BYU football notebook: Mitch Payne will get his kicks with Cougars

PROVO — When it comes time for the BYU Cougars to tack on an extra point, or whenever the offense stalls and it's time to go for three, Mitch Payne knows he's the one who is going to get the call.

That wasn't necessarily the case last season at this point in camp. With the arrival of freshman kicker Riley Stephenson, a star from Pine View High in St. George, Payne found himself in a tough battle for the starting placekicker job.

But after earning the job late in camp, and then after having a strong campaign last season, Payne is entering his senior season with the assurance that he's the main guy on field goals and extra points.

The security seems to have helped his confidence. The struggles he exhibited early in camp last season are gone. In this camp, he's been one of BYU's steadiest performers so far.

"I know I'm going to have a good season, and I'm really excited about how well I've been kicking," Payne said. "Having that extra year of experience under my belt is really going to make a big difference in my confidence. I'm very confident right now. I'm hitting the ball really well right now, and I'm as motivated and as focused as I can be."

He put that confidence on display Thursday when he connected on field goals of 49 and 50 yards in the team's 11-on-11 scrimmages. He's missed only two attempts so far this camp.

"My leg pop is really good, and my leg speed is really good. You put those two things together, and you're going to get some pretty good results," he said. Payne says he's added a little leg strength this season, and hopes he's called on more to kick from longer distances. If he is, and can convert like he has in camp, it adds a few more possessions each game in which the Cougars can score.

"Just being able to do that in camp and show the coaches that I can do that is going to give them more confidence to let me try a few more longer kicks in games," he said

Meanwhile, Stephenson has firmed up his role as the Cougars' punter. He showed last season, with many booming punts and several that pinned opponents inside their 10-yard-line — especially in the Oklahoma, TCU and Vegas Bowl games — how valuable he can be to BYU's success.

"I've worked hard on all three aspects of kicking and feel like I can do a pretty good job at any of them, but right now I really do feel like I'm strongest at punting the ball," Stephenson said.

However, Stephenson recognizes that he has to be ready to fill in at the other two should something happen to Payne. He got a taste of that in Thursday's practice when Payne went down with a sprained right ankle after being hit by diving freshman defensive back Jordan Johnson on his 50-yard make.