Back to work: Five questions for BYU football to answer in 2023 fall camp

Monday may be the last day of July but it also is a milestone for BYU football fans.
Yes, the 2023 college football season will be one step closer since the Cougars will be in Provo reporting for fall camp.
It’s unlikely that BYU will ease into the next four weeks of practice since this is a squad with quite a few veterans and there is certainly plenty to do as the Cougars prepare for their first season in the Big 12.
Every aspect of the game needs to be improved and every skill needs to be honed, but there are still a few things that stand out as unknowns.
Here is a look at the Top 5 questions BYU needs to answer during fall camp:
1. How quickly will the new defense gel?
There is little argument that this is the biggest issue for the Cougars, since BYU has a new coordinator, staff and scheme.
Sure, the players and coaches have said the right things during spring camp and the media opportunities in the summer, but what really matters is what happens on the field.
Don’t expect the Cougar defenders to dominate every practice in fall, since BYU has some good offensive players as well, but instead pay closer attention to whether there are big breakdowns or if they frequently force costly offensive miscues.
Since the Cougars are going to be more aggressive, it is those mistakes that could result in BYU giving up points in bunches. Avoiding that will be important, as will getting some turnovers and setting the offense up to succeed.
2. Can anyone emerge as a game-changing running back?
After a couple of years of being spoiled by Tyler Allgeier, the Cougar running backs had a tough time staying healthy in 2022 and it showed on the field.
BYU likes passing the ball but it has to have an effective ground game to compliment the air attack by churning out first downs and making key plays late in the game.
The Cougars have a number of candidates to become the one the team turns to when it needs the tough yards, including sophomore Miles Davis, senior Hinckley Ropati, junior Aidan Robbins (a UNLV transfer), senior Deion Smith (a Colorado transfer) and sophomore Enoch Nawahine (a Utah State transfer).
Those athletes need to shine whenever they get the opportunity in the next few weeks, then turn that success into key plays in the games.
3. Which cornerbacks will prove they deserve to be on the field?
BYU lost some of its top cornerbacks from last season as Kaleb Hayes and D’Angelo Mandell turned pro and Gabe Jeudy-Lally transferred again.
That could be ominous, considering the Cougar defense is likely going to rely on that unit to make big one-on-one stops to allow the defensive front seven to blitz more often.
But BYU has invested in the position with 12 players listed on the roster as cornerbacks.
The ones with the most experience for the Cougars are juniors Jakob Robinson and Caleb Christensen, but BYU is certainly hoping that Weber State transfer Eddie Heckard will play a key role. There are opportunities there for other athletes to step up and force the coaches to get them on the field.
4. Who will have the responsibility of making the field goals and extra points?
Both BYU and the Big 12 conference have played a number of close games in recent years, showing just how vital every point can be.
Kickers may not always get looked at the same as quarterbacks or linebackers but when a team is down by one and lining up for what could be the game-winning field goal, their impact is enormous.
Other than 2020 when Jake Oldroyd was excellent, the placekicking has been erratic for the Cougars in recent years. That’s a trend this year’s group will be looking to reverse.
Sophomores Justen Smith and Will Ferrin as well as freshman Matthias Dunn will all by striving to leave camp as the No. 1 kicker, which means they need to make the most of each drill.
5. How healthy will the Cougars be heading into the season?
This is the universal constant across college football. Teams need to be physical during practice to get ready for the season but can seriously jeopardize their seasons if the wrong players get injured.
BYU head coach Kalani Sitake has repeatedly emphasized that he wants his team to be deeper, so there isn’t much dropoff if the second-string or third-string athletes have their numbers called.
Still, there are some realities that the Cougars will have to face if, for example, senior quarterback Kedon Slovis gets hurt in the next few weeks. There is very little experience behind him, so that would make things tougher for the BYU offense.
On the flip side, if BYU is able to get through August (and the first couple of weeks of the season) with few major injuries, that will set the Cougars up well to be competitive when they face the meet of their schedule.