Protecting Max Hall

For BYU, it’s concerning enough that Mike Reed will be out for a few weeks with a knee injury. It’s a reminder about the impact injuries can have on a team. The Cougars don’t want to even think about quarterback Max Hall going down with an injury.
For the most part, BYU has protected Hall well, but he has taken some shots. When he ran that option play against UCLA, he nearly gave Cougar Nation held a collective heart attack.
‘That’s what my wife says. I said, ‘C’mon, it’s football. I get hit once in a while, too,” Hall said.
Sounds like Mendenhall isn’t especially fond of the option. ‘We like it in a few of the critical situations, and there is risk to it, as we all saw. We would love (Hall) to have the ball pitched without ever taking a hit — that’s what he’s been instructed to do. And it makes me nervous every time Max scrambles or has the ball out there in the open.”
No doubt, Wyoming is going to try to put a lot of pressure on Hall this week. The Cowboys love to go after the quarterback. Remember last year in Laramie?
‘They like to play cover three and they like to blitz,” Hall said. “Last year, they brought eight corner blitzes in the first three series of the game. I’ve got to be aware and alert. My head’s got to be on swivel. If I manage it, we’ll be very effective against them.’
In the second half against Wyoming last year, Hall was knocked down hard in the pocket, seriously injuring his shoulder. Amazingly, he wound up playing the next week against Utah and leading the Cougars to a come-from-behind victory.
I asked Max this week about what he remembers about that hit he took in Laramie.
‘It was kind of a fluky deal. It was kind of how I landed, more than the hit. It was me being dumb on a play and trying to make something happen when I should have thrown it away. I’m better this year at getting the ball out of my hands and not taking those shots. I did have one play in the (UCLA) game I did something like that and it cost me a turnover. I’m learning from that and realizing I can’t do that. It was a learning experience — a painful learning experience. But luckily it turned out all right. I realized if I want to stay on my feet in there, and stay healthy, I can’t do that stuff.’