(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) BYU quarterback, Tanner Mangum (12) runs the offense, during the BYU Cougars public scrimmage at Lavell Edwards Stadium, Thursday, August 17, 2017.
Provo • If starter Tanner Mangum needs to leave a BYU football game in 2017 for any reason, redshirt sophomore Beau Hoge says he will be far more ready to lead the offense than he was two years ago.
On Thursday, offensive coordinator Ty Detmer acknowledged the worst-kept secret in training camp: Hoge will be Mangum’s primary backup.
“Yeah, [Hoge] is the solid No. 2 right now and he will get the reps, what little reps the backup gets during the season. He will take all of those.”
That leaves sophomore Koy Detmer Jr. and freshmen Kody Wilstead and Joe Critchlow to run the scout team, a spot that Ty Detmer said could be rotated this season so the three players still get time to work with the offense and learn his system. Freshman Austin Kafentzis, a record-setting QB at Jordan High, has been moved to running back and a got a surprising amount of work there during Thursday’s controlled scrimmage.
As for Hoge, he was clearly the most effective backup QB in camp, and is a better athlete and more of a running threat than Mangum. He redshirted and ran the scout team last year; As a true freshman in 2015, he saw his first action against East Carolina when Mangum suffered a hamstring injury.
Hoge completed just 1 of 5 passes for 9 yards against the Pirates, but was 8 of 11 from 117 yards and a touchdown in mop-up duty two games later against Wagner.
“He wouldn’t be in there if we didn’t think he can play,” Ty Detmer said. “So yeah, we feel comfortable with where Beau is at and what he brings to the table.”
Season opener<br>Portland State at BYU<br>Saturday, Aug. 26, 1 p.m.<br>TV • ESPN
Not tackling dummies
The Cougars tackled and went live considerably less in training camp in 2017 than they did a year ago in coach Kalani Sitake’s first season, which was totally fine with senior linebacker Fred Warner.
“I mean, it is pretty hard to forget how to tackle when you have been doing it your whole life,” Warner said. “The coaches usually have to tell us to settle down, but we are always ready to hit somebody. Yeah, we are ready to go.”
Briefly
LSU coach Ed Orgeron said Thursday that he does not expect record-setting pass rusher Arden Key to play against BYU in the Tigers’ season opener on Sept. 2. Key, who had 12 sacks last season, is recovering from May shoulder surgery. … Sitake and several players will participate in the annual Big Blue Bash fundraising fan party hosted by the Cougar Club’s Salt Lake Chapter on Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy. Gates open at 6 p.m. and the program begins at 7 p.m. Tickets will be available at the door for $10.
Follow @drewjay