Aggression.
That’s what national champion Trevor Matich wants to see at the line of scrimmage, beginning with the first play of BYU’s season opener against Southern Illinois. For an offensive lineman that went 13-0 in 1984 and 47-3 over his Cougar career, watching BYU drop its last five games of 2023 was a bitter pill to swallow.
“Finish! Finish! Finish!” Matich told the “Y’s Guys” podcast this week. “In the last three to four years, I’d watch the offensive line, which is big, strong and talented, and I’d see them go out there and take a few steps and then they would slow down. I’m thinking, ‘What are you doing?’ Finish!”
BYU averaged just 3.5 yards per rushing attempt last season. The inability to run the ball put stress on the passing game. Quarterbacks Kedon Slovis and Jake Retzlaff were sacked a combined 19 times. Head coach Kalani Sitake hired TJ Woods to fix the issues up front.
“He is one of the best teachers of the techniques of the game in college football today,” Matich said of Woods. “Everywhere he has been, his offensive lines have gotten better at the craft of playing offensive line.”
Matich, 62, begins his 21st season as a college football analyst at ESPN next month. While keeping an eye on teams from coast to coast, he has some specific marching orders for his alma mater — on both sides of the line.
“I want to see them go from the snap all the way through the whistle with 100% mental and physical focus. Mental focus is critical,” he said. “Against Southern Illinois, if (BYU) plays like they can, they will outmatch them physically from top to bottom. But I want to see them finish (every play) as if they are playing for the national championship in that game.”
Matich practiced what he now preaches. He anchored an offensive line that defeated Michigan 24-17 to secure a perfect season and win BYU’s only football national championship. As a former center and 1985 first-round NFL draft pick to New England, he also has expectations for the defensive line.
“I want to see them aggressive and getting behind the line and causing trouble,” Matich said. “I want to see individual players win their pass rush matchups with technique. I want to see (them) throw a move and if that gets stopped, I want to see a counter off that move. I want to see them playing with a plan.”
Sign of the times
Matich was a 6-foot-5, 247-pound center that earned third-team All-American honors during his senior season. The former Rio Americano High star in Sacramento arrived at BYU weighing just 207 pounds. BYU senior Connor Pay will start Aug. 31 against the Salukis at 6-5, 315 pounds.
“The athletes haven’t changed. I think the athletic skill is the same. The difference is strength training, nutrition and coaching that all start much earlier with a heavier focus on those things than we did back in the day,” Matich said. “So those guys have built up that kind of a physical body and (developed) skills in ways that we were way behind (in).”
Matich, Robert Anae, Louis Wong, Craig Garrick and Dave Wright could make a case as the best offensive line in program history whose average size was 6-4, 255 pounds. Pay and his current group, including Waylin Lapuaho, Brayden Keim, Sam Dawe and Caleb Etienne, average 6-6, 314 pounds.
Beating the odds
Big 12 media picked BYU 13th in the preseason poll largely due to the question marks at quarterback. Junior Jake Retzlaff and grad-transfer Gerry Bohanon will battle for the starting job during fall camp that begins July 30.
Matich believes the Cougars have the makings to deliver a surprise season, but only if a series of “ifs” can be answered.
“The quarterback has to play exceptionally well. The defensive front has to get to the passer, they must stay healthy and limit the run better than last year when they started to have injuries,” Matich said. “With all that, BYU could finish in the top three to five of the Big 12 with a couple of breaks going their way. There are so many variables, but the ceiling is high.”
BYU-Utah
When Matich faced rival Utah, it was always a conference showdown in November and his Cougars were always the favorite. In fact, his teams went 4-0 against the Utes by a combined score of 162-27.
With Utah joining the Big 12, the Cougars and Utes will meet Nov. 9 as league foes for the first time since 2010.
“I can’t wait,” Matich said. “Rivalry games are what college football is all about. The passion goes deep into generations of families and that’s one of the things that makes college football something that the NFL can’t ever be.”
The Utes are voted as the Big 12 preseason favorites, and they are 3-0 against BYU in Salt Lake City since the two programs left the Mountain West Conference and went their separate ways.
“Utah has an edge because they have been in a Power Five conference for a lot of years,” Matich said. “BYU is now getting started in it, but I’m glad this is back, and I can’t wait to see what happens in this game.”
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.