Work Continues on Day Two

PROVO -- Day two of spring ball featured strong play on both sides of the ball as the BYU football team continued its preparation for the 2010 season.

Sophomore quarterback James Lark and the first-team offense opened team drills backed up on their own three-yard line. After senior defensive back Brandon Bradley broke up a pass intended for McKay Jacobson, running backs Harvey Unga and JJ Di Luigi ran for a combined 10 yards and the first-down. Junior Bryan Kariya took a turn running the ball before Lark connected on back-to-back passes to Unga and freshman tight end Devin Mahina for seven and 18 yards, respectively.

“James is fast, athletic and throws the ball well,” said BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall. “It will be interesting to see how the whole quarterback situation will work out.”

During blue zone work, Di Luigi recorded a five-yard run prior to a tackle by junior defensive back Steven Thomas. Junior quarterback Riley Nelson connected with Jacobson for an 11-yard reception. He completed a five-yard pass to wide receiver Spencer Hafoka, soon following that with a four-yard throw to redshirt freshman tight end Richard Wilson for the score.

On the second blue zone series, Lark connected with Rhen Brown, Marcus Mathews and Joshua Quezada, but the defense protected the endzone, holding the offense scoreless.

The offense’s second touchdown of the day came on a long 57-yard pass from freshman quarterback Jake Heaps to Jacobson. The PAT by Riley Stephenson was good.

BYU’s quarterbacks improved from day one, with Heaps leading the charge going 2-for-4 for 72 yards and one touchdown. Lark followed, completing 5-of-7 passes for 44 yards, while Nelson was 4-for-5 for 33 yards and one touchdown.

Despite having only eight healthy offensive linemen participating in spring ball, the running game was successful as well. As a group the running backs combined for 43 yards on the ground on 12 attempts.

“We have eight healthy linemen right now, but they are very good,” said Mendenhall. “They are very sound in their fundamentals and are playing with confidence.”

The team will take a break from practice on Wednesday before resuming on Thursday.