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PROVO — BYU running back Algie Brown struggled for three weeks before the Cougars' 30-13 win over UConn last Friday.
It wasn't that he was unimpressed with his rushing style, his numbers or had a bad run-in with a teammate. It was quite the opposite.
Brown wanted to go, but a knee injury kept him out until BYU's second home game of the year, against the Huskies.
He made up for lost time, though.
Brown ran for a team-high 95 yards on 18 carries, averaging 5.3 yards per carry, in his first game in three weeks for BYU (3-2). Now he's had even more fun over the past three days of practice while being with his guys, his "brothers," as the Cougars prepare for a Homecoming date with East Carolina Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
In fact, it wasn't the gameday return that affected Brown the most, it was the weekend.
"Saturday and Sunday I felt pretty sore, but this week, I've felt pretty good," Brown said. "The biggest thing is just getting back into it mentally after sitting out. But I feel like I've been doing a pretty good job of knowing my assignment."
Brown saw limited touches after he started cramping up in the fourth quarter. But that's not such a bad thing, he said. Offensive coordinator Robert Anae brought in freshman Francis Bernard to carry the ball, and the youngster made good use of his touches with 69 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.
"I would say he's a lot better than I am," Brown said of Bernard. "He's a confident man. It's really good to have him in the film room. He's a good guy and funny when you're hanging around him. But he's a hard-worker. He works just as hard as anyone else on the field."
Anae admitted running a pair of freshmen running backs in Bernard and Box Elder alum Riley Burt isn't ideal in an offense that also starts freshman quarterback Tanner Mangum. But the Cougars' "running back by committee" is where they are, and the young players have taken to their assignments as well as can be expected.
"I think as the game progressed, that chemistry and mesh point developed," Anae said. "So dang, we're starting out at the learning curve, but we have a running back by committee, and there's no way around it."
The running game and the play of BYU in the trenches with an offensive line that includes a shorter rotation and newly returning guard Kyle Johnson will be key against the Pirates.
On the offensive side of the ball, that puts more pressure on Brown and the BYU rushers.
"They look pretty athletic," he said. "They are probably one of the more athletic D-lines that we'll see with a really athletic outside linebacker. I think we are preparing really well."
Either way, Brown is just happy to be back with his team.
"It was fun and exciting to be back out working with the guys," he said. "It was kind of hard watching the guys for three weeks, working really hard and you are just kind of there. I'm just grateful to be back out."
Listen to interviews from Brown, Anae and Mangum in the "Cougar Cuts" section below.
