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Provo • BYU football coach Kalani Sitake jokingly suggested in June that if the Cougars can't find an adequate replacement for graduated kicker Trevor Samson this fall, they might have to go for it on fourth down all season in the red zone, or go for two-point conversions after touchdowns.

He might have been onto something.

Ten days before the season opener against Arizona in Glendale, BYU is still searching for a reliable placekicker.

"We are looking for a kicker who can be consistent, and we should be on our way," Sitake said after last week's scrimmage.

There is not a kicker in camp who has attempted a PAT or field goal in a college football game. Here are the four candidates:

• Freshman James Baird, a 5-foot-7, 171-pound walk-on returned missionary from Northridge High in Layton, is probably the front-runner for PAT duties, and perhaps short field goals. Baird, who says he has "lived everywhere" because his father is in the Air Force, makes up in confidence what he lacks in size.

"A good friend once told me that pressure doesn't exist if you believe in yourself," he said when asked if can handle the pressure of kicking a potential game-winning field goal.

• Sophomore Rhett Almond, the 6-foot-4 backup punter to Jonny Linehan, can also do some placekicking, and has reportedly been the most accurate long field goal kicker in camp.

"I don't know if I have seen him miss in the last week and a half," Baird said on Tuesday. "He's pretty great."

• Redshirt sophomore Corey Edwards (former coach LaVell Edwards' grand-nephew) kicked off seven times last year and will likely battle Almond for kickoff duties this fall. Edwards joined the team last week, but hasn't quite lived up to the billing that accompanied him out of Hurricane High in 2011.

• The fourth kicker on the current roster is true freshman Jake Oldroyd, a 6-1, 170-pound walk-on from Southlake, Texas. Oldroyd was a perfect 60 for 60 on PATs and 8 for 8 on field-goal attempts in his two seasons at Carroll High School.

"We need to get the right guy on the field," Sitake said. "We have a number of guys in camp. Out of the four, I hope we get that figured out [soon]."

Seniors to watch

The Cougars have one of their best senior classes in years, and on Tuesday that was made evident when seven BYU players were named to the 2016-17 Reese's Senior Bowl Watch List. Quarterback Taysom Hill, who was named the starter for the opener against Arizona, is on the list, along with running back Jamaal Williams, defensive linemen Harvey Langi, Travis Tuiloma and Sae Tautu, and defensive backs Michael Davis and Kai Nacua.

All told, the list includes 209 defensive players and 191 offensive players. Specialists were not included in this list, but will be added later. Certainly, senior punter Linehan is a candidate for that.

Briefly

The Cougars will conduct their final scrimmage of preseason training camp on Thursday at LaVell Edwards Stadium, but the scrimmage is not open to the public or the media. … Sophomore Hayden Moore has beaten out redshirt freshman Ross Trail and fifth-year senior Gunner Kiel to be Cincinnati's starting quarterback, coach Tommy Tuberville announced Monday. BYU plays at Cincinnati on Nov. 5.

Twitter: @drewjay —

Kickers in BYU Camp

Player Year Ht/Wt Previous school

James Baird Freshman 5-7/171 Northridge (Utah) High School

Rhett Almond Sophomore 6-4/195 Hart (Calif.) High School

Jake Oldroyd Freshman 6-1/170 Southlake Carroll (Texas) High School

Corey Edwards Sophomore 6-0/217 Hurricane (Utah) High School