Breaking Down Footage From BYU Football’s First Scrimmage

PROVO, Utah – BYU football wrapped up its first scrimmage of fall camp on Saturday.

The media was not permitted to observe the scrimmage at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

But BYU Athletics was kind enough to upload some scrimmage footage. BYU uploaded three minutes and three seconds worth of highlights to pour over. Let’s break it down, shall we?

(0:07 on the video): Who wore a straw hat at practice better, Kalani Sitake or LaVell Edwards?

(0:13): Players running out of the tunnel like it’s a game day in Provo. There are less than four weeks until Baylor rolls through LES for the first time since 1984 to kickoff BYU’s homestand in 2022.

(0:18): BYU freshman Isaiah Glasker shows some love to the camera. Glasker, a freshman from Bingham High, has moved from defensive back to linebacker.

He’s got a unique body type for football at 6-foot-5, 205-pounds. Maybe linebacker is where he can find a permanent home from now on.

(0:26): Speaking of linebackers, Payton Wilgar shows his athleticism trying to get up in the passing lane of a Jaren Hall pass.

Hall still gets the pass around Wilgar and finds Keanu Hill, who makes a tough grab.

What’s noteworthy here is that Hill has starting defensive backs Kaleb Hayes and Malik Moore on him. That’s two of BYU’s top DBs, and “Kebo” still came up with the catch.

(0:32): Bread and butter play for BYU in the wide zone. Cal transfer Chris Brooks appears to have stepped in nicely in his new role within BYU’s offense.

Also of note here is Kingsley Suamataia lining up at right tackle and Harris LaChance at right guard.

(0:39): Fisher Jackson deflects a pass from Jaren Hall. Hall gave praise to this BYU defense as the toughest he’s gone up against in his five years at BYU. Guys like Jackson are under-the-radar now, but seem poised to make significant contributions this fall for the Cougars.

Jacob Conover connects with Terence Fall

(0:46): Good ball from second-string quarterback Jacob Conover to find Terence Fall over the middle.

Earlier in camp on day one, Fall had a highlight catch down the sideline. No one will assume Fall suddenly factors into the game-day rotation at wide receiver this year, but he appears to be showing the flashes necessary to earn a roster spot into the Big 12 era and beyond.

Originally from France, Fall is entering his third year with the BYU football program but is still only a freshman.

(0:52): Chase Roberts catches a low ball from Conover. A former starting cornerback in the SEC, Gabe Jeudy-Lally, was on the coverage against Roberts.

BYU football has a stable of running backs

(1:00): Tyler Allgeier was the bell cow for BYU football in the backfield last season. Chris Brooks has the potential to be that again as well this season.

It will be interesting to see where Aaron Roderick finds spots to utilize Miles Davis. Davis, along with Jackson McChesney, are intriguing young players who have earned praise from coaches.

Roderick pointed out Davis as a young guy that showed well in Saturday’s scrimmage. You can see why in this clip.

(1:06): Jacob Conover makes a confident, precise decision in his throw to Jackson McChesney in the flat. An example of why Conover appears to be the clear-cut number two quarterback.

Also of note in this clip is the get-off from Weber State transfer end Logan Lutui. He went up against Tyler Little, who’s earned some praise from Darrell Funk for his play at offensive tackle in camp.

Ryan Rehkow has a big leg

(1:13): BYU doesn’t want to use him. But if they need to, punter Ryan Rehkow is a huge weapon in the special teams for BYU this season.

(1:23): Examples of the officials blowing some of the runs from Chris Brooks or Lopini Katoa down quickly. BYU kept players out of the scrimmage to avoid injury. This also highlights the efforts made to try and avoid contact with key players as much as possible.

(1:51): It’s sometimes easy to forget, but Brayden Cosper was once the higher-rated wide receiver prospect over Dax Milne coming out of Bingham High.

Injuries have derailed Cosper’s availability. Otherwise, he would have played a lot the past two seasons.

Joshua Singh making a name for himself along BYU’s defensive line

(2:09): Joshua Singh and Aisea Moa show pressure in the backfield. Moa, a former four-star recruit, shows flashes of his potential in these clips.

Singh, a preferred walk-on, was a beast at Orem High School in the weight room. He saw action last year in the blowout victory over Idaho State. Singh is a player to keep tabs on along the defensive front in the future.

(2:16): Good battle in the trenches between Arizona State transfer Sione Veikoso and Moa.

We also get a glimpse at Hinckley Ropati, another capable runner in BYU’s backfield. Remember, in 2020, Ropati was projected to be one of the top running backs before he suffered a season-ending injury in camp. So it could have been him along with Allgeier that season.

(2:25): Joshua Singh with a sack on Cade Fennegan.

(2:32): A touchdown grab from walk-on wide receiver Tanner Wall. Wall was an MVP in his classification of high school ball in Virginia. He hauled in 56 catches for 857 yards his senior year and had 1,650 all-purpose yards.

(2:49): Ethan Erickson hauls in a catch from Cade Fennegan. Erickson earned praise from BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick on KSL NewsRadio for his play during camp.

(2:57): Singh with a tackle for loss.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.

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