Younger Players Shine at Second Fall Camp Scrimmage

PROVO, Utah - The second scrimmage of fall camp for the BYU football team took place Saturday morning with coaches able to work towards finalizing depth charts and position battles.

"It was cleaner today, especially in relation to who was playing," head coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "That part is positive with the amount of younger players playing. The plays looked similar to what they were supposed to look like."

Several contributing players were held out to either prevent or recover from various injuries. With multiple starters not on the field many inexperienced players and freshmen were able to see valuable time in a game-like scenario.

"Everybody played today," Mendenhall said. "The main purpose was to get some assesment of what our depth will be."

Freshman receiver Cody Raymond had a productive day, catching three passes for 27 yards. Recently returned missionary Adam Hine took a spot in the backfield and rushed four times for 18 yards and caught a pass for eight yards. Junior college transfer Preston Hadley recorded an interception with a diving catch off a James Lark pass.

Sophomore running back Michael Alisa saw a lot of time, rushing six times for 14 yards, including a six-yard touchdown run. Freshman Alex Kuresa also took a series at quarterback, completing 2-of-2 passes for 17 yards.

In his only series, starting quarterback Jake Heaps led the opening drive of the scrimmage for a touchdown. Heaps was 5-of-5 for 51 yards. Running back JJ Di Luigi caught a 23-yard pass during the drive, adding a touchdown run of six yards.

In two series of his own, quarterback Riley Nelson led another scoring drive, going 3-of-6 for 59 yards and adding two rushes for five yards on the day. Receiver JD Falslev highlighed the drive, catching a deflected ball intended for another receiver for a 41-yard gain.

"We are anxious to compete against each other," Mendenhall said. "I think experience has been helpful with nine or ten returning starters on either side."

Quarterback James Lark had three series, finishing 5-of-10 for 41 yards and an interception while quarterback Jason Munns got some work in as well, finishing 3-of-3 for 39 yards. Kicker Justin Sorensen finished off the scrimmage by making a 57-yard field goal after having a 44-yarder blocked and a 49-yarder hit the upright.