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Starting Defense Dominates, Freshman WR Shines on Day 15 of BYU Camp

Fall Camp rolls on for the BYU football program
Casey Lundquist|
Terrance Saryon Scores a Touchdown in Fall Camp
Terrance Saryon Scores a Touchdown in Fall Camp | BYU Photo

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BYU Cougars

PROVO, UT - The BYU football program was back in action on Friday for a practice on the Zion's Bank practice fields. The media was permitted to watch the last 20 minutes of practice, which included a competitive two-minute drill. Here is our practice noteback from day 15.

Starting Defense Dominates

The media only saw one series between the starting offense and the starting defense. The starters took the field for a two-minute drill, and the defense made life difficult on the offense.

On the opening play of the drive, defensive end Tausili Akana came flying off the edge for a sack. The defense celebrated as the offense had to burn a timeout. On the next play, the pass rush forced a quick pass from Bear Bachmeier to LJ Martin for a short gain. The offense quickly faced a long third down in their own territory.

On third down, Bachmeier navigated pressure (again) and scrambled to his right, buying time until Legend Glasker got open about 15 yards downfield. Bachmeier made a nice throw to Glasker who reeled in the catch to extend the drive.

Even though the offense moved the chains, the defensive pressure was making life difficult on Bachmeier. After short completions to Roger Saleapaga and Kyler Kasper, Bachmeier converted another third down to Walker Lyons on a quick hitch near the boundary.

On the next play, Bachmeier stepped into a collapsing pocket and fired a deep ball to Jojo Phillips. Phillips was being double teamed as Raider Damuni came to help over the top. Damuni leaped and made the interception for the defense.

Unlike other days where the offense has controlled the line of scrimmage, it was the defense that dictated the line of scrimmage on Friday. That was a noteworthy bounceback after the offense won the day in last Saturday's scrimmage.

Freshman WR Terrance Saryon Stands Out

On the first play of the media observation window, Treyson Bourguet hit a deep shot to true freshman wide receiver Terrance Saryon. Saryon ran a route and was wide open behind the defense. The pass was a little late, otherwise Saryon would have walked into the end zone. Still, he made a contested catch as safety Jarinn Kalama came to help over the top.

The deep shot wasn't the only highlight for Saryon on Friday. On the final play of practice, the BYU offense was trying to score from the 12 yard-line. A holding penalty on the previous play negated a touchdown pass from Bourguet to Tiger Bachmeier.

That's when Treyson Bourguet delivered a perfect pass to Terrance Saryon for a touchdown to close out practice. The BYU offense celebrated with Saryon in the end zone.

Saryon dropped a pass earlier in the two-minute drill, but he bounced back in a big way on the final play. Saryon is one of the quickest players on BYU's roster. He was routinely getting open on Friday. If BYU's wide receivers aren't getting open against man coverage come September, Saryon could factor in given that is his chief strength. Treyson Bourguet named Saryon his offensive standout after practice.

Wide Receiver Rotation

Speaking of the wide receiver rotation, Friday confirmed our belief coming out of Tuesday's practice: the wide receiver rotation is sorting itself out.

The same four wide receivers ran exclusively with the first-team offense: Jojo Phillips, Kyler Kasper, Legend Glasker, and Reggie Frischknecht. Tiger Bachmeier got a snap or two with the first-team offense, but he spent most of his time with the second-string offense. Tei Nacua ran exclusively with the second-team offense.

If the season started today, we would expect Phillips, Kasper, Glasker, and Frischknecht to play the most. Frischknecht met with the media after practice and confirmed those four are at the top of the depth chart.

Braxton Lindsey & Other Depth Chart Notes

True freshman Braxton Lindsey continues to get snaps with the first-team defense. At this point in camp, we are expecting him to contribute right away. Lindsey came out with the starting defense in the two-minute drill and was tasked with getting after the passer.

Another freshman that continues to get a lot of second-team reps is Kennan Pula. We project Pula to be a backup safety when the depth chart is released.

BYU started the two-minute drill with three defensive tackles in a three-point stance: Viliami Po'uha, Keanu Tanuvasa, and Justin Kirkland. Lindsey and Akana were the outside backers/edge rushers. Akana and Lindsey were paired with Cade Uluave and Isaiah Glasker at linebacker.

Cannon DeVries continues to get starting reps at nickel/safety. Evan Johnson, Jayven Williams, and Raider Damuni rounded out the first-team defense.

Faletau Satuala Sighting

BYU star safety Faletau Satuala was suited up on Friday and cheering on his teammates. It was notable since Satuala has missed the first part of camp recovering from a foot injury. We didn't see Satuala in the team portion, but it's important to remember that we only watched a handful of first-team snaps.

Satuala is going to be really important for BYU starting in week two against Arizona.

Backup Cornerbacks Show Well

BYU's backup cornerbacks showed well on Friday. Kevin Doe made multiple plays and looked like a player that is ready to contribute this season. Doe is really athletic and built well at 6'3, 205 pounds. He started his BYU career as a wide receiver before switching to cornerback. He is on track to be in the two-deep at that spot when the depth chart is released.

Matthias Leach also had a nice pass breakup on a pass intended for Tiger Bachmeier in the end zone. Leach never allowed Bachmeier to separate.

Uniform Update

Most of the players were wearing royal helmets during Friday's practice. It's not uncommon for BYU to wear royal helmets for a day during Fall Camp to break them in before the season. When asked about the helmets after practice, Sitake confirmed that they needed to be broken in before they can be used in a game.

While commenting on the helmets, Sitake confirmed that BYU will wear blue jerseys with white pants against Utah Tech. While he didn't confirm specifically whether they would wear the royal helmets for the season opener, it could probably be inferred in context.

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Casey Lundquist
CASEY LUNDQUIST

Casey Lundquist is the publisher and lead editor of BYU On SI. He has covered BYU athletics since 2020. During that time, he has published over 3,500 stories that have reached millions of readers.

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