Fracture sidelines BYU back-up QB

PROVO — For Brenden Gaskins, it's back to the waiting game.

BYU's backup quarterback suffered a fracture in the tip of his third finger on his right (throwing) hand Monday afternoon and spent Tuesday's practice watching his fellow QBs, including starter Max Hall, take the snaps during drills.

Gaskins, whose finger was heavily wrapped, has been through this before in terms of not being able to compete.

"I had to do this in the spring. Mental reps is what we call them," said the sophomore from Farmington, N.M. "It's frustrating to have to do it after having two days of practice. I felt like I was doing good. But you can always learn. It will be learning it by seeing it, not doing it."

After transferring to BYU in January, Gaskins spent much of the spring watching Hall and Cade Cooper battle for the starting job.

Early in the spring game, Cooper sustained a foot injury, and in Cooper's place Gaskins completed 19 of 22 passes for 174 yards and a touchdown.

Gaskins injured his finger on the helmet of a defensive player Monday while throwing the ball. "It hurts pretty bad," he said. "I can't bend it. I've just got to be patient."

He will be fitted with a customized splint, which he is expected to wear for about six weeks, said coach Bronco Mendenhall. "We'll assess next week if he can throw the ball. He could still be our backup and play," Mendenhall added.

In the meantime, redshirt freshmen James Lark and Sam Doman and true freshman Jason Munns are receiving additional snaps with Gaskins out.

"Those three will be getting work throughout this next week as we work to assess the next backup if Brenden can't return," Mendenhall said. "They all have great and solid potential. In terms of knowledge of the offense and experience and practice repetitions, they're in a similar position that Brenden was coming into camp. So we just start over with the next backup while Brenden's recovering.

"There may not be a clear favorite (as the No. 3 QB)," Mendenhall added. "We might have to go off of instinct or look at the spacing of our quarterbacks. Obviously, you hope, like we all do in every program, that your No. 1 stays healthy."

Gaskins redshirted at Nevada as a true freshman before leaving for an LDS mission. When the 6-foot-5, 220-pounder returned, he transferred to Glendale Community College, where he helped lead the Gauchos to a 9-2 mark and No. 5 national ranking.