Final Week of Spring Ball Focuses on Momentum

PROVO -- Preparations for the 2010 season continued on Monday as the BYU football team opened the fourth and final week of spring ball. While 11-on-11 work was limited, coaches are hoping for an improvement in execution and health as spring draws to a close.

“The idea is to gain momentum heading into the fall,” said BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall. “We want to get our players healthy as they get ready for spring and summer terms when they have to work on their own.”

Quarterbacks Jake Heaps and Riley Nelson each led the offense down the field for touchdowns during the two team series.

On the first drive, Heaps and the first-team offense found themselves in a early third-and-20 situation. The true freshman converted, finding tight end Devin Mahina for a 24-yard completion. Heaps then threw two passes to Luke Ashworth for 12 and 13 yards, respectively.

On the 30-yard line, JJ Di Luigi caught a short pass then ran for eight yards. Senior defensive back Andrew Rich recorded a pass breakup on a ball intended for Mahina, but the offense continued to move the chains as Heaps completed a six-yard pass to O'Neill Chambers. The final play was a 16-yard touchdown completion to tight end Mike Muehlmann.

The second series was short and sweet, but yielded similar results for the offense. Nelson opened the drive with a two-yard run, then completed 3-of-3 passes during the remainder of the series. His first completion was a five-yarder to freshman Joshua Quezada. Next Nelson found Matt Marshall for 20 yards. The final throw was a deep pass to Chambers who ran down the sideline for the score.

Practice resumes on Wednesday and is closed to the public.