Austin Collie: BYU's newest backup quarterback

At first, it seemed like a joke. A guy wearing No. 9 was practicing with the quarterbacks at today’s practice at the Indoor Practice Facility. That couldn’t be Austin Collie, could it?

Yes, it could. In fact, it was Austin Collie taking reps with the QBs. On Wednesday, coaches told Collie that he would be part of the quarterback rotation, along with Max Hall, Brenden Gaskins, Kurt McEuen, Stephen Covey and Christian Stewart. Unlike the other QBs, though, he wasn’t wearing a green jersey, which signifies players whom can’t be hit at practice.

“I refuse to wear the green jersey,” Collie said.

Of course, Collie will still play wide receiver. But, during practices, he said he will be splitting his time between QBs and receivers.

Collie said he was “a little shocked” when he found out about the coaches’ decision to give him time at QB in order to shore up the depth at quarterback. It tells you something about the way coaches are looking at the depth at quarterback when they are asking their top wide receiver to practice with the QBs. Collie was in the quarterbacks meeting before practice, sitting next to Hall, learning the position.

“I’ve got a long way to go,” Collie said of his quarterbacking skills. He hasn’t played the position since he was 10 years old.

“It’s been a while,” he said. “I wasn’t half-bad (at age 10), but we did run a lot of option, so I was never tested with my arm. As you can imagine, there’s a lot of stuff to think about and a lot of stuff going through my head. You know, wherever the coaches need me, I’m there. That’s what the plan is … My main concern right now is helping the team out at wide receiver.”

Coach Bronco Mendenhall said the move is part of a contingency plan, explaining he wants to get Collie on the field any way he can.

In other news, BYU practiced for the first time this season in the Indoor Practice Facility. Mendenhall gave two reasons for this — to give his team a “game week” feel and to preserve the grass on the outdoor practice field, which is getting pretty beat up.

Running back Wayne Latu’s wife gave birth to a baby a couple of days ago, but the baby has experienced life-threatening complications and is currently at Primary Children’s Hospital. Latu wasn’t at practice to tend to his wife and child. Mendenhall said it affects more than just Latu’s family. His wife is the sister of freshman Michael Alisa.