Cougar football team opens fall camp today

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    By Brandon Judd

    Another giant step along the quest to coach Bronco Mendenhall?s first game at the Cougar helm will occur today as the BYU football team opens up fall camp.

    Mendenhall said the transition from spring to fall camp goes from developing the players into what he called ?applied strategy.?

    ?What I mean by that is, besides the young guys you have in fall camp that you?re developing and bringing along in relation to position needs, then you talk about really applying what you already have on your team and what you?ve developed into ?How do I use them best against opponents??? Mendenhall said during the Mountain West Conference Media Days in mid-July. ?When you?re talking about applied strategy, you?re talking about bringing that team together in terms of being cohesive and really identifying the identity of that current team.?

    It has been a busy off-season for the Cougars this year, including naming a new head coach in Mendenhall and having a handful of players leave the program. But Mendenhall said he has one main goal for this year?s squad.

    ?In terms of the goals we might have, rather than list two or three, I expect their best every day,? he said. ?That standard has been set at the start of the off-season and has continued to this point. Some have left because of it, and there are others that are embracing it.?

    Following a 5-6 campaign in 2004, the Cougars will return 13 starters, seven on offense and six on defense.

    ?We have a lot of seasoned veterans back on offense,? junior quarterback John Beck said, who threw for 2,563 yards and 15 TDs in 2004. Also returning are the team?s top running back and wide receiver, Curtis Brown and Todd Watkins, as well as BYU?s leading tackler from last season, junior linebacker Cameron Jensen.

    Two areas in particular on the team will be highly scrutinized during fall camp: special teams and the defensive secondary. With four-year starting kicker/punter Matt Payne exhausting his eligibility, Mendenhall said two players who could play this year at the kicker positions are Derek McLaughlin and Jared McLaughlin ? no relation ? but there is still an open spot for one more kicker to challenge for playing time.

    ?When you talk about Matt Payne, he was kind of the rock of the program,? he said. ?With the situation we have now, I feel a lot more solid about punter that I do the kicker without a clear solution to either.?

    At safety, BYU will have to replace Cougarback Aaron Francisco, who is now in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals. While the Cougars return safety Spencer White and cornerback Nate Soelberg, depth is a concern in the secondary, leaving some younger players and incoming players like Justin Robinson with the chance to contribute immediately.

    ?They?ll have a chance to compete,? Mendenhall said. ?Ultimately, whether they?ll be able to keep up with the pace in fall practice [is the key].?

    Fall camp will continue for the next three weeks. On Aug. 29, the Cougars will start their practice sessions for their first game of the season against nationally-ranked Boston College on Sept. 3.

    ?They?re a good team defensively, offensively,? Jensen said. ?They?ve got a great offensive line coming back ? I think they?re extremely well-coached and confident.?

    But Beck said BYU is excited for the chance to prove itself early.

    ?Coach Mendenhall always tells us to accept the challenge,? he said. ?We have Boston College coming in to town, a top-ranked team, top 20 team. It?s going to be a challenge for us, but that?s what we want. We want to accept that challenge.?

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