PROVO, Utah – The offensive unit shined during the BYU football team's sixth practice of spring on Thursday morning.
BYU went with a live practice format for much of the session, going full contact, including allowing hits on the quarterbacks. The offense was productive in 11-on-11 work, getting a few scores past the defense.
Cougar receivers will look to take another step forward after a solid 2017 season. The top wideouts all return with juniors Aleva Hifo, Micah Simon and Talon Shumway. Hifo led the 2017 group with with 37 receptions, 437 yards and two scores while Simon added 27 catches, 386 yards and three touchdowns. Shumway posted 25 receptions and 257 yards.
Sophomore Neil Pau'u and senior Beau Tanner return after being contributors last year while senior Trey Dye moves back to a full-time receiver role after spending time as a running back in 2017. Senior Rickey Shumway, junior Akile Davis and junior Inoke Lotulelei are also back after seeing some action last season.
Sophomore Jared Kapisi and redshirt freshman Tariq Buchanan are ready to make an impact in 2018.
The following quotes are from BYU's post-practice media availability on Thursday.
Head coach Kalani Sitake
On the live practice
This is the first day we’ve done a lot of live stuff. It was good to hit the quarterbacks too. They get a little too safe in the pocket and the timing gets a lot better when they know they’re going to get hit. Defensively it was good for us to try and tackle because when you’re tagging up it seems like a 3-yard gain but in a tackle situation it is 8-10 yards if the defenders don’t do their job. We had a lot of good tackles and I’m really happy with how our guys responded to the physical part of the game.
On the quarterbacks
I was pleased with that they seemed to have good pocket presence. We had really good completion percentages and they were able to scramble. More than anything, it was good for them to get live work and get hit. We try to simulate a game environment and for them they really need to get hit. Otherwise, I don’t know how it can be a fair competition if you don’t put them in a live situation.
On offensive improvements
There is a huge sense of urgency to get better. Sometimes you have to turn the page to the next part of the season and that is looking to the future. The offensive staff did that by not really looking at the past film and trying to build from what they know and what they see in practice. It’s tough, but I’m looking forward to climbing back and getting past the adversity from last year.
Offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes
We were able to get done today what we wanted to, which was get some live work and have an opportunity to see guys take a hit. There are a lot of guys who can look good when they know they are not going to get tackled. A opportunity to get tackled shows us a lot, so it was a great evaluation.
How did the offense do against the defense?
We did a lot of good things, but we still have a lot of work to do. A lot of the little things, like we fumbled the ball once today, which we are not going to do at all. It's unacceptable. We're not going to put the ball on the ground, so that was the first thing I talked to them about. There is still some little things, like depth of routes, tracks of the running backs, and footwork with the offensive line to improve. Small things that make a big a difference to win or lose games. I think it was our best day yet in terms of practice, but we still have a long way to go.
What will the offensive scheme look like?
We're going to be multiple, versatile and be able to attack a defense in a number of ways. I think if you look at most offenses, with some exceptions, most offenses that are really successful nowadays are balanced and balanced in a number ways. We'll be balanced between the run and the pass. That doesn't mean every game we're going to be 50-50, there'll be games where we run it a little more and games where we throw it a little more. We'll take advantage of what the defense gives us and what mismatches work for us. We'll also try to be really balanced in ball distribution. If it's 3rd-and-8, I don't want the defense to know it's going to a particular guy. I want them to feel like they have to defend every guy on the field with an eligible number.
Tight end Matt Bushman
On the offense
As a core, we’re trying to get it done. Coach Grimes is asking a lot of us. We’re doing our best, but we have a lot more to work on and get better at. I think when the season comes it will be a lot better than it is right now.
What is Coach Grimes' offensive philosophy?
In the huddle he says, ‘Just play this play. Forget about the past and just play this play.’ Sometimes the defense is going to make plays – they’re going to get a stop or tackles for loss – but if we can just play the next play and realize that it is ours, we can keep that positive energy and we’ll make a play on them. We’ll get a first down or score a touchdown. We can’t let negative plays affect our whole drive or quarter or game because that happened a lot last year. If we can just play the next play as a whole new opportunity, I think that will help us a lot more.
Quarterback Joe Critchlow
On going live
I really liked it. There is no other feeling like it, you can’t simulate going live. I feel like our offense did very well today. We were clicking on different fronts and there was a lot of energy. We are all antsy for fall already. We want to play ball, but this is what we have to focus on right now and so we are going to do our best with it.
I would say that none of the quarterbacks shy away from contact. We all love football. I feel like it was our first time back at it and we were all antsy to get going. It feels good to play real football.
On the new offense
The entire offense as a whole has put a lot of effort to learn the offense quickly and I feel like it is starting to gel and that we are getting it down. We have practiced a lot as a team and that has helped us to get it down.