston, who helped lead Timpview to the Class 4A title in November and will join older brother Matt in the fall. Matt Reynolds returns from his LDS church mission this summer. course, with Mystery Men MCKAY JACOBSON (WR) Jacobson joined BYU in the spring and was a fixture in the wide receiver rotation. Posted DE, Provo, Utah cluding' Of Biggest Impact, Offense two-yea- 245 DE, South Jordan, Utah 195 Wide receiver McKay Jacobson I Farmington, N.M. (JC) 235 TE, Salt Lake City, Utah 175 6-- 1 C, Provo, Utah OL, Thatcher, Ariz. (JC) 6-- 66 Braden Brown, Gary Nagy, 295 6-- 2 Brenden Gaskins, hall said. "Our challenge is to maintain the level of play while nearly an entire recruiting class cycles through." While most schools must wait two or three years to evaluate the effectiveness of a recruiting class, BYU must hold out for five to seven years because of missionary service. "We're losing a lot of players to missions." Mendenhall said, "and we've addressed and acknowledge from the beginning as a recruiting DT, Longmont, Colo. 6--2 315 6-- Calif. Both of BYU's junior college tranters failed to crack the Pringle was suspended before the Las Vegas Bowl and is likely to transfer to Southern Utah. Saulsberry played some special teams and gets another shot this spring. twe-dee- 2 returned for winter semester and he expects more in the future. "I'm not sure in BYU's history there's been the number of players leaving under this recruiting strategy," Menden- 2007 look like? Players like quarterback Jason Munns (Kennewick, Wash.), receiver Marcus Mathews (Beaverton, Ore.), defensive end Magnum Mauga (Grossmont College) and quarterback Cade Cooper (Snow College) are four-sta- r recruits under Scout. corn's five-sta- r system. Running back J.J. DiLuigi led Canyon County (Calif.) to a stunning upset of powerhouse De La Salle for the California state championship and rushed for more than 2,000 yards. team during the 2006 season and his teammates loved his leadership for the startand poise. He's the ing quarterback spot in 2007. BYU Class of 2007 Continued from CI ' MAX HALL (QB) Hall ran the scout V' Recruits 2007 2007 A Look back A 7, many early commitments, there's always the possibility of losing someone at the last minute. Until a signed letter of intent DB, Chino Hills, Calif. is faxed to the BYU coaches office, nothing is set in stone. Mendenhall will address the media this afternoon at LaVeil Edwards Stadium after all of the letters of intent have been collected. I Daily Herald Sports Editor Darnell Dickson can be reached at at or by 344-255- 5 ddicksonheraldextra.com Off a mission With more and more BYU football players choosing to leave on LDS how recent RM's impacted the 2006 season. Offense: Fui Vakapuna, missions, here's a look at Defense: David Nixon, RB Vakapuna made an immediate impact during spring football with his powerful running style. An injury slowed him down late in the season but the sophomore still finished with 445 yards rushing and scored 11 touchdowns. Nixon LB didn't miss a beat, posting 62 tackles and lead- the team with 10.5 tackles for loss. His sack and forced fumble against TCU was one of the top defensive plays of the season. ing 234-poun- d NATIONAL COLLEGE FOOTBALL RECRUITING Alleii Mey takes ferry to the big time Paul Newberry he double-decke- r Associated Press ferry eases away from the rest of the world with a dozen people aboard. A lone fisherman stays behind, huddled at the end of the dock with eyes firmly locked on a couple of lines that disappear beneath the gently rippling waters. The boat slowly picks up speed on a cool, cloudy day, meandering along the waterway that zigzags through the marshes of coastal Georgia. In 15 minutes or so, it will arrive at Sapelo Island, where a solitary, easygoing lifestyle has been preserved in a virtual time capsule. There are no bridges to the condos mainland, no high-risalong the beaches. Heck, they don't even have an ATM. This is Allen Bailey's world, the place where he grew up fishing and goofing around and hanging out with Sapelo's 80 residents, most of them family or friends. Three-fourth-s of the islanders are Geechee, descendants of African slaves who managed to preserve much of their heritage, culture and traditions. and one Bailey is Geechee heck of a football player. Today, he's expected to sign with Miami after coasidering Florida, Georgia and Alabama. Who knows? Maybe he'll be the next Brian Urlacher, trotting onto the field in front of millions of people at the Super Bowl. But he'll never forget the world he left behind. "It was a great place to grow up," Bailey said. "I don't care too much about those bigger places. I like it over there." e farfetched that he wants to remain at linebacker, the position r--- v y X h "f On Monday, he'll bid farewell to his parents, board the 7 a.m. : ; JAMES NIXThe Brunswick News ferry and head back to school for another week. Mcintosh County Academy's Allen Bailey, right, works out during football practice on Sept. 26, "It's not too bad," his moth2Q06, in Darien, Ca. Bailey, a resident of Sapelo Island, is expected to sign with Miami after er, Mary Bailey, said. "We talk considering Florida, Georgia and Alabama. to him on the phone twice a day. You get used to it. It's like he's already gone off to college has maintained it as a nature reliable car on the mainland and farming, a unique lansomewhere." and get by with their backup preserve. If you don't live on guage ("1 shum" translates into As far as Bailey knows, he'll the island, you can't get there "I saw him) and many of the on Sapelo, where the traffic is be the first resident of Sapelo unless you're part of an orgasame superstitions. light and the mileage low. to leave for a major college "If you count the knots in nized tour or receive an invita"I've never been a city perwith the chance to be a star. tion from one of the residents. son. I don't care for the hustle the afterbirth, it tells you how The whole island is abuzz, Two bucks $1 each way and bustle of the city life," said many more kids you're going will cover the ferry ride. Alfred Bailey, who has worked to have," Cornelia Bailey said. speculating on just how good he'll be at the next level, wonThe Geechee are the main on the ferry crew for 24 years. "A split in your teeth means s "Once you've lived here for a dering if he can make it all the residents, you're going to live a long life." who own 4M of the 16,500 acres while, you get a system down." She speaks with a distincway to the NFL in a tightly knit community The Geechee (or Gullah, tive accent that would be very "Everybody is talking about known as Hog Hammock. This it," said his aunt, Cornelia Baimuch at home in Jamaica or as they're usually called in is a place where motorists alSouth Carolina) were brought another Caribbean island. ley, who serves as the Island's unofficial historian. "They "A lot of people ask me, 'Are to America as slaves, largely ways wave to each other when want him to go to the pros. from west Africa. In keepthey pass on the narrow roads, you from the islands? I say, where there's no need to kick "Yeah. And theyU ask, Whkh They want him to make it. ing wfth their farming skills, There's no envy at all." island? And I tell them, 'Sapelo,' your doors at night or even they were sent to work in the knock when you come to visit. coastal areas where rice was Bailey said, laughing heartily. The island has one small the major crop. Besides, what's there to be envious about? These islanders AUen Bailey lets the Geechee The intense heat store, but most major business along cherish their glorious isolaiion, must be conducted on the other with the accompanying threat dialect slip into his speech evside of the water. Residents of malaria and yellow fever brushing off the benefits of ery now and then when he's forced the white European living in a big city (or even a Bailey is getting ready to usually pick out a day each talking at alL He's a quiet kid, small town). month when they hop the ferry owners to head inland in the head off to college, a child in a the type who sees no need say"You don't have to walk and a big man, for the trip into Darien, the weekend games. man's body ing with 20 words what he can rainy spring and blistering down the road worrying You see, there is no school 3 and 270 at that. He's summer. African slaves were county seat where they can get across with one or two. on the island, and the last ferry about someone snatching your shop for groceries, pay bills One wonders how he'll fare much more resistant to the dispounds, with massive arms and do their banking. and a head that fits firmly atop from the mainland usually purse," Cornelia Bailey said. ease, so they were left for long in Miami and the world beyond "You donl have to smell foul his sculpted shoulders, leaving leaves at 5.30 p.m. So, Bailey They have to keep a car on Sapelo. He simply shrugs his periods of time to the care of each side, since the ferry is for black overseers. lived part time with an aunt for air from some factory. If you no room for a neck. shoulders, insisting it will all want to go to a beach that Even at that size. Bailey The lack of contact with the work out Just fine. three yearg. and now he usupassengers only and whatever "I grew up a little different while population allowed the is extremely light on his feet ally stays with friend during doesn't have a million people supplies fit on the back deck. Geechee Gullah sect to retain the week. He'll go home Satur- on it, this is the place." than most people." he acknowl(To get an auto on or of f the (especially evident when he's island requires a barge.) So, more of its African roots. They edged, "but It's all basically the Sipek) is owned largely by playing basketball) and has day or Sunday, taking along a the of clothes. of the state same." week's worth not islanders keep their most that which that it's have similar styles of cooking dirty Georgia, enough speed full-tim- e -- he played at Mcintosh County Academy. "I felt sorry for some of those guys I've seen him hit," said his father, Alfred Bailey, shaking his head. Sapelo's seclusion didn't prevent most of the major college powers from tracking him down. Notre Dame. Southern Cal. Most of the Southeastern Conference. All were interested in this behemoth of a prospect. "The postmaster told me, 'You need to tell your son to get his own P.O. box,"' Alfred said, chuckling, "because every time we went to check the box, it was all filled with mail for him." Allen got a late start to his career. Growing up on Sapelo, he wasn't able to play rec league football on the mainland It wasn't until Bailey got into middle school that he finally joined a team, working out separate living arrangements that allowed him to take part in after-schopractices and African-American- |