BYU begins final week of spring football

PROVO, Utah - The BYU football team began its last week of spring practices on Monday at the Indoor Practice Facility.

After the practice, the team got in a weight lifting session as a group to start the week. The Cougars will practice again Wednesday and then wrap up spring on Friday with Alumni Day.

Former teammates and coaches will gather together Friday and watch practice together, along with other alumni activities. 

The following quotes are from Monday's post-practice media availability. 

BYU head coach Kalani Sitake

What stands out from film from spring practice
Some of the things I thought were bad really weren’t as bad as I thought. We improved a lot up front on both sides of the ball, and I was really pleased with the practice, really happy with the tackling on our defense, which goes to show that—with our practice and drills with little contact—most of the tackling is basically courage. Those guys wanted to hit the first day we were able to do live work, and they took advantage of it and were pretty solid tackling. Good angles and they were able to leverage the ball really well, so I am really pleased with how our coaches prepared those guys on defense. Tanner made some really great throws that were overshadowed by a couple bad possesions, but other than that, I have been really happy with him all spring. He is the leader of this team, especially on offense, and we are going to need him to make big plays, and sometimes that allows him to have the freedom to do what he wants on offense with the throw game.

Biggest point of emphasis this past week
We want to take advantage of getting our guys ready to scout an opponent, so today we ran Monday like a normal Monday, with emphasis on Portland State and getting a start on everything so that when we get to the season, our guys know what to expect. We have a lot of new bodies that haven’t been around the system that we run, especially on a week that we’re getting ready for games. So, we are going to approach it that way. Wednesday’s practice will be more like a Tuesday or Wednesday practice during the season, so we will wrap it up a little bit more on Friday. 

Other leaders emerging
Tejan [Koroma] has done a great job at center for the O-line. He and the seniors are demanding a lot form the linemen and that group, and I have been really happy with the second O-line. They are improving a lot and providing a lot of competition.

The byproduct of the move with Coach Tuiaki and Coach Kaufusi switching Ilaisa being with the D-line and Steve being with the linebackers has actually been a lot more cohesive than I thought. They are all on the same page, and the communication between our backers and our front is as good as it gets. It is at the point now where Steve is able to teach a lot of the backers what to expect from the D-linemen and vice versa. I am really pleased with the front seven right now. They are doing really good things. And you really don’t hear much from Dayan and Troy (the corners) because they are just doing their job.

Reps at running back
The competition will continue. There are some guys who need to improve certain things, but there are about five or six guys that we feel comfortable running the ball with. It is our deepest position, but there isn’t a whole lot of experience. But they are all instinctive running backs. We have a lot of guys that can function in the system, but we might also see a lot more two-backs. We have running backs that can run routes and splits and slot positions, so I guess you can expect to see more running backs feeling more comfortable in their roles, trying to take advantage of the mismatches we may see on the other side.

Reno Mahe working with running backs
Reno started off at running back, played receiver, played slot. When Luke Staley got hurt, he played running back the next game. So, Reno has been through it all and he has the experience, both in the NFL and in college, and it has prepped him for this type of situation this year. 

Thoughts on wide receivers
I love them. They just need their moment. They just need the spotlight, to get on the stage, and they’ll be fine. I think Talon Shumway has done some great things, Micah Simon, Akile Davis and Beau Tanner have done from good things as well. This is the time for a lot of guys to step up, especially with Aleva Hifo being out for spring, but I think we’ll have a good crew ready to roll. There are also a few others still battling for playing time.

On physical practices
Last year I was a lot more physical because we needed to be, but we are not going to do the same thing every year. Every spring, practice or game or scrimmage, it’ll be different depending on what I see of the team, and what the staff thinks we need to get better at. This fall camp will be different than last year’s fall camp, same with this year’s off-season conditioning. You can’t be doing the same thing all the time when you are losing different players. It is my job to get the guys ready, but you can’t expect the same format every year and then hope for different results. So, we’ll do things differently this year and build to the foundation we’ve already set and try to get more wins. â€‹

Running back Kavika Fonua
There are a lot of running backs this year, a lot of guys to step up since Jamaal [Williams] is gone, and everybody is trying to get that starting position. But we do have a lot of good running backs right now.

On the switch to running back
I did anticipate switching. I set up the meeting with Kalani, either to go back to DB or to running back, and we decided that it would be better for me to do running back since it is all set plays. We decided long and hard that that would be the best position for me. If it doesn’t work out, I can always go back to linebacker and pick it back up. But there is definitely a lot of trash talking from all the linebackers.

Getting a start on Portland State prep
It is not weird to start so early because it is our first game and we need to look good. You can’t prep too early for a team. I think it is good to get all our plays down for them for right now.

Getting carries on Saturday
It was a little weird, I won’t lie, and I felt that I was a little slow myself. But it felt good. I haven’t ran the ball for three years or so, but it is a natural thing, so it was good to see that I can do it again.

Punter Jonny Linehan
Spring’s been fun. It’s kind of a drain though because it’s a little bit of a tease. You want to train so you end up playing in a game and all we got is a wet scrimmage. Other than that it’s been pretty fun. The more I play football, the more reps I get the more confident I get and I’ve been happy with the progress I’ve made. I’m happy to have a summer to get me ready for the fall and show you all what’s up.