PROVO, Utah — No. 20 BYU is done with fall camp and has a little more than a week to get ready — and healthy — for third-ranked Oklahoma.
The Cougars have a long list of injuries after nearly three weeks of preseason practices. Most of the injured players should be back for the season opener against the Sooners on Sept. 5 in Arlington, Texas.
BYU closed camp with a scrimmage Wednesday without several injured starters. Coach Bronco Mendenhall was giving the Cougars the day off from practice today, then planned to get back to work Friday.
Friday’s practice may also be missing some starters, including running back Harvey Unga. Unga has been out since Monday with a pulled hamstring and said Wednesday he expects to be practicing again next week.
Defensive back Scott Johnson is out with a concussion and offensive lineman Matt Reynolds has a broken hand, but both are expected to be available for the Oklahoma game. Several other players have missed practices over the last few weeks.
The most serious were to offensive linemen Jason Speredon and Houston Reynolds, who were both lost for the season. Speredon tore his rotator cuff early in camp and Reynolds — the fourth of assistant coach Lance Reynolds’ sons to join the Cougars — tore his right ACL last week.
“It’s always a setback when you lose good players and both of those guys are good players,” offensive line coach Mark Weber said. “It lessens your depth, but we still have some good players in the group.”
Matt Reynolds is the only returning starter on the line and he will be playing the opener with a padded splint on his left hand, which he broke when his finger got caught in a jersey during practice.
Footnotes.
Tennessee freshman tailback Bryce Brown will not be punished as the result of an NCAA investigation into his eligibility.
• Aaron Corp, who suffered a cracked fibula Aug. 10, returned to practice, but Southern Cal coach Pete Carroll continued to take a wait-and- see stance when it comes to naming a starting quarterback.
• Indiana agreed to move next season’s home game against Penn State to FedEx Field, home of the Washington Redskins, for $3 million.
• The University of Michigan said it has commitments for 70 percent of the luxury suites and almost 70 percent of the club seats that will be in the new-look Michigan Stadium in 2010. The 16-seat suites go for $55,000 to $85,000 per season and require at least a three-year commitment.
