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When a veteran coach like BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick describes the athleticism of a player as "freakish" and says "I've never seen anything like it, ever," it certainly something to take note of. That's what Roderick said Monday after practice about Cougar freshman offensive lineman Kingsley Suamataia. "He's the best athlete I've ever seen at offensive line," Roderick said. "He's a very talented guy." While his ability certainly has allowed Suamataia - a former star at Orem who transferred after one season at Oregon - to earn opportunities, BYU offensive line coach Darrell Funk emphasized that the freshman still has plenty to work on.

"He's doing a real good job," Funk said. "He's right in the thick of things. He's running well, he's physical and he's in good shape. But he's still got to work on some of the nuances that you can't just pick up in a spring. You've got to pick them up with more and more reps." For his part, Suamataia said he is enjoying the process and focused on improving. "It's been amazing," Suamataia said. "We came off a great spring ball with the team and ever since during the summer workouts we've all been grinding. We came back to fall ball and we've got a lot of stuff to work on. So it's looking really good." - Daily Herald

(DS#7 OT) rSo/2024

OT Kingsley Suamataia, Brigham Young
News Source: Daily Herald
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08/18/22 - Gerry Bohanon, rSr/2025, Brigham Young, 6-2, 225 (DS#43 QB) + More +

Sometime Sunday, USF coach Jeff Scott made one of the hardest no-brainer decisions he'll ever make with the Bulls. He named Baylor transfer Gerry Bohanon the starting quarterback over incumbent Timmy McClain. Identifying Bohanon as the starter was the easy part. The first time he stepped on campus (for his official visit), he watched film with the staff until 1 a.m. When the Bulls tallied the grit score for players' work ethic and leadership during summer workouts, Bohanon was second on the team. When every offensive player confidentially listed the unit's top three leaders on the eve of preseason camp, Bohanon finished in the top three...despite having not yet taken a single rep with them.

No other quarterback received a vote. When Scott gathered his team to address a sloppy start to practice a few days later, he didn't have to say a word; Bohanon stepped in to tell his new teammates they weren't living up to the standard. "The best part about it?" Scott said Tuesday. "Everybody listened." Bohanon backed it up on the field. Through 10 practices, Scott said Bohanon completed 80 percent of his passes - 13 points higher than anyone else. His decision-making graded out at 90 percent, even though he was new to the offense. And everyone around the program knows how Bohanon helped turn two-win Baylor into a Big 12 champion - the kind of transformation the Bulls would love to experience. His consistency and knowledge could be the difference between turning some of last fall's close losses (BYU, Tulsa, UCF) into wins. When Scott gathered his staff Sunday to pick a starter, the vote was unanimous. "Crystal clear," Scott said. - Tampa Tribune

(DS#43 QB) rSr/2025

QB Gerry Bohanon, Brigham Young
News Source: Tampa Tribune
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08/17/22 - Gerry Bohanon, rSr/2025, Brigham Young, 6-2, 225 (DS#43 QB) + More +

As USF turned the page from a dreadful 2021 season to the offseason optimism of 2022, Bulls coach Jeff Scott looked for inspiration for his team. So he brought up Baylor. The Bears struggled through a 2-7 year and were picked to finish near the bottom of the Big 12 in 2021, too. Instead, they went 12-2 and won the league. "Gerry (Bohanon) was a big part of that," Scott said recently. Now Bohanon will try to lead a similar turnaround at USF after the Bulls named him their starting quarterback Monday ahead of incumbent Timmy McClain. A few hours later, news broke that McClain was entering the transfer portal.

Monday's decisions followed the timeline Scott set at the start of preseason camp of naming a starter after the first scrimmage to give that quarterback plenty of time to mesh with the first team and establish himself as the locker room leader. Both McClain and Bohanon completed more than 64 percent of their passes in the scrimmage over the weekend, according to USF, with two touchdown passes and an interception each. Both also rushed for at least two scores. - Tampa Tribune

(DS#43 QB) rSr/2025

QB Gerry Bohanon, Brigham Young
News Source: Tampa Tribune
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08/16/22 - Aidan Robbins, rSr/2024, Brigham Young, 6-2, 237 (DS#39 RB) + More +

One of the biggest challenges for UNLV football coach Marcus Arroyo in the offseason was filling the void left by outgoing running back Charles Williams. Replacing the school's all-time leading rusher wouldn't be an easy task. But as the Rebels wrapped up their second week of fall camp, Louisville transfer Aidan Robbins has started to make his case as the top option at running back for the Rebels this fall. "He's learned the offense fast and we're now starting to really see where he can be dynamic," Arroyo said of Robbins. Through the first 12 practices of fall camp, Robbins has taken most of the snaps in the backfield with the first-team offense.

In the portion of practice open to the media where the team goes 11-on-11, Robbins - standing at 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds - has showcased his speed by breaking off long runs and used his size to his advantage as he battled through contact. "He's got power, speed, he can catch the ball in the backfield, and more than adequate long speed," Arroyo said. "He's a big body that's got an all-purpose, all-down type of mentality. That's been impressive." Robbins graduated from Louisville after three years, where he appeared in 11 games over three seasons. He said he entered the transfer portal because the Louisville offense wasn't the right fit for him and he was looking for the ideal situation to showcase his skills. "UNLV checked all the boxes for me," Robbins said. - Las Vegas Review Journal

(DS#39 RB) rSr/2024

RB Aidan Robbins, Brigham Young
News Source: Las Vegas Review Journal
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08/15/22 - Houston Heimuli, rSr/2023, Brigham Young, 5-11, 261 (DS#24 FB) + More +

After an excellent career at Stanford, Houston Heimuli said he got to thinking about about how his time in college football was coming to an end. "I'm a BYU boy at heart," Heimuli said on Wednesday. "Any chance I had, I came back here. In my head, I knew that if I wanted to keep playing college football, I wanted to come to BYU. I was not going to go anywhere else. I just waited for my avenue to open. (Cougar head coach Kalani Sitake) said, 'hey, we want to have you here.' I took my chance to be here." Heimuli grinned as he talked about being at BYU, since it is a legacy experience for him.

"This is home," Heimuli said. "I grew up on BYU football since I was a kid. I first discovered football with my dad (former Cougar star running back Lakei Heimuli). He had his old highlights and as a kid, I was like, oh my gosh this is so cool. The one I always had was the 1984 season (when BYU won the national championship). It was a huge compilation and I still have that thing memorized." His familiarity with what the Cougar program was all about has made his transition pretty straightforward, Houston Heimuli said. "It wasn't much of a shake-up," Houston Heimuli said. "We do things differently compared to other schools. I still kept up with BYU when I was at Stanford." With just one season to play, Houston Heimuli wants to make the most of his opportunities and his certainly focused almost completely on the opener against South Florida. - Daily Herald

(DS#24 FB) rSr/2023

FB Houston Heimuli, Brigham Young
News Source: Daily Herald
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08/14/22 - Caleb Etienne, rSr/2025, Brigham Young, 6-7, 329 (DS#22 OT) + More +

Caleb Etienne has undergone a transformation since arriving at Oklahoma State. Physically, he notices the effect of his yearlong dedication to workouts. Etienne, a 6-foot-7 offensive tackle, is listed at 325 pounds on the Cowboy football team's roster, a substantial drop from his initial weight of about 370, he said. Etienne shed nearly 50 pounds, yet he has gained much more than he lost. He has a better grasp on the playbook. He can keep up with the Cowboys' speed. He has practiced patience, watching from the sideline during most of the past season. And when Etienne turns to the stands in Boone Pickens Stadium this fall, he might spot a new, adoring fan in the crowd: Caleb Jr., his 1-year-old son. "He's my motivation, my everything, my why," Etienne said. "Family is my why. This is what I do, to come out here every day to be the best version of me."

After Etienne left Butler Community College and joined OSU's 2021 recruiting class, his life changed quickly. In July 2021, Caleb Jr. was born. At the same time, Caleb Sr. had to suddenly acclimate to a Division I program, returning from a lengthy break that happened because Butler had canceled its 2020 matchups due to COVID-19. The younger Caleb didn't make a game-day appearance during the past season at Boone Pickens Stadium - he was barely a month old for OSU's opener - but he gave his father the extra inspiration he needed to keep pushing. During fall camp, the process continues. Etienne, a redshirt junior from New Orleans, is improving every day, coach Mike Gundy said. "Caleb still has a ways to go, but he's a completely different player right now," Gundy said. " … He's in condition now. He's been with us long enough that he understands who we are and how we practice." - Stillwater Press

(DS#22 OT) rSr/2025

OT Caleb Etienne, Brigham Young
News Source: Stillwater Press
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08/12/22 - Eddie Heckard, rSr/2024, Brigham Young, 5-08, 191 (DS#76 CB) + More +

2022 PRESEASON STATS PERFORM FCS THIRD TEAM ALL-AMERICAN: DB - Eddie Heckard, 5-10, 190, junior, Weber State,...Heckard has earned All-Big Sky honors the last three seasons, including first-team honors in each of the last two years. The Las Vegas native has been a part of the WSU program since 2017 and has played in 35 games in his Wildcat career. He has five career interceptions and 23 pass breakups, which is the third-most in WSU history. He also ranks in a tie for sixth in career forced fumbles with six. He also has recorded 140 career tackles with 101 solo tackles and has nine tackles for loss. - Weber State Football

(DS#76 CB) rSr/2024

CB Eddie Heckard, Brigham Young
News Source: Weber State Football
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08/11/22 - Jackson Cravens, rSr/2024, Brigham Young, 6-2, 295 (DS#80 DT) + More +

Jackson Cravens, who sat out in 2019 after transferring from Utah, started 11 games for the Broncos last season. He posted a career-high 36 tackles, including a season-high nine stops in a win at Utah State. He also notched the second sack of his Boise State career against the Aggies. Cravens isn't as versatile as Scott Matlock, who can play all three positions on the Broncos' defensive line, but when Boise State wants to go big and clog the middle of the field, it's going to turn to Cravens. - Idaho Statesman

(DS#80 DT) rSr/2024

DT Jackson Cravens, Brigham Young
News Source: Idaho Statesman
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08/11/22 - Kedon Slovis, rSr/2024, Brigham Young, 6-3, 223 (DS#16 QB) + More +

Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said nearly as much about his own injury Monday as he did about what may be ailing would-be starting quarterback Kedon Slovis. Some information was tossed around Twitter on Saturday, indicating Slovis had suffered an unspecified injury during a closed practice. Asked about it Monday morning before practice, Narduzzi suggested Slovis may have a suffered a muscle spasm. But first he offered an update on his knee. "My knee's a little sore," Narduzzi said. "I got hurt Saturday. We all got hurt Saturday. "I wouldn't say he got hurt. He'll probably be out (Monday) a little bit and probably be back (Tuesday). It's nothing significant."

After he reminded himself that Tuesday is the players' day off, he amended his forecast. "He would be full (Tuesday) if we did go. I don't know if you ever got a muscle spasm, but you're talking muscle spasm." Slovis transferred to Pitt from Southern California in the spring. In three seasons and 27 games at USC, he threw for 7,576 yards and 58 touchdowns, completing 652 of 953 passes. He was an All-Pac 12 first-team selection in 2020 (a six-game season because of covid interruptions). - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

(DS#16 QB) rSr/2024

QB Kedon Slovis, Brigham Young
News Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
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08/10/22 - Gerry Bohanon, rSr/2025, Brigham Young, 6-2, 225 (DS#43 QB) + More +

Play for Pay. When asked about his program's name, image and likeness collective that launched last week, USF coach Jeff Scott said, "The No. 1 factor on your future success on bringing in talented players and retaining talented players, the very No. 1 factor is going to be your NIL ability, bottom line. Te third-year Bulls coach finds the Fowler Avenue Collective that critical to the Bulls' long-term success - if not survival. Former Bulls quarterback Matt Grothe - still one of the most popular players in program history - serves as host and emcee for the collective's virtual events. Bulls quarterback Gerry Bohanon, a Baylor transfer vying for the starting job this preseason, has signed up as the collective's first ambassador. "We had two young men that we recruited this spring that chose to go to schools that were one conference below us," Scott said. "And it was because of what they were going to get; they were going to get $2,000 a month from the collective. And that was a conference below us, and we lost them here." - Tampa Tribune

(DS#43 QB) rSr/2025

QB Gerry Bohanon, Brigham Young
News Source: Tampa Tribune
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08/10/22 - Kedon Slovis, rSr/2024, Brigham Young, 6-3, 223 (DS#16 QB) + More +

Pitt's football team appears to have dodged a bullet on Saturday. According to a source who spoke on the condition of anonymity, quarterback Kedon Slovis sustained a "minor" injury during a closed practice at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side. The source said there is no cause for concern and the injury is not expected to impact Slovis' chances of winning the starting job for the season opener vs. West Virginia on Sept. 1.

A 6-foot-3, 215-pound grad transfer, Slovis started 27 games over the last three seasons at USC, passing for 7,576 yards and 58 touchdowns with a 68.4% completion rate since winning the starting job as a freshman in 2019. His freshman season was his best, when he completed 71.9% of his passes for 3,502 yards, 30 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Slovis is locked in a heated competition with redshirt senior Nick Patti for the starting quarterback position, with coach Pat Narduzzi giving no indication of a timetable to announce the Panthers' starter. - Pittsburgh Post Gazette

(DS#16 QB) rSr/2024

QB Kedon Slovis, Brigham Young
News Source: Pittsburgh Post Gazette
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08/09/22 - Kedon Slovis, rSr/2024, Brigham Young, 6-3, 223 (DS#16 QB) + More +

Any Pitt or West Virginia fan who hoped to catch a glimpse of this fall's Backyard Brawl at Acrisure Stadium but had not yet secured tickets better start making other plans. As of Friday morning, Pitt announced that all tickets to the highly anticipated season opener on Sept. 1 had sold out. Panthers coach Pat Narduzzi indicated to reporters on Friday that tickets sold out "about 15 minutes" after they became available. In response to the high demand, Pitt athletics began selling a limited number of standing-room only tickets at 10 a.m. Friday.

The SRO tickets were priced at $125 each, with sales limited to two tickets per customer. A Pitt spokesperson said the SRO tickets sold out in less than five minutes. "It just erupted, which we know - we kind of felt that was going to happen," Narduzzi said. Pitt already holds the record for most tickets sold for a game at Acrisure Stadium, with the 69,983 tickets sold for the Panthers' 42-39 win vs. Penn State on Sept. 10, 2016, outnumbering every Steelers game ever played at the stadium. Narduzzi said he hopes the renewal of another historic rivalry will be enough to rewrite the record book in terms of fan attendance - and possibly even surpass 70,000 fans for the first time ever. "We know we've got the largest crowd in Acrisure Stadium history, so we hope to break that record, too," Narduzzi said. - Pittsburgh Post Gazette

(DS#16 QB) rSr/2024

QB Kedon Slovis, Brigham Young
News Source: Pittsburgh Post Gazette
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08/09/22 - Tyler Batty, rSr/2025, Brigham Young, 6-6, 271 (DS#25 DE) + More +

2022 PRESEASON WUERFFEL TROPHY (COMMUNITY SERVICE) WATCHLIST: Tyler Batty, BYU, So., DL,...In addition to success on the field, Batty is very involved in a variety of community service endeavors. He created and operates Edward’s Hands, a non-profit organization that provides equine therapy for children with autism, which provides a powerful bonding experience with their parents. Batty is also very involved with the Built4Life program that develops student-athletes through a variety of professional experiences with a focus on service within the community. In addition, he participates in the True Blue Hero program run by the BYU Football program. - BYU Football

(DS#25 DE) rSr/2025

DE Tyler Batty, Brigham Young
News Source: BYU Football
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08/09/22 - Gunner Romney, rSr/2023, Brigham Young, 6-2, 183 (DS#82 WR) + More +

Gunner Romney hasn't played a full season yet since arriving at BYU. He played eight games last year after having an early season knee injury. He played 10 the year before that. At the NFL level, he knows an injury prone, older player is not desirable. And the second part of the equation is showing explosiveness as an athlete. He's above-average as a deep threat in BYU's offense. Last year, he averaged 17.5 yards per catch. In 2020, he nearly averaged 20 yards per reception. But there are plenty of athletes at the next level who can be down-field options. The separation will be turning smaller plays into first downs. It is something Milne, a similarly fringe NFL player, has done to stick in the NFL.

"I think my biggest strength is obvious," Romney said of his self-evaluation. "But I want to be able to make [more] out of the shorter plays. So catching the 5-yard route and turning that into [something]. Or just being more explosive with my yards after catch and things like that." By his assessment, his explosiveness will be enhanced by staying healthy. He changed his approach this offseason by taking more time when his body is worn down. In previous years, he might have forced himself to lift or practice when his body wasn't feeling well. The injuries he's had were mostly fluke plays, he says, and hard to prevent. In the first game of the season last year, a defender rolled up on his leg and hurt his knee. A similar play happened in 2020. - Salt Lake Tribune

(DS#82 WR) rSr/2023

WR Gunner Romney, Brigham Young
News Source: Salt Lake Tribune
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08/09/22 - Blake Freeland, rJr/2023, Brigham Young, 6-8, 302 (DS#6 OT) + More +

2022 PRESEASON ROTARY LOMBARDI AWARD WATCHLIST: Blake Freeland, BYU, Jr LT,...Freeland started all 13 games for the Cougars in 2021. The 6-8, 305-pound junior left tackle was named to the Phil Steele All-Independent First Team and PFN All-Independent First Team in 2021. He was an integral part of the PFN 2021 Offensive Line of the Year, helping the BYU offense produce 33 points per game, while averaging 452 yards of total offense. - BYU Football

(DS#6 OT) rJr/2023

OT Blake Freeland, Brigham Young
News Source: BYU Football
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