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PROVO — BYU held its first scrimmage of training camp over the weekend, but unless you were a certain level of donor (and don't possess a media credential with the program), you wouldn't know it.
But head coach Kalani Sitake and offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick were happy to talk about it after practice Monday.
The Cougars held a 102-play scrimmage of mostly live reps, plus special teams work; and while Jake Retzlaff and Gerry Bohanon Jr. continue to separate themselves from the pack at quarterback, no starter decision was made, both Sitake and Roderick confirmed.
"With today's practice, I'm feeling really good about where we're at," Sitake said. "It's starting to form, and when we're ready to announce something we'll do that. But right now, I'm really happy with the way those two guys are competing and looking forward to see them progress. I think all of the quarterbacks have gotten better."
Sitake highlighted the improvement of both Retzlaff, the incumbent, and Bohanon, the former Baylor starter who transferred to BYU from South Florida after a year away from college football with a shoulder injury.
Both starters took the lions' share of the reps Monday, leaving less room for backup quarterbacks Treyson Bourguet, McCae Hillstead, Cole Hagen and Noah Lugo, Roderick admitted.
"My experience with these things is that usually a decision gets made on the field," Roderick said. "It gets to a point where everybody on the team knows, and then we can say who the starter is and everybody is like, 'duh.' That's what we're looking for, and we're not quite there. It's a good battle, but we'll keep going for a while. There's no rush."
Just in case there was any doubt that a starter could come somewhere other than Retzlaff or Bohanon, both Sitake and Roderick made it clear: That's the "two-man race."
"Those two have definitely improved from practice one until now," Sitake said. "I think all the guys have gotten better. But in terms of quarterbacks, it's hard to make a decision right now."
Sitake added that sophomore tailback LJ Martin and redshirt senior Folau Ropati, who are both coming off injuries in spring camp and last fall, respectively, did not participate in Saturday's scrimmage. Both have been medically cleared to return to play, but Sitake said the coaches are easing them back into full contact (and could do so as early as this weekend).
Reserve running back Enoch Nawahine is also returning to health, but Sitake does not anticipate any season-ending injuries as of the second week of training camp. Both Ropati and Martin are expected to be available by the Aug. 31 season opener against Southern Illinois, the head coach added.
"I think Miles (Davis) did some really good things, and we've seen some good things from Pokai (Haunga) and Sione Moa starting to make some plays," he said. "It's been really good for those guys."
Part of that is the coaching staff's increased emphasis on physical play in preparation for the Cougars' second year in the Big 12, Roderick said. That emphasis is already paying off, Roderick said.
"That's been the No. 1 priority since the end of last season. We need to be more physical, and we need to get back to playing the way we were playing the three years prior," Roderick said. "We were a physical team that could run the ball, and I believe that we're heading in the right direction. But it's an every-day thing, an 11-man deal. Everybody on our offense has to be physical, everybody has a role in the run game, and when we're running the football, that's what opens our play-action pass and our ability to stretch the field.
"I've seen a lot of good things, but I'm going to keep saying it: Until we did it in a real game, I'm challenging our players to stay focused on just the next play, each practice, and one at a time."
Physical, and fast, added linebacker Jack Kelly.
"The understanding of the assignments is really picking up right now," the Weber State transfer said. "Everyone's playing fast, physical, aggressive. The whole team looked good. There were positives from both offense and defense, and that was great to see."
Thus, the competition continues — blowing right past the first scrimmage and into the week and three weeks until kickoff.
"It's hard to say that even one side won," Sitake said. "It was evenly matched between the offense and defense. We had some success on offense, and some success on defense. But I think a lot of the guys did exactly what we thought they would."
