Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
PROVO — Isaiah Glasker calls it "the Breakfast Club," a group of BYU football players that show up in the early morning to the student-athlete building on campus, trying to gain some weight, pound protein shakes, and open a packed burrito with "a lot of eggs, potatoes, and everything you can imagine."
So far, it's worked for the former Bingham High receiver/safety-turned-BYU-linebacker, increasing his weight to 233 pounds with the intention of getting as high as 240 so he can play multiple linebacker positions in defensive coordinator Jay Hill's scheme.
But while he's on campus that early, he's also taking advantage of learning that defense.
As the Cougars put the final touches on spring practices in Week 5, Hill is polishing off Year 2 of the successful former Weber State head coach's defensive scheme in his first full offseason in Provo.
"When Jay first got here, I struggled learning the defense a bit," said Glasker, who had three tackles in eight games as a redshirt freshman in 2023. "But being able to come out and watch film early in the morning has helped me learn about the whole defense and what everyone is doing around the field."
Glasker admitted the "Breakfast Club" can get a little sparse, and that the extra film sessions and weight-gaining are optional. Mostly, that is.
"Usually it's optional," he said with a grin after Monday's practice to open Week 5 of the five-week spring session. "But I like to get that extra work in so that when I come out here, I know what I'm doing. If any other position has questions, I can tell them what's going on."
As the Cougars wind down spring practices before the opening of the transfer portal next month and summer workouts to follow, it's easy to look ahead to Year 2 in the Big 12, as well.
That includes improving on a season that started 4-1 before finishing 5-7 following a season-ending five-game losing skid that made several players "sick" ahead of one of the longest offseasons of the past 15 years. Plenty of the romp falls on the defense, which gave up an average of 37.6 points per game down the stretch.
To get better, Hill has brought in some reinforcements to battle an offense that, by all accounts, has been dramatically improving over the past month.
In addition to his defensive staff that includes defensive tackles coach Sione Pouha, edge coach Kelly Poppinga, linebackers coach Justin Ena and cornerbacks coach Jernaro Gilford, Hill added several veterans to the program as analysts focused on defense.
Most notably are former Utah State head coach Gary Andersen and Chad Kauha'aha'a, who coached the defensive line across the west with stops that included UCLA, Oregon State and his alma mater Utah.
"Isn't that phenomenal? If you're a D-lineman in this country, I don't think there's a better place than BYU to play. You've got Sione Pouha and Kelly Poppinga who I love and have all the trust in the world. But to get two guys like coach Kauha'aha'a and coach Andersen, who might be the best D-line coach in the country, is great. To have four guys in the room to bounce ideas off each other is phenomenal, it's a huge deal for our defensive line, and it should help in recruiting."
The duo have been working with the defensive tackles and defensive ends, senior Tyler Batty noted.
"We definitely rotate through, and they have coached us up a lot," he said. "It's awesome to have both of them with us. The more coaches you have, the more one-on-one instruction they can give. But guys like them who coached ball for a long time at a high level and are both D-line guys helps give you perspective."
The additional coaches and continuity on defense — especially with Batty returning for another year and eschewing NFL draft prospects — has been a boon for Hill's defense as he looks to install a new scheme in his first full offseason at BYU.
"We're way ahead of last year," he said. "Some injuries have hurt as far as having guys on the field that we were anticipating taking steps forward, but that's every spring. On the flip side of that, some guys have taken advantage of more reps and stepped up. There are some really good competition on the defensive front and some great competition at linebacker; some guys have really cemented themselves as being great players in the Big 12. That's kind of what spring is for."
The next challenge — or the constant challenge, even — will be retaining players in an era where the transfer portal has never been easier to test college football's version of the free-agent market. The portal's first window closed in January, but another spring window will run April 16-30, after most college football programs have wrapped up spring practices.
Combatting that movement is a battle of "building the right culture" to keep players in the program, Hill said.
"This team feels a little closer than last year's team," the second-year BYU defensive coordinator added. "We'll see how that looks going into fall camp, with the transfer portal opening. But it's something we're always going to be fighting to get better in unity and culture in the team."
