PROVO -- With the season opener against Boston College just 12 days away, fans had their last chance to catch a glimpse of the BYU football team Monday as the Cougars held their last open practice of Fall Camp. With a crowd of 516 on hand Monday morning, the average attendance was 688 for the four open practices.
"It's another work day," BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "It's a Monday, the second week of two-a-days and that's how they practiced, meaning we have a lot of work to do."
The team again ended the morning session with a scrimmage, starting from the 20 to work on Blue Zone execution. The offense finished 2-for-2, as quarterbacks John Beck and Matt Berry each led touchdown drives. Beck picked apart the defense on his turn, finishing a perfect 3-of-3 for 17 yards, including a four-yard touchdown pass to freshman receiver Michael Reed.
Berry got things done in a quicker fashion, completing a 26-yard pass to junior receiver Joe Griffin for the score. Berry was sacked by senior linebacker Paul Walkenhorst for a six-yard loss on the play before.
The defense stepped up on the next two possessions, forcing the offense off the field in three downs each time.
Beck got the offense beck on track in a hurry after the three-and-out possessions. On first down, Beck hit senior All-America candidate Todd Watkins in stride, scoring from 55-yards out.
Jason Beck and Berry engineered the next drive, combining to pass 3-of-3 for 39 yards to put the offense in field goal range. Sophomore Jared McLaughlin's kick hit the left upright, bouncing out. John Beck took over on the next drive and had the offense moving, completing consecutive passes before junior linebacker Dan Bates recovered a fumbled snap on the next play.
On the next drive, the offense needed just three plays to strike again. On the third play, Berry hit freshman receiver Luke Ashworth on a short pass, which he turned into a 39-yard touchdown, beating the defense down the sideline. The final two drives ended with a Beck pass being deflecting off a receiver and into the hands of freshman defensive back Stephen Covey for an interception and a failed third-down conversion.
Beck finished the day completing 10-of-13 pass attempts for 114 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Berry was 8-of-11 for 120 yards and two touchdowns.
Of Note:
Before the scrimmage, Watkins took some reps kicking field goals with the special teams. While he did not kick in 2004, Watkins kicked field goals and extra points while at Grossmont Junior College in 2003. He was 50-of-51 on extra points and 12-of-15 on field goals, including a long of 52 yards, leading all kickers in the Foothill Conference in scoring.
"You never now," Mendenhall said. "When someone can kick it like Todd can, you just try to assess his range. If Jared (McLaughlin were to go down), we need to know who's the next best. And if we can have a player on the travel roster that can do that for us (back up the kicker) it opens up more depth at another position."
Mendenhall also announced Wednesday's practice will be closed to the general public. The team is scheduled to scrimmage at Edwards Stadium on Wednesday.