Successful spring ends with Alumni Day and final scrimmage

PROVO, Utah - After five weeks of spring football, the BYU football team closed spring camp with Alumni Day, scrimmaging in front of former players and their families at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Friday afternoon. 

"I think we got a ton done (during spring)," BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "We were able to establish a unifying concept and work ethic. We got the offense installed, and I think we have the tempo built in with a good idea of what conditioning will look like to be ready to play at this pace."

Nearly 1,000 people came back to campus for Alumni Day. In addition to the scrimmage, former players and their families toured facilities, took part in a presentation and Q&A with Mendenhall and offensive coordinator Robert Anae and enjoying a dinner together after the scrimmage.

On the field, the Cougars ran close to 70 plays Friday during the last day of spring work before the summer. Similar to BYU's first scrimmage, several of the expected starters were held out of action to allow younger players a chance to shine and establish more depth.

The offense was on display for much of the afternoon, scoring six touchdowns while three quarterbacks saw action. Freshman Tanner Mangum was 13 of 20 for 131 yards with one interception and junior Christian Stewart completed 6 of 10 for 114 yards and one touchdown. Freshman Billy Green also went 2 of 3 for 14 yards and threw one pick.

On the first series, Mangum led the offense 75 yards for a score, going 5 of 6 on the drive for 55 yards. Tight end Devin Mahina had a 20-yard reception and wideout Skyler Ridley snagged two balls for 25 yards. Running back Paul Lasike plowed into the end zone from one yard out for the score. Lasike finished the day with six carries for 35 yards, one touchdown and also caught six passes for 41 yards.

In another series led by Mangum, the defense ended the threat with defensive back Craig Bills breaking up a pass. The defense got Mangum again on his next series on a sack from linebacker Alani Fua, followed by an interception from defensive back Jake Ziolkowski.

Green's first series was productive, getting a touchdown from the legs of running back Nate Carter, who took a hand off 51 yards for a score. Carter finished with five carries, 75 yards and two scores, the second coming on a 12-yard scamper. On another series, Green connected with Mahina for 10 yards but was picked off by defensive back Blake Morgan after a deflection.

Running back Adam Hine was a force in the running game, amassing 141 yards on just 10 carries and had two touchdowns. Two big chunks came in the form of a 28-yard touchdown on a cutback to the open side of the field for a score and another on a 70-yard streak down the field for his second touchdown.

Stewart led the only drive with a passing touchdown. Wide receiver Ross Apo hauled in a 52-yard pass over the middle and wideout Eric Thornton took a quick pass 42 yards to the house. Thornton finished with two receptions for 67 yards and one score.

Other standouts on defense included defensive lineman Bronson Kaufusi with a pass breakup at the line of scrimmage, defensive lineman Remington Peck recovered a fumble, linebacker Jherremya Leuta-Douyere had a tackle for loss and defensive lineman Michael Doman and linebacker Jordan Egbert combined for a sack.

The scrimmage wrapped up spring football as the team turns its attention to summer workouts in preparation for the 2013 season.