BYU camp notes

Banged up

BYU safety Spencer White suffered a broken finger and offensive tackle Jake Kuresa was nursing a sore shoulder during Tuesday's scrimmage.

The defensive secondary and the offensive line are two positions that have been plagued with injuries in fall camp. The secondary has had as many as 10 players either sitting out or seeing their time limited due to injury.

"It's frustrating," said coach Bronco Mendenhall, who also serves as defensive coordinator. "In an area we need to focus on, it's very difficult to develop at the rate we need to with the injury part of it happening. However, practice is practice. We had a similar situation at linebacker last year, with seven out at one particular time. We'll end up finding the right five. We're getting closer each day, but it's a work in progress. Where there's injury, there's opportunity for others."

D-line changes

Vince Feula, who has been a noseguard, played at defensive end on Tuesday. It's all part of the defense's transformation process.

"We're looking to play our best 11 players on defense," Mendenhall said. "There could be other moves. To that point, Manaia Brown, Daniel Marquardt, and Vince were performing best, we thought. It's an effort to get our three best out there on the field. We'll do the same in the secondary. You'll see that changing literally daily, and with the linebackers. As we hone in on our best 11, you'll see it continue to transform."

Change of scenery

The Cougars enjoyed taking a break from the practice field to scrimmage at LaVell Edwards Stadium, where they will host Boston College in the season-opener Sept. 3.

"It's a whole lot different from the practice field," said quarterback John Beck. "There's something about being in the stadium that makes you rise to the occasion. Everybody loves coming in here. There's just that atmosphere. You look around and see all the great teams and great players that have played here. I can remember being in this stadium when I was five years old, watching games. This is an awesome place to be. The grass is different. Everything about it is different. It was definitely great to get out here in the stadium to play."

"I think as I watched the team come to the field, they had the correct mindset," Mendenhall said. "I think their intent was to play their best today. And that part pleased me because we made an emphasis on what coming to the stadium means."