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PROVO — BYU’s second scrimmage of spring football was a mixed bag, to say the least.
There was the long touchdown run by Squally Canada, a definite positive for the Cougars’ most experienced returning running back. The three quarterbacks of Beau Hoge, Joe Critchlow and Zach Wilson fared well when coaches allowed full contact against the green jersey-clad signal callers, as well.
But there were also five false starts, three turnovers and a muffed handoff exchange near the goal line that cost the offense a touchdown.
So how did the Cougars fare overall? First-year offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes quipped "not very good" at the overall quality.
"I was pleased with our energy, with the way the guys competed. They played it like a game. That’s a positive," Grimes said. "But there were way too many mistakes; really it’s far more than we’ve had in any practice to this point."
Head coach Kalani Sitake was a bit more diplomatic from his viewpoint — and still pointed to the high volume of errors committed inside the school’s indoor practice facility.
"I was really pleased with what I saw on both sides of the ball," Sitake said. "But there are a lot of mistakes we need to fix. We had a chance to simulate the game, and on both sides it’s pretty clean other than the mistakes you expect at this point in the season."
Of particular displeasure to Grimes were the Cougars’ five false starts along the offensive line. The former Louisiana State offensive line coach has spent time during spring coaching alongside current BYU O-line coach Ryan Pugh, working individually with the tackles and tight ends in blocking schemes.
"There’s no excuse for that. We haven’t had nearly that many at any practice to this point," Grimes said of the false starts. "But guys just had a little additional anxiety.
"We’ve got plenty of talent here. It’s just a matter of playing with energy and poise at the same time."
The Cougars are rebuilding the offensive line in Grimes’ first season, including replacing four-year starter Tejan Koroma at center. Former American Fork standout James Empey is the lead candidate to fill in at center.
“Tejan was awesome; he was great to learn from last year,” Empey said of the former freshman All-American and team captain. “We’re all just working really hard to replace everybody that left, and get the five best guys on the field.”
While the Cougar wide receiving corps is expecting plenty of new faces come fall, the bulk of its run game returns from the 2017 season. With Canada, Kavika Fonua and redshirt freshman Zach Katoa (who also goes by "Lopini" since the American Fork product returned from a two-year LDS mission) received the bulk of the reps at tailback during Friday’s scrimmage.
"They're running hard, and it’s our job to get them a few yards and keep them up," Empey said of the running backs. "I'm stoked about those guys. They’re killing it."
BYU will resume spring practices Monday, with the annual spring game scheduled for Saturday, April 7, at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
