PROVO — As spring football began this week at BYU, all eyes were focused on Robert Anae’s brand new offense. It appears the returning offensive coordinator is living up to his “go fast, go hard” mantra. With the goal of running a play every 20 seconds, the tempo is definitely quick as players are living up to the old phrase “running around like chickens with their heads cut off.”

Meanwhile, BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall has asked Anae and his staff to view the players with “fresh lenses,” meaning every job is open. Obviously the magnifying glass is on the quarterback position, but while coaches continue to say the position is up for grabs, clearly it’s Taysom Hill’s job to lose. Even coming off a serious knee injury and not allowed any contact, he’s been getting first team reps, and Mendenhall has gone as far as to say he may schedule more practices without pads just so Hill can see more action.

Cougar Tracks:

BYU Spring Football, Day 2

BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall called Wednesday's practice, "just as spirited, (with) probably more work done in this one than even the first one. They're responding really well; I like their attitude, I like their work ethic and they're getting a ton done."

So while most fans will focus on the quarterbacks, the biggest starting battle appears to be at running back. After his sophomore year, in which Michael Alisa was the second leading rusher on the team with 455 yards and three touchdowns, he entered his junior season with big expectations. In fact, the BYU running backs coach at the time, Joe DuPaix, came on our radio show before the season, Gunther and Graham on 1320-AM KFAN, and said he expected Alisa to carry the ball 25 to 30 times per game. Unfortunately for Alisa, the offense floundered early as he racked up just 222 yards on 58 carries and one touchdown. Then to make matters worse, he broke his arm and his season was over.

That’s when an 18-year-old freshman stepped in to fill the void — and did he ever. When the season was all said and done, Jamaal Williams set the BYU freshman rushing record with 775 yards and 12 touchdowns. In addition, he was effective catching the ball out of the backfield with 27 receptions for 315 yards and a touchdown.

Now we fast-forward to this spring. Alisa is healthy again, and Williams is eager to retain the starting spot. Obviously both are excited to compete with one another.

“Last year was tough, and to lose that spot to an injury, I’m not going to lie, that was probably the hardest moment of my life,” Alisa said recently on 1320 KFAN. “This year going in, we’ve got a great group of guys. Me and Jamaal (Williams) are tight. As a senior captain, I’m happy with everyone’s success. And yes there is a competition and yes we’re all trying to see who’s going to be able to be out there and contribute. And a lot of things go into that — who’s in the best condition, who makes the plays, who knows their assignments, but on top of that we help each other out. And with the competition, competition breeds success, it breeds growth, so as we all push each other like that, we’re all getting better.”

“Coming in at a clean slate makes everybody want to work even harder to keep it,” Williams said Monday. “Since I know that even though it is a clean slate, I’m just going hard all the time doing my best to see if I can get the starting spot again. It’s going to be a great spring camp, and I can’t wait for it to keep going and see who gets to start.”

BYU Football:

Stop fooling around and name Hill the starter

BYU can't afford to come out of spring football practice without a definitive starter at quarterback. For this reason, the coaches need to stop dividing the reps among several quarterbacks and immediately name Taysom Hill as the starter.

Whoever gets the starting nod at least knows they will consistently get the ball with Anae calling the plays. BYU produced a 1,000-yard rusher in five of the six years Anae was BYU’s OC. In addition, two different runners became the school’s all-time leading rusher — first Curtis Brown, only to be passed a few years later by Harvey Unga. And as dynamic as this new offense is projected to be, both can become valuable weapons.

“My sophomore year, I don’t want to bring this up, but I was breaking the long runs on a daily basis,” said Alisa. “He’s a good receiver out of the backfield so we have different skill sets. He’s more of a dancer, I’m more of a slicer. I think with both of our things combined, teams won’t be able to prepare for both of us so we’ll complement each other well.”

Until then, the two will continue the fight to be the workhorse, and it’s definitely one worth watching.

Kevin Graham co-hosts Gunther and Graham at 3-7 p.m. on 1320 KFAN. He is also the founder and editor of www.SportsMashup.com. You can follow him on Twitter @KevinGrahamKFAN and like him on Facebook (SportsMashup).

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