BYU camp notes

2 knees down

Vanderbilt transfer Tom Sorensen went down early in Monday's morning practice to a season-ending ACL knee injury and he will redshirt. The injury came during a "Cougar drill" in which he was downfield blocking.

"The knee brace works for movement side to side, but this happened when the guy spun and I went with him, twisting my knee inside the brace," said the offensive lineman. "I spent two years answering the question why bad things happen to good people — now I've got to apply that to myself. I'm trying to have the best attitude possible."

Sorensen said he and conditioning coach Jay Omer discussed the injury: "He told me I'd done everything possible to be in shape — it wasn't that. It was bad luck, being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Sorensen is the second BYU football player just off a mission to suffer a season-ending knee injury. Just days before fall drills began, freshman cornerback Brandon Bradley hurt his knee, had surgery and will miss the season. Both returned from missions this past spring. Sorensen had been working out with Sete Aulai, seeing reps at center, a spot where he earned All-freshman SEC honors before serving a mission. This leaves center duties to Aulai and Jeff Rhea, who has also been playing guard with Jake Kuresa.

A senior, Kuresa, has moved to guard from left tackle and missed Monday morning's practice due to a class. In Kuresa's tackle spot, sophomore Dallas Reynolds has moved over from his guard position. "That is a more natural position for Jake to play guard and where he'll get a look at the next level," said offensive line coach Jeff Grimes. "With Reynolds coming off shoulder surgery, we thought it would be better to play him outside, where he'll take fewer hits."

While corner Kayle Buchanan (shoulder) has been cleared to play, defensive tackle Matangi Tonga has been working limited time due to a sore muscle.

Rotating line

On BYU's rebuilt defensive line, coach Steve Kaufusi is deploying an interesting technique to prepare and foster competition. He rotates three down linemen every three plays until he cycles through nine players. The first three are Judd Anderton and Jan Jorgensen with Halo Poanga at noseguard. The second unit is Tonga, Romney Fuga and Ian Dulan.

Head coach Bronco Mendenhall said he wouldn't mind if Poanga stayed out there, but he sees merit in getting the young players as many reps as possible. Another idea is to season the freshman against BYU's veteran No. 1 offensive line, which more clearly represents what they'll face in games.