Cougs Daily

Everything that Happened on Day Nine of BYU Football Fall Camp

The quarterback competition continues into the third week of Fall camp

Casey Lundquist

Kody Epps catches a pass from Jake Retzlaff at Fall camp
Kody Epps catches a pass from Jake Retzlaff at Fall camp / BYU Photo
In this story:

PROVO, UT - The third week of 2024 BYU Fall camp kicked off on Monday with a practice at the indoor practice facility. Here is a recap of everything that happened during the media portion of the ninth day of Fall camp.

Play of the Day

The defense had the play of the day on Monday. Utah State transfer quarterback McCae Hillstead took a deep shot down the sideline to true freshman walk-on Ty West. Sophomore safety Chika Ebunoha was stride-for-stride with West in coverage - Ebunoha jumped in front of the Hillstead pass for the interception.

Player of the Day - Keelan Marion

Junior wide receiver Keelan Marion had a trio of catches in front of the media on Monday. Marion caught a ball from Jake Retzlaff on a quick hitch for a short gain during team portion.

At the end of practice, the team did some situational work where the offense had 35 seconds from midfield to get into field goal range. On Gerry Bohanon's first snap in the situational work, he fired a strike to Marion for a gain of 20-25 yards. Marion ran a skinny post and Bohanon hit him in stride before the safety could shut down the passing lane.

On the very next play, Bohanon hit Marion again for a quick out to set up a shorter field goal.

Quarterback Competition Update

BYU declined to name a starting quarterback on Monday following Saturday's scrimmage. The reps continue to be split evenly between Jake Retzlaff and Gerry Bohanon.

In the opinion of this author, Jake Retzlaff had the upper hand on Monday. In a small sample size, Retzlaff was sharp. He completed every throw he had in the media portion. His first throw was the aforementioned quick hitch to Keelan Marion for a couple yards. His next throw was a quick slant to Jojo Phillips for a first down.

His third and final throw was during the situation work. Retzlaff fired a bullet to Kody Epps on a corner route for a 25-30 yard gain. That throw set up the potential game-winning field goal.

Bohanon wasn't bad, he just wasn't as sharp as Retzlaff. Bohanon had two consecutive misfires during the team portion. On one play, he slightly missed Keanu Hill for the incompletion. On the same drive, he narrowly missed Parker Kingston near the boundary.

Bohanon had his fair share of good moments as well. Bohanon showed off his escapability on one play where the defensive line collapsed the pocket. Bohanon escaped and picked up a few yards before being tagged down. Bohanon made a spin move that might have split a couple tacklers and turned into a chunk-yardage play.

Bohanon showed off his healthy shoulder on a long out route to Jojo Phillips. Bohanon threw a strike to Phillips from the opposite hash for a first down.

Bohanon also had a nice drive to set up the potential game-winning field goal in the situational portion of practice.

Two Freshmen Wide Receivers Continue to Make Plays

Cody Hagen and Jojo Phillips made a handful of plays on Monday. Phillips is poised for a bigger role in 2024. Hagen could crack the rotation in a crowded wide receiver room.

Two Running Backs Held Out of Scrimmage

BYU's top two running backs, LJ Martin and Hinckley Ropati, were held out of the scrimmage on Saturday. BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick noted that they've kept Martin from getting hit. Roderick and Sitake both said they expect Martin to play against Southern Illinois.

Other Practice Highlights

Like usual, BYU included a few practice highlights that the media did not see (highlights included at the top of this article). Notable highlights from those clips included:

  • A nice touchdown pass from Gerry Bohanon to Ty West
  • A Mory Bamba PBU on a pass attempt to Jojo Phillips
  • A touchdown pass from Jake Retzlaff to Jojo Phillips
Published |Modified
Casey Lundquist

CASEY LUNDQUIST

Casey Lundquist is the publisher and lead editor of Cougs Daily. He has covered BYU athletics for the last four years. During that time, he has published over 2,000 stories that have reached more than three million people.

Home/Football