Determining contributors, ironing out game management emphasized at BYU football scrimmage
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- BYU head coach Kalani Sitake talks to his team during the scrimmage at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023.
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- BYU sophomore safety Talan Alfrey holds up his helmet during the scrimmage at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023.
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- BYU players get warmed up during the scrimmage at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023.
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- BYU junior linebacker Fisher Jackson knocks down a pass attempt during the scrimmage at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023.
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- BYU players walk toward the field before the scrimmage at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023.
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- A BYU ball carrier dives into the end zone during the scrimmage at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023.
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- BYU freshman running back LJ Martin runs the ball up the field during the scrimmage at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023.
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- BYU freshman long snapper Dalton Riggs tosses a ball in the air during the scrimmage at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023.
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- BYU freshman running back LJ Martin (27) celebrates a good play with senior offensive lineman Paul Maile during the scrimmage at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023.
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- BYU sophomore safety Talan Alfrey comes up with an interception during the scrimmage at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023.
One of the most important reasons that the BYU football team went full contact for Saturday’s scrimmage was so the coaches could see how players handled the challenge.
“We haven’t done a lot of live action to this point,” Cougar defensive coordinator Jay Hill said in Saturday’s post-scrimmage teleconference. “It was all live (on Saturday). A lot of it was tackling on the quarterbacks. A lot of it was just showing the ability to come down and make tackles.”
BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said he saw guys making plays on both sides of the ball and pushing each other to be better.
“We definitely do have some awesome, talented players,” Sitake said. “I thought we had some really good battles up front. I think to get our defensive line ready you have to have those offensive linemen going, have everybody go and be aggressive.”
The players know that they need to be performing because the coaches are figuring out who is going to get the lion’s share of the playing time at each position.
“Right now we know pretty much who we will be choosing for the travel squad,” Sitake said. “I don’t know if there’s a lot of change up in the ones, twos and threes, but there’s still some battles to be decided because we do so many different sub groups on offense, defense and special teams. You want guys to battle it out.
“I think we will start to narrow it down as we start getting closer to the season. I imagine a week from now we’ll be close to being set (with a depth chart) and it will definitely be set a week away from the first game.”
BYU knows it will be facing a lot of talented teams, which means it can’t afford to have many costly mistakes. The scrimmage was a chance to iron out things like substitutions, communications and penalties.
“You try to make the mechanics of the game as game-like as possible (in the scrimmage),” Hill said. “Up to this point, you’re not really working as much on sideline mechanics, substitutions, all those things. Doing that is super important especially for our defense because of the matchups that we do. Getting personnel in was a critical part of today. Doing substitutions the right way was a critical part of today.”
He said he wasn’t satisfied with how long it took for his unit to start doing things right.
“The ability to just start fast is a critical part of college football,” Hill said. “You don’t have three or four drives to get settled in. Quite frankly, today we need to start faster.
“All those things are great learning lessons for us. Our guys will continue to get better at it. Coaches will get better at it. But we have a lot to clean up.”
Sitake explained that the communication has to evolve as rules change and Saturday was a chance to work on it.
“You want to look at those things so that you don’t have to take time out to every time to cover up for the timing,” Sitake said. “I think this year with the rolling clock, the calls will have to be in a lot quicker after converting first downs. You could tell that it was stressing (offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick) a little bit because you don’t have seven to eight seconds. You have to get the call in a lot quicker.”
He also wants to see his defense limit the avoidable penalties he saw in the scrimmage.
“It was nice to have the refs there,” Sitake said. “There were some administrative penalties, things that we can clean up, but probably more on the defensive side Things like late hits or facemasks are stuff that we control. We’ll be more disciplined in that regard.”
The fact that the season is fast approaching is weighing on the mind of the players and coaches, giving them some urgency to get this work done before September rolls around.
“It feels like it’s close,” Sitake said. “I mean, it’s way closer than it was yesterday. I think the key is getting done with our live work in the scrimmages and just making sure the team learns as much as we can from now until three weeks from now. I’m just really happy with the team so far.”
