Cougars Scrimmage at Edwards Stadium

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PROVO -- BYU’s scrimmage at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday gave head coach Bronco Mendenhall and his staff an opportunity to watch the Cougars in game situations just two weeks before the season opener.

“Today gave us a chance to evaluate a ton of guys,” Mendenhall said. “We looked at guys who are battling for spots. This will help us solidify our depth.”

Besides a handful of regulars who were held out of the scrimmage, such as safeties Andrew Rich and Steven Thomas, most players saw time on the field during a hot afternoon.

Sophomore quarterback James Lark led with 72 yards passing on his only drive, going 4-for-4, including a nine-yard touchdown pass to freshman tight end Marcus Mathews. Lark also had completions of 20, 11 and 32 yards, respectively.

Junior quarterback Riley Nelson led the offense to its only other touchdown of the scrimmage, going 5-for-5 on his third drive of the day, capped off by an eight-yard throw to freshman tight end Richard Wilson for the score.

Wilson had two more catches of 23 and 20 yards to give him 51 total yards.

Nelson led two other drives and ended with 69 yards on 9-for-13 through the air while rushing six times for 39 yards. On the junior’s scoring drive alone he rushed four consecutive times, gaining a total of 23 yards.

Freshman quarterback Jake Heaps went behind center for four possessions, going 8-for-11 for 55 yards. Heaps went 3-for-3 on first drive, which resulted in a 46-yard field goal by senior Mitch Payne.

Competing in the scrimmage’s final two drives was freshman quarterback Jason Munns, who went 7-for-11 for 68 yards with a long pass of 20 yards to Mathews.

Sophomore wide receiver Rhen Brown led all receivers with 65 yards on four catches, including a long of 32 yards off a pass from Lark. Mathews added three catches and 36 yards.