Standout linebacker Van Noy gives BYU strong anchor for ’13 defense

Brigham Young football coach and defensive coordinator Bronco Mendenhall will begin spring drills in less than two months with less retooling that he expected.

Monday's official announcement that linebacker Kyle Van Noy will return for his senior season gives Mendenhall a solid anchor to maintain a defensive unit that ranked among the nation's top 10 in nearly every category, including No. 3 in total defense and No. 4 in scoring defense.

The Cougars (8-5) allowed one opponent - Oregon State - to score more than 24 points and did not allow an offensive touchdown against Washington State, Utah State, Hawaii, Boise State and San Diego State.

BYU loses six starters on defense: linebackers Uona Kaveinga and Brandon Ogletree, defensive linemen Ezekiel Ansah, Romney Fuga and Russell Tialavea and defensive back Preston Hadley.

Returning with Van Noy are starting linebacker Spencer Hadley and nose tackle Eathyn Manumaleuna, who suffered a season-ending knee injury Sept. 20 against Boise State. Also returning are starters Jordan Johnson, Daniel Sorensen and Craig Bills from the secondary.

Mendenhall played a handful of freshmen and sophomores who will compete to fill in the holes during spring drills, including freshman linemen Bronson Kaufusi and Remington Peck. Sophomore Alani Fua, junior Uani Unga and freshmen Manoa Pikula and Jherremya Leuta-Douyere saw action at linebacker.

Landing Van Noy for another season, however, is Mendenhall's biggest offseason coup. The Reno native's 13 sacks rank him in a tie for No. 1 nationally. He is tied for second with six forced fumbles and ranks third with 22 tackles for loss. In addition, Van Noy had two interceptions, one fumble recovery, two blocked kicks and two touchdowns and became the lone player in the country to record a stat in every major defensive category in each of the past two seasons.

Van Noy's productive junior season followed offseason shoulder surgery that kept him out of spring drills, summer conditioning and all contact during fall camp. In fact, the first time he truly tested his repaired shoulder was in BYU's season opener against Washington State.

"I plan to finish what I started and feel like I've still got some unfinished business," Van Noy said. The Cougars are 3-0 in bowl games with Van Noy but 0-3 against rival Utah. Van Noy will get a final shot at the Utes in Provo in September.

The McQueen High School product also will have ample opportunities to improve his 2014 NFL Draft stock with every game next fall on national television, including battles against Notre Dame, Texas, Boise State and Wisconsin.

■ TWO-SPORT KAUFUSI - Freshman defensive end Bronson Kaufusi, a projected starter next fall, has joined the basketball team.

In his debut Thursday, the 6-foot-7-inch, 260-pound forward had two points and a steal in two minutes off the bench in the Cougars' 92-51 home victory over Loyola Marymount in their West Coast Conference opener.

"He has good footwork and good hands for a guy his size," coach Dave Rose said. "We are taking it one game at a time with Bronson. We'll see where it goes. But he can help us."

Kaufusi brings size to the Cougars' relatively skinny lineup. He hadn't played basketball since his junior season of high school in 2008, but after convincing his line coach and father, Steve, and Mendenhall, he asked Rose to give him a shot.

BYU hasn't had many two-sport athletes play football and basketball. The most notable was Gifford Nielsen in the mid-1970s. Nielsen played guard on the basketball team and quarterback for LaVell Edwards. He settled on just football for his last two years and earned All-America honors.

■ BASKETBALL BY THE BAY - BYU (11-4, 1-0) plays its first WCC road game Saturday at San Francisco (7-7, 0-1). The game will be televised on BYUtv (Cox 352) at 7 p.m.

Sophomore guard Tyler Haws, averaging 20.9 points per game, totaled 62 points in BYU's past two games. He lit up Virginia Tech for 42 last Saturday and scored 20 Thursday against Loyola Marymount.

Dave McCann is a news anchor for KSL television in Salt Lake City and play-by-play voice for BYU sports on BYUtv. He also is the host of True Blue, which airs at 5:30 p.m. Mondays on BYUtv. He can be reached at dmccann@ksl.com or on twitter @DaveMcCannKSL.