Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
After generally staying away from BYU camp, the injury big bit and bit hard on Monday, with the news that starting cornerback Jordan Johnson tore an ACL during practice on Monday morning; the school says a subsequent examination determined that season-ending surgery will be required.
*******
Johnson's injury occurred during a kickoff return sequence, before the media's practice-observation period; head coach Bronco Mendenhall did not mention the injury and was not asked about Johnson in particular in interviews afterward.
The coach was asked about the competition at the boundary corner spot open opposite Johnson, and said junior college transfer Robertson Daniel had an edge on freshman Dallin Leavitt at that spot. He said Daniel could also play at Johnson's field corner position, in which case Leavitt would be "the next guy in" at boundary.
"Those two (Daniel and Leavitt) have really done a nice job," Mendenhall said on Monday. "Rob has a little better top-end speed, is the only difference."
*******
Since the start of spring ball, BYU has now lost:
CB Trent Trammell: junior college transfer tore an ACL on the first day of spring practices.
CB Jacob Hannemann: signed with the Chicago Cubs.
CB Sam Lee: junior college transfer currently out with a back injury; projected "early-season" return.
CB Mike Hague: IT (knee) band injury; not yet "live" in camp. Mendenhall says he is "ahead of schedule", and could be ready for season-opener
CB Jordan Johnson: 12-game starter last season, out for the 2013 campaign.
Safety/corner Skye PoVey is recovering from a foot injury, but has not shown any ill effects in camp; Mendenhall is hopeful of his availability.
As for additional corners with some snaps under his belts, senior Adam Hogan provides some depth; redshirt sophomore Trevor Bateman is recovering from surgery after playing defensive back on the scout team last season.
*******
Before the Johnson injury, one week ago today, secondary coach and first-year defensive coordinator Nick Howell spoke of the thinning numbers at corner, and said:
"Yeah, who would have thought. I felt as good as I ever felt about depth at corner here at BYU. Jacob's deal...shoot, I wanted him to go (to the Cubs), then the JC kids come in and get hurt, then Mike tweaks (his knee) a little bit, so you're looking, and you're wondering about depth, obviously.
"But you can't sit there and wonder; you can't recruit anymore. We brought in Rob(ertson Daniel), and I'm glad we brought in three JC corners, and then I've got some experienced guys. Skye will be just fine, I think we're going to get Mike back fast, and I think we're going to get (JC transfer) Sam (Lee) back fast, so it looks bad right now, maybe, but it's not--and we'll be okay. And shoot, Dallin has done a nice job."
Saying that Leavitt is "still learning," Howell added that "he'll come up with a play on the ball in a critical moment, so I'm not afraid (to play Leavitt)--heck no, I'm not afraid."
"I think our mindset is 'I want to recruit guys who can come in and play right away, and I want to play the best player,' so I don't really care what grade they're in... it might be a rotation of guys, but I'm going to play the best guy.
"We want to win. Our kids want to win. My job is to put the best players on the field that are going to help us win."
--
Today, the number of players available to Howell shrunk by one, and an important one at that. How BYU responds will determine in large part whether the Mendenhall-coached defenses of recent seasons continue in their dominance.
*******
Photo: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
*******
