PROVO -- Seven days into fall camp, BYU advanced to full-contact drills as the Cougars showed promise on both sides of the ball in a 57-play scrimmage.
"It was good to get out and establish some continuity," BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "I saw a more focused and confident team out there today."
Practice began with its normal drills in a more abbreviated form. After the special teams drills, the Cougars looked sharp in the 7-on-7 drills preceding the scrimmage.
Once the scrimmage started, the offense asserted itself early on.
"I don't believe the offense got a first down in last night's team drill," Mendenhall said. "The first drive was as clean a performance in terms of execution they have had all camp."
Behind John Beck, the Cougars mixed the run and pass well, driving down the field. Daniel Coats caught two passes and freshman Harvey Unga ran the ball well on the 10-play drive. Beck hooked up with freshman McKay Jacobson for a 24-yard touchdown pass to get the offense on track early on.
The defense held strong on the next drive, as linebacker Dan Bates shot through the line of scrimmage and nailed Ray Hudson in the backfield for a three-yard loss. The offense managed one first down before being stopped on third down.
The first team offense came back with another scoring drive on the next possession. Unga and Manase Tonga led a strong rushing attack down the field. Tonga picked up 18 yards on the first play from scrimmage, while Unga capped the 10-play drive with a three-yard touchdown run.
The defense finished the scrimmage making big plays. On the first play of the fourth possession, Jason Beck's pass was tipped in the air at the line of scrimmage and intercepted by linebacker Shawn Doman, who ran it 20 yards for a touchdown. David Nixon picked up a third-down sack to kill a drive before Doman again found himself coming up with a turnover when he fell on a fumbled hand-off exchange.
Ben Criddle also was credited with a fumble recovery later on in the practice.
Freshman Mike Hague, who recently switched to the offense, led all receivers with four catches for 47 yards.
"It was intense," Hague said of his first college scrimmage. "I loved playing receiver. I still have a lot to learn, but the transition is treating me well."
Mendenhall said he plans to scrimmage at least two more times before the Cougars Sept. 2 opener at Arizona.
"This team is focused on the long-term goals," he said. "Those goals are to play championship football."
John Beck finished the scrimmage completing 10-of-11 attempts for 129 yards and a touchdown. Incoming freshman James Lark went 5-for-7 for 45 yards. Unga led all running backs with nine carries for 27 yards and a touchdown, while Tonga had three carries for 28 yards.