PROVO — Much to his head coach's chagrin, BYU's Max Hall doesn't like to slide.

When the senior quarterback is running around in the open field, he enjoys absorbing contact rather than duck oncoming defenders.

In evaluating Hall's performance in a 52-0 win over Wyoming, coach Bronco Mendenhall praised Hall's accuracy and efficiency at length. "The only thing he didn't do," Mendenhall added, "was slide. We're still working on that."

Hall, who rushed five times for 30 yards against the Cowboys, understands the inherent risks of not sliding, but pays them little heed.

"I don't know what it is. Call me competitive or stubborn or whatever you want to call me," he said. "Every once in a while I like to just get in the mix. I like to run the ball and it's hard for me to slide. I'll get out of bounds if I'm near the sideline. I always went headfirst in baseball. I just don't know how to slide, I guess."

Over the years, Hall said he's seen quarterbacks get injured when they slide.

"I've seen a couple of quarterbacks slide and they get speared. For me, I just feel safer taking the blow and going down," he said. "I think it's safer not to slide, because then they don't dive at your knees and stuff."

ALLETTO INJURED: BYU right tackle Nick Alletto injured his calf muscle and is listed as "probable" for Saturday's game at New Mexico.

"This is relatively new when I found out about it," Mendenhall said about the injury. "I'm not that worried yet."

The coach added that he should know more by Thursday about Alletto's status and what the plan is if he can't play.

Running back Harvey Unga (ankle sprain) was held out of practice Tuesday but Mendenhall said "he's expected to play and play at full speed" against the Lobos.

Special teams contributor Tucker Lamb, who missed last week's game at Wyoming with a hamstring injury, is expected to return this weekend.

SORENSEN REHABBING: Justin Sorensen, who was one of BYU's placekickers last season as a true freshman, was recently injured during his mission in the Georgia Macon mission.

Mendenhall said Sorensen was talking to someone who was investigating the church when he stepped off of a curb and twisted his ankle, the same ankle he had hurt previously.

"I guess it was pretty severe damage," Mendenhall said. "It wasn't something the surgeons felt comfortable doing out there, knowing he was a kicker and performing at a Division I level. He returned home to get surgery and is still — and I can't say for sure if he's here still here, I think he is — rehabbing in the MTC ... then he'll go back out (to his mission) as soon as there's a certain threshold met where it's good enough where he can do whatever he needs to do on his own."

e-mail: jeffc@desnews.com