PROVO -- The Cougars headed back to LaVell Edwards Stadium on Wednesday for their final full scrimmage of Fall Camp. After the scrimmage, Coach Bronco Mendenhall sat down with legendary coach LaVell Edwards to discuss the state of the team and to receive some counsel.
"I remember in Spring Camp I looked up and I saw LaVell walking across and my feeling was, 'It's going to be okay, Coach Edwards is here,'" Mendenhall said. "Just being able to have a chance to go in the stadium and sit down, and gain his perspective is very helpful and reassuring."
Mendenhall noted that both the offense and defense showed signs of strength and weakness during the scrimmage.
"I though it was up and down for both sides," he said. "I thought in the movement portion of the scrimmage the offense was precision based and methodical, and did a nice job moving the ball. Then in some pretty critical situations at the end, the defense realized they were here to play today and performed better."
Davey O'Brien Award candidate John Beck led three scoring drives and finished the day completing 13-of-20 passes for 141 yards and one touchdown. Junior running back Curtis Brown had a strong all-around day, rushing for 36 yards and one touchdown on eight carries, throwing a 33-yard touchdown pass to Todd Watkins and catching two passes for 14 yards. Junior tight end Jonny Harline was the team's leading receiver, catching four passes for 43 yards while freshman receiver Michael Reed caught three passes for 35 yards and one touchdown.
Sophomore linebacker Bryan Kehl led the way for the defense, registering two tackles for a combined loss of 13 yards, including a sack. He was also credited with a fumble recovery. Justin Luettgerodt, Aaron Wagner, K.C. Bills, Richard Nehring and Daniel Marquardt also registered sacks while Cameron Jensen and Mark Staffieri added one tackle for loss each. Senior cornerback Ryan Beck ended the scrimmage with an interception.
Mendenhall said he liked what he saw in John Beck, but added that both he and the offense will need to step up in critical situations.
"There was a time in there when he knew where to put the ball, how fast to get rid of it before the sack could get there," Mendenhall said. "He was moving the offense and controlling the tempo. Then at the end, when the defense actually stepped up, he had some difficulty. Those are the situations that he's going to have to--and we as a team are going to have to--step up offensively to win some of the close ones, which is something that we haven't done in the past couple of years."