Provo • Just a week out from the season opener against Utah, the BYU Cougars used more caution than aggression on Wednesday as the final scrimmage was used more for mock game situations than deciding position battles.
BYU coach Kalani Sitake said he chose to forego any live situations to make sure his team was healthy going into the season.
“We’ve already had a lot of physical days in fall camp,” he said. “In the past we have scrimmaged young guys at this point, but we chose not to do that because we had a few guys get hurt in the past and it hurt us in the long run with the prep squad. We have a quality opponent, a nationally ranked Pac-12 team that is going to be ready for us and we want to be healthy.”
Sitake said the coaching staff still has a lot of decisions to make when it comes to the depth chart, but he is comfortable with the talent the team has and what he has seen so far.
Offensively, the line looks solid, newcomer Ty’Son Williams asserted himself at running back and quarterback Zach Wilson seems fully recovered from offseason shoulder surgery.
Defensively, the secondary has a lot of young talent Sitake is excited to see in live action.
“I’m really pleased with the way camp has gone,” Sitake said.
The Cougars have been adding into their practice sessions this week elements needed for their opener with the Utes. But now the attention turns fully their rivals, something Wilson said he and his teammates are eager to do.
“It’s going to be an amazing opportunity to have them in our home stadium and these guys and fans are ready to go,” he said.
Wilson said the lack of any live work wasn’t a concern for him.
“Whether you are live or not, you are in the pocket and it’s the same feel with the receivers who are trying to get their routes. Hitting becomes second nature. You don’t think ‘Wow, I just got popped for the first time in a whole year.’ It’s just one of those things you don’t realize.”
Tight end Matt Bushman said Wednesday’s session, which was closed to the media, was valuable to work on the execution.
“We went through some game situations so the new guys would understand the tempo and so things can be smooth August 29. We worked on the two minute drive and that builds confidence and chemistry. We still need to work on execution and timing with routines, but it was good.”
