PROVO, Utah – BYU football held a morning practice Wednesday in prep for its second scrimmage of fall camp on Thursday.
BYU's defensive backfield has undergone some shuffling in the offseason, with Dayan Ghanwoloku and Troy Warner seeing time at safety to help develop young cornerbacks while other defensive backs are looking to earn expanded roles.
Ghanwoloku returns as a redshirt junior and is expected to stay at one of the safety spots. He collected two interceptions last year, returning them for a total of 105 yards. In two seasons at corner, Ghanwoloku has five interceptions, including a pick-six and 218 return yards. The coaching staff hopes his ball skills will help create more turnovers with him in the middle of the field at safety.
Warner is also seeing time at safety in camp, but does have 17 starts at cornerback and is another experienced option to stay at corner.
Austin Lee has pushed for one of the safety spots as well. A former player at Utah, Lee played in eight games last year and started in the season finale against Hawaii.
Three other versatile players include Isaiah Armstrong, Austin McChesney and Austin Kafentzis. Armstrong and McChesney have seen game action at corner but are being trained at safety in camp while Kafentzis switched to the safety spot from the offensive side of the ball.
Seniors Gavin Fowler and Sawyer Powell are also back and have playing experience.
At the corner spot, Michael Shelton, Chris Wilcox and Trevion Green all have game experience and are competing for the cornerback positions. Shelton, a senior, has 32 games under his belt while Wilcox has played in 22 with seven starts.
Keenan Ellis redshirted last season and has made an impact while wide receiver-turned-defensive back Beau Tanner is back with the team and impressing on the defensive side of the ball with his speed.
Newcomers Malik Moore, Isaiah Herron and D'Angelo Mandell have all made plays in camp and are in the mix for time.
The following notes and quotes are from Wednesday's post-practice media availability.
Head Coach Kalani Sitake
On what he wants to see at the second scrimmage
We’ll talk a little bit more about it as a staff. We have some minor injuries but I don’t think anything will really limit our ability to go live. It’s going to be fun. These guys will be given a little more time to rest so we can really empty the tank right now. It’s a good chance for these guys to go live. It’s harder to do it twice in a week, but these guys are ready for tomorrow.
On solidifying the depth chart and starters
Every scrimmage we have tells us what we can go with. The depth charts get more defined as we do more live work. I’m looking forward to seeing the scrimmage and evaluating and then making adjustments and seeing where we think guys will fit better.
On the competition atmosphere he has tried to create
I’m happy with it. I think the biggest concern is the health and guys getting hurt, especially after last year and having so many injuries. I think some of the things we’ve done is a lot of research. There’s a lot of data out there. There are things that we’ve emphasized, like their off-season conditioning, nutrition, rest and the way we’ve we’ve prepared them in the summer really helps them get ready for game time. Now we’re just polishing things up. Practicing in the evening is going to help us more and we’re doing that in the fall. The scrimmages are where we get nervous because guys can get hurt in those live games, but we have games to play. We have to get ready for football season and it starts really quick. I’m really happy with how it’s been going.
On avoiding injuries
That’s just part of the deal. But the off-season conditioning really helped our guys stay healthy. And the focus that we’ve had on nutrition and our guys really being able to take care of themselves, too. A lot of it is education. We’ve done a lot of things with our schedule in the mindset that we’re focused on getting the optimal performance at practice so we are geared towards the scrimmages. That’s what we’re trying to do right now. It’s game time tomorrow and injuries happen. It’s part of football and you hate it, but we just have to adjust and hopefully we can stay healthy after this next one.
Defensive Lineman Corbin Kaufusi
On the defense going after the quarterback
I saw a quote by Kalani that said, 'If we can’t get a sack or put pressure on the quarterback without having to do a blitz, then we need new guys in there.' So I think everyone wants to be the one out there and doesn't want to get taken out. So everyone is trying to get back there.
On focusing on getting takeaways
Coming out with no takeaways from the last scrimmage was kind of eye-opening because we realized we had plays that we needed to work on. We’ve got to come out and take the ball away. We might have done well in some other things, but takeaways are huge. They’re a big part of the game for us.
Offensive Lineman Thomas Shoaf
On moving to the guard position
I had never played guard until this spring, so it was a unique experience. Regardless of where we end up I think it’s a good experience to cross-train because you get different aspects and different physicality from the inside and outside. No matter where we end up, I think it’s good for an overall understanding of the offense but also technique-wise. We were just trying to find the best five guys to put out there. The coaches tried to come in with a clean slate and not really look at film from last year but move guys around and see who fits better. If it’s better for me to go to guard and have another guy play tackle then that’s what we’ll do.
On offensive line coach Ryan Pugh
Coach Pugh is an awesome guy. He’s a little bit younger, a little more our age, and he likes to have fun. He’s known for his one-liners. Tristen Hoge and I write them down and we get about three or four a day. We’re going to make a book of them. They’re kind of oddball, off-the-wall comments that push a meaning but are light-hearted and fun and help us understand what’s going on.