Kevin Morris is not the Grim Reaper. He doesn't cause death, although reporting various ailments to coaches can be a dark and merciless job.

BYU's football trainer knows that no one ever really wants to see or talk to him.

"It's always a tough thing, but it seems like every year there's something," said Morris, who has held the job since the legendary George Curtis retired in 2004. "Some people joke that I should put on a dark cape and get a scythe before I go (to the coaches' offices). When football starts, I'm the last person they want to see."

Practices are two days old, after Monday's session, and already there's a litany of issues. Fui Vakapuna's hamstring, Matt Bauman's foot, Austin Collie's leg.

The list will most certainly go on, leading up to the Aug. 30 season opener with Northern Iowa. And of course it won't end there.

"I'm still standing, no one's shot me yet," said Morris the messenger.

While the brutal nature of the sport makes every day critical to every player, Morris is especially interested in the first 10-14 days of these preseason workouts which started last Saturday.

"It's a critical period," Morris said, pointing out that it's a time when a lot of "soft tissue" injuries can take place -- hamstring and groin pulls, especially -- until the group acclimates to the drills and pace of the season.

It's those nagging injuries which can take a toll, although they aren't as heart-wrenching as the more catastrophic ones.

BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall calls Morris "loyal" and "detailed," saying that, yes, Morris doesn't usually come up to him with stuff to celebrate.

"Rarely is it good news," Mendenhall said. "He doesn't knock on my door to say somebody is healthy. I'm usually conditioned to just wonder 'who' and 'how long?' But he tells me the truth, and I've got to hear it. And I'd rather hear it earlier than later.

"I don't think it's easy for him to come in and be the bearer the bad news, either," Mendenhall added.

Morris is already popular among players. Along with his staff, he has a reputation as a guy who can come up with some crazy but effective solutions when it comes to things like braces.

He's gained a public popularity in his own, unfortunate right. All sorts of media was curious Saturday when it was revealed that the standout receiver Collie could be out somewhere around a month with a stress fracture below his knee. Linebacker Bauman injured his foot while during a scooter accident and Vakapuna, an often-hurt running back the past two seasons, is continually rehabilitating.

Comfortable handling reporters, Morris is also in his comfort zone by not giving an exact time frame for a player's return to the field.

Last year, cornerback Brandon Bradley tore up his knee right before fall camp started. Then came a series of bizarre foot injuries that forced a few Cougars out for the year. The rare injury, called a Lisfranc sprain -- which occurs in the middle of the foot -- is something Morris and his staff hope to eliminate by having various position players wear "more rigid shoes."

• Practice No. 2: Mendenhall called it "sloppy," and a digression from the first day when he saluted his team in public and private.

A bad idea in retrospect, the fourth-year head coach admitted: "The way that I viewed it, I probably praised them too early. But I was very pleased with the Saturday practice and I've always just been honest with them, and they proved they weren't quite capable to handle that. I think it took the edge off."

• Kicker's battle: Some of those issues may have had to do with a poor start to the day. Mitch Payne missed one kick while his counterpart, highly anticipated freshman Justin Sorensen, was errant on five field-goal attempts.

"I didn't do good, didn't kick it how I wanted to. It was a frustrating day," said Sorensen, who hit the upright twice and hooked three others wide left from what is typically a very realistic distance for him.

Payne, healthy now as a sophomore, has been consistent at putting the ball through the uprights -- a struggle during practices all of last season. Sorensen praised his competition.

"It's a lot faster (than high school), I don't have my timing," Sorensen said. "And Mitch is used to it."

Payne said during spring practices he looked forward to the competition and Mendenhall has already said he doesn't expect to have an easy decision in the upcoming weeks.

By then, Sorensen should have his hair surfer-like blond locks grown back. As part of freshman initiation, he's sporting a bald head right now. Though he won't use "getting sweat in my eyes all of the time," or a slightly hurting ankle, as excuses.

"When (kickers) start the (practice) bad like that, it can set the tone for things," Sorensen said. "I definitely need to be a little bit better."

• Speaking of Fui: Mendenhall expressed some displeasure after Monday's practice about his senior running back, Vakapuna, who was limited in drills last weekend and was basically out of service yesterday.

"I wasn't too happy with how he looked today, even after the rest," Mendenhall said. "It might take longer than expected. That's unfortunate. A lot of times, though, it is traced to how vigorously a player goes after their rehab and how diligent they are in the summertime. While I can't track that in the summer ... my guess is he probably wasn't as diligent as necessary."

• Tidbit on future opponent: Washington, BYU's opponent Sept. 6 in Seattle, announced Monday that standout linebacker E.J. Savannah will not be around. He is not listed on the 2008 roster as the team begins camp, the Associated Press reported.

Savannah led the Huskies with 111 tackles last year and was named the team's best defensive player. He broke his arm during the offseason but was expected to be ready for fall workouts, however, academic issues have interfered.

Camp Cougar

Player of the Day: Senior punter C.J. Santiago showed off his leg Saturday, to head coach Bronco Mendenhall's delight, then boomed one for about 65 yards at Monday's session. The ball just sounds different hitting his foot right now, compared to last year.

Play of the Day: A nicely timed sideline pass from Brenden Gaskins to Spencer Hafoka, in which the ball was caught over the shoulder in rhythm for about 35 yards.

Quote of the Day: "They weren't on-the-field mistakes, they were off-the-field things that I asked them to do." -- Mendenhall, explaining why the team did a series of push-ups after practice. One mistake was apparently some players not having a special coin, presented over the weekend, that they're encouraged to have on them at all times except on the field.