PROVO — BYU hits the practice field for the first time Friday for fall camp, and like all programs, there will be several intriguing position battles to follow.
The Cougars return 16 starters — eight on offense, eight on defense — as well as the team’s punter from 2015. Still, there is plenty of personnel decisions that will have to be made by first-year coach Kalani Sitake and his staff during the course of the August camp.
Whether it’s finding new contributors at the receiving positions or developing young players in the secondary, or honing in on a reliable placekicker, BYU has its work cut out for it with the opener against Arizona just 29 days away when camp kicks off.
Here’s a look at the Cougars’ top position battles heading into fall camp, in no particular order.
Wide receiver
With the departure of Mitch Mathews, Terenn Houk and Devon Blackmon, BYU is bringing back just 46.7 percent of its receiving yards production from last season. That means plenty of wide receivers will have a chance to step into more prominent roles in 2016.
A pair of seniors — Nick Kurtz (6-foot-6, 208 pounds) and Mitchell Juergens (5-10, 181) — are the top returning leading receivers and will provide some stability to the position. Kurtz caught 39 passes for 578 yards and three touchdowns in 2015, while Juergens had 37 catches for 471 yards and two touchdowns.
Beyond them, though, there are a lot of opportunities for other players to step up. Junior college transfer Jonah Trinnaman (6-0, 190) joins BYU as a four-star recruit out of Snow College who will finally get his first taste of offensive coordinator Ty Detmer’s offense in fall camp. Sophomore Moroni Laulu-Pututau (6-4, 216) is another tall receiving threat who showed strides late in his freshman season and during spring camp.
Senior Colby Pearson (6-0, 203) could step into a bigger role after catching 22 passes in 2015. Senior Garrett Juergens (5-10, 184), twin brother to Mitchell, moved over to wide receiver this year after playing in the secondary, as did sophomore Micah Simon (6-1, 189).
Others who will be fighting for reps and playing time include senior Jake Ziolkowski (6-0, 195), returned missionaries Inoke Lotulelei (5-9, 195) and Mack Richards (6-1, 190), and redshirt freshmen Talon Shumway (6-3, 202) and Rickey Shumway (6-2, 200), as well as incoming freshman Aleva Hifo (5-10, 180).
Kicker
This is the most open competition heading into fall camp. Gone is Trevor Samson, who hit 14-of-17 field goals last year and provided a steady presence in the kicking game the past two seasons.
During the spring, no one out of a group of kickers stood out, leaving the decision to come in fall camp. At Media Day in June, Sitake joked, “We’ll have a kicker. If not, we’ll go for two.”
Among the contenders to take over the kicking position is junior Andrew Mikkelsen (6-0, 200), who handled kickoff duties for BYU in 2014 before embarking on an LDS mission, as well as sophomore Rhett Almond (6-4, 195), a backup punter in 2015.
Newcomer James Baird (5-7, 160) is expected to be in the mix, too, along with the other punters and kickers on the team. For what it’s worth, Baird, a freshman, was listed as the starter after spring.
Tight end
There is no clear leader to start at the once-strong tight end position for the Cougars, leaving a mighty challenge ahead for first-year tight ends coach Steve Clark.
Junior Tanner Balderee (6-3, 248), who played in 10 games last year, was listed as the co-starter with sophomore Nate Sampson (6-2, 240), who moved over from linebacker, on the postspring depth chart. Neither has caught a pass at BYU.
Senior Bryan Sampson (6-4, 245), Nate’s older brother, was injured in the spring, and there is a chance he won’t return.
Others could be in the mix to play significant minutes at the wide-open position include sophomore Troy Hinds (6-5, 245), a converted linebacker, though he is relatively new to being a pass catcher. Sophomore Solomone Wolfgramm (6-5, 260) joins the program after transferring from BYU-Hawaii, where he played basketball. With his 6-5 frame, Wolfgramm could provide an intriguing option in the passing game if he can learn the nuances of the position.
The Cougars may also receive help from Snow College sophomore transfer Hunter Marshall (6-3, 240). Marshall, who redshirted as a receiver at Georgia Tech in 2012, caught seven passes for 86 yards and a touchdown for the Badgers last season.
Cornerback
Senior Michael Davis (6-2, 198) is the clear leader at the cornerback position after coming into his own as a junior. Last year, the converted receiver started 13 games at boundary corner and had a team-leading 10 pass breakups while adding 27 tackles and a forced fumble.
He’ll be expected to be provide a stabilizing force on the defensive side of the ball under first-year coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki.
The question will be who starts opposite Davis after last year’s starter at field corner Micah Hannemann moved to safety, and currently there is no clear-cut answer.
There will be several options to choose from. Freshman Dayan Lake (5-11, 203), a four-star recruit by Scout, returns after redshirting last season, while sophomore Michael Shelton (5-8, 175) had 25 tackles and an interception last year in reserve work.
One player who could shake his way to the top of the depth chart is freshman Troy Warner (6-1, 192), the younger brother of junior linebacker Fred Warner and a four-star recruit who originally committed to Oregon. He played both wide receiver and cornerback in spring ball and impressed coaches enough to be slated as a co-starter at the left corner position on the postspring depth chart.
Sophomore Akile Davis (6-2, 191), like Michael Davis, is a converted wide receiver, and he made the postspring depth chart alongside Troy Warner. But like so many other cornerbacks, he is short on experience.
Sophomore JC transfer Isaiah Armstrong (6-2, 190) will join the team come fall after compiling 19 tackles, five pass breakups and three interceptions at Riverside Community College last year.
BYU can hope that one of these corners steps into a starring role like Michael Wadsworth did in 2015. Largely a special-teams player prior to the season, Wadsworth started his final 12 games at safety as a senior and led the Cougars with 79 tackles.
Quarterback
Talk of the offseason personnel questions for BYU starts and ends with the quarterback position, though in this case, it is which of two talented options the Cougars will choose to run at the position.
Taysom Hill (6-2, 230) is the oft-injured senior leader who brings a dual-threat tendency to the position. He’s already in the top 10 in BYU history in career rushing yards (2,212), and he showed an improved passing accuracy against Nebraska in the 2015 opener. But like he had done in two previous seasons, Hill went down with a season-ending injury against the Huskers.
While his talent is unquestionable, Hill’s stability makes it tough to rely on him for an entire season. He’s only played a full season once at BYU, in 2013.
Tanner Mangum (6-3, 215) is the sophomore that stepped up when pressed into action as a rookie following Hill’s season-ending injury against Nebraska. Magnum’s dropback style works better in Detmer’s pro style offense than Hill’s dual-threat style.
During the spring, Mangum showed strong leadership in guiding the Detmer attack. He is the future of the program and could benefit from building momentum after a sterling freshman season.
While both are solid choices to start, the question is who will be under center against Arizona in the opener Sept. 3. And who will be the long-term solution in a 2016 season that includes games against six Power 5 opponents in the first seven weeks?
Beyond Hill and Mangum, sophomores Beau Hoge (6-1, 210) and Koy Detmer Jr. (5-10, 170) will hope to gain more experience in the system this season after seeing minimal action in 2015.
Email: bjudd@deseretdigital.com; Twitter: @brandonljudd