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KSL will be following the BYU Cougars at practice during the spring football season. Check in periodically for random notes and thoughts on the players, coaches and their performance during spring drills.
Week 2
PROVO -- Friday summed up the second week of practice for the BYU Cougars football team, and concluded the week-long coaching clinic that the university put on for 300 coaches from eight different states.
There has been a lot of improvement since the beginning of spring practice, and more room to keep on improving.
What I saw from the offense:
- The running back crew is still as solid as ever. Besides getting off to a slow start, they ended very strong. JJ Di Luigi didn't have any break away plays, but he has shown flashes of brilliance before. Josh Quezada caught a pass, and then got about 10 more yards after his first hit. Bryan Kariya got about a three-yard rush into the end zone to cap off the blue zone scrimmage. The whole offensive side flooded the end zone to keep the emotion high.
- It's hard for anybody to guard wide receiver Ross Apo, and that includes newcomer JC transfer DeQuann Everett. Apo made a few cuts before catching a 15-yard in that he took to the house.
- Along with Apo, the entire receiving core continues to turn heads for everybody in practice. There seem to be more deep throws than we've seen in the past. Receivers like sophomore Dallin Cutler make the depth a nightmare for opposing teams. Cutler caught a great deep ball from Jason Munns during one-on-one's with the defensive backs, and also a ball from Riley Nelson off of a corner route during 7-on-7's.
- The most appealing part about BYU's depth at receiver is that it pushes a lot of the receiver's that are hoping to get playing time this year to be better. "There's always going to be competition at the receiver position, because there are so many receivers on both sides, and it's always like that," said Cutler. "I look at it as a challenge or a motivation to get better, I can learn from these guys. Some of them are a lot bigger and faster, but I feel like I can compete with the best of them. It doesn't get me down, it just motivates me to be better."
What I saw from the defense:
- The defense definitely gets into the zone at the beginning of every scrimmage. Before the very last drive in the blue zone, there was a total of maybe 10 rushing yards gained by the offense. Kariya had one run that went for five yards.
- Junior defensive back Robbie Buckner continues to get a lot of praise from the coaches. He made a great play on a pass, and broke up a potential deep play from the offense.
- Bronco keeps pushing the defense to work hard. The drills are non-stop. Fans should not be concerned with anybody on the defense being winded in the fourth quarter, it seems like he's putting an emphasis specifically on that. The team is fully aware of the improvements that need to be made, and look forward to maintaining a forward progress in development. "We just need to keep getting better, keep improving. We're growing closer as a football team," said sophomore quarterback Jake Heaps. "We've got mutual respect for each other, the vibe in the locker room is really great right now."
Overall, today showed a different team already than what we've seen in years past. The energy is high, and the excitement is felt everywhere. Coach Mendenhall is doing a great job keeping his players focused and excited.
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