BYU football notebook; Cody Hoffman makes presence felt in return to practice

PROVO — After sitting out of four practices for disciplinary reasons, BYU junior wide receiver Cody Hoffman returned Wednesday. And on Friday, he made up for some lost time, catching a pair of touchdown passes — a 20-yarder and a 10-yarder — during the 11-on-11 session.

"The first one, I think, was a malfunction by the defense," Hoffman said of the first TD catch. "I had a simple seam route up the middle and it just opened up nicely for me. The next one was our money play. We run that one a lot and we've scored a few touchdowns on that, so we know it's always going to be there."

Asked about being able to practice with the team again, he said, "I feel like I picked up where I left off. It feels good to be out here with the team. I hate missing practice, but it feels good to be back."

Does Hoffman feel he was treated fairly by BYU?

"Yeah, I made a mistake and they handled it accordingly," Hoffman said. "And now I'm back."

Hoffman is encouraged by the progress the offense has made since the start of fall camp.

"We've come a long ways," he said. "We're still installing new plays, and so we're still not playing at our full capability yet. I feel like we're really gelling and players are starting to get better and making plays for us."

BYU opens the season in less than three weeks against Washington State.

"I feel like we're going to come out really quick against (Washington State) because we can focus on Riley (Nelson) being the quarterback," Hoffman said. "Coach (Brandon) Doman has a year under his belt (as offensive coordinator). He's still learning as well, but we're going to be a lot better than last year."

SIGNS OF THE TIMES: Crews continue to install new LED video screens at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

The screens measure 35 feet high by 50 feet wide. The renovation also includes more than 950 feet of LED ribbon. Approximately 240 feet of LED ribbon will flank both sides of each scoreboard that will display, among other things, real-time statistics and animation.

ANC Sports Enterprises, the company that is installing the new video screens, is also installing similar technology at LP Field, home of the NFL's Tennessee Titans.

"The ANC video display system will be a great addition to the game-day experience at LaVell Edwards Stadium," BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe said in a statement. "We are excited to be working with ANC Sports on this project and are grateful to Nu Skin Enterprises for its generous sponsorship of the new LED screens."

COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF: Quarterback Riley Nelson is looking forward to the season-opener, but he knows there is plenty of work to do until then.

"We're building up a good foundation of volume. Now it becomes fine-tuning," he said. "The battle of course is between putting in enough physical work and staying healthy."

email: jeffc@desnews.com