PROVO — Early in the season, BYU’s defense struggled with tackling.
The most obvious example was at UCLA, where Bruin running back Paul Perkins rushed for 219 yards, breaking numerous tackles along the way.
When the Cougars visit San Jose State Friday night, they will face running back Tyler Ervin, who is No. 3 in the nation in rushing behind Louisiana State’s Leonard Fournette and Wyoming’s Brian Hill.
“He’s really explosive. Can change the game in one play,” BYU outside linebackers coach Kelly Poppinga said of Ervin. “We’ve got to have great gap integrity.