Camp Cougar, Day 8

The first week of BYU training camp featured wide receiver Nick Kurtz standing out. Saturday, at BYU's first scrimmage of camp, Kurtz was sitting out--due to a foot fracture that was diagnosed on Friday.

The injury news was a downbeat way to start the day; head coach Bronco Mendenhall said Kurtz will be out for "probably six to eight weeks, would be my guess."

"Luckily we have depth at receiver at this this point," said Mendenhall, "but that will hurt us, because he was doing a really nice job."

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Kurtz was one of a number of projected or possible starters not playing on Saturday. Healthy but being held out were WRs Mitch Mathews, Jordan Leslie and Ross Apo (no-contact red jersey), TE Devin Mahina (back after an ankle injury but being eased into contact) and OLB Alani Fua. Banged up and sitting out were RB Jamaal Williams, OLs Tuni Kanuch and Michael Yeck (broken toe), OLB Bronson Kaufusi (hamstring), ILB Zac Stout (hamstring), safties Craig Bills (hip flexor) and Dallin Leavitt (leg), and CB Rob Daniel. ILB Manoa Pikula remains out due to academics.

That's a lengthy list of players expected to contribute in 2014 who were on the sidelines today, but the roughly 70-play exercise showed Mendenhall enough for him to judge the offense as the most effective scrimmage unit.

"(We were) a little bit sharper offensively than I actually thought we would be," said Mendenhall. "The play-action pass game is strong at this point. Pass protection is stronger than what I anticipated at this point. We ran the ball off tackle than I thought we would at this point."

"Defensively, we need play-action work, but (there was) quite a bit of consistency for the number of guys playing, so I thought it was a decent start. We can still work on more physical play and more tackling.

"I think the offense won the day today, if I had to say one or the other."

Defensive coordinator Nick Howell said said that in allowing only three scores, "we held the (defensive 24-point) pillar that way, but we didn't stop the run nearly well enough; that's the biggest takeaway that I took from it."

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Although he has relinquished to Howell his defensive play-calling responsibilities, Mendenhall still keeps a close watch on that side of the ball; he said the defensive performance "didn't sound the way I hoped it would sound--that's usually how I gauge defensive intensity and effort. (There were) not enough things that made me turn my head and say 'who was that?'"

Howell identified corners Michael Davis and Jordan Preator (first-stringers on Saturday) as playing well, along with inside linebacker Austin Heder.

Harvey Langi, who started alongside Heder inside, has been singled out by Mendenhall after his first week of camp; the coach said "Harvey is going to play this season, and it will be an active role."

"He has done a nice job so far in seven or eight practices, and he is a great fit for our program. He's also a very good football player."

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BYU conducted 13 series, with quarterbacks Taysom Hill and Christian Stewart each getting six sets of downs; Hayden Griffitts closed the scrimmage by handling the final odd-number series.

Hill led two touchdown drives, while Stewart got the offense into the end zone once. Eight series ended in punts, one concluded with a missed 50-yard field goal attempt (by Andrew Mikkelsen), while the final series of the day ended with a Griffitts interception (Grant Jones).

"It's always a mixed bag," said Mendenhall of his scrimmage impressions, "but Taysom did a nice job moving the team and especially starting fast. Our team is very effective when we start fast." Under Mendenhall, BYU is 61-8 when scoring first, and Hill led the offense in for six on the first series of the day.

"Most of (Hill's) throws were on the money. There was enough scoring to say the (scrimmage) tilted in the offense's favor today. You don't want dominant, with our defense out there."

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Scoring touchdowns on Saturday were Adam Hine on the opening drive (8-yard TD run), Mitchell Juergens on the seventh drive of the day (39-yard TD pass from Hill), and Devon Blackmon on the 12th series (23-yard TD pass from Stewart).

Trey Dye had a 71-yard catch-and-run TD called back due to penalty; about Dye, Mendenhall said "from the very first practice, even until now, once you get the ball to Trey Dye, he's skilled with it."

"Whether he's returning the ball, catching in the flat, even when we hand it off to him, he has a nice skill-set with the ball in his hands. If we can get (alignment) caught up, he could be a nice player for us this season."

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Hine was among the most productive players on Saturday, adding a 20-yard burst (that included a high-jump over two defenders) and a 50-yard catch-and-run to his touchdown scamper.

"He did a nice job," said Mendenhall after the scrimmage. "You saw as the scrimmage went, a little more creativity and a little bit more confidence with each rep. The one play that stands out is going airborne and going over two guys that went down low on him. He did a nice and has done all camp; continues to need to work on catching the ball out of the backfield."

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Besides the missed field goal, special teams plays included a 3-for-3 performance on PATs (two from Trevor Samson and one from Moose Bingham.

Two punts were blocked (both by Nate Carter), while Keanu Nelson and Michael Shelton both muffed punts.

Mendenhall noted the punt drops and said "we're still looking to find a punt returner"; as for the placekicking competition, the coach said "it switches daily. We have three kickers, and (the battle) has shifted at least two times to this point. Our design is to have a clear favorite (after the next three weeks)."

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Mendenhall said the coaches are "not zeroed in, but zeroing in" on a top offensive line group. Again on Saturday, seven linemen accounted for the top five spots, with DeOndre Wesley and Kyle Johnson on the inside track at left tackle and left guard, respectively. Terrance Alletto and Edward Fusi split reps at center, Brayden Kearsley and Brock Stringham rotated at right guard, while Ului Lapuaho and Stringham platooned at right tackle.

On the defensive front, multiple players are getting top-line reps, with Mendenhall noting that "this defensive line, so far, through the first week of camp, is the deepest since I've been the coach."

"We have nine (linemen) that I wouldn't hesitate to put in the game. If we can keep them healthy, that'll be a nice advantage for us."

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Keeping in mind that many if not most projected starters did not play on Saturday, here was the depth as observed, with the receiver rotations subject to the most flexibility in positioning and preference.

QB: Taysom Hill/Christian Stewart/Hayden Griffitts

RB: Adam Hine/Nate Carter

RB: Paul Lasike/Peter Welsh

WR: Terenn Houk/Jordan Leslie or Colby Pearson or Mitchell Juergens or Trey Dye

WR: Devon Blackmon or Colby Pearson

WR: Kurt Henderson or Jake Ziolkowski/David Kessler

TE: Bryan Sampson/Matt Sumsion/Colby Jorgensen

LT: DeOndre Wesley/Brad Wilcox/Quinn Lawlor

LG: Kyle Johnson/Solomone Kafu/Parker Dawe

C: Terrance Alletto or Edward Fusi/Tejan Koroma

RG: Brayden Kearsley or Brock Stringham/Chase Larson or Quinn Lawlor/Brian Rawlinson

RT: Ului Lapuaho or Brock Stringham/Ryker Mathews/Quinn Lawlor

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LE: Graham Rowley or Marques Johnson or Travis Tuiloma/Tanner Balderee/Tomasi Laulile/Bracken El-Bakri

NT: Travis Tuiloma or Kesni Tausinga or Marques Johnson/Jaterrius Gulley/Josh Carter

RE: Remington Peck/Logan Taele or Tomasi Laulile/Theodore King or Tanner Balderee/Adam Ingersoll

OLB: Fred Warner/Troy Hinds or Tyler Cook

ILB: Austin Heder/Teu Kautai/Va'a Niumatalolo

ILB: Harvey Langi/Jheremmya Leuta-Douyere/Sione Takitaki

OLB: Michael Alisa/Jordan Egbert/Steven Richards or DJ Doman

CB: Jordan Preator/Trent Trammell/Jordan Johnson

S: Kai Nacua/Harvey Jackson/Chris Badger

S: Skye PoVey/Kavika Fonua/Grant Jones

CB: Michael Davis/Michael Shelton/Garrett Juergens

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PK: Moose Bingham or Trevor Samson or Andrew Mikkelsen

P: Scott Arellano/Chasen Brown

PR: Michael Shelton or Keanu Nelson or Devon Blackmon

KR: Adam Hine and Paul Lasike

DS: Kevin O'Mary/Chase Larson

H: Scott Arellano

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SCRIMMAGE STATS

(unofficial; passing/receiving yardages may not match precisely)

PASSING

Hill: 9-for-15, 98 yds, TD

Stewart: 12-for-17, 166 yds, TD (includes 50 yards not noted by BYU)

Griffitts: 1-for-2, 8 yds, INT

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RUSHING

Lasike: 2 att, 16 yds

Hill: 3 att, 7 yds

Hine: 11 att, 69 yds, TD

Carter: 7 att, 24 yds

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RECEIVING

Juergens: 4 rec, 40 yds, TD

Henderson: 2 rec, 11 yds

Lasike: 1 rec, 11 yds

Carter: 4 rec, 26 yds

Sampson: 2 rec, 17 yds

Hine: 1 rec, 50 yds (not noted in stats kept by BYU)

Houk: 1 rec, 6 yds

Kessler: 1 rec, 5 yds

Dye: 2 rec, 8 yds

Blackmon: 1 rec, 23 yds, TD

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TACKLES

Leuta-Douyere: 6

Alisa: 3

PoVey: 3

Warner: 3

Langi: 3

Heder: 3

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TFL

Davis: 1

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INTERCEPTIONS

Jones: 1

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PBU

Preator: 1

Trammell: 1

Heder: 1

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BYU will resume practices on Monday; there is no scheduled press availability. The next media-observation period is scheduled for Tuesday morning, with interviews afterward.

You can hear post-scrimmage interviews from Saturday in "Cougar Cuts," top left.

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