BYU football: 5 things we know so far

PROVO — It's been a little more than two weeks since BYU opened fall camp, and there are a little less than two weeks before it squares off against national power Oklahoma in Arlington, Texas.

"I feel ready," quarterback Max Hall said after the completion of Saturday's scrimmage at LaVell Edwards Stadium. "I actually told that to the team before we broke up. I said, 'Guys, we've got two weeks. Let's prepare like crazy, get ready and let's go down there and fight.' I think we have a good chance."

The Cougars debuted at No. 20 in the preseason Associated Press poll, which was released Saturday. The Sooners, who fell in last year's national championship game to Florida, checked in at No. 3.

"I like our team. I think they're confident," coach Bronco Mendenhall told reporters. "I think they're progressing, with some questions, like there always are at fall camp."

Unfortunately for the Cougars, the spate of injuries has been the story of camp, especially at positions where they can ill afford them — on the offensive line and in the defensive secondary.

While questions remain at those positions, as fall camp nears its end, there are at least five things that we've learned so far about the 2009 Cougars ...

1. Football is fun again.

A year ago, BYU was a team with a target on its back. It was anointed as the BCS-buster of 2008, and the Cougars' "Quest for Perfection" slogan put a lot of pressure on them.

With expectations so high, football became a drudgery to the players and coaches.

During fall camp, BYU isn't carrying the weight of the BCS hopes on its shoulders.

"We have a team that likes to work and likes to compete," Mendenhall said. "We're all hungrier and more anxious to play. That's a good thing. At the end of last season, I didn't think we were eager to play. It was an endurance test. This is a lot more fun."

Defensive lineman Jan Jorgensen agreed, saying there's a marked difference in the approach this season. "Last year, it was like going to the office, getting a day of work in. We forgot that we're playing a game."

2. Manase Tonga is back and will help the BYU offense.

The senior fullback returned to the Cougars on Friday. He sat out last season after being ruled academically ineligible.

What Tonga offers the BYU offense is difficult to overstate.