Camp Cougar, Day 16

With the season opener at Connecticut only ten days away, BYU is making the transition from training camp to game prep.

Head coach Bronco Mendenhall said Monday represented the final day of two-a-days, while Wednesday will feature a final camp scrimmage, "for younger players that are working their way to get on the travel team to possibly establish some depth or a special-teams role."

"Then, we'll move on to UConn."

Tuesday's single practice session was a helmets-and-shoulder-pads affair, held at the indoor practice facility due to morning rain showers.

The practice was the first opportunity for media observers to see linebacker Bronson Kaufusi and offensive lineman Tuni Kanuch take live reps. Both players had missed the first two weeks of camp while rehabilitating injuries.

Asked if Kaufusi's time as defensive end will ease his transition to outside linebacker, even without a full camp of work, Mendenhall said the experience "will ease it; it's not the same as having played that spot, and he has had (only) two live practices to this point."

"I would have preferred that he had much more (practice time), but his experience last year will help him. He'll need the rest of the time to get ready for the opener."

Outside linebacker coach Kelly Poppinga said he has "zero worry," about Kaufusi's availability this season. "That's all I'm going to say - zero."

Kaufusi injured a hamstring during pre-camp conditioning, and said on Tuesday that "at first when I got (injured), I was like 'this might last a week,' and then it went on two weeks. During the third week I thought, 'man, this thing needs to get kicked soon or else I could be in trouble.' (At) that third-week mark it just went away. I'm happy that it went away."

Kaufusi says he is confident in his ability to make up for lost ground over the next ten days.

Kaufusi ran with the ones on Tuesday, as did Kanuch, who rotated with Brayden Kearsley at first-string right guard. Addressing whether Kanuch could go from camp no-show to starter in less than two weeks, Mendenhall said "if he's healthy and if he could practice every day from (Monday) until UConn, that's possible."

The coach said inside linebacker Manoa Pikula, who joined camp late due to academic issues, is also in somewhat the same boat, relative to playing catch-up in time for the Connecticut game.

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With camp wrapping up, a first-game depth chart is just around the corner. Mendenhall said we could see a two-deep by Friday.

Competition in camp has been intense at a number of positions, with relatively few positions totally locked down. On the defensive side of the ball in particular, position battles are taking place at inside linebacker and throughout the secondary.

Presuming Alani Fua (injured) and Kaufusi recover to occupy their first-string roles in time the opener, outside linebacker appears to be in great shape, with veteran Michael Alisa and a number of young players pushing for backup snaps. Freshmen Fred Warner, Tyler Cook, Troy Hinds, and recently Sione Takitaki (moved from inside linebacker) have all showed well in camp.

"Obviously, Alani and Bronson are the guys that will be the starters going into the game," said Poppinga, "but Fred Warner, I've been very, very pleasantly surprised with his progression. Michael Alisa has been out the last couple of days but he'll be alright here in a couple of days; just having those two guys alone is more depth than we had last year at the position."

"Like I've said from the very beginning, I think there will be five or six guys getting playing time."

Inside, Zac Stout and Harvey Langi are running one-two at Mike, but both are banged up and neither player was practicing on Tuesday. At Buck, Manoa Pikula is looking to get back up to speed as he competes with Jheremmya Leuta-Douyere, Austin Heder and others for snaps.

In the defensive backfield, Mendenhall says "there are quite a few options."

He said on Tuesday that "I think Rob Daniel is our best defensive back, currently," but it is still not determined where Daniel will play--corner or safety. On Tuesday, he played safety, but for only the second practice at which media were present for observation.

Asked if he now sees Daniel as a safety, Mendenhall said "I think so...(but) the corner battle will have something to do with where he fits, and the safety battle will have something to do with where he fits."

If Craig Bill has one of the starting safety spots secured, then Daniel is ostensibly in competition with Dallin Leavitt (also the primary nickel back) and Kai Nacua for the spot opposite Bills. At corner, Mendenhall named Jordan Preator and either Trent Trammell or Michael Davis as top options, so throw Daniel in the mix with that trio, too.

"I think Rob is playing better than anybody right now," said defensive coordinator Nick Howell on Tuesday. "I think Craig is playing really, really good; hard to say those guys won't be on the field when it's time to go."

"Jordan Preator has had as good a camp as any player on our team Mike Davis has played well, Mike Shelton has played well, Trent has played well, Jordan Johnson has played well. At safety, Kai, Dallin, Skye (PoVey), Harvey Jackson, those guys have all played really, really well."

About Daniel in particular, Howell said "now he knows the whole defense and he can play a lot more free and confidently. I've seen that out of him...confidence, the way he walks around, the way he moves, the way he disguises, the way he knows where his help is he'll play really good this year."

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Up front, the first-string defensive line has remained unchanged throughout camp, with Graham Rowley, Travis Tuiloma and Remington Peck listed as the top group, from left to right. Mendenhall says there are a total of seven to nine players who would be rotated on the front three.

Offensive line remains a unit with some questions still left to answer--most of them regarding the players who will be the ninth or tenth players from that position group to make the travel list.

Ului Lapuaho and DeOndre Wesley appear to have secured the tackle spots, while Kyle Johnson has claim on left guard. Mendenhall said that true freshman Tejan Koroma would be the starter at center, if the season were to start today. At right guard, Brayden Kearsley and Kanuch rotated on Tuesday. Terrance Alletto is in the mix at center and both guard spots, while Edward Fusi--the player presumed to have the inside track at center when camp started--is now seeing also seeing reps at guard.

Here are my top ten offensive linemen, as of today:

Ului Lapuaho

Kyle Johnson

Tejan Koroma

Brayden Kearsley

DeOndre Wesley

Terrance Alletto

Brock Stringham

Tuni Kanuch

Brad Wilcox

Edward Fusi

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Arriving at the official end of camp, Mendenhall pronounced it a success, noting that "we're healthier, we're deeper, and we've had more volume in terms of team reps."

"When you put that combination together, I think that's been really good. Competition has driven the pace and production of our team, so that's probably the number-one takeaway from our camp this year: the effect of competition.

"There really hasn't been a place where we haven't had it, which has really increased the production at every spot."

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Tuesday's practice featured a highlight touchdown connection from Taysom Hill to Mitch Mathews. Hill sent a ball deep down the left side of the field, which Mathews tracked down in stride.

Mathews did not make a clean catch, however, and bobbled the ball while making a 360 before securing the pass. He then zig-zagged across the field from left to right, dodging defenders before finding the end zone.

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The last segment of practice featured about a dozen combined field goal tries from Moose Bingham and Trevor Samson, with an emphasis on special-teams unit substitutions and timing.

Both kickers performed well on kicks in the 30-yard and 40-yard ranges, but when the range was pushed to 51 yards, Samson was the only kicker to put the ball through the uprights--which he did twice.

Mendenhall said coming into Tuesday, Samson was leading the camp field-goal competition by two percentage points. He said that Andrew Mikkelsen is the team's primary kickoff option, but has missed recent practices due to a sore back.

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