BYU football notebook: Poppinga's more Provo than 'Poke

LARAMIE, Wyo. — Because he hails from Wyoming, Kelly Poppinga, a former BYU linebacker and current intern on the defensive coaching staff, will be the Cougars' unofficial tour guide when they visit the Cowboys this weekend.

"I'm branded the Wyoming guy," said Poppinga, who played for BYU from 2006-07 and now helps out the team in a role similar to a graduate assistant. "(Players on the team) always make stupid comments about Wyoming."

Poppinga grew up in Evanston, which is not far from the Utah border.

"The funny thing is, Evanston is an hour and a half from (Provo) and it's four or five hours from Laramie," he said. "I know this place better than I do Laramie. When we went over there two years ago, every little thing was, 'Kelly, what's that over there?' 'What's that windmill?' 'Why do they have that?' It's funny. I usually just say, 'Shut up and don't ask stupid questions.'"

Two years ago, Poppinga helped the Cougars pound the Cowboys, 35-10, in Laramie.

"We beat them," he said of that game. "I wanted to say something else, but we beat them. Hopefully we have the same result on Saturday."

JACOBSON READY TO GO: BYU wide receiver McKay Jacobson, who has been sidelined for the past four games due to a hamstring injury, is expected to return to the field on Saturday.

"He's back and ready to go," said quarterback Max Hall. "It will be nice to have McKay back and have another weapon on offense to go to."

How close is Jacobson to being 100 percent healthy?

"It is hard to remember what 100 percent looks like, but he certainly looks ready to play," said coach Bronco Mendenhall. "I think we will make an assessment after the game, whether he was 100 percent or not. But he looks pretty good to me."

ACADEMIC HONORS: Three BYU players were included on the ESPN the Magazine's Academic All-District Football Teams.

Linebacker Matt Bauman, defensive lineman Brett Denney and defensive back Scott Johnson were all voted to the District 8 first-team and are eligible for Academic All-America consideration.

Bauman, a finance major, has a 3.91 GPA, the second-highest on the team. He plans to attend business school after graduation and has already been named a 2009 National Scholar Athlete by the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame.

Denney, who also majors in finance, has been named to the Academic All-MWC team and has been a MWC scholar athlete the past three years.

Johnson, an exercise science major, is a three-time Academic All-MWC selection and a two-time MWC Scholar Athlete. He plans to attend medical school following graduation. The final teams will be released on Nov. 24.

e-mail: jeffc@desnews.com