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PROVO — Kalani Sitake won’t pretend everything is perfect as BYU opened the second week of fall training camp Monday on the school’s practice field.
But the Cougars aren’t behind, either, which is good news for a coaching staff that replaced all but one position coach in the offseason.
“I think we are right on where we need to be as a team, and I’m looking forward to this next week,” Sitake said. “There are some things we need to work on and polish a little more before the game. But for the most part, we are right on track.”
The Cougars practiced Monday in front of a larger-than-normal crowd from the BYU Management Society as the rest of campus scurried around at the start of the university’s annual Education Week.
But with the season opener against Arizona just 19 days away, the focus of BYU’s education now is on the football field. Players quickly bustled off the practice field, grabbed lunch and then met in team rooms to dissect film while an above-average allotment of fans bumped into them around the school’s Student-Athlete Building.
Even the new concepts and schemes — like a pro-style offense and 4-3 defense — are starting to feel familiar, defensive lineman Sae Tautu said.
“I think we are doing really well, right on track for the first game and where we want to be,” he added. “We know we are running a new package, so everybody added a learning curve to cross. Everyone is doing it, and we are right on track where we want to be.”
A few players weren’t at 100 percent across the entirety of practice. But no formal injury report was updated, or even needed to be. Moroni Laulu-Pututau saw a few limits placed on his reps at wide receiver, for example — but it was more precautionary than anything else.
“Just being safe with my legs,” Laulu-Pututau said. “I should be back soon.”
One of the top three returning receivers in BYU’s new offense under first-time coordinator Ty Detmer, Laulu-Pututau isn’t worried about where the Cougars are.
But even he admits there is plenty left to do over the next two weeks.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” he said. “But we are where we want to be at this point in camp. We are nowhere near perfect, but I think we are where we need to be at this stage in camp.”
Sitake plans to run more live sessions, similar to a scrimmage, on the practice field Tuesday. The countdown clock is moving down, and the Cougars will be lining up against the Wildcats sooner than later, after all. There are also certain personnel decisions to make, such as naming a starting quarterback and selecting a tight end from the few returners and small army of former defensive players trying out at the new position.
Sitake hopes to make a decision on fifth-year senior Taysom Hill and sophomore Tanner Mangum at quarterback sooner than later. But it’s one of relatively few position battles to be had at fall camp, so the coaches can afford to take a little time.
Reps with the starters will matter. But it’s not as if either player lacks experience.
“It’s not about who is better at starting,” Sitake said. “They both have experience. It’s just who will be the best fit for us right now.”
Sitake also hopes to name team captains within a week or 10 days of the Arizona game — after he finalizes the two-deep depth chart at each position. For those leaders, he’ll rely heavily on his experience-heavy roster, as well.
“We kind of knew what we were getting going into fall camp,” Sitake said. “There will be a few changes here and there, but for the most part, we have an idea who our best guys are.”
