BYU football continued spring football with the ninth of 15 practices on Friday, in addition to hosting a coaches clinic for more than 250 high school and intermediate school coaches.
The Cougars wrap up spring camp on Friday, April 1 with Football Alumni Day. A public scrimmage will take place Saturday, March 26 at 2 p.m. at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
Attending practice was part of the he coaches clinic Friday. The clinic also includes breakout sessions featuring nine high school coaches from seven different states and the BYU coaching staff. The following high school coaches will be speaking throughout the day at the clinic:
Shaun Aguano, Chandler High School (Arizona)
Shannon Benton, Frostproof High School (Florida)
Scott Criner, Rocky Mountain High School (Idaho)
Ray Fenton, Los Alamitos High School (California)
Brandon Matich, East High School (Utah)
Paul Nihipali, Chaparral High School (Nevada)
Jaime Ortiz, San Clemente High School (California)
David Rodriguez, Oceanside High School (California)
Vavae Tata, Kahuku High School (Hawaii)
Read below what some of the coaches and players had to say following practice.
Assistant head coach Ed Lamb
On coaches’ clinic:
“Those high school coaches, a bunch of them are high school friends for all of us. They’re guys we’ve played with, places we’ve traveled and players we’ve visited with and recruited – they have a vested interest in their young players developing from the time that they’re 13 or even younger until they come through high school, and then we take them from there. We see these guys move on and become professionals in their fields, whatever that is. It’s really cool to have these high school coaches here.
Recruiting from coaches clinic:
“In recruiting, every coach is polished. You go out on the road and every coach says the right things and acts the right way, but out there on the field when things aren’t going right for these high school coaches to see that our coaches are classy guys who care first about the players and treating them right is a huge opportunity for us to show them who we are. This is kind of a mini-convention for them. Maybe an excuse to get away from their job to come and do some football that’s supported by their school districts for professional growth. They come over here and network with each other and us too. Sometimes recruiting conversations happen, but that’s not really the priority for us at all. There is an exchange of ideas. Most of the clinic is the high school coaches speaking to the high school coaches. These guys don’t necessarily know how we run offense, defense and special teams. They want to know what’s applicable to the high school level. If they do talk with us, it’s usually about the more technical stuff – more fundamental things: blocking, tackling, ball security – things like that.”
On time here so far:
“It’s amazing. I feel like as soon as I hit my stride in recruiting, we were moving on to winter conditioning. As soon as I felt like I was getting to know some of the guys on the team by name and face, then we were in pads and I didn’t recognize any of them and I had to relearn them. We finally got the names on the back of the jerseys. I think the players are kind of on the same schedule. They’re trying to get to know not just their position coaches but the other coaches as well. I think probably just when I feel like I’ve gotten to know the whole team we’ll be taking off for spring recruiting.”
BYU offensive coordinator Ty Detmer
On quarterbacks:
“The quarterback position has been playing great. They are making good reads and starting to understand the protections and the calls. You start tying it all together and putting the pieces together and they are doing a great job with it.”
On coaching Koy Detmer (nephew):
“It’s been great. He is a football junkie so he’s around and wants to be great at it. It’s fun watching him work at it and seeing his worth ethic as well.”
On tight ends:
"They were huge. Chris Smith, Byron Rex, Darren Handley, Travis McBeth. We had some guys then that were a big part of the offense. They were able to keep those linebackers from being able to drop out underneath wide receivers. That’s been the staple here and something we want to get back to and be part of the offense, especially if you are mixing in the run game. Having that edge, defenses have to account for that extra gap out there."
On tight ends standing out:
“The whole group is a great group and is working hard. They are real conscientious and they are learning it. It’s something they haven’t done a ton of. A lot of those guys moved over from the defensive side. We are managing all of that along with some fullbacks moved over and they are learning it too. It’s a group effort right now. We are a tight end by committee right now and that’s a great thing if you’ve got some guys that can play.”
On players changing position from offense to defense:
“The conversation is always what is the best for the team. Whether we want them or not we are going to do what is best for the team, if that means more stops on third down and more pass breakups that gives the offense more opportunities. We are all on the same page on what is going to be best for the team at that time.“
Quarterback Tanner Mangum
On offensive progression in spring:
"As an offense since the first day of spring ball I feel that we have progressed a lot. It has been a lot of fun. Sometimes it's going to be a challenge learning a new offense and schemes but we are getting better week by week with the help of the coaches and that was our goal."
On focus for him during spring:
"I always have a number of things to work on but being smooth in my reads and the mental side of it and knowing the progression and situation and not being distracted by all that going on around me. I'm working on trying to stay smooth mentally and taking care of the ball and being decisive with confidence in the pocket."
On more work under center:
"It gets more and more comfortable every time. I'm getting more confident in my reads while I'm dropping back. I am always working on the center exchanges. This helps out the run game by opening up the play actions and giving us opportunity to put the ball in hands of guys who can make plays."
Running back Algernon Brown
On playing fullback:
“I’ve played a little bit this spring, not a whole lot. They still want me to get reps. There’s a lot more blocking, a lot more physicality, but I like it – being physical with the other guys. I just have to keep it in my mind that there’s someone following me.”
On midway point of camp:
“I think everyone’s picking it up really fast. It’s not too hard, not stuff we haven’t done before. It’s just different varieties of what we’ve done before, so I think guys are picking it up fast. You can kind of see the excitement level build more and more as guys know what they’re doing. They feel more confident in what they’re doing and get more excited about it.”
On Trey Dye’s transition to running back:
“I was just talking to some of the other guys after he broke a few runs and saying he’s really tough for how small he is. I think it’s really good for him to have the ball in his hands because he’ll fight for yards. He’ll do what he can to get uphill.”
On Jamaal Williams:
“It looks like he wasn’t injured at all. He’s definitely stronger than he was before. He looks faster. He looks like a freak. He looks pretty good.”
On differences in spring practice this year:
“This spring practice they want to keep us as healthy as possible. They’re not going to try and run us if they don’t have to. They’re trying to take care of us a lot. They don’t need us now, they need us in September.”
Linebacker/Defensive lineman Sae Tautu:
On biggest changes he’s made in spring ball:
“I’m a defensive end primarily, so I’ve got to put my hand in the ground now. I’m just getting used to coming out of a stance and working that close with the offensive linemen. That’s been the biggest change, but it’s coming along. My freshman year I came home from my mission heavier than I am now, so they tried me out at defensive line. We had a lot of depth back then, so I went back to linebacker. So, I’ve had a little bit of experience but not a ton. It’s an adjustment, but it’s coming along. The more I play it, the more I like it. I’ve bulked up a little bit since last season, but I want another 10-15 lbs – based on whatever I can still play fast at.”
On diet:
“We have our nutritionist here, Dan Wilcox, and he does a really good job of telling us what to eat and when to eat. He has it on these sheets and then I just have a wife that’s a fantastic cook. You don’t find those very often these days, but she’s a fantastic cook and she likes to eat really healthy too. I just have to make sure I eat a lot and keep her busy in the kitchen. A lot of chicken, and a lot of starches. I learned from Dan that a lot of it’s the timing of my meals, not so much what I’m eating.”
On defensive role:
"I like it a lot. In our old defense, I took on other guys for our guys to make plays. I love doing it and I love winning games, but it’s nice to get in on some of those plays.”