BYU football: Cougars' camp ends with QB race level

PROVO — Junior Riley Nelson and freshman Jake Heaps entered fall camp as equals on the depth chart.

Now that fall camp has ended, BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall sees the quarterback race the same way now.

The Cougars held a 35-play scrimmage that saw Nelson complete 4-of-5 passes for 55 yards and an interception while Heaps completed 11-of-16 passes for 134 yards, including touchdown passes to Rhen Brown and Ross Apo.

When asked if anything has been settled when it comes to the quarterbacks, Mendenhall replied, "Nope, it is the same."

Heaps engineered four of the six series in the scrimmage. When Mendenhall was asked if he's leaning toward a primary QB, the coach said, "Nope, I'm not."

Beginning Thursday, the Cougars will start preparing for their season-opener on Sept. 4 against Washington.

Wednesday's scrimmage focused on young players.

"The main intent was to help us determine depth and make some final redshirt candidate decisions, consider who will fill in a special team here or there," Mendenhall said. "We got about 35-40 plays on film with the younger players that will be really crucial. Our coaches will meet mostly with our young personnel (Wednesday) and try to give them a real clear evaluation of where they think they currently stand, knowing that we move on to Washington work (Thursday). The scout teams start being divided. I think we got done what we set out to do and gave them a chance to play and see exactly where they were. There are a couple of (young) players that might be ready (to play)."

Brown, a sophomore wide receiver, turned in another impressive day, catching two passes for 38 yards, including a 33-yard touchdown reception from Heaps. Mendenhall said Brown has clinched a spot on the travel squad.

"Rhen is doing a nice job. He's already been included on most of the special teams, so I anticipate him traveling, at least for special teams purposes. Whether he plays on offense or not, that will remain to be seen. But he's certainly made it on the airplane."

Brown said he's made the most of his chances to play. "It's having an opportunity and knowing the offense better, this being my second year. It's getting to know the guys better and just having fun. It's fun to get out there and make plays."

Freshman running back Drew Phillips, who missed time early in fall camp due to NCAA clearinghouse issues, then missed a chunk of practice due to injury, got his first real opportunity to participate in "live" action Wednesday. Phillips rushed four times for one yard.