BYU Offense Had the 'Upper Hand' Over the Defense in Live Scrimmage

On Saturday, BYU wrapped up its eighth practice of Spring camp with a 76-play live scrimmage. Following the practice, head coach Kalani Sitake met with the media. Sitake said everyone was live except for quarterbacks Gerry Bohanon and Jake Retzlaff.

"The offense did a pretty good job today," Sitake said. "[They] scored a lot of points, made a lot of plays. The defense had their moments but overall I thought the offense had the upper hand."

Credit: BYU Photo

"It's good back and forth right now in Spring ball, but that's expected. Today, guys ran the ball really nicely and protected the ball. We had some really good back-and-forth."

The offense is looking to rebound in 2024 after a disappointing 2023 campaign. At the start of Spring camp, offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick said BYU's top priority was establishing the run game. BYU ran for just 104 yards per game last year, one of the worst marks in the country. BYU's entire system is highly reliant on play-action concepts. When the run game isn't working, the play-action opportunities usually aren't working either. If BYU can run the football like they did in 2020 and 2021, it will make life much easier on potential starting quarterbacks Gerry Bohanon and Jake Retzlaff.

There's still a battle for the starting quarterback spot between Bohanon and Retzlaff. That battle is stick neck-and-neck and will likely extend into Fall camp. Behind those two, four quarterbacks are competing for the third-string job, Sitake announced: Cade Fennegan, Treyson Bourguet, Ryder Burton, and Noah Lugo. 

BYU is past the halfway mark of Spring camp. The Cougars will have seven more practices before wrapping up camp on March 30th and preparing for the upcoming Spring transfer window.

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