Spring practice: Day one

It’s finally here, the non-contact helmets-and-shorts activity football fans have been looking forward to for months. Yep, BYU started its Spring practice today, and if there’s one word that can encompass what was going on, it would be “competition.”

Cornerback Brian Logan, who finished fifth in the NCAA in pass break-ups last season with 14, said competition is the thing he really missed since last season ended.

“It felt good to be back out here — really good, actually” Logan told me. “We couldn’t do structured practices or anything like that during the winter, so we would have competitions in the weight room or doing drills, but it wasn’t the same as being out on the field. I think that’s why the level of intensity was so high out here today.”

Besides the physicality on the field (to the extent that limited-contact drills can be physical), there are open competitions at several positions — quarterback, tight end, safety, linebacker and defensive line. Even the positions with returning starters (running back, wide receiver, offensive line) have newcomers who are eager to make an impact.

Here are a few general observations I had on the first day of practice, with more interviews and reports coming throughout the next few weeks:

Quarterback competition: As Mendenhall mentioned last week, Riley Nelson opened practice as No. 1 on the depth chart, with freshman Jake Heaps and recently returned missionary James Lark also getting plenty of reps. All three looked good at times, and all three certainly showed they have a long way to go to fill Max Hall’s shoes.

“They played like it was their first day,” Mendenhall said. “Riley certainly knows the most about the system because of experience, but in terms of talent all three are very skilled and bring something special. … One day is hard to assess other than they all have the skills necessary to lead the team, and we’ll see how it plays out.”

Here are the numbers each quarterback put up during the scrimmages at practice:

Nelson — 5-for-7, 33 yards
Lark — 0-for-3, one interception
Heaps — 4-for-8, 25 yards

Running back depth: Harvey Unga is the unquestioned starter, but coaches have to feel good about what they saw out of true freshman Josh Quezada, who capped off the practice with a 34-yard touchdown burst down the sideline. Quezada had three carries for 53 yards today and made an instant impact on the offense.

“Josh has nice speed and nice awareness, very good maturity, good strength and good quickness,” Mendenhall said. “We’d seen that throught the off-season workouts, but as you watched today you saw a couple of true freshman in Jake Heaps and Josh Quezada, and even Kyle Van Noy, who didn’t look intimidated and weren’t out of place on day number one.”

Tall receivers standing out: Three guys on the offensive side of the ball stand above just about everybody else, literally. Receivers Cody Hoffman (6-foot-4) and Marcus Matthews (6-foot-4), and tight end Devin Mahina (6-foot-6) — all freshmen — looked solid during drills. Hoffman made a circus catch on a bomb from Heaps and consistently showed good hands and the ability to get up for high throws. Matthews caught a bullet from Heaps during the scrimmage for and 16-yard gain, and Mahina looks fast and agile for his size. Throw in Ross Apo (also 6-foot-4), who will miss all of Spring practice due to shoulder surgery, and the Cougars have plenty of size among their freshmen receivers.

Aggressive D: While “O” could have stood for “Overwhelmed” instead of “Offense,” the Cougar defense was on top of things. Cornerback Robbie Buckner intercepted a James Lark pass, and Logan almost had another as he made a quick break on an out pattern then wrestled the ball away from receiver Spencer Hafoka. The coaching staff ruled that Hafoka made the catch, but a replay would have certainly been necessary in a real game.

Chambers absent: Junior receiver O’Neill Chambers will miss the first week of practice due to academic issues. Mendenhall says the wideout will be reevaluated at the end of this week to determine his eligibility for the rest of Spring practice.