BYU football: Tight end Kaneakua Friel ready for redemption against Fighting Irish

PROVO — After dropping some passes against Oregon State last week, BYU tight end Kaneakua Friel is vowing that it won't happen Saturday when the Cougars visit No. 5 Notre Dame.

"I feel like I made a lot of errors this past week," he said. "I need to find out what was wrong and figure out how to correct those mistakes."

Friel said he's talked at length with tight ends coach Lance Reynolds about the problem.

"He just said that's not the kind of player that I am," Friel said. "He was slightly disappointed in how I did play. I really took that to heart, because I didn't play my best game and I know the team needed me. It's time for me to step up and play up to my potential … It's not going to happen in this game. There's a lot more emphasis on being crisp and everything."

Reynolds said he expects the tight ends to play at a much higher level.

"You've got to stay focused, you've got to forget about the past and get your eyes and hands on that ball," Reynolds said. "We've got to make plays. We've got to do better. (Saturday's performance) was not acceptable … There are no excuses for that."

On the season, Friel is No. 2 on the team in receiving yards, having caught 23 passes for 266 yards and a team-high four touchdown catches. While Friel had 15 receptions for 195 yards in the first three games, he has just nine catches for 71 yards in the last four contests.

NEWS FROM NOTRE DAME: Fighting Irish quarterback Everett Golson did not pass all his cognitive tests after sustaining a concussion against Stanford and will not be allowed to resume practice until at least today.

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly says Golson is making progress but did not pass the computer portion of the cognitive test Tuesday. Kelly says he expects Golson to be ready to play Saturday against the Cougars. But he said he is getting backups Tommy Rees and Andrew Hendrix ready.

RESPECT FOR RUDY: BYU linebacker Kyle Van Noy has watched the movie "Rudy," the true story about an athletically challenged defensive player at Notre Dame who overcame obstacles, persevered, and ended up getting on the field for a couple of plays as a senior.

"It's a good story," Van Noy said. "I think Rudy has better qualities in some ways than I do. He has patience."

Contributing: The Associated Press

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