BYU fall camp: first day of two-a-days

A crowd of 1,490 turned out this morning to watch BYU’s first of two practices. The Cougars practice again tonight at 5. Both are open to the public.
Asked about the crowd, coach Bronco Mendenhall said, “It’s a home game for the offense and an away game for the defense.”
Mendenhall wasn’t pleased with his team’s overall execution.
“I was hoping the execution would be much cleaner than what it was,” he said. “I wasn’t impressed with the penalties offensively … A lot of things that need to be cleaned up and polished as we continue to push the pace. The pace can’t slow down. The pace is accelerating. What’s clear today is we still have a lot of work to do to be game-ready.”
Among the troubles BYU had included the kicking game. Backup placekicker Riley Stephenson, who’s replaced Mitch Payne (sprained ankle), had three PAT tries blocked. Basically, the kicks were low.
“I’d much rather have those things exposed right now than when a game’s on the line,” Mendenhall said. “My suggestion, if I were in his shoes, I’d clearly know what I need to work on. That’s the intent of practice. To make sure we know what we need to work on prior to our first game. I think we exposed some things today.”
Freshman running back Joshua Quezada had a fumble and in general their were several penalties and substitution problems.
However, there were some highlights, including a crowd-pleasing 12-yard touchdown catch by O’Neill Chambers from Jake Heaps in the back of the end zone. Cornerback Brandon Bradley was all over Chambers, but the play was executed perfectly.
“(Bradley) was on me. He played great defense,” Chambers said. “I had to figure out some way, some how to get the ball. I was determined to go get it. Jake put it in the right spot.”
Heaps completed 7 of 10 passes for 93 yards and two touchdowns. Riley Nelson was 7 of 8 for 78 yards and two touchdowns. Chambers finished with four catches for 70 yards. Spencer Hafoka (21 yards), McKay Jacobson (13 yards) and Mike Muehlmann (5 yards) each had touchdown catches. Vic So’oto was credited with a pair of “whistle” sacks.

Freshman Drew Phillips, who participated in his first practice Thursday, did not participate Friday. Mendenhall said he wasn’t sure why.

Tomorrow marks BYU’s first scrimmage of fall camp. It’s at 10 a.m. at LaVell Edwards Stadium and it’s open to the public.
“This isn’t a culminating event tomorrow,” Mendenhall said. “This is just maybe the first 400 meters of a mile.”

On the injury front:
As far as Payne’s status, Mendenhall said the kicker could be out 7-10 days.

Freshman linebackers Zac Stout and Collin Keoshian were both out with concussions. Linebacker Aveni Leung-Wai (hamstring), tight end Bryan Sampson (hamstring), linebacker Jadon Wagner (knee) and linebackers Matt Santos and Tom Steele were both nursing ankle injuries.