More impressions, tidbits and quotes from Saturday's scrimmage

One of BYU’s most intriguing players is freshman wide receiver O’Neill Chambers. While he’s still trying to grasp the offense, he’s too talented to keep off the field. During Saturday’s scrimmage, he hauled in a five-yard touchdown pass from Max Hall. He also had a 20-yard punt return, making defenders miss with some shifty moves.
Coach Bronco Mendenhall said Chambers will be used in certain situations, especially when the Cougars want to take advantage of Chambers’ abilities.
“When you consider speed and size, it’s similar to kind of a Jonny Harline-type of matchup,” Mendenhall said of Chambers. “He’s big enough, fast enough and physical enough when you put him on a smaller defensive back, that’s a matchup problem. Then possibly as a returner. I think he will have a role and I think he will help us. He’s scrambling still to maintain his knowledge of plays and assignments. But to his credit, he’s working hard at it, which will give him his best chance to play.’

Of course, Mendenhall is a defensive guy. That’s where he played in high school and college and that’s where his complete focus was as a coach until he took the helm of BYU’s program four years ago. But his eyes brighten when talking about this year’s offense.
How would he defend tight ends Dennis Pitta and Andrew George when they’re in the game at the same time? ‘It depends if Harvey (Unga) is in the game or not. If Harvey’s in the game, you have problems. I think people are going to have problems. You’re not going to stop him (Unga) with just regular numbers. And if you play extra numbers in the box, then good luck on Dennis and Austin (Collie) and Andrew. It’s a good situation for us to be in when you look at the talent base and how they’re being coached.’
In other words, Mendenhall is glad he doesn’t have to defend his offense in a game situation.

Speaking of Collie, Mendenhall said he’s in no rush to get him on the practice field. “If it’s even close, we’ll hold him out possibly until game week is what I’ll plan on doing.’ Mendenhall is not worried about all the practice Collie has missed. ‘I’m not concerned and I won’t be even until game week. He’ll be ready to play. He’s a competitor and he knows exactly what to do. I trust him. So I’m not worried.’
Collie said after Saturday’s scrimmage that he doesn’t feel any pain and that he’ll be ready to go for the season-opener.

Asked if he thought Northern Iowa was a good opponent to start the season with, quarterback Max Hall said yes. Why? ‘No. 1, they’re a good team. We can’t take them lightly because they were top in their division last year. They have a tough team. It’s a home game for us against a good opponent, but not someone that we’re overwhelmed with, so it’s a game we should win. We just have to make sure we’re prepared and ready to go. I think it’s a perfect opening game for us.’

BYU is set at running back with Harvey Unga and Fui Vakapuna, as long as they are healthy. During fall camp, the coaches have given plenty of reps to their backups — J.J. DiLuigi, Wayne Latu and Bryan Kiriya. Each has their strengths, Mendenhall said.
“I think Wayne Latu with the ball in his hands is very difficult to tackle,” the coach said. “He has good vision. J.J. DiLuigi is probably more of the complete package. Wayne might have the edge in running the ball but J.J. is a little bit better when you consider catching as well as running. Bryan Kiraya is similar to Manase Tonga in how me might we use him.’

Another interesting battle is in the kicking game between Mitch Payne and Justin Sorensen. Payne hit a 55-yard field goal on Saturday prior to the scrimmage and was also good on a couple from 40-plus yards. Sorensen had trouble on his field goals but sailed a couple of kickoffs a few yards deep into the end zone.
Mendenhall said this about the kicking game competition: ‘When you talk about having every kick matter and every practice matter, knowing that if you don’t have a great mental preparation leading into a practice, that could cost you knowing competition is within one play, I think it helps. Especially when it’s good-natured and good-spirited, as it is. It’s not a divisive thing. It’s just both supporting each other and they’re going as hard as they can. They trust the leadership to make the right decision.’

Mendenhall said having a healthy Payne and a strong-legged Sorensen this season will impact the play-calling and game-planning. Last year, BYU attempted the fewest field goals in the country (15). ‘When you have someone who can possibly kick it from the 40-yard mark with relative consistency, that might alter whether we go for it on fourth or where our four-down territory actually is.’

Fourth-string quarterback Stephen Covey, who is a very good at running the option (as was showcased during the scrimmage), could be used as a weapon in the offense. “We wanted to see how he would handle it,” Mendenhall said. “We’ve practiced that scheme very little. We wanted to see how he would hold his composure and his leadership. He certainly is athletic enough, so it possibly could be a role he could have.’

Hall joked that he felt a little jealous while watching Covey run the option. ‘I kind of joked with those guys, ‘Why can’t I run the option?’ Steve did a good job today. That’s what he did in high school. He came out today and battled. He had a nice drive today, almost finished it off at the end. He’s a good player and I think he had fun today.’

As for the other the other backup QBs, Brenden Gaskins and Kurt McEuen, Mendenhall said offensive coordinator Robert Anae and quarterbacks coach Brandon Doman thought the battle was pretty close, with Gaskins owning a slight advantage. Coaches will evaluate the film to see if that remains the case, Mendenhall said.