What I learned today was, defensively the execution and the assignments have taken a huge step forward in terms of preventing big plays and keeping the points down. – Bronco Mendenhall
PROVO — Throughout spring drills, way back in March, BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall expressed his concern with the defense.
But the defense has come a long way since then, evidenced by its performance at the first scrimmage of fall camp in front of about 8,000 fans at LaVell Edwards Stadium on a sweltering Saturday.
The Cougar defense won the day, allowing only one touchdown drive — highlighted by a 48-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Taysom Hill to wide receiver Nick Kurtz — and recording seven whistle-sacks, a few pass breakups and a pair of interceptions.

With the season-opener at Nebraska just three weeks away, it was an encouraging sign for Mendenhall, who is reprising his role of calling the defensive plays.
“From starting all the way going into spring, as I shifted into this role, they’re much more confident with me, they know now what to expect and how it’s going to be run,” he said of his defensive players. “I’m getting to know them better, not only individually and how to capture their hearts, but where to put each player and what their identity is and what they can and can’t do … It’s just a work in progress. I’m more comfortable today than I have been.”
The offense held out a few of its top players, including wide receiver Mitch Mathews (who is expected to return next week after dealing with an injury), center Tejan Koroma and running back Algernon Brown, as precautionary measures.
“Really a unique test for our offense today,” Mendenhall said. “We held out Tejan Koroma at center. There was a huge emphasis to make sure what happens if Tejan’s not in there, what it looks like. There were a few protection issues.”
Mendenhall attributed part of the defense’s success in putting pressure on the quarterbacks to Koroma’s absence on the offensive line.
“Our center position makes the majority of those calls,” he said. “We don’t want to lose Tejan, but we got a great idea of what it looks like if he’s not playing. And the defensive execution is moving forward, so maybe (it was) a combination.”
Meanwhile, the defense held out nose tackle Travis Tuiloma while cornerback Micah Hannemann continued to be sidelined. Defensive lineman Bronson Kaufusi’s playing time was also limited.
While the Cougar offense looked sharper than the defense through the first week of fall camp, the defense looked dominant at times Saturday.
Linebacker Harvey Langi, who registered four tackles and a sack, said the defense took “a lot of steps forward, but there are so many steps that we need to take. And we still have so many. But I’m glad we were able to take a couple of steps. As a defense, we could be something special. This is something that could slingshot us into being something special. It’s going to be an everyday thing, a process. You can’t just all of the sudden be the defense you want to, of course. Today was awesome … it was fun.”
“The first scrimmage, you always kind of wonder before you see plays finished where the team stands,” Mendenhall said. “What I learned today was, defensively the execution and the assignments have taken a huge step forward in terms of preventing big plays and keeping the points down. The first week, it had been shifting more offensively where big plays and balls were going over the top of us and around us. Offensive points have probably been the strength of the week. Looks like the defense caught up today to assignments and leverage ... It shifted a little bit back today.”
Hill completed 13 of 20 passes for 194 yards and the touchdown to Kurtz. Tanner Mangum was 4 of 10 for 47 yards and two interceptions. Beau Hoge completed 2 of 5 passes for 16 yards and Koy Detmer, Jr. was 1 of 4 for 12 yards.
Cornerback Michael Shelton and linebacker Butch Pau’u both had picks for the defense.
Mendenhall said the defensive secondary is “improving. There are some corners that are starting to play well. Right now ... Michael Davis, Michael Shelton and Jordan Preator have done a really nice job. I love the progress those guys are making. If you add potentially Micah into that mix as well, that’s nice depth. One could be cross-trained at safety.”
Meanwhile, the offense knows it has more work to do.
“The offense was sloppy today,” said wide receiver Devon Blackmon, who had two catches for 17 yards. “It just wasn’t us today. That wasn’t a good preview of us. But we’ll be back Monday, picking it up. If it was the season, we lost. That was inconsistent. A good offense is consistent throughout the season. We weren't consistent today. That’s what practice is for, though, you know what I mean? You come out here, you drop balls and you get all the mistakes out right now before Nebraska comes out and (then) you’re perfect.”
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