BYU Sports

Coach Bronco Mendenhall said after Tuesday’s practice that the Cougars’ practices since the TCU loss have been more spirited and intense.
After Wednesday night’s practice, he said they have also been more physical -- by design.
“We haven’t gone full pads since two-a-days, but we have actually gone in what we call shells -- which means upper [pads] more than we did a year ago. The players like it more, they think it is helping them with their pad level, and just protecting them more. So we have actually practiced more physically [this year] than we have in the past three years, and I still think we are maintaining the edge [we want],” he said.
Mendenhall said some players approached him during the bye week and asked for more physical practices, and coaches have tried to accomodate them.

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Hard to argue with Mendenhall’s philosophy now, because the Cougars are incredibly healthy as they head into the final fourth of their season.
The most noteable injury now is offensive lineman Nick Alletto’s calf strain. Mendenhall still lists Alletto as “probable,” althought he right tackle was again limping visibly on Wednesday, with a black support-type bandage on his right leg.
Of the three special teams players who were out last week -- Landon Jaussi, Tucker Lamb and Carter Mees -- only Lamb has returned to action. Jaussi had shoulder surgery and is out for the season, while Mees is suffering from Lis Franc’s injury at the ball of his foot that will likely require surgery. He’s also done for the year.
“I think Harvey [Unga] and Nick will both play,” Mendenhall said.
And if Alletto can’t go?
“Haven’t decided yet. I sat in with the offensive line today, and they are experimenting with a few things. So probably by tomorrow I can tell you,” the coach said.

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Mendenhall was asked if he remembers the game against New Mexico in his first year, 2005. BYU was 1-3 at the time, but got a 27-24 win that Mendenhall says turned the season around. The Cougars finished 6-6 and went to the Las Vegas Bowl.
“I remember a two-minute drive, with I believe, it was Matt Allen making a catch in the end zone, and then us making a stop at midfield, and hugging my wife in the locker room.
It was emotional. That time for us wasn’t easy, and so yeah, I remember it well,” he said.

The Cougars just made it official, announcing that they have signed top-100 high school star Kyle Collinsworth of Provo High to a national letter of intent.
Collinsworth signed earlier today at a ceremony at his high school.
The Cougars are also expected to sign Anson Winder, a 6-3 guard from Bishop Gorman High in Las Vegas. However, they have not received his letter, and probably will not get it today.
School is out for Veteran’s Day in Nevada, and that could be the reason for the delay. A source close to the team said there is no reason to believe Winder won’t follow through on last week’s commitment to sign with BYU.
Here’s the release from BYU about Collinsworth:

PROVO, Utah (Nov. 11, 2009) – BYU men’s basketball coach Dave Rose today announced that Provo High School’s Kyle Collinsworth committed to play for the Cougars by signing a national letter of intent. Collinsworth, a 6-foot-6 guard, is the third Bulldog to sign with the Cougars since 2007, including brother Chris who is currently serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Australia, and Brandon Davies, a freshman forward this season.

“We're excited with the addition of Kyle Collinsworth to our program,” BYU head coach Dave Rose said. “He was a national recruit who is a terrific competitor and an extremely versatile player. An athlete with the skill level to play multiple positions, Kyle is a talented scorer, a productive rebounder and a proficient distributor. He's a key part of a state championship Provo High School program and plays for highly respected high school coach, Craig Drury. Kyle has also enjoyed tremendous success at the AAU level competing for Utah Pump N Run.”

Collinsworth, a gifted ball handler and passer, will join the three-time defending Mountain West conference champions for the 2010-11 season. He is currently a senior at Provo High where he has helped the Bulldogs to state titles in 2007 and 2008 and a second-place finish in 2009.

Last season, Collinsworth led Provo to a 24-1 record while averaging 18.4 points, 7.0 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game as a junior. After leading the Bulldogs to a second-place finish in the state tournament he was named the 4A MVP by the Deseret News and Salt Lake Tribune. Collinsworth also earned 4A tournament MVP honors and All-Valley honors from the Daily Herald.

Collinsworth helped lead Provo to state titles his freshman and sophomore seasons. As a sophomore Collinsworth averaged 14.7 points, 3.0 assists and 4.8 rebounds and earned first-team all-state honors from the Deseret News and All-Valley honors from the Daily Herald. His freshman year Collinsworth averaged 16.6 points and had one of his best games in the state title game when he posted 27 points, nine rebounds and four assists in a 43-37 victory over Payson.

For his career Collinsworth has 1,195 points while averaging 16.6 points per game. Provo High is 60-14 overall — including a 40-game winning streak — in three years with Collinsworth on the roster.

A member of the nationally recognized Utah Pump N’ Run club team, Collinsworth participated in the NBA Top 100 Camp this past summer in Virginia. Arizona State, Cal, Gonzaga, Kansas, Stanford, USC, Utah, Utah State, Virginia and Washington State also recruited Collinsworth.

Today’s a big day for the BYU basketball program, as it will receive a national letter of intent from the prospect some are calling coach Dave Rose’s most significant signing ever --  Provo High’s 6-foot-6 Kyle Collinsworth.
Read more about Collinsworth’s recent accolades on our recruiting blog.
By the way, Rose acknowledged after last night's game that he expects two signings today, meaning that the third scholarship the Cougs should have available for members of the class of 2010 (or juco transfers) will be held until next spring.

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Another story Cougar fans might find interesting is this one in the Los Angeles Times about a BYU football commit from the Southern California area who plays eight-man football.
My offerings for the newspaper today included a look at BYU senior linebacker Shawn Doman, a notebook with a lead about quarterback Max Hall’s refusal to slide, and a recap of last night’s basketball exhibition game with some notes about the lack of redshirt plans, today’s expected signings, and the captain situation.

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After practice last night, I asked coach Bronco Mendenhall if McKay Jacobson would start returning punts again, now that he is back from injury. Mendenhall said he is sticking with O’Neill Chambers, although Chambers has been a bit reckless in fielding punts and had a fumble against Wyoming.
“I really like what O’Neill is doing. He gives us a physcial presence there. He doesn’t go down easy. He is certainly fearless. I like what he has done on both punt and kickoff returns.
So he will remain as the returner,” Mendenhall said.
And what about his refusal to call for fair catches?
“We will work on that. I would much rather have to pull him back, than have to encourage him to go get it. Right now, he has no fear, in fact, after the one that he didn’t fair catch, with players right around him, he said I thought I could fall forward for a yard. He said a yard is better than nothing, and that is hard logic to argue with, because he fell forward about a half a yard, is what we got,” Mendenhall said. “We always emphasize field position, so it was a good point.”

If Tuesday night’s 82-46 exhibition win over Central Washington is any indication, the future of BYU basketball is in pretty good hands.
Freshmen Tyler Haws and Brandon Davies combined for 25 points and 10 rebounds in the win at the Marriott Center.
Both started, along with Jimmer Fredette, Jonathan Tavernari and Jackson Emery.
Fredette led all scorers with 15 points, while Tavernari and Haws added 14 and Charles Abouo chipped in 12.
The Cougars shot 50 percent from the field and held the Wildcats to 24.2 percent shooting.

The Cougars lead Central Washington 34-16 at halftime of their men’s basketball exhibition game here at the Marriott Center.
In a bit of a surprise, coach Dave Rose started freshmen Brandon Davies and Tyler Haws, and Haws delivered the game’s first basket, Davies the game’s first rebound.
Jonathan Tavernari leads BYU with nine points, while Jimmer Fredette has eight.
Tavernari has five rebounds, while Davies, Fredette and Charles Abouo have four each.
Davies has seven points.
Central Washington is shooting 16.7 percent (5-for-30) from the floor.