PROVO -- The second week of spring ball kicked off on Monday afternoon as the BYU football team held a spirited practice at the outdoor practice fields.
“The day went well,” said BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall. “We got a lot of work accomplished in a short amount of time.”
The team didn’t spend much time doing 11-on-11 drills, but was productive in the limited number of series. Sophomore quarterback James Lark led all passers on the day, completing 4-of-6 passes for 46 yards. He led the offense on its lone scoring drive, going a perfect 4-for-4 to start the first series. He found McKay Jacobson for 24 yards, Mike Muehlmann for six and JJ Di Luigi and Cody Hoffman for 10 and nine yards, respectively.
After a failed attempt on third-down, sophomore Riley Stephenson took the field to attempt a 35-yard field goal, which he made.
True freshman Jake Heaps opened the next set, but a bad snap and subsequent injury to offensive lineman Famika Anae on the first play ended the drive prematurely.
The running backs had a chance to stretch their legs during the third series. Di Luigi, and Harvey Unga had multiple carries apiece, while the defense got stops from linebacker Aveni Leung-Wai and defensive lineman Romney Fuga. The drive ended when defensive back Jray Galea'i recovered a fumble by junior Bryan Kariya.
Unga ended the day with a team-high 13 yards rushing, while Di Luigi added seven.
“It’s definitely nice to have Harvey back,” said Mendenhall. “He brings stability and adds confidence and chemistry to that position group. He’s in better shape and more fit than he’s been the past two years, so that’s exciting to see.”
A 20-yard pass from Heaps to redshirt freshman JD Falslev highlighted the last series of the day. The offense was kept out of the endzone after that play, however, after two incompletions and a sack.
Practice resumes on Tuesday and is closed to the public.