Estimated read time: 8-9 minutes
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On a cool, windy day in Provo, the BYU Cougars braved the elements in their final full practice of the spring season. Saturday, the Cougars will congregate at LaVell Edwards Stadium for the Blue/White game, the format for which head coach Bronco Mendenhall unveiled after practice.
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You can hear all of Coach Mendenhall's post-practice comments, as well as interviews with RB coach Joe DuPaix, RB Drew Phillips and LB Kyle Van Noy by clicking on the audio links in the "Cougar Cuts" box to the right.
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Mendenhall said the spring game format will feature four 12-minute quarters with a running clock, except for the final two minutes of the second and fourth quarters.
The #1 offense and the #2 defense will be on the same team, while the #2 offense and the #1 defense will be on the other squad, with "ones" going against the "ones" and "twos" against the "twos."
Head coaches for Saturday's game will be Lance Reynolds and Paul Tidwell; Mendenhall anticipates that 65-70 plays will be run.
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The offense failed to put the ball in the end zone during today's 11-on-11 team session, settling for two field goals on four series.
Jake Heaps' first series resulted in a third-down stoppage/would-be punt. Heaps second series resulted in a 31-yard field goal from Justin Sorensen.
Riley Nelson's lone series resulted in a failed 4th-and-1. James Lark got a blue zone series, resulting in a 22-yard field goal by Sorensen.
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Today's stats (11-on-11 sessions; play-action plus practice-ending "team" session)
Passing
Heaps: 6/10, 85 yds, sacked once
Nelson: 2/5, 87 yds
Lark: 2/5, 11 yds
Jason Munns: 0/0, 0 yds, sacked once
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Rushing
Bryan Kariya: 3 rushes, 8 yds
Drew Phillips: 7 rushes, 13 yds, fumble
Ryan Folsom: 4 rushes, 6 yds
Garrett Juergens: 1 rush, 3 yds
Munns: 1 rush, -6 yds (sack)
Heaps: 1 rush, -7 yds (sack)
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Receiving
Ross Apo: 2 rec, 51 yds
Dalin Tollestrup: 2 rec, 13 yds
Austin Holt: 1 rec, 8 yds
Bryan Sampson: 1 rec, 2 yds
Rhen Brown: 1 rec, 14 yds
McKay Jacobson: 1 rec, 6 yds
Drew Phillips: 1 rec, 10 yds
Spencer Hafoka: 1 rec, 10 yds
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Defense
Ezekiel Ansah: fumble rec, TFL
Kyle Van Noy: whistle sack
Garrett Eskelsen: whistle sack
Jray Galea'i: PBU
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Kicking
Justin Sorensen: 2 FGM (31, 22)
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The highlight play of the day was clearly Heaps/Apo connection. Apo ran deep down the left sideline, Heaps threw it up, and Apo went up and got it over CB Robbie Buckner. Mendenhall singled out Apo, along with safety Mike Hague, WR Spencer Hafoka, LB Spencer Hadley and CB Preston Hadley for excelling in spring ball.
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A number of non-injured players missed today's practice to attend an American Heritage tutoring session; RB J.J. DiLuigi, NTs Travis Tuiloma/Simote Vea, and LBs Alani Fua/Aveni Leung-Wai were among the players missing for academics.
In addition to the players out injured or sick on Tuesday, LB Kevan Bills sat out (trained hamstring suffered Tuesday), as did LB Hadley (sick) and LB Sae Tautu (sick). DE Matt Putnam missed both practices this week with a sore knee.
RB Josh Quezada (sprained ankle) remains doubtful for Saturday's spring game, but trainer Kevin Morris said he is "maybe a gameday decision."
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Mendenhall said it was "likely" that some healthy players will miss the Blue/White game, with the staff meeting tomorrow to discuss which players will be out.
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Asked if it was the most injury-free spring camp he can recall, Mendenhall said "it certainly was. The format had a lot to do with it; we were going without pads more frequently, but when we hit, the collisions were more violent."
"I think we got the best of both worlds; we have a healthy team--crossing our fingers for Saturday--and I've liked the format."
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Mendenhall was questioned about two issues not dealing with the current team: former Stanford signee QB Taysom Hill and former BYU WR O'Neill Chambers.
Of Hill, whom BYU has signed to a scholarship agreement effective next January, Mendenhall called it "a great story."
"If I remember it correctly, I believe (Hill's) mission president called and said that Taysom was considering BYU, so then we we said okay."
Recalling Hill before his LDS mission, Mendenhall called him a "great athlete, great leader, very, very productive, super smart. We really wanted him before, but we had gotten in late in the recruiting process...too little, too late."
"I think he really liked Coach (Jim) Harbaugh at Stanford, and my guess is that might have had something to do with him coming here, with Coach Harbaugh leaving (Stanford)."
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About Chambers, Mendenhall said he is a student and a walk-on to the BYU program, who won't be considered for active team status until January 2012.
"I'll make him go all the way through Spring (2012) in a non-football capacity, and then (he) would possibly rejoin us for the fall (of 2012)."
Asked if Chambers is meeting all of Mendenhall's criteria for remaining in the program, the coach said "absolutely; he hasn't missed a thing yet. He had a chance to be released anywhere he wanted to go, and he won't go. He wants to be here. It's quite a statement."
Mendenhall says Chambers will likely move to the secondary, "maybe at free safety."
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Today's depth chart notes were affected by a number of injury and non-injury absences listed above. For today, here's how it rolled out, with a few general depth notes at QB, TE and RB, where a veteran pecking order has more or less been established. Note that players not present are not listed in today's two-deep.
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DEFENSE
LE: Matt Peterson, Matt Shirley
NT: Hebron Fangupo, Garrett Eskelsen
RE: Eathyn Manumaleuna, Mike Muehlmann
SLB: Jameson Frazier/Kyle Van Noy, Seth Probert/Tanner Cox
MLB: Uona Kaveinga, Austen Jorgensen
BLB: Brandon Ogletree, Peter Welsh
WLB: Kyle Van Noy/Jameson Frazier, Ezekiel Ansah
FC: Robbie Buckner, Jordan Johnson
Kat: Daniel Sorensen, Jray Galea'i (also #1 nickel; Carter Mees #2 nickel)
FS: Travis Uale, Mike Hague
BC: Preston Hadley, DeQuann Everett/Skye Povey
Note: Frazier and Van Noy are flip-flopping at SLB/WLB and will sometimes play simply "left" or "right" when playing together.
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OFFENSIVE
LT: Ryker Mathews, Quinn Lawlor
LG: Manaaki Vaitai, Kalama Kaluhiokalani
C: Houston Reynolds, Blair Tushaus
RG: Marco Thorson, Austin Nielsen
RT: Braden Brown, Matt Jensen
TE: Austin Holt/Devin Mahina/Bryan Sampson
RB: Bryan Kariya, Drew Phillips, David Foote, Ryan Folsom
QB: Jake Heaps, Riley Nelson, James Lark, Jason Munns
X: McKay Jacobson (also Z), Spencer Hafoka, Dallin Cutler, Dalin Tollestrup, Jordan Smith
Z: Ross Apo, Jacobson (also X), JD Falsev (also H), Matt Marshall (also H)/Rhen Brown
H: JD Falslev (also Z), Matt Marshall, Cody Raymond
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Faces in the Crowd: former BYU RB Harvey Unga, KSL sideline guy Scott Johnson, former BYU safety Andrew Rich, BYU VP for Advancement Kevin Worthen.
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My KSL Radio Sports cohort and producer extraordinaire Jake Hatch was also present today. Here are his post-practice impressions:
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"Today's practice was an upbeat affair that saw the offense and defense working hard in preparation for Saturday's Blue and White Spring Game.
The defense stood firm today holding the offense to just 2 field goals by Justin Sorensen. Jake Heaps had a solid day and looked sharp hitting receivers coming out of breaks.
The play of the day was his pass to Ross Apo that Apo snagged out of the air with Robbie Buckner hanging all over him, netting the offense 43 yards. Apo continues to look good in practice and Cougar fans should be excited to see what he does come Saturday.
With JJ DiLuigi and Joshua Quezada sitting out of practice, Drew Phillips returned and got the bulk of the reps at the running back position. He looked sharp for the most part and had a nice 10 yard gain where he burst up the field off the pulling guard's block. He is excited to play Saturday afternoon as he expresses in his post-practice interview.
Brian Kariya continues his solid contributions as the hammer back. He loves to deliver blows and continues to be a quiet leader on the field.
The defense looks like they have a chip on their shoulder and are playing extremely tough as they have done all spring. The excitement on defense comes from the top down with the coaches leading the way. The defense is making strides towards playing as a team and Saturday looks like it will be a spirited affair.
Hebron "Loni" Fangupo continues to impress as does his fellow USC transfer Uona Kaveinga. Kyle Van Noy continues to make plays all over the field and returned to practice healthy after taking a week off with a knee injury. He said he will play Saturday in his post-practice interview after it looked like he might not play.
The secondary continues their position battles and there should be some good competition Saturday between the defensive backs and wide receivers. Preston Hadley continues to look great as does Robbie Buckner. The depth of the DB's is sure to foster some incredible position battles during fall camp.
Coach Mendenhall seemed excited about the Spring Game and the Spring Practices overall as he said this is the healthiest his team has come out of spring since he has been BYU's head coach. There are a lot of young players that are looking to contribute and it's fostering a great competitive spirit throughout the team. Saturday's Blue and White Game should be an exciting day for Cougar fans with a lot of new faces and talent to be displayed."
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