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On the day the BYU Football team held its annual spring game, the Cougar hoopsters held their final Provo practice of the 2012-13 season.
Bronco Mendenhall's team separated into East and West teams (by sideline) for a 65-play exercise that featured few projected first-stringers, but showcased an up-tempo offense that was clicking off plays every 12-18 seconds--incorporating offensive coordinator Robert Anae's 'hard and fast' mantra.
Four touchdowns were scored: a Jamaal Williams run, a Tanner Mangum scamper, a Terenn Houk reception and a Paul Lasike rumble to end the scrimmage.
An estimated crowd of 12,000 filled the LaVell Edwards Stadium stands on a perfect day for football, with temperatures in the mid-to-high 60s.
The only downbeat note was a knee injury suffered by likely second-team QB Ammon Olsen, who was the number one signal-caller on Saturday. Olsen was stood up and bent backward on a scramble; Mendenhall said Olsen suffered a possible PCL tear that would likely not require surgery. The coach anticipated a recovery time of roughly six week. An MRI will be performed to solidify the diagnosis.
Among main-line players held out on Saturday were:
QB Taysom Hill, RB Michael Alisa, WR Cody Hoffman, LB Kyle Van Noy, LB Spencer Hadley, LB Uani Unga, DE Remington Peck, DE Bronson Kaufusi, NT Eathyn Manulameuna and S Daniel Sorensen. Additionally, QB Jason Munns (concussion) was not in uniform.
Mendenhall said the main purpose of Saturday's was to develop depth, and he identified OLB Alani Fua as a stand-out. He noted that neither of the two primary NT candidates who played on Saturday (Tuni Kanuch and Marques Johnson) have done enough to unseat Manumaleuna, who can play either defensive line spot but is now projected as the starting nose tackle in the fall.
The coach reiterated that he is not ready to formally name a starting QB; he acknowledged that the injury to Olsen might impact his timetable in that regard. Leading up to the spring game, Mendenhall said Hill and Olsen were running 1-2 at QB and had separated themselves "ahead of the pack" at that position.
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While the football team was going through its paces outdoors, Dave Rose's basketball squad worked out at the Marriott Center--the Cougars' last homecourt practice before leaving for New York City and Tuesday night's NIT semifinal meeting with Baylor at Madison Square Garden.
You can hear post-practice media sessions with Rose and players Tyler Haws, Matt Carlino and Nate Austin, in "Cougar Cuts," above left.
You can hear BYU and Baylor Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. MT, with pregame coverage starting at 4:00 on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM/1160 AM and BYU Radio (SiriusXM 143).
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Photos: Courtesy BYU Photo
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