PROVO -- Both the offense and defense had shining moments as the Cougars resumed practice inside the Indoor Practice Facility on Wednesday. With only one more practice session remaining on Friday, BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall has seen continued improvement in his team, including the younger players.
“During the spring we as a coaching staff just wanted to give the younger players the very best chance to excel,” he said. “We want to be able to give them a decent evaluation.”
During 7-on-7 drills the offense shined, with senior quarterback Max Hall completing touchdown passes to sophomore O'Neill Chambers and McKay Jacobson. Wednesday marked the first time Jacobson has competed in contact drills this spring.
“I think McKay’s more worried than anyone, that he hasn’t been healthy,” said Mendenhall. “As a coaching staff we have no doubt he’ll be able to contribute this fall.”
As the offense and defense came together for team work, it was the defense’s turn to make plays. After a 25-yard pass from Hall to junior Harvey Unga, the first-team defense successfully withheld a second first-down to end the drive.
After a quick third-and-out by the second-team offense, the third series started with nine- and 10-yard passes to Luke Ashworth and Andrew George, respectively. Just as the offense started rolling, J.J. Di Luigi was stuffed at the line for a rush for no gain and defensive lineman Bernard Afutiti recorded a sack.
Freshman running back Tucker Lamb ran for 33-yards, his longest run of spring practice, to start a new series. After a pass interference call set the second-team offense up on the 31-yard line, newly converted defensive back Landon Jaussi intercepted a tipped pass, bringing about the final series of the day.
Determined to find the endzone, Hall connected with senior tight end Dennis Pitta for back-to-back receptions for a combined 25-yard gain. Chamber was the next target, hauling in a 19-yard pass. The offense hit a rough patch at that point, as it was called for a false start penalty and Afutiti recorded his second sack of the day. Hall got his team back on track with 10-plus yard completions to Ashworth and Unga. On second-down, Hall started running before pitching the ball back to Di Luigi on his left side. Di Luigi was brought down at the 15-yard line. A pass attempt to Chambers in the endzone fell incomplete before Hall found Ashworth up the middle for the lone score of the day. Mitch Payne’s extra-point attempt was good.
On the day Hall was 12-of-17 for 97 yards and one touchdown, while Ashworth led all receivers with 36 yards and a touchdown.
The Cougars close out spring ball with their final practice session on Friday. Practice is closed to the public.