BYU football: BYU scrimmage will feature youngsters

PROVO — BYU's 35th annual Blue-White scrimmage today is all about the young, upwardly mobile Cougars.

And it will be a scrimmage in the loosest sense of the word.

Not wanting to risk needless injuries to established players who have nothing to prove, coach Bronco Mendenhall said the event — which starts at 1 p.m. at LaVell Edwards Stadium and marks the conclusion of spring drills — will mostly feature backups and less-experienced players who are vying for playing time in the fall.

"It's going to be short. No more than an hour or and hour and 15 minutes," Mendenhall said. "There will be a practice element, similar to (Thursday's practice). We'll finish with the rising stars or a developmental scrimmage. The players that we know who can play won't participate in that. They'll be doing team and situational work prior to that. We'll go about 30-40 plays of our younger players in a scrimmage format. That's as close to the spring game as we'll get."

Among those Mendenhall and his staff will have their eyes on include redshirt freshmen running backs J.J. DiLuigi and Bryan Kariya, freshman tight end Kaneakua Friel, and freshmen receivers Spencer Hafoka and Luke Ashworth.

"If we can get them 30 plays of quality work in a game situation in the stadium, that would be a real positive for us," Mendenhall said.

Defensively, much of the focus will be on the secondary. Several Cougars are positioning themselves to make an impact in the fall, including freshmen G Pittman, Gary Nagy and Steven Thomas.

Also, Snow Junior College transfers Coleby Clawson (linebacker) and Andrew Rich (defensive back) will be showcased today, along with junior Vic So'oto, who switched from tight end to linebacker during the winter.

That means starters like Jan Jorgensen, who led the Mountain West Conference in sacks last season, won't see much action today.

"I just want to come out and do whatever I'm asked to do full-out," Jorgensen. "I just try to take every practice, every down as a chance to get better."

Prior to the spring game, fans are invited to participate in the free youth football clinic, which starts at noon. The clinic is for grade-school youths between the ages of 5 and 12. BYU players will teach basic football fundamentals to the kids.

Admission to the Blue-White game is free.

---

E-mail: jeffc@desnews.com