BYU Football: Squally Canada has a lot of momentum entering 2018
After experiencing one of the worst seasons in recent memory for BYU football fans, running back Squally Canada can help lead a turnaround in 2018.
BYU football relies on the ground game more so than most other teams in the nation. However, the Cougars did not get the production needed from the entire offense to be successful in 2017. The schedule does stack up even tougher in 2018 than it did in 2017, too. A running back like rising senior Squally Canada can help BYU get through a very difficult slate this year.
Kalani Sitake saw his squad round out last season much better than they started. Losses to teams like the East Carolina Pirates, UMass Minutemen, Utah State Aggies and Fresno State Bulldogs is not an acceptable result to a program with as high of expectations as the Cougars.
The offense could be much better for BYU in 2018, with a deep stable of rushers leading the way. Canada spearheads a backfield with players like Ula Tolutau and K.J. Hall.
No other Cougars rusher came even close to the production from Canada last year. He totaled 710 rushing yards and six touchdowns, leading the team in both categories. Canada also led the team in yards per carry (5.9) among the backs that saw more than 30 rushing attempts.
Another heavy dose of Canada in 2018 gives the BYU offense something to build around. The quarterback play has to be better alongside Canada. There was not a single BYU quarterback that tossed more touchdowns than interceptions, including rising senior Tanner Mangum.
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The quarterback battle will fall between Mangum, Joe Critchlow, Beau Hoge, and Kody Wilstead. Mangum is the likely Week 1 starter, to give the offense an experienced option to kick off the year. However, Sitake would be wise to give Canada the bulk of the load on offense in the early season.
When BYU started to play better down the regular season stretch, Canada’s effort was a large reason why. Of his more than 700 rushing yards, nearly 400 of them came in the final three games. His best game came in a victory against the UNLV Roadrunners, where he rushed for more than 200 yards and one touchdown.
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He also had a great performance to cap the season off with more than 100 rushing yards and two touchdowns in a road win over the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. Canada will need to carry that momentum into the beginning of the 2018 campaign for BYU to have a chance against teams like the Wisconsin Badgers, Arizona Wildcats, Washington Huskies, and Boise State Broncos.