PROVO -- In front of nearly 500 spectators, made up of 250 former BYU football players and their families, the Cougars participated in a 70-play scrimmage on Friday at Edwards Stadium. Head Coach Bronco Mendenhall said the scrimmage revealed some things he had not seen through the first three weeks of spring practice.
"Overall, I thought we were inconsistent," he said. "We didn't play hard enough. Our assignments weren't sound. We were sloppy and undisciplined. At this point, with three weeks of spring practices, I have a completely different vision for where we're going to end up then where we are now."
While the offense completed 27-of-45 attempts for 317 yards and one touchdown, Cougar receivers dropped several passes, and penalties emerged as a problem for the defense.
"It was interesting, the drops showed up today, and the offsides penalties showed up today," Mendenhall said. "I hadn't considered either one a problem until today. When you step back and watch them play, you learn a lot more."
The defense totaled eight sacks on the afternoon, forced quarterback pressure, and Quinn Gooch was credited with a 36-yard interception return for a touchdown. The defense allowed just 32 yards rushing.
Offensively, senior quarterback Matt Berry led the offense with 124 yards passing on 9-of-17 attempts, including a 10-yard touchdown pass to Riley Weber. John Beck completed 10-of-16 attempts for 97 yards, while Jason Beck totaled 96 yards on 8-of-12 attempts.
"The only thing that stood out today was that I want to be better," Mendehall added. "That would be the overall feeling I have after today's scrimmage. I would like a different sense of urgency. I would like a different passion. I would like a different execution. I would like to be better than we are right now."
Tight end Jonny Harline led all receivers with five receptions for 37 yards, while Michael Reed racked up a team-high 57 yards on three receptions.
"We've progressed substantially in installing the offense from not knowing the plays to being able to pick up almost every blitz that comes at them and throwing the ball on time to the right person. We're beginning to establish who can make the play and who is struggling to make plays."
The Cougars have three practices remaining during Spring Camp, including the Blue-White game on Saturday, April 9.
SCRIMMAGE STATS
PASSING Att Comp Yds Int Sck TD
Berry 17 9 124 0 1 1
Jo. Beck 16 10 97 0 5 0
Ja. Beck 12 8 96 1 2 0
TOTAL 45 27 317 1 8 1
RUSHING Att Yds Lng TD
Tahi 6 11 5 0
McInelly 1 1 1 0
Hansen 3 -2 5 0
Semanoff 1 5 5 1
Watterson 1 -4 - 0
Latu 2 16 17 0
RECEIVING Rec Yds TD Lng
Harline 5 37 0 15
Meikle 4 31 0 14
Griffin 3 41 0 26
Weber 3 27 1 12
Tahi 2 19 0 11
Cooper 3 54 0 40
Watterson 1 2 0 2
Reed 3 57 0 25
Latu 1 4 0 4
Smith 1 38 0 38
McInelly 1 7 0 7