PROVO — Nate Carter's willingness to do everything has stood out to the coaching staff of BYU's football program.

The 5-foot-9, 185-pound senior walk-on from St. George has done just about everything during his tenure as a Cougar, including carrying meals with precise amounts of chicken and broccoli to practice and putting in extra hours in the film room despite not having a scholarship commitment from the university.

Through the first two days of BYU fall camp, his commitment is getting rewarded with an extra number of reps and the opportunity at a starting spot before the 2015 season.

"I don't believe in 110 percent, but I'm not sure what else we could get out of Nate in every area of the program," BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "Those are the players it is fun to see stay around the program, and I'm really happy for him and this opportunity."

Carter ran through practice Monday with the first-string offensive unit, lining up alongside running back Algernon Brown and quarterback Taysom Hill in the backfield — and offensive coordinator Robert Anae sees it staying that way.

"Over the summer, Algie did a tremendous job. So did Nate Carter. Right now those are our two starting backs and we'll rotate from there," Anae said. "We run so many backs, they've got to do it all. We're hoping Adam Hine gets on board soon."

Carter's time has been long coming. The Dixie High graduate had exactly one carry in his first three seasons at BYU, with two of them on the scout team. But the redshirt senior who also played one season at California's College of the Desert found his footing in 2013, when he notched a career-high 12.4 yards per carry against Nevada and played in eight games before stepping up following Jamaal Williams' knee injury.

Those eight games as a junior proved vital for Carter, and he and Brown will likely be the focal point of a rushing attack in the absence of Williams, who withdrew from school last week for personal reasons.

"He is consistent," Anae said of Carter, whom the top assistant compared to former BYU tailback Brian Kariya. "He was at everything, and he did everything at a high level. His buy-in is tremendous.

"Jamaal is missed, but he's doing something that he needs to do right now. From the team's perspective, everyone needs to put in just a little bit more in their area to make up for that."

Carter remains a walk-on, but Mendenhall added one word every walk-on football player hopes to hear when he enrolls at BYU — yet.

"I'm sure he's been hoping for a number of years," the head coach said. "Details to come."

His teammates are happy to have Carter, who enrolled at BYU following a mission for the LDS Church in Taiwan and passed on recruiting interest from Boise State, Utah, Colorado, Utah State and Southern Utah.

"Nate is like a little bowling ball. He bounces from side to side," offensive lineman Ryker Mathews said. "You don't always know where he's going to be, but he'll work you. It's nice having them back there; we miss Jamaal, but I feel like we have a pretty solid backfield."

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Brown is the same way — and BYU is trying to pick up the pace at running back, despite being without its 1,000-yard star.

"You know where they are, especially Algie; you feel where he's at," Mathews said. "He's a horse back there. He will run you over or juke you, no matter what he has to do."

LOCALS IMPRESS — Mendenhall was impressed by a number of freshman after two days of fall camp, but none moreso than the local recruits who just enrolled in Provo.

Box Elder grad Riley Burt, Northridge alum Dayan Lake, Stansbury's Zayne Anderson and Mountain Crest's Moroni Laulu-Pututau were among the notable standouts who have impressed the coach since the weekend.

"I'm sure I'm missing somebody, but they were impressive," Mendenhall said. "Right away, it's fun to have kids who have come to our camps so many times, and I really like them."

PASSING GAME FLOURISHES — Another highlight from Monday was the passing game, particularly in wide receivers Nick Kurtz, Kurt Henderson and Devon Blackmon.

Kurtz started practice with a long touchdown grab to end the first scrimmage session, and the rest of the receivers tried to one-up him the whole time.

"He's shown up and his body is strong," Anae said of Kurtz. "He's in shape, and he's got a warrior mindset. It's great to be around. It really is."

Henderson added a 50-yard touchdown grab from Taysom Hill during the second scrimmage set, and Blackmon flashed his speed to get into the end zone from near the practice field's mid-field line. to end the session.

"I'm encouraged by where we are after day two," Mendenhall said. "We've got a long way to go."

BYU returns to practice Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. with an approximately two-hour session that will be open to the public.

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