Ashworth: Bulked up and ready to go

Bigger and faster. That’s how junior receiver Luke Ashworth is playing these days and the difference is noticeable.

“Coach (Jay) Omer has done a good job at getting all the receivers a little bit thicker,” he said when I told him he looks bigger than last season. “I’ve probably put on like 10 pounds. I weigh like 210 now and feel really good. I’m still getting used to it, but it has already made a difference in my blocking. I like blocking, so that’s a good thing.”

One thing his added strength does not do, however, is take away from his playing speed.

“I don’t think running is a problem – I feel like I’ve even gotten a little bit quicker,” he told me. “I’m just stronger and in better general shape.”

While he’s added a few pounds, Ashworth still looks up to a stable of freshman receivers – Cody Hoffman, Ross Apo and Marcus Matthews – who all stand at 6-foot-4.

“There are a lot of tall freshmen,” Ashworth said. “I’m like a Chihuahua. I think I’m big but maybe I’m little. I think it’s good to have lots of different receivers, though. It gives every receiver an advantage because of the competition. I mean, a lot of them are young, but they’re good. They can really play, and they all have attributes that I can learn from.”

Ashworth and the other receivers played a supporting role to the tight ends last season, but with a group of untested freshmen set to replace Dennis Pitta and Andrew George, they’ll be a security blanket for whoever wins BYU’s quarterback competition.

“Playing with the different quarterbacks has actually been a good thing for us,” he said. “We’ve had to work harder on running routes that are more precise so we can help them. They’re going to be coming to us a lot, and we need to be there to make plays.”

Here are a few other note from today’s practice:

QB update: It seems the days of giving each quarterback an equal number of reps have come to an end. Riley Nelson and Jake Heaps both had two chances to run the offense during practice today while James Lark only had one. After practice ended, BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall explained that this is the way things will go for the forseable future.

“On Monday going into this week we saw Riley and Jake pulling slightly ahead of where James was going after two weeks,” Mendenhall said. “So, James didn’t get quite as many reps yesterday and today, and then you saw about even between Riley and Jake. It’ll probably continue that way through this week and then we’ll reevaluate. … Ultimately leading the team into the end zone has to be acknowledged, so I think Jake did a nice job of that today. I also think, though, that the grit and determination and kind of the leadership that Riley’s playing with is a really strong force as well. It’s too early to call a leader at this point other than there was a slight separation between Riley and Jake from James after two weeks. A slight separation, I’d like to emphasize.”

Emphasis given.

Here are the quarterbacks’ stats from the in-practice scrimmages today …

Nelson: 1-1, 2 yards

Heaps: 3-9, 47 yards

Lark: 3-5, 46 yards

Both Heaps and Lark led the offense to touchdowns.

In a fighting mood: Tempers boiled over near the end of practice, when a player and an assistant coach got into a confrontation and had to be restrained before practice resumed. Mendenhall said that apologies have been made and the incident is in the past.

“They’ve already apologized and moved on,” Mendenhall said. “Any time a coach is involved, normally there can be pluses and minuses. The pluses are the coaches are very competetive and want their units to do good. Sometimes they’re trying to stand up for a player they think was mishandled. … Then, with the great programs there’s some energy and usually some yelling and pushing then you go back about your work. And that’s kind of what happened. I think we handled it well and I believe it’s already over from our perspective.”

Spring ball – where hitting happens: Rhen Brown has now been the recipient of the two most violent hits so far this Spring. He got laid out by Vic So’oto after an interception a week and a half ago, then got plastered again today, this time by safety Jray Galea’i. Brown ran an out rout from the slot and had a hold on the ball before Galea’i hit him at full speed – sending Brown horizontal and dislodging the ball. Brown got up, though, and made a 12-yard catch for a first down a few plays later.