First Week of Spring Practice Closes With Scrimmage

PROVO -- A team of officials was on hand as the BYU football team held its first scrimmage of spring practice on Friday.

“Our team was anxious to compete against each other today,” said BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall. “Offensively and defensively we have a lot to work on but I thought we had good intensity. To win championships you need a good balance of intensity and composure. We had some good teaching opportunities today.”

The Cougar offense successfully reached the end zone three times, twice on the ground and once through the air. Sophomore J.J. Di Luigi scored BYU’s first touchdown of the day on a 12-yard rush. Di Luigi's scoring run came just after the defense thought it had successfully stopped the drive. On the previous play, sophomore Steven Thomas intercepted a pass in the end zone intended for junior Luke Ashworth but his nice play was nullified because of a penalty.

Newcomer Malosi Te'o had three consecutive carries as the second-team offense faced BYU’s first-team defensive front. Back-to-back completions from quarterback Brenden Gaskins to tight end Braden Brown of 16 and five yards, respectively, brought the offense to within striking distance. Defensive back Brandon Bradley broke up a pass intended for junior B.J. Peterson to set up third-down. This time Gaskins successfully connected with freshman Rex Morgan to give the offense its second score of the day.

The first-team offense continued to click on the following drive as senior quarterback Max Hall found O'Neill Chambers, Di Luigi and Andrew George for receptions to move the chains. Junior running back Harvey Unga avoided several tackles to run for a 35-yard touchdown.

Overall Hall was 7-of-13 for 84 yards, while Gaskins completed 5-of-7 passes for 46 yards and one touchdown.

The Cougars have the weekend off before resuming spring practice on Monday.