BYU football: Cougars cancel the traditional April game

PROVO — It's official now.

BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe announced Monday that the traditional spring game, originally scheduled for April 11, has been canceled because of construction taking place on the field at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

Among other things, the old grass has been removed and is being replaced with new grass. It's the first time the playing surface at Edwards Stadium has undergone this type of overhaul in 20 years.

Coach Bronco Mendenhall said a week ago that there was "a great chance" that the spring game wouldn't be held.

"I've consulted with coach Mendenhall as we considered the issues related to playing the spring game this year," Holmoe said in a statement. "It's really not workable to have a public spring game and accommodate the many fans who always attend. We recognize that this is a temporary situation and look forward to continuing with our spring game tradition next season."

More than 16,000 fans have turned out in each of the past two years to watch the spring game.

"I wasn't really willing to have it anywhere other than our stadium, even though there were other options," Mendenhall said Monday. "Most likely, we'll use that week and do some early work on our first opponent for those last three days of spring."

The Cougars open the 2009 season on Sept. 5 against Oklahoma at the Dallas Cowboys' new stadium in Arlington, Texas.

SCRIMMAGE OBSERVATIONS: BYU held its first scrimmage in full pads last Friday. After watching film of the scrimmage, Mendenhall was encouraged by what he saw.

"I like it. This team really likes to compete," he said. "They like to work, they like to practice and they're fun to be around. The execution can still improve, but I like their desire to work."

The scrimmage was interrupted for several minutes after a hard hit by safety Scott Johnson on tight end Andrew George sparked a brawl that included numerous players.

"There's a lot of guys playing with passion and fire and intensity," running back Harvey Unga said about the scrimmage. "It comes on both sides of the ball."

Unga rushed twice for 50 yards and a touchdown in the scrimmage.

HALL HOT: During 11-on-11 drills Monday, quarterback Max Hall completed 15 of 16 passes for 109 yards and a six-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dennis Pitta, who hauled in four passes for 37 yards.

REDEN'S CAREER OVER: Offensive lineman Garrett Reden, who has been a backup the past couple of seasons, is done playing football due to a major injury suffered last season, Mendenhall said Monday.

"His injury basically was not repairable in terms of being able to function as a college football player," the coach explained. "We made that decision the week before spring practice."

E-mail: jeffc@desnews.com