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BYU special teams coordinator Kelly Poppinga organizes the players during practice at the indoor practice facility in Provo on Saturday, March 30, 2024.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU players compete for a pass during practice at the indoor practice facility in Provo on Saturday, March 30, 2024.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU players warm up during practice at the indoor practice facility in Provo on Saturday, March 30, 2024.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU quarterback Gerry Bohanon throws a pass during practice at the indoor practice facility in Provo on Saturday, March 30, 2024.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff throws a pass during practice at the indoor practice facility in Provo on Saturday, March 30, 2024.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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As the BYU football team wrapped up the last of its 15 spring camp practices on Saturday, what was on the mind of Cougar head coach Kalani Sitake?

The first thing was that his team stayed relatively healthy.

“I feel really good about where we’re at there in terms of the team health,” Sitake said. “Everybody should be ready to go by the time we hit fall camp.”

He mentioned that newcomer Justice Ena might be ready, while BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill said there is a little uncertainty about whether linebacker Ben Bywater will be set at the start of camp.

Considering how physical the Cougars were during March, however, that’s about as good as they could’ve hoped for.

BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick said he felt like the amount of time spent going live proved to be valuable for his unit’s effort to get back to running the football effectively.

“It was important because I don’t know any other way to get better at running the ball other than to just go out and hit and be aggressive and work at it,” Roderick said. “So that’s what we did a little bit more than usual. But I thought it was necessary. We’re not there yet but we’re going in the right direction I believe.”

BYU senior offensive lineman Connor Pay said that his view from the trenches was that the time was spent well.

“We’ve been trying to learn a new system with (new offensive line coach TJ Woods) in the run game as well as how he wants us to do things,” Pay said. “Obviously there are some learning curves but overall I thought we really improved in that area. I thought it was a really successful spring for the offense and I thought we got a little bit better each day.”

Sitake said that as he thinks about his offense, he feels good about the talent on the team.

“It’s just a matter of getting the battles won,” Sitake said. “It’s seeing who’s going to be the guy taking the snaps from under center and who the five offensive linemen are going to be and stuff like that. We’ll probably handle that when we get to fall camp.”

The Cougars also needed the defense to utilize the time to make some big strides if they are going to bounce back from their subpar performance in 2023.

“As far as I see from the defense, I liked the way the Jay (Hill) is working with them,” Sitake said. “I thought overall you could tell guys are understanding the system a little bit more and are more comfortable with it.”

Hill, for his part, said he saw progress but there are still steps that need to be taken as BYU gets ready for next season.

“I know we’re further ahead this year than last year with the scheme,” Hill said. “We are filling some holes but I like how guys have stepped up. Some of our veteran guys who we know we can win with had good springs and got done that they need to do. Then we’re looking to fill some depth. I think we’ve accomplished what we needed to do and it’s good to move on to the next phase of the year.”

He said a number of guys have emerged as big-time playmakers, including cornerback Jakob Robinson and defensive lineman Jack Kelly as well as some of the safeties.

“It’s probably unfair to just point out a few guys, but those guys have really stepped up,” Hill said. “I see a big increase in leadership this year over last year. I see more ownership in that the players have a better expectation of what we want as coaches. Overall, I like where we’re heading and I like the progress we’ve made.”

Now the Cougars turn their attention to the spring and summer workouts before locking in to grind through fall camp in August. Roderick said that a lot will need to happen then.

“It’s only 15 practices and we’ll get about double that in fall camp,” Roderick said. “We’re working our way through it but I thought the guys did a lot of good things this spring.”

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