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The season can't get here fast enough for the BYU football team, which lost another player to a season-ending knee injury on Monday.

Coach Bronco Mendenhall said that tight end Steven Richards went down with a knee injury in practice on Monday while running a route. He went down without being touched.

Later, a BYU official confirmed that Richards suffered a right knee injury and doctors are in the process of scheduling surgery. Richards, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound freshman, redshirted last year after an LDS Mission to New York City.

He was a defensive end last year, but made the switch to tight end during spring camp.

"Other than that, I like where our team is, and we still have a ways to go before we play, but I think we are on track," Mendenhall said after practice on Tuesday.

Stevens was listed as the No. 1 tight end among blocking tight ends on BYU's roster.

The other blocking tight ends are Bryan Sampson, Tanner Balderree and Theodore King. Balderree and King were once defensive linemen, like Richards.

BYU's other type of tight end is more of a receiver, a player who flexes out away from the tackle.

Quarterback Taysom Hill said Richards' toughness will be missed.

"Yeah, so Steven Richards is one of the nicest dudes on our team, and one of the hardest workers," Hill said. "So anytime something like that happens, but especially a guy like that, it is hard to see.

We have a fair amount of depth at that position, so in terms of scheme, I don't really think that is going to change how we play and how we call a game. It is tough to see, and he is certainly one of those guys that came to the offensive side of the ball that added some toughness and kinda that tough mentality mindset."

Last week, Colby Jorgensen, a sophomore linebacker, was lost for the season after he suffered a neck fracture in practice on Tuesday and underwent emergency surgery later that night.

Media members were allowed to view the last half-hour or so of practice on Tuesday.

The biggest development was that Micah Hannemann not only practiced (he missed the entire first week of camp, and the scrimmage, with an undisclosed injury), but played at safety most of the time. In spring camp, Hannemann was primarily a cornerback.

"We are training him at both [corner and safety]," Mendenhall said. "Some of our corners are starting to play better than we had anticipated. We have a little bit more depth there, and if that happens, our nickel/dime package could benefit. So we are cross-training Micah at corner and safety."

Mendenhall declined to divulge the injury, but it sounds like it had something to do with a cancer scare.

"Yeah, thanks to finally the Huntsman [Cancer Institute] Center in Salt Lake. Their evaluation was clean and put everybody else at ease. It gave him a clean bill of health and everything is good," Mendenhall said.

While Hannemann saw time at safety, regular safety Kai Nacua played some cornerback on Tuesday.

"So if we have Micah and Kai that know multiple positions, that doubles our depth, basically. So great chance right now to train them both at both," Mendenhall said.

Mendenhall said the top three safeties in camp right now are Nacua, Snow College transfer Eric Takenaka and Grant Jones, a sophomore walk on from Concord, Calif. (Ygnacio Valley H.S.). He said returned missionary Matt Hadley would be the fourth.

There has also been some switches at linebacker. Rhett Sandlin, the returned missionary from Alta High, has moved from outside linebacker to inside. Jherremya Leuta-Douyere (JLD) has moved from inside to outside 'backer but will play both if needed.

"So we will see how long that goes," Mendenhall said. "But we are looking at putting our best eight 'backers on the field. And in different positions. Right now, this gives us a chance to do both."

Before Mendenhall addressed the media, Nacua told reporters that this year's defense is jelling together and has better chemistry than last year's defense. Mendenhall was asked why.

"Experience," he said. "So, there are more players that have played. I think just with our structure it allows each coach to be more detailed. I can oversee, but all those coaches don't have multiple things they are doing. They just have one thing. So experience of our players, and the structure, I think is giving them a better chance."