PROVO — BYU's typical Monday practice session felt more like a Tuesday with back-to-back Friday night games.

But one major question still remained when head coach Kalani Sitake a few players met with the media.

After being forced to go with its third-string quarterback in a 40-24 loss to Utah State, who will line up under center Friday night against Boise State?

Stick around; it could get complicated.

Sitake said all five quarterbacks are essentially on the table for Friday night's Homecoming game against the Broncos (2-2). The second-year head coach, who does not discuss injuries unless they are season-ending in nature, said that Tanner Mangum and Beau Hoge could "possibly" return as soon as Friday.

"That’s still out there; it’s just a matter of how much practice time each gets in, and what’s the risk with the injuries they have," Sitake said.

Koy Detmer Jr., who finished the loss at Utah State, also remains a possibility — though the chances are slimmer after the nephew of Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer completed just 7-of-20 passes for 91 yards and three interceptions after Hoge was removed from the game with a potential head injury in the second quarter.

Detmer's inability to throw the ball deep may have hurt the Cougars' comeback attempt after he entered the game with a 21-14 edge, though Sitake admits the redshirt sophomore was ill-prepared after being thrust into action with limited reps in fall camp and the first month of the season. That forced BYU to rely heavily on the run game, with 46 rushes to just 29 pass attempts.

"When you have a quarterback who struggles to throw the ball, it makes things a lot easier to plan against," Sitake said. “I hate to come down hard on Koy because we threw him out in a bad spot. It didn’t work out very well, and there was an inability to find routes and function much in the passing game.

"It was a tough position to be in, but we still expect our guys to be better than what he did Friday night.”

Sitake even mentioned flirting with the idea of removing redshirt possibilities from recently returned missionaries Joe Critchlow and Kody Wilstead. The duo returned just before fall camp and received limited reps after serving two-year missions for the LDS Church in Montreal, Quebec, and Neuquen, Argentina, respectively.

Of course, neither of those options are first-choice for Sitake, who knows plenty about returning from a mission to immediate play.

"You hate to take them out of their redshirt year; last year, these guys were serving missions," he said. "But the last recently returned missionary who was thrown in there was Tanner Mangum, and it worked out pretty well. We’ve still got to factor all that in, and even with the thought that Tanner or Beau could return soon.

“The last thing I want to do is have it open and not be good at what we can accomplish, or sink reps into the guy who is taking the first snap of the game on Friday.”

BYU's quarterback quandary also came as they were starting to figure out Ty Detmer's offense. The Cougars put up a season-high 24 points against the Aggies, outgained them 396 yards to 288, and ran for 210 yards.

“The good thing is that we were moving the ball," said Ula Toluta'u, who had a career-high 102 yards rushing but also fumbled twice. "We were able to establish a run game, and we felt comfortable with it. But we’ve got to take care of the football."

More injury news

Defensive back Riley Burt made the move back to running back as the Cougars try to shore up the run game, and Sitake said Kavika Fonua is also hampered by injuries.

“We need to be able to keep teams on their heels, being able to throw the ball as well as run the ball," Sitake said. "That’s something we were missing last week.”

In addition to the offensive injuries, Butch Pau'u was listed as a co-starter with Johnny Tapusoa at mike linebacker on BYU's official depth chart.

"Butch got banged up on his hand, but it’s something you can tape up and he’ll be thrown more out there," BYU defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki said during his weekly radio show.

Mo'unga out for the season

Tuiaki also said during his weekly radio show that junior defensive lineman Tevita Mo'unga will likely miss the rest of the regular season with an injury. Mo'unga is not listed on the team's official depth chart.

"He's probably not going to be back for the rest of the year," Tuiaki said. "But we're looking to get him back next year as a junior again, with a redshirt."

The Cougars played six defensive tackles (Handsome Tanielu, Merrill Taliauli, Khyiris Tonga, Kesni Tausinga, Solomone Wolfgramm and Lorenzo Fauatea) against Utah State.

“Our guys are battling," Sitake said. "They are excited for the next opportunity. They’re still united, they’re still together, and I didn’t see the guys hanging their heads. They have another chance to play, and it’s good to be home.”

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