PROVO — The Cougars officially finished fall camp on Wednesday and according to head coach Bronco Mendenhall, the team finished in great form. Mendenhall was very complimentary toward his players and their progress following Wednesday's morning practice.
“I’m encouraged. I really like what I just saw in practice,” Mendenhall said. “We’re healthy, we’re fast and we look physical.”
The team will now begin game preparations for Nebraska while foregoing the final scrimmage on Saturday which is typically designed for younger and less-established players.
Through almost three weeks of practices, Mendenhall has become impressed with his younger players, particularly the incoming freshman class.
“Overall we’ve brought in a lot of really good young players,” Mendenhall said. “So I’m super excited about our freshman class. It’s fun to have gone through the recruiting process and then have the players show up. ...I’m optimistic for not only this season, but for the future.”
The team will release a two-deep roster on Monday with several spots still up for grabs. “Almost every position right now other than quarterback, which is a good thing,” Mendenhall said.
Offensive line taking form: Offensive lineman Tuni Kanuch recently returned to practicing fully, giving position coach Garett Tujague a much better sense of what he'll have available entering the season.
“He answered the bell today and he did a great job,” Tujague said of Kanuch. “Having Tuni back is a really good thing for us and we feel we can do more things with him out there.”
Tujague believes he has eight offensive linemen ready to play in games currently and hopes to get that number up to 10 in the near future. While not providing a specific two-deep, the Cougar offensive line coach indicated his top eight players as being Tejan Koroma, Kyle Johnson, Ryker Mathews, Kanuch, Lui Lapuaho, Brad Wilcox, Austin Hoyt and Parker Dawe.
As for where each of those eight will be playing specifically, and how much, Tujague mentioned it will likely vary with every week. Case in point: Assumed starting right tackle Lapuaho, who has seen extensive reps at right guard this fall.
“I think we’ll be better with him at tackle, but there’s matchups where we’ll use him inside,” Tujague said of Lapuaho. “It’s going to be not only game-by-game but even series-by-series, according to the matchup. And it's going to be like that with just about everyone.”
As for Lapuaho, he's willing to play wherever he's needed most.
“I feel more comfortable at tackle, but I’m willing to play at wherever coach wants me to,” Lapuaho said. “I feel good learning as much as I have playing at right guard and we’ll see where I’m playing soon enough. I’m excited to just help out.”
As for how the offensive line lines up against most opponents, Lapuaho indicated it will likely be himself playing tackle on the right side with Kanuch at right guard. Mathews and Johnson will play at left tackle and left guard, respectively, while Koroma will man the center spot.
Such an alignment presents some different personalities that Lapuaho feels will mesh well together.
“It’s a great mix of personalities and style of play,” Lapuaho said. “You have Ryker and Kyle, they’re the calm guys, they keep us in check. Me, Tuni and Koroma, we all tend to get a bit too aggressive and angry, but Ryker and Kyle, they do a great job of keeping us from not getting too crazy, so that’s good. It’s a great balance, I feel.”
Other linemen, including freshmen Jacob Jimenez and JJ Nwigwe, are close, but not quite there yet.
“I’m happy with new guys like Jacob (Jimenez) and JJ (Nwigwe) and how they’ve looked as freshmen so far. Now it’s just continuing to work them up to being game-ready," Tujague said.
Email: bgurney@desnews.com
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