BYU football: Cougars treat fans to good showing in morning workout

PROVO — BYU football fans came out for today's open practice session in mass and were able to see a good show. The offense accounted for a couple of touchdowns and enough plays were made by the defense to provide a good balance.

"It was a lot of fun today," said receiver Ross Apo. "We love playing in front of the fans, and we always want to put on a good show. Even though we weren't able to get it long during team drills, fans will be seeing a lot of it soon enough."

Jake Heaps went 3-for-5 during team drills for 47 yards, which included a 29-yard completion to tight end Richard Wilson that was just a yard short of the end zone.

Riley Nelson completed his lone pass for a 5-yard gain and also contributed a run of eight yards. James Lark also had a run of five yards that went for a touchdown.

"I think we did well today, showing some good execution on both sides of the football," said offensive lineman Houston Reynolds. "It's a battle out there every day, but it helps with the fans out there cheering us on. I think we worked hard today and showed a lot of improvement."

Reynolds is currently embroiled in one of the top position battles this fall. He's battling to be the starting left guard with Marco Thorson, as each have seen alternating reps with the first-team offense day-by-day.

"It's not only Houston and Moose (Thorson) that we're looking at there," said offensive line coach Mark Weber. "We're giving hard looks at Ryker Mathews and Walter K (Kahaialii), and they're both playing real well too. So, it's not just a battle between two guys, we're looking at a lot of guys, which is a good thing."

All of the players are loving the competition, and it's helping each of them perform at their best.

"Moose is one of my best friends on the whole team, so it's kind of weird that we're competing against each other," said Reynolds. "But it's definitely competitive. We each want to start, so we're pushing each other hard, and that will end up being beneficial to both of us, and to everyone else who is competing for a spot.

MISC: Among the throngs of fans in attendance was Jimmer Fredette, who stopped by to watch the open practice session. ... Justin Sorensen again showed well, connecting on six of his nine kicks. He showed plenty of leg on an attempt of 60 yards, but the kick missed to the right. ... As has become very common for every practice session, Ezekial Ansah recorded a sack from his outside linebacker position. ... The team will go light this afternoon in preparation for its first scrimmage of the year to be held tomorrow and LaVell Edwards stadium.

email: bgurney@desnews.com