BYU got some good news over the weekend regarding the status of cornerback Gabe Jeudy-Lally, who was ejected for targeting in the second half of last Thursday’s 38-26 win over Utah State.
The Vanderbilt transfer will be allowed to play the entire game on Saturday against Notre Dame because his appeal to the NCAA to have the on-field ruling overturned was successful, coach Kalani Sitake said Monday.
“Yup, he was approved,” Sitake said during his weekly Monday press briefing. “So Gabe will be playing in the first half.
“Yeah, nobody has been counted out for Saturday, so that’s a good sign. Obviously, we got some extra work in over the weekend. We feel good about those guys. So we will have to see how the week goes, and practice, starting with today. But so far they are probable or (a) possibility.” — BYU coach Kalani Sitake
Jeudy-Lally’s tackle of USU’s NyNy Harris resulted in a 3-yard loss for the Aggies, but the graduate transfer was flagged and ejected with the Cougars leading 31-20 early in the fourth quarter. Utah State was awarded a first down after the 15-yard penalty, but the drive stalled when backup quarterback Cooper Legas was stopped on fourth down by Tyler Batty.
Coincidentally, Notre Dame was hoping to get a targeting call on linebacker JD Bertrand in its win over North Carolina on Sept. 24 overturned as well, but coach Marcus Freeman said Monday the appeal was denied.
No. 12 BYU meets 2-2 Notre Dame at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. MDT. The game is part of the Irish’s Shamrock Series and will be televised nationally on NBC.
Monday, BYU revealed the uniform combination it will wear in the game. Also Monday, the Cougars announced that their game against Arkansas in Provo on Oct. 15 will kick off at 1:30 p.m. and be televised by either ABC or ESPN.
As part of the press briefing Monday, cornerback Kaleb Hayes addressed the media and said the defensive backs are elated that Jeudy-Lally gets to play in the first half.
“I thought we were keeping that a secret, but I guess the cat is out of the bag,” Hayes said, noting that Jeudy-Lally is one of his roommates.
Kicking competition open again
In other personnel news Monday, Sitake said the competition to be the starting field goal kicker is open again after Jake Oldroyd made a 45-yarder but missed a couple of kicks under 40 yards in the win over the Aggies. Oldroyd has made 5 of 10 FG attempts this year, but only 1 of his last 6.
Sitake said he “has to” open up the competition and mentioned that Justen Smith and Cash Peterman are in the running. On the BYU depth chart released Monday, Oldroyd and Smith are listed as the co-starters.
Injury update
Sitake also addressed BYU’s injury situation, saying that the extra few days of rest after playing USU on Thursday helped out a lot in that regard.
“Yeah, nobody has been counted out for Saturday, so that’s a good sign,” he said, having been asked specifically about receivers Puka Nacua and Chase Roberts and running back Miles Davis.
Nacua and Roberts didn’t play against the Aggies, while Davis limped off the field in the second half and was held out the remainder of the game for what Sitake said Thursday were “precautionary” reasons.
“Obviously, we got some extra work in over the weekend. We feel good about those guys. So we will have to see how the week goes, and practice, starting with today. But so far they are probable or (a) possibility,” Sitake said.
Cougars on the air
BYU (4-1) vs. Notre Dame (2-2)
Saturday, 5:30 p.m. MDT
Allegiant Stadium
Las Vegas, Nevada
TV: NBC
Radio: KSL NewsRadio 102.7 FM/1160 AM