Fall camp update: O-line shakeup, Afutiti

BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said Tuesday’s morning practice — the only session scheduled today — looked a lot sharper than Monday’s. He was pleased with his players’ increased concentration and attention to detail.

Again, the big news is that center Tom Sorensen could be out 4-6 weeks with a shoulder injury. Surgery is likely. That causes a big shakeup on the offensive line, with Dallas Reynolds, an All-MWC performer at left tackle, Garrett Reden and R.J. Willing vying for that center job. It also means freshman Matt Reynolds has been seeing time with the first team at left tackle, taking his brother’s spot.

What’s troubling for BYU is, just a few days into fall camp, wide receiver Austin Collie (stress fracture in leg) and now Sorensen are out. Then again, the Cougars always seem to suffer injuries during fall camp and find adequate replacements or take advantage of the situation to develop new talent. Collie was wearing a bone stimulator again during practice. Obviously, he didn’t run any routes, but he did, standing still, catch passes from the quarterbacks.

Mendenhall said he expects highly touted defensive end Bernard Afutiti to be in camp in the next couple of days. First, his academic transcripts must be cleared from Compton Community College and Mt. San Antonio College. Afutiti earned Juco All-America honors last season.

Mendenhall said he likes the job Kaneakua Friel and Bryan Kariya are doing at fullback in replacing Manase Tonga, who was suspended for the 2008 season last spring.