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Tanner Mangum set a BYU record for passing yards in a game for a freshman in last week's 30-13 win over UConn, throwing for 365 yards against a Husky defense that had been pretty stout against the pass in previous games. Next up is East Carolina, which doesn't figure to offer much more resistance against the pass as UConn did, but certainly has a much better better offense.

As BYU receiver Mitch Mathews said Monday, Saturday's 5:30 p.m. MDT game is probably going to be a shootout. First team to 40 wins, perhaps.

Mangum met with reporters on Wednesday and he feels "really good," despite circulating rumors that he is a bit banged up.

Mangum said he is wearing that left knee brace — which he has worn since the Boise State game — for precautionary reasons only and that the knee is not giving him any trouble.

"Just a preventative measure. It is just a left knee brace," he said. "A lot of quarterbacks wear them to prevent injuries. It is nothing specific or anything."

Pressed about the amount of hits he has taken, partly due to having dropped back 55 times against UConn, and sacked twice, Mangum stressed that he feels fine after having started the past four games.

"We are obviously working hard every day to improve things. But I feel good. The last couple of games I haven't taken too many big hits. I feel fine. Everything feels good. Those guys up front are working hard. Coach [Garett] Tujague is working hard with them as well. And I think in every aspect of the game we are trying to get better every week. I think they are doing a good job."

Tujague, the offensive line coach, said the line is adjusting to Mangum's style as a pocket passer, after having worked most of fall camp to fit injured QB Taysom Hill's dual-threat nature of play.

"I think coach [Robert] Anae has his offense and you use the schemes within the whole offense to fit the players that you have," Tujague said. "So, the whole offense, there is a lot to it. You take each individual skill set, and how that makes us better. So all those things that we are doing, we have been practicing since we got here three years ago. So, some of them we are having to take off the shelf and dust off a little bit, but throughout our whole fall camp and spring, we have worked on developing those skills, so it is just the volume [that is lacking] of which we've done certain things as opposed to others."

Mangum got happy feet a bunch against Michigan — dodging rushing linemen will do that to a freshman — but seemed to have more poise and more pocket presence against the weaker Huskies.

"The confidence comes with each game," he said. "Game in and game out, I feel more comfortable, more confident. That goes with the team as a whole, too. Not just me but everyone is coming together and just trying to get that chemistry so we can keep succeeding and keep improving. … You are definitely aware of your footwork. So obviously there are a lot of things to work on, a lot of things to improve. I just do my best every day in practice to work on that and luckily I have a great quarterback coach, coach [Jason] Beck, and coach Anae as well. It is just getting that confidence and feeling more comfortable in the pocket. But it is something I feel I good about, that we are improving."

Anae got more creative against UConn as well, and receivers who couldn't get open against the Wolverines ran much more freely against AAC talent. Mangum acknowledged that the playbook (which really doesn't exist, according to Anae) was opened up more than it was in Week 4.

"Yeah, a little bit, for sure, just each week being able to do a little bit more as an offense," Mangum said. "That's something we are able to build on, game in and game out, being able to expand that playbook, give ourselves more options, put ourselves into position to succeed. The coaches are doing great, helping me out a lot, to feel comfortable and I am excited for what is coming."

Center Tejan Koroma said the offensive line has "total" confidence in Mangum and realizes he's got a different set of talents and abilities than Hill.

"Well, Tanner he is a great football player," Koroma said. "As an offensive line, we try to make his job as easy as possible. We try to give him as much time as we can, help him out with the run game so we are not relying on the pass the whole time. But me and Tanner personally, I will try to slide the protection to give him a little more time to make passes and stuff. I try to my best to make him more comfortable back there."

BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said the debacle at Michigan caused him and Anae to "kind of re-evaluate a lot of things."

"Yeah, I think any time after you go through a game like we did vs. Michigan you kinda re-evaluate a lot of things, if not everything, and say, 'OK, what does work with what personnel? And what can we do, and where might we able to generate the most points?' I think that was part of the process that led to that," he said.