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BYU football: QB Max Hall was feared to have had a concussion
This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2008, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

PROVO - Because BYU quarterback Max Hall had some nausea during postgame interviews after the Cougars' 41-17 win over Northern Iowa, and because the junior took a particularly hard hit in the fourth quarter, there was some fear that he suffered a concussion.

Monday, Hall and coach Bronco Mendenhall insisted he didn't, and Mendenhall said the Mountain West Conference preseason Offensive Player of the Year will be ready to play when the Cougars take on Washington at Husky Stadium (1 p.m. MDT, FSN) on Saturday.

"It is not a concussion," Mendenhall said. "It is not even a significant bell-ringer. I would say at this point that there's nothing to report."

Hall completed 34 of 41 passes for 486 yards and two touchdowns in the game, and quickly returned after a timeout after the hit, which he acknowledged at the time left him momentarily woozy.

"I took a couple hits. Got my bell rung on one of 'em, but I was fine," he said Monday. "I woke up the next morning and didn't really have a headache or anything. Some people thought it might have been a concussion. But I just got my bell rung and I was fine the next day."

Mendenhall said the Cougars got out of the game injury free with the exception of a slight ankle sprain suffered by safety David Tafuna. The senior sat out of practice Monday and Snow College transfer Andrew Rich ran with the first-team defense.

Kicker equation

The Cougars did not attempt a field goal Saturday, so the winner of the fall camp battle between Mitch Payne and freshman Justin Sorensen was not apparent. Mendenhall said Payne will attempt field goals when the Cougars are at the 35-yard line or closer. Between the 35 and 40 will be a "gut feel" decision, he said, while Sorensen will make the attempts when the team is at the 40 or farther.

Familiar faces

Washington has just one player from the state of Utah on its roster, former Judge Memorial star Cort Dennison, a one-time Salt Lake Tribune Prep Athlete of the Year. A linebacker, Dennison redshirted in 2007 and did not play in Saturday's game at Oregon.

Three Cougars - senior WR Bryce Mahuika, freshman RB Jerry Brunner and freshman LB Spencer Hadley - are from Washington.

Getting reacquainted

The Cougars and Huskies are meeting for the first time since 1999, but seventh time overall. Washington leads the series 4-2, although BYU won that 1999 game 35-28 when Chris Hale caught a 38-yard touchdown pass from Kevin Feterik with 1:16 remaining. The Cougars are 0-3 at Husky Stadium.

drew@sltrib.com

Insists that he now feels fine
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