By SCOTT BELL
bell@du2.byu.edu
Depth.
The word resounds so completely through any conversation about the BYU defensive line it seems more like talk about a deep-sea oil rig than a football unit.
BYU is loaded on the defensive front like no other time. Besides returning all four starters from last year, up to five back-ups will push for time and provide that magic word: depth.
'We've never had a group with more quality depth at the defensive front than this one,' Coach LaVell Edwards said.
Leading the group is junior defensive end Byron Frisch, a two-year starter. Frisch started as a freshman on the Cotton Bowl team. Last year, he led the team with nine sacks on his way to being named second team All-WAC. The 6-foot-5, 265 pounder anchors this year's unit.
'He leads by example,' defensive line coach Tom Ramage said. 'He doesn't say much, but he's a hard-working, very intense guy. To me, that's the way a good leader should be.'
Opposite Frisch at left end is Ed Kehl, a three-year starter. The 6-foot-4, 300-pound senior had 4.5 sacks two years ago but dropped to 1.5 a year ago. Kehl did record a career-best 46 tackles last season.
Pushing Frisch and Kehl are a pair of talented sophomores. Setema Gali, 6-foot-4, 245 pounds, was a special teams standout last year and has looked good in pre-season practices. Hance Olsen, 6-foot-4, 280 pounds, was moved over from defensive tackle last year. The nephew of NFL standout Merlin Olsen saw some time last season before a severe ankle sprain in the SMU game slowed him.
At defensive tackle, two seniors return as the interior foundation. Left tackle Darren Yancey, 6-foot-6, 285 pounds, is a two-year starter. He had four sacks and 36 tackles in 1996, then recorded one sack and 42 tackles a year ago.
At right tackle is 6-foot-2, 285-pound Issiah Magalei. He earned a starting spot last year after Harland Ah You failed to qualify academically. Magalei never relinquished it. He finished the year with 51 tackles and a pair of sacks.
Backing Magalei and Yancey are freshman Ifo Pili and sophomore Chris Hoke. Pili, 6-foot-3, 305 pounds, redshirted last year after a standout prep career at Mountain View High in Orem. Hoke, 6-foot-2, 285 pounds, saw some significant time last year in a back-up role.
Andrew Nash is the utility man of the bunch. The 6-foot-4, 295-pound junior can play all four positions. He recorded two sacks in limited time last year.
With nine capable players and several multiple-year starters, this year's group should keep the Cougars in games, no matter the opponent. The unit brings to mind the Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl teams of the early '90s that rotated in as many as eight defensive lineman.
'I don't think there's any more pressure than any other year,' Ramage said. 'We know we got to get pressure on the quarterback, and we got to stop the run. Now I've got a more talented group than in year's past, but I think the pressure is the same.'