PROVO — Going into fall camp, BYU junior cornerback Brandon Bradley knew he'd be counted on to help the Cougars' new junior college transfers learn the defense.
What he didn't know was that he'd spend quite a bit of time on the sidelines.
Hampered by knee tendinitis and a groin injury, Bradley, who locked down the starting boundary corner job at the end of spring ball, has had to watch Lee Aguirre take the majority of reps at that position for much of fall camp, which concluded Thursday.
"Any injury is frustrating, and not being able to participate with the team and go through all of the learning processes with them, and have to sit on the sidelines and watch, is hard," Bradley said. "I've just been trying to help the younger guys and help them understand what's going on. Even though I haven't been able to practice, I've still been able to help the team in a small way."
Bradley said he's back to full strength, and he ran with the first-team defense during Thursday's scrimmage.
"I'm feeling good. I had a couple of days to regroup and make sure everything was 100 percent," he said. "I was able to go full-speed. Everything felt good. I can't complain. I'm ready to go."
Now, with a little more than a week to go before the Cougars' Sept. 5 season-opener against No. 3 Oklahoma, Bradley and Aguirre are vying for the starting boundary cornerback job.
BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said that battle could continue until next Tuesday or Wednesday.
After taking a day off from practice on Thursday, the Cougars resume practicing today. The emphasis will be on preparing in earnest for the Sooners as well as trying to settle positional battles at both corner positions.
The starting field corner job is up for grabs as returned missionary Robbie Buckner and JC transfers Brian Logan and Corby Eason are fighting for that spot. Early on in camp, Buckner impressed the coaches and his teammates and, at that point, appeared to be the favorite to be the starter. However, he has been limited by a hamstring injury.
Mendenhall said that Buckner is close to being 100 percent healthy, though he did not participate in Thursday's scrimmage.
"The time is now for (Buckner) to be able to come out and show what he can do and be considered," Mendenhall said.
Of course, cornerback will be a crucial position for the Cougars as they take on Oklahoma, whose quarterback, Sam Bradford, won the 2008 Heisman Trophy. Bradford led the nation in pass efficiency as well as touchdown passes with 50. He was No. 3 in passing yards (4,720), and he's thrown 86 touchdown passes in his two seasons as the Sooners' starter.
"I know they like to pass the ball. Everybody knows they're a high-frequency offense. They like to run as many plays as possible," Bradley said. "I know who their key players are, and I know about Sam Bradford.
"Now, it's more focusing on the small things — the things they like to do, what plays they like to run in this situation as opposed to other situations. It's honing in on the small details. I am feeling ready. I feel like I know the defense. I feel like I know my job as well as those around me. Right now, I need to focus on Oklahoma."
While having Bradley and Buckner out for much of fall camp has been disappointing for the Cougars' defense, the good news is their absence has given the newcomers valuable experience.
"The depth is a lot better (at cornerback) than it was last year," said Bradley, who hails from Tallahassee, Fla. "We have a lot more guys that can come in and play, and who can actually play the cornerback position, so I think that's going to be really good for the secondary and the defense as a whole. The biggest thing for a lot of the young guys is just learning the defense. Our defense can be a little tough. But they've been doing what they need to do to learn at a fast pace."
Bradley has been impressed with Aguirre, his competition for the boundary corner spot.
"He looks good. Lee has been doing well. He had a lot of reps with the (first-team offense)," he said. "I think he held his own. That's good because it gives me, as well as him, the understanding that each practice you have to come out and play our best because there's somebody right behind us."
e-mail: jeffc@desnews.com