BYU opened spring practices Monday, Spring Scrimmage set for March 27

PROVO, Utah — BYU conducted the first of 15 spring practice sessions on Monday, with quarterback Taysom Hill returning to the field for the first time since his season-ending injury during BYU’s fifth game of the 2014 season.

As part of the spring practices, the football team will conduct a Spring Scrimmage open to the public at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Friday night, March 27.  The “Friday Night Lights” event is free and starts at 5 p.m. with a Kids Clinic conducted by members of the team for schoolchildren up to the eighth grade. The team practice and scrimmage will follow at 6 p.m.

Watch Video: BYU Spring Football Practice 2015 

BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall said he enjoyed getting back on the field with the team Monday.

 “It was fun to be back out with our team,” Mendenhall said. “They worked really hard today, and it was really fun to see Taysom back outside throwing the ball well. He’s limited in terms of practicing full, but it just feels better having him out there. (It was) nice to have Jamaal (Williams) around as well. Jamaal is a little bit behind where Taysom is, but just having those two back made a big difference.”

While Hill is anticipated to participate in all but the contact sessions, Williams won’t be practicing in spring but continues to make good progress in the rehabilitation of his season-ending knee injury in 2014. The senior-to-be can become BYU’s all-time leading rusher in 2015.  

Mendenhall also credited the influence new strength coach Frank Wintrich has had on the program over the past two months.

“Coach Wintrich has worked them really hard,” Mendenhall said. “We made them tired today, but they were physically prepared and mentally tough, which has been a real focus for our offseason. We put in a lot of work today, which was a lot of fun with some players back that we’ve been missing for a while.”

During the first day of spring practice, the team participated in drills and some team 11-on-11 segments.

Cornerbacks and receivers were seen battling one-on-one while quarterbacks Taysom Hill, McCoy Hill and Hunter Moore aired the ball out. Receivers had chances to show their speed, agility and hands down the field with players including Mitch Mathews, Nick Kurtz, Mitchell Juergens, Kurt Henderson, Devon Blackmon and newcomer Josh Weeks taking part.

Sophomore McCoy Hill saw the majority of the reps at quarterback with the first-team players in the 11-on-11 session to conclude practice. Sophomore quarterback Hunter Moore also saw reps, which included completions to Trey Dye, Juergens and Bryan Sampson.  On defense, Sam Lee did a nice job with a pass breakup in the secondary and defensive lineman Kesni Tausinga applied effective pressure in the backfield.

"The break was really nice to get everyone healthy, but it feels good to be back as team,” senior receiver Mitch Mathews said, who also talked about working with BYU’s quarterbacks during practice.

"It wasn’t the first time (Taysom and I) have thrown together, but it’s fun to have him back. We’ve missed him,” Mathews said. “When he’s out there, we really haven’t noticed anything different. He feels like the same Taysom, athletic, strong and powerful. We are glad he’s back and we’re excited to go forward.

"McCoy’s a really good quarterback,” Mathews added. “He’s a great backup He’s going to learn. That’s what he wants to do. He’s going to get tons of reps and be put under a microscope right away."

BYU will practice next on Wednesday. Spring practices conclude on April 3.