PROVO, Utah — BYU began its third week of fall football camp inside the Indoor Practice Facility on Monday afternoon.
The Cougars had their first scrimmage of camp on Saturday and spent much of today's meetings studying film from the weekend before getting back on the practice field.
Read select comments from those interviews and watch them in their entirety below.
On practice today “I’m happy with where the team is at right now. We had a good scrimmage last Saturday. There were a 102 live plays that were created then. We got some good work done with the special teams as well. Regarding today’s practice, I feel good about where we are at. When it comes down to the quarterback situation, it’s starting to form and right now I’m really happy with the way the two guys are competing. It’s back and forth between the offense and defense. There have been some really good battles, plays and good talent. I feel good about where our team is at.”
On which side of the ball won Saturday’s scrimmage “It’s hard to say that even one side won. It was evenly matched between the offense and defense. We had some success on with the offense and some success with the defense. I think a lot of the guys did exactly what I thought. I know we are a really physical team. We also need to be mentally tough. It was good to get out there and make some mistakes. Nothing out of the ordinary and very fixable issues that we can handle. To have 102 plays off live work is really good. I was really pleased with it.”
On which groups are still being solidified “Everyone one of them. I’m not really worried about who the 11 starters that we be in play. I’d like to see how many guys that we can trust to be on the field on defense. It should be more than 11. It’s the same thing on offense. The goal is to get as many starters as we can that are available and can help us win. The best 11 will be on the first snap.”
On the impact of Offensive Line Coach TJ Woods “That’s the one coach that coaches the most on the field, so we need him to be good. TJ knows how to get them going. Regarding technique and the fundamentals, I’ve been seeing huge improvements. They are tough kids and TJ knows how to get the most out of them. I’m really happy with how the O-line is working right now.”
On the new freshmen “Obviously these guys can make plays. The young freshmen that are coming in our more developed than what we’ve had in the past. It’s a really talented group. The coaches did a great job recruiting them to know improving them in camp.”
On how Saturday’s scrimmage went “It went good. We did a lot of great things. We aren’t ready to play a game yet but I think we are on track.”
On naming the starting quarterback "We are getting there but I am not in a hurry. We are going to just keep playing for a bit. I would prefer that the decision gets made on the field and that it gets to the point where everyone on the team knows. We aren’t quite there. Its a good battle and we will keep going for a while. There is no rush.”
On the offensive line "They have improved and have gotten better. We still need to go do it in a real game, but I believe in those guys and in what we are doing. They are really well coached.”
On the physicality of the offense in the scrimmage “Physicality has been the number-one priority since last season. We need to get back to playing the way we played the three years prior where we were a physical team that could run the ball. I believe that we are heading in the right direction. It is an everyday thing and an 11-man deal. Everyone on our offense has to be physical, everyone has a role in the run game and when we are running the football, our play-action pass and ability to stretch the field opens up.”
On his mindset throughout fall camp “I am seeing a lot of good things, but again, I am going to keep saying it, until we do it in a real game, I am challenging our players to stay focused on the next play and each practice one at a time.”
On how Saturday’s scrimmage went “The defense did amazing. Everyone was playing really fast, physical and aggressive. The whole team looked good. There were positives from the offense and the defense, so that was great to see.”
On how he is fitting into the defense “Most of it is the same, so there hasn’t been too much that I have had to learn. Obviously I can always refine my skills and get better. But overall, I knew most of the scheme and we have added some things. It has been good to learn from the other guys that have experience at the Power Five level. It has been a good transition.”
On playing live “I had a couple of plays today where I was able to go live. It feels really good to get hitting again and get things rolling again.”
On the linebacker room “I think every single one in the linebacker room could play and has the chance to start and get time.”
On how his body is feeling “Obviously as you go throughout camp your body is going to slowly depreciate. I am feeling good. We have a great training staff that helps us get our bodies right. They track everything. They know what days we need to take things lighter and what days we can go harder.”
