Estimated read time: 6-7 minutes
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Sunny, but cooler today for the second scrimmage of fall camp, and head coach Bronco Mendenhall pronounced himself pleased with most aspects of today's exercise--noting that the offense and defense each had their moments.
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You can hear Bronco's post-scrimmage summary by clicking on his audio link to the right, in which he begins by listing the things the team got accomplished today in a scrimmage that lasted 68 plays--right around the 70 Bronco had forecast for today.
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It's a little unorthodox, but let's start with the end of the scrimmage first, and that would mean the insertion of Stephen Covey in at quarterback for the final series; something Bronco said he would do when he previewed the scrimmage yesterday.
The first clue as to what kind of series it would be, came when I noticed Covey's green #10 jersey was nowhere to be seen on the sidelines--instead, I saw a blue #12 jersey on someone of Covey's build (and there hasn't been a blue #12 assigned to anyone in camp). Of course, the green jersey means "hands off" for the defense, and the fact that Covey was coming in with a blue #12 meant that the quarterback was going to be "live," as in "fair game." It also meant Covey was going to be doing some running, and he did not disappoint--sprinting out on a number of option looks for a total of 19 yards on 5 carries. He was 3 of 4 passing for 29 yards, with a goal line interceoption (Blake Morgan) to end the scrimmage.
Bronco says he can see using Covey in "situational roles" as a running quarterback this season, and today was a decent indicator of the potential for success in that area. It's also interesting, because just the other day at practice, I was asked about the possibility of using Covey in an option package, and I said that would be news to me--and today, the news was broken, in a way.
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The offense got 11 series in today, with Max Hall running four of them--resulting in two touchdowns and two punts.
The first TD came on the first drive of the scrimmage; an 80-yard march that culminated in a 5-yard scoring toss to O'Neill Chambers.
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Hall's second scoring drive ended with Wayne Latu scampering in for a score--this after Hall found TE/FB Kaneakua Friel and TE Andrew George for big gains earlier in the series.
Hall ended the scrimmage 10/14 for 130 yards and a touchdown, while George had two grabs for 27 yards. RB J.J. DiLuigi led all ground-gainers with 33 yards on 5 carries.
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You can hear Max Hall's post-scrimmage comments by clicking his audio link. He starts by talking about his comfort level with the offense...
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RB Harvey Unga was held out, as was LB David Nixon. TE Dennis Pitta got a couple of snaps, while DE Jan Jorgensen appeared to get only a handful of snaps.
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A number of players were held out due to injury today:
WR Austin Collie (stress fracture, leg)
WR Spencer Hafoka (concussion)
CB G Pittman (concussion)
DL Ian Dulan (shoulder)
OL Tom Sorenson (shoulder)
OL Terrence Brown (knee soreness)
LB Matt Ah You (stinger)
FB Kelly Bills (concussion)
CB Garrett Nicholson (hamstring)
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During the scrimmage, Buck linebacker Dan Van Sweden suffered a broken fibula and was carted off the field, while Mike linebacker Jeff Bell left with a strained biceps and safety Steven Thomas did not return after taking a helmet to the back (bruise).
Van Sweden and Bell have been running with the "threes," while Thomas has been a second-and third-stringer at free safety.
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Austin Collie was padded up again, and actually got himself into a pre-practice drill (offense only; no defenders)--lining up with the "Zs," taking a little hitch pass from Max Hall and making a few half-speed moves. He was by no means going full speed in any kind of downfield exercises, but he was out there, and catching a ball, and feeling good, and I would say on pace for getting back in time for the Northern Iowa game. Bronco also makes reference to Collie's rehab and potential for game readiness in today's post-scrimmage interview.
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In field goal warmups, Mitch Payne had the better showing--making all of his attempts, from 25, 32, 43 and 55 yards. Yes, Payne nailed a field goal from 55, while Justin Sorensen kind of whiffed of his 55-yard attempt. Think of a golfer hitting it "fat," and Sorensen did just that--the ball overspinning and coming up short and right. Earlier, he was wide right and wide left from 43 yards, but good on his shorter attempts.
On kickoffs, Sorensen put both of his efforts 3 yards deep in the end zone, while Payne's one kickoff was caught at the goal line. Clearly, a healthy Mitch Payne is a much better kicker than the hobbled guy we saw last season.
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The punt returners today were Reed White, Luke Ashworth and O'Neill Chambers. Today, for the first time (I think), Bronco entertained the possibility of Chambers getting on the field as a kick returner this season. The first pair of kickoff returners was composed of Steven Thomas and Luke Ashworth, with Chambers and White also going back.
Bronco has said Austin Collie and Michael Reed would also be high on his list of return candidates, while Bryce Mahuika has perhaps fallen off that list for the time being--held out of live work again today after his quad troubles earlier in camp. Mahuika did serve as a holder in kicking situations today.
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With David Nixon out, Jadon Wagner got the start at Sam linebacker today, playing opposite Vic So'oto at Will. So'oto had perhaps the best hit of the day--lighting up WR Tyler Kozlowski.
Michael Reed and Luke Ashworth were the #1 receivers at "X" and "Z" respectively, with Fui Vakapuna and J.J. DiLuigi lining up as the primary split/"I" backs. Both backs looked good today, with DiLuigi stringing a run out for a nice gain down the sideline, and Fui taking as much contact on one particular play as he has during all of camp--a bruising run in which he collided with maybe 10 of the 11 defenders on the field.
As mentioned above, G Pittman was out today with a concussion suffered yesterday. Gary Nagy took his spot at the #2 field corner spot.
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It was a day with very little continuity on defense, relative to "ones," "twos" and "three" playing together as units. There was lots of "mixing and matching," with first-stringers playing alongside third-stringers, and position coaches using various different combinations in an effort to decide depth chart battles.
Based on Bronco's comments, next week's practices should feature a solidified depth chart, since by the end of next week, the Northern Iowa game plan will be going in. This weekend will be used for evaulation, and settling the scattered position battles.
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BYU TE recruit Austin Holt was on hand today. He heads into the MTC on Wednesday, bound for an LDS mission to St. Louis, MO.
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The preseason AP college football poll was released earlier today, with the Cougars in at #16. You can check out both the AP and Coaches' polls at this link.
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Monday is the last day of scheduled two-a-day workouts. Single practices will be held Tuesday, Wednesday (possibly a final scrimmage) and Thursday, before the first Northern Iowa practice is held on Friday.
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