BYU football: How transfer quarterbacks looked in first spring practice

PROVO Pitt and USC transfer quarterback Kedon Slovis got his first chance to run the BYU offense he was brought in to continue spinning, and he liked what he saw Monday afternoon at the Indoor Practice Facility as the Cougars held their first spring practice big. 12 football team.

I thought it was good, Slovis said. It was the first day, so it wasn’t perfect. There were some learning curves for everybody, some timing stuff. But I thought for the most part the first day it was good. I’m pretty proud of the way the guys competed.

As reported by the Deseret News Sunday , the Cougars are nowhere near full offense through the first 15 practices of spring camp. Receiver Kody Epps (shoulder surgery) and running back Aidan Robbins, a UNLV transfer, will not participate in contact drills due to injuries, and tight end Isaac Rex will be held out of many possessions as he continues to return from the bigs. a compound leg fracture that limited his ability to commit in 2022.

That meant guys like Parker Kingston, Ethan Erickson and Hobbs Nyberg saw plenty of reps on Monday.

I think those guys will really impress a lot of people, Slovis said. The receivers here probably know the offense better than any receiving corps I’ve ever been around.

That’s saying something considering the degree transfer happened at USC and Pitt, a pair of Power Five programs.

So what did Slovis look like?

That’s the question BYU fans want to know, and offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick and head coach Kalani Sitake shared some happy news.

He looked good, Roderick said. We made a couple of big plays and had a couple of long foul balls that were close. He made good decisions, took really good care of the ball and it looks like he’s been in our system for a while.

Added Sitake: I thought he looked good. I thought all the quarterbacks looked good, so no complaints with the quarterbacks. There’s a lot of talent in that room.

During the media viewing portion of practice in the final 20 minutes, Slovis, Ryder Burton, Nick Billoups and Cade Fennegan got reps. Roderick said junior college transfer Jake Retzlaff recently had his tonsils removed and was unavailable but will be fine. The sixth quarterback on the spring roster shared by BYU Monday is Cole Hagen, a former Corner Canyon standout.

The quarterbacks are way ahead of what I expected, Sitake said. I mean, there were obviously some mistakes, but not based on them.

Sitake said the offense will be ahead of the defense, as expected, after the defensive staff was shuffled in the offseason and former Weber State coach Jay Hill was brought in as defensive coordinator.

“He does it exactly the way I would do it if I were running the defense,” Sitake said of Hill. So a lot of energy, discipline and focus on playing our basic defense first and see what else we can mix with it. But I think he uses his skills and staff in the right way.

Hill also liked what he saw Monday, saying the speed is excellent on defense and now it’s just a matter of getting guys familiar with the system.

Hill has been commuting back and forth from Ogden and keeping her house in Weber County for a while so her children can finish the school year there.

It was pretty tough, he admitted.

He’s also looking for some linebackers with starters Max Tooley and Ben Bywater out for spring camp after in-season or postseason surgeries. Those two are the only defensemen on the two-deep chart who won’t see live action between now and April 14, when camp ends.

All in all, there are 37 newcomers on the list, which is quite a significant number, Sitake admitted.

The coaches’ goal for the remaining 14 practices, including March 31 at LaVell Edwards Stadium, which is open to the public, is to compete at the Power Five level.

Just competing for spots and maybe spots, Sitake said of the goals. This is the case in every position at the moment. Obviously we have to figure it out with the propellers as well.

For the most part, the quarterback spot has been settled for a long time, especially if Slovis stays healthy. Roderick confirmed it last week.

Kedon has been a great employee since he was here. He did a great job of not proving himself right, Roderick said. He’s just here to work and he’s just one of the guys like everyone else. He is a good player and we are all excited to have him.

Kristin Murphy, Deseret News