Football team progressing well in fall camp

PROVO, Utah — BYU football returned to the practice field on Monday afternoon for its fourth practice of fall camp. 

The Cougars conducted their second session in shoulder pads and helmets following a similar practice on Saturday. BYU head coach Kalani Sitake likes the progress his team is making in fall camp as it prepares for the 2017 season. Select the links below to see video highlights and photos from Monday's practice.

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS-OFFENSE

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS-DEFENSE

PHOTO GALLERY

Read below to see some of what coaches and players had to say during post-practice media availability.

Head coach Kalani Sitake

“It’s going really well. This is our second day in shoulder pads and helmets and we will be in full pads tomorrow. I am really excited about how the progress of the team is going. I think they are further ahead than I anticipated. But with the physical part of the game we are right on par with where we need to be. There is some stuff that we need to fix and we had a couple of issues with administrative penalties. I’d like to see that a little bit cleaner but for the most part I think it’s going really smoothly.”

“I think it is really difficult when it is a two-minute situation. I think Sione Takitaki got a sack but he is really hard to stop. The defense is tough when they know its passing type situation but we need to put Tanner and the offense in those types of situations. I thought they did pretty well. Tanner looked like a veteran when he marched us down and scored a touchdown. We just need more work with the backup quarterbacks. I think [Tanner] is exactly what we thought he’d be and he is demanding a lot from the receivers and is doing a good job with the offense.”

“I feel really good about [quarterbacks] learning the offense. I think Koy and Beau know it a little bit better since they’ve been here longer. I know there is a lot of talent there it is just a matter of figuring out who is going to be the second guy and who is going to be the third guy. We have some more practices and opportunities to compete. It’s hard to know who is going to be ahead when you’re not in a game-type situation so we will be in full pads tomorrow and have an opportunity to scrimmage later on in the week. I think we will be able to see who is going to be the guy to step ahead. We have plenty of time to decide who is going to be the backup quarterback. It is just a matter of getting the other positions right and rotating them and making sure we have the right position battles there. If our biggest worry right now is finding a backup quarterback, then I feel good about that.”

(on the battle at right tackle)
It’s a good battle. You see some of the guys with the threes, our third offensive line looks really good too. Depth-wise we feel good about it. There is a lot of talent there but at the same time we have Chandon [Herring] on the other side that can play some right tackle but he’s over there battling with Shoaf. The bodies are there we just have to give them chances to win it.

(battle at safety)
“There are a lot of guys there. It’s similar to the running back position. I think other than Micah Hannemann the rest of them are just kind of battling it out. Micah has to battle it out too. Guys like Tanner Jacobson, Zayne Anderson, Austin Lee are really stepping up. Chaz Ah You too, there are a lot of guys getting opportunities. There is plenty of time and plenty of football to be played. I think right now we just keep rotating them.”

(on Sione Takitaki)
“He is a great pass rusher. He’s physical and strong. He worked hard in the offseason. It is showing in the way he is handling stuff in the pads. When we went with shoulder pads and helmets on Saturday and today, he is further ahead in the run game stuff than I thought but he is deadly as a pass rusher. If we can make all the other parts of his game deadly he can be really, really good.”

Defensive Coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki

(on assessment of defensive line)
They’re young still and it’s really early to tell — we’ve only had two days in pads, so there is a lot of work to be done.

(on working with Sione Takitaki)
It’s been great. He has a great attitude. We have a lot of great tools to work with as a football player. He brings a lot of good emotion and passion to the game for the group. It’s been fun having him in the room.

(on feeling ahead in fall camp compared to last year)
Overall as a defense, there are more young kids than veterans. Last year we had Travis Tuiloma, Logan Taele and some of those guys who had game experience. We have a lot of young kids that don’t, so trying to get those guys up to par is the task right now.

(on more individual teaching with younger kids)
D-line is general is always going to be like that. They have a lot of individual time to work on specific things because there’s so much that goes on. There isn’t anything that really changed, just a lot of young kids.

(on Johnny Tapusoa and Adam Pulsipher)
They are doing a really great job. That back-up group is deep, especially in experience because they’ve been here a whole year, some with game experience. Even the young kids in that group are starting to show up in good ways. Isaiah Kaufusi had a really good spring and has picked up right where he left off. He’s doing a great job. Garrett England is a lot better physically and mentally. He brings a lot of athleticism where he’s at. That young group is a lot farther ahead.

(on upcoming Portland State game)
We’re going to treat Portland State like LSU. We’ve got to win that one. We’re focused on Portland and they run the ball. They’re really good at it and have been successful with it. Their head coach and o-line coach does a really great job. They’ll get our best shot.

(on satisfying to see own recruits out here actually competing)
It’s good to finally start to see fruits of your labors of all these years and all of these kids you’ve been following since eighth or ninth grade. Some of them go on missions and come back, so it’s been a long time coming and we’re excited to finally get our hands on them.

(on safeties with absence of Kai Nacua)
We got Micah Hannemann coming back, and he and Kai were interchangeable. Zayne Anderson is a guy who’s stepped up. We really love what Tanner Jacobson is doing for us there. Austin Lee is doing a good job, he’s another guy. We talk about our personnel every day and when we look at the safety spot, there are a lot of kids that people probably haven’t heard about, but they are probably the deepest group we feel comfortable about playing. Two guys go in and two guys come out, and you don’t skip a beat. We can go three-, even four-deep with those guys and still feel comfortable.

Senior safety Matt Hadley

(on the secondary coming along)
Really well. I’ve been saying it since spring: we have a lot of athletic guys in our position group. All of the safeties are athletic — they can get the job done. It’s been fun and everyone’s coming together. It’s looking good. We have the athletes and the talent in that room for everyone to be able to contribute.

(on the mentality of there being a lot of guys who could get reps)
Readiness. You need to be ready for when your name is called. If it’s not ever called, it doesn’t matter. You just need to be ready. Competitiveness is of course part of it as well. Everybody wants reps and to play as much as they can. Be competitive and be ready.

(on his role)
As far as leadership goes, I’ve tried to be a leader. Going into my senior year, I’ve tried to be the leader I should be and as someone who has been in the program a while. I see myself as one of the leaders in the DB/safeties group.

(on key for the safeties right now)
Our technique is the biggest thing we need. The defense we play requires a lot of technique on our part — a lot of man coverage, playing 10 yards off. That’s a lot harder than people think. A lot of fans and people who haven’t been in that position look at it and think it shouldn’t be that tough. Someone ten yards away running full speed straight at you is tough to do. The biggest thing for all of us right is to work on that technique and footwork so that come game time, we’re ready.

Sophomore wide receiver Talon Shumway

(on camp and goals)
 “We are just starting. We’ve got goals and some of them are pretty far out there. We’ve got a few weeks to work it. As far as getting through the first week, which we have almost done, I think some of the goals that we have set we are close to accomplishing them. We want to stay healthy but at the same time we want to push ourselves pretty hard and play at the level we are expected to.”

(on playing at BYU)
“I’ve been wanting to play at BYU since I was six or seven years old. Luke Staley was my favorite player. That’s when I decided I wanted to come here. Right now, it is just a dream since I’ve got here and through the whole process through the years. Every day is a dream; this is where I have always wanted to be.”

(on young receiving corp having something to prove)
“There is a ton to prove. That’s about where we can leave it. We can’t really take it much past that. None of us have really shown much. Jonah has, he is our one senior, but we all have something to prove. I think it is an advantage. I hope that if we do have success, which we plan to do, that we keep that attitude of always trying to prove something. We want to get rid of the complacency and never let that creep in.”