2022 Fall Camp: Day Four and offensive line preview

PROVO, Utah — BYU football conducted its fourth practice of fall camp on Monday, with coaches and players addressing the media following the practice. See some of the quotes from post-practice media availability below. 

• Fall Camp BYU Photo Exposure Gallery

More Watch Lists

• Barrington, Freeland named to Rotary Lombardi watch list
• Freeland named Preseason First Team All-American by The Athletic
• Barrington named to Action Network Preseason All-America First Team
• Tukuafu named to Polynesian Player of the Year Watch List
• Barrington, Freeland named to 2023 Senior Bowl Watch List

Position Preview: Offensive Line

The offensive line continues to be the strength of the offense, as seven players return with a combined 90 career starts. Led by first-team Phil Steele Preseason All-American Clark Barrington, BYU has depth, size and experience to make the offensive line unit one of the best in the country in 2022.

In addition to the Phil Steele Preseason All-America First Team honor, Barrington was also named a preseason All-American by Athlon Sports, The Sporting News and Lindy’s Sports. A 6-6, 302-pound junior left guard, Barrington started all 13 games for the Cougars in 2021 and was named to the Pro Football Network All-America Third Team. 

“It’s nice to be noticed by the media, but it’s nice to know that it doesn’t matter who sees you working, as long as you’re working,” Barrington said. “That’s my mindset; put in the work and it will speak for itself.”

Blake Freeland, a 6-foot-8, 305-pound junior left tackle, enters the season with 28 career starts, including 13 games in 2021. Freeland was named to the Phil Steele All-Independent First Team and PFN All-Independent First Team in 2021.

“Blake is level-headed and very humble,” said BYU offensive line coach Darrell Funk. “While Blake has a bright future, his focus is laser-sharp on this season.”

Barrington and Freeland were an integral part of BYU being named the PFN 2021 Offensive Line of the Year, helping the Cougar offense produce 33 points per game, while averaging 452 yards of total offense. In addition, they were both named to the 2022 Outland Trophy Preseason Watchlist. 

Funk enters his second season on staff, having already left his mark on the offensive linemen.

“Coach Funk has instilled a grit and toughness in us,” said Barrington. “He makes sure that every time we come to practice or to a game that we do everything it takes to win.”

Connor Pay, Joe Tukuafu, Harris LaChance, Campbell Barrington and Brayden Keim all have starting experience as well and have played multiple positions along the offensive front.  

BYU further bolstered the experienced group with the additions of Oregon transfer and former five-star prospect Kingsley Suamataia and Arizona State transfer Sione Veikoso. Providing a bright future for the Cougars in the trenches, true freshmen Peter Falaniko, Trevin Ostler, Vae Soifua and Talin Togiai have also joined the team for fall camp among the newcomers expected to join the program for the 2022 season.

2021 Offensive Line Notables

• Helped the BYU offense finish with a top-25 ranking in 32 different statistical categories
• Ranked No. 8 nationally for fewest sacks allowed at 15 on the season
• Helped the BYU offense average 5.11 rushing yards per attempt (No. 24 nationally).

Post-Practice Quotes

Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick (watch video)

On day four of fall camp

“Day four is not perfect, but we have installed about 90 percent of our offense already, which is faster paced than what we're used to. So sometimes the execution suffers a little bit. But we did it that way this year because we have so many veteran players, we just we thought it'd be better to challenge the vets than to go slowly for the young guys, you know, so the young guys are drinking through a firehose and the older guys are doing pretty well but it's work in progress.”

On Gunner Romney missing practice

“There's a number offensive players whom we're going to give days off here and there. So that could be a regular thing. Isaac Rex is going to have some days off, Puka, Dallin Holker, are also getting some days off. So, you'll occasionally come out here and might not see somebody it doesn't necessarily mean they're hurt. It's just a calculated move by us to get to the first game with all of our best players. We just want to be smart. You know, especially with the guys that have played a lot of football for us. We want to be as smart as we can.”

On difference of Jaren Hall being a established veteran starter

His leadership. He’s a lot more vocal than he's ever been. He's earned that right, and he's got a knack for it. He's a natural leader. He knows how to speak to the team; speak to his teammates without sounding condescending. You know, he does it the right way, and I think he's as respected of a player as I've ever coached. I welcome it every time he says anything, whether it's to the whole team or just to an individual player and we listen to him too as a coaching staff. He's a really sharp guy and he's earned our respect.

On the addition of Kingsley Suamataia and what he brings to the table

“Freakish athleticism. I’ve never seen anything like it. He’s the best athlete I’ve ever seen on the offensive line. Very talented guy.”

On the fun atmosphere of BYU football

Yeah, I've never understood why it has to be a grind. I mean, we love what we're doing, Kalani makes it fun and, I love coming to work every day just like Gabe (Jeudy-Lally) said he likes coming to practice. So, we're all blessed that we get to be out here. I mean, why would you ever feel like it's a grind? You’ve got to put in a lot of hard work and stuff but this is a blast. I love it.

On the backup QB competition

Jacob Conover is number two. The last two practices have probably been the best two practices he's had since he's been here, and then Cade Fennegan, I thought did some really good things today, and he and Sol-Jay are kind of battling for that third spot. But right now, Conover is clearly two.

Offensive line coach Darrell Funk (watch video)

On the depth of the offensive line and potentially playing more than five players on a regular basis

“Absolutely, in fact if I was a betting man that's what I would say will happen. We just have too many good players that have played and know what they're doing or will be pretty polished by then.”

On guard Clark Barrington

“We haven't voted captains yet or anything but to me, Clark's the leader in our room. He's tough, he knows what he's doing, he practices right and he does all the right things. He'll be hard to unseat at that left guard spot.”

On lineman Kingsley Suamataia

“Kingsley's doing a real good job. He's right in the thick of things. He plays right, he plays left, he could start at either position. He's running well, is physical and in good shape and he's lost a little bit of weight. But he's still got to work on some of the nuances that you can't pick up in a spring camp and come from more and more reps.”

Offensive lineman Clark Barrington (watch video)

On the offensive play-calling and getting comfortable as an offensive line group

“Our coaches do a good job at mixing things up and running different plays. We're doing a good job on the offensive side of the ball in trying to execute the things we're putting in.”

On Coach Funk’s personality

“I think best way to describe it is that he knows when he needs to be fiery. He's very cool, collected and knows that we understand what he expects from us. So, we're going to hold ourselves to that higher standard, and when we do fall short, he speaks up and gets on us. So, it's a mix, a good balance of the two.”

On the offensive line’s chemistry

“It's going well right now. We're mixing it up, rotating the lineups we have going in practice and changing things up there. We're all working together well, we understand that we're a unit, we compete against each other but in the end the best five will play and we want everybody to do well.”

On Jaren Hall’s confidence

“He's come out here with that swag you're talking about, a lot of confidence and just playing like he knows he's the guy. That's the important part and it gives us confidence when we see the confidence that he has in himself."

On the defensive line

“We have a bunch of good players over there and they're all doing a great job and that's the only way we get better. We bring our best, they bring their best and we learn from competing."

Barrington on mentoring younger players

“When you come straight out of high school, or come from a mission, there's a lot of new things you're learning, and you're learning pretty fast. So, as older guys we try to take the young guys under our wing and teach them the tips and tricks that are necessary to try play well.”

Defensive back Gabe Jeudy-Lally (watch video)

On the adjustment to living in Provo after transferring from Vanderbilt

"The first couple of days it was definitely different, but I have Kaleb (Hayes) as my roommate, I had my mom come up and show me the ropes and I talked with (former BYU defensive back and high school coach) Derwin Gray a little bit. Since then, it's been great. Everyone treats me really nice. It feels like family out here. I didn't feel like I had to figure things out when I went into the locker room. Everyone embraced me, which is super cool. I'm coming from across the country and it's definitely different here, so it's nice to be part of a family."

On the leadership he brings to the defensive backfield

"I bring experience from both on and off the field. We have a lot of young guys in our position room and it's important to be able to give them little nuggets of information here and there so that they're ready to take the next steps after D'Angelo (Mandell) and Kaleb (Hayes) leave after this season." 

On fall camp at BYU

"This is one of the most different places in the country. It's very relaxed, everyone's happy. Most people around the country dread fall camp, but here it's fun. You're going to come out here and practice, get three hours off, then come back and do my meetings. I don't see anyone dreading practice. Coming from doing fall camp 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., this is a lot better and I'm actually very happy to be out here." 

On why he came to BYU

"I didn't win a lot of games before I came to BYU. Here, they always believe they're going to win, regardless of why they play. That's shown in the last few years. If you're wanting to come to a place where you're going to be treated like family and win football games, this is the spot to be."