Cougars improve during practice Thursday

PROVO, Utah - Spending a practice session at LaVell Edwards Stadium, the BYU football team took another step forward as it gets ready for the 2017 season Thursday.

Much of the practice was a scrimmage format, with younger players getting a lot of reps to get a look at the Cougar depth.

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BYU will have an open practice at LaVell Edwards Stadium on August 17. Get more details HERE.

The following quotes are from BYU's post-practice media availability on Thursday.

Head coach Kalani Sitake
"It was a great practice. We called out all the defense last time and they responded. And they did a great job today. I was really pleased on how they pressured the quarterback, disrupted plays and caused turnovers. You guys got a good bulk of that today. I was really pleased with the way the guys worked. I don’t know if it was as much what the offense wasn’t doing as much as what the defense was basically doing on the field. I don’t know how many teams can handle them when they play like that. They were just flying around, and I was just really pleased with their efforts."

"I think they felt like we called them out a little bit and they responded. Since the last scrimmage, they’ve been on one. They’ve been on a mission to show that they’re different, they’re better."

"It’s not as much what offense didn’t do as much as the defense did. They’re really disruptive at the line of scrimmage. I couldn’t get much momentum going because of how disruptive our defense was being. It’s just stuff to work on, but I’m pleased with how our guys are working in the trenches. I think the defensive line had that chip on their shoulder. Hopefully we get a good response from our offense."

On the safety position opposite Micah Hannemann emerging
"A bunch of them. It’s going to be a problem that Ed Lamb and Ilaisa Tuiaki are going to have. It’s a good problem to have. Right now, it’s still too early to determine."

Defensive back Micah Hannemann
“The biggest difference is probably just the energy level and playing at a higher level. Every day it goes back and forth between offensive and defense. Even today, some of the offense guys might think that they won today but it is what it is.”

“I’ve always liked Sione [Takitaki]. His physicality and mentality really helped him. It seems like he makes it to the quarterback every time that he is rushing.”

 “Coming in my senior year, I think it is just more pressure on myself to perform and be a leader as a senior defensive back. This fall camp has been fun compared to other ones, because it’s my senior year.”

“We have so many good safeties right now. Everyone is faster, everyone is strong, everyone is tackling, everyone can make plays so it’s just making everyone better in that whole unit.”

Quarterback Tanner Mangum
“You know a little sloppy (the offense). It wasn’t our best practice but that is going to happen. But we can’t get down about that. The defense made a lot of good plays today so we will have to learn from it. There are some kids on the other side of the ball, in my opinion, are some of the best players in the country so they are going to make plays.”

“It’s still pick your poison (the running backs). For me, I really don’t care. When I’m in the huddle they are constantly switching out and I really don’t have a preference. If it’s KJ, Squally, Burt, Trey Dye, I like our chances. Each one brings a different skill set, so it depends on the situation that we are in.”

“Obviously, it’s hard to replace a kid like Jamaal Williams who was in every down. This year is just a little bit different. The goal is to just never have a drop off, stay consistent, and keep the drives moving regardless of who is in there.”

On improvement
“I think just being able to lead the offense on the field. I feel like I know what Ty [Detmer] wants. I feel like Ty and I are getting on the same page.  I know what he wants and I’m able to go out there and lead the offensive the way he wants it done.”