PROVO -- The 2007 BYU football season officially got underway as 105 players competed in their first practice session of Spring drills.
Among several items on the agenda for this Spring is position mastery and improved execution BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall said.
"We look to accomplish several things this Spring," Mendenhall said. "First, we look for retention--in terms of knowledge and execution of the scheme."
The Cougars had several new players as well as a few familiar faces from the 2004 team on display. Quarterbacks Max Hall and Cade Cooper took most of the reps with the first and second team offenses while familiar faces such as 2004 freshman All American receiver Austin Collie and tight end Dennis Pitta had their first official practices in BYU's new offense. Both Collie and Pitta played significantly during their freshmen seasons for the Cougars in a different offensive scheme under former coach Gary Crowton.
BYU's practice schedule followed a similar format as in-season protocol. The practice started with position-specific drills and ended with two separate 11-on-11 team drills.
Hall and Cooper led the BYU offense in team drills. The defense dominated the first session of the non-contact drills, preventing the offense from moving the ball consistently while keeping the offense out of the end zone. The defense was credited with two sacks--both fueled by good coverage in the secondary--and forced three fumbles, recovering one.
The offense bounced back in the second team session. Behind Hall, the offense marched down the field and scored on a five-yard Hall pass to redshirt freshman running back Harvey Unga. Hall found Collie on a pair of 15-yard receptions to set up the score.
Cooper led the offense down the field on the ensuing drive, completing passes to Daniel Tervort (10 yards) and Pitta (17 yards). The drive ended on third down on a five-yard pass to Pitta.
Mendenhall said there is no timetable to name a starter at the quarterback position.
"Right now, Max and Cade are battling one and two," he said. "We will wait until there is a clear leader to name a starter. I don't know when that will be."
Hall completed 13-of-18 passes for 130 yards and a touchdown while Cooper completed 10-of-18 passes for 75 yards.