By John
Harris
-
2007 Preseason Lookaheads -
Mountain West
Air Force
– A position that wasn’t featured much in the past two decades in Fisher
DeBerry’s offense showed up in the final Air Force scrimmage of the
spring under new coach Troy Calhoun – the tight end. Chris Evans had a
56 yard touchdown catch after having four catches all of last season.
The tight ends combined for six catches on the day as the new Falcon
offense showed a versatility it hadn’t displayed in recent years.
BYU –
Nearly 17,000 fans ventured out to LaVell Edwards Stadium to see the
annual Blue and White spring game, won by the White 10-0. The only
touchdown of the day was registered by receiver Daniel Tervort on a
27-yard pass from quarterback Brenden Gaskins. The two quarterbacks,
Max Hall and Gaskins, combined to complete 34 of 41 passes against the
respective defensive units.
Colorado State
– Behind rushing touchdowns by Aaron Sanchez and John Mosure, the Green
overcame an early 3-0 deficit to knock off the Gold 14-9 in the annual
spring game in Fort Collins. Although the rushing game led the Green to
victory, it was the defense, on both sides, that flourished. The two
units combined for a total of ten sacks, led by Blake Smith who had
three.
San Diego State
– Featuring a strong performance by quarterback Kevin O’Connell, the Red
dominated the Black 28-3 in the annual Red-Black game. After missing
half of the 2006 season, O’Connell completed 13 of 17 passes for 153
yards and three touchdowns to lead the Red to victory. Suffice to say,
O’Connell’s play was a much needed positive for second year head coach
Chuck Long.
UNLV –
The Scarlet trailed the Gray 14-10 late in the game, but with
quarterback Travis Dixon at the helm, the Scarlet squad had little to
worry about. Dixon led his offense on a late touchdown drive to seal a
17-14 win over the Gray in the annual Scarlet and Gray spring game. He
completed 11 of 21 passes for 124 yards.
Utah –
The annual Red and White game wasn’t so much a game as it was a track
meet as the Red team hammered the White 59-7. With many of the starters
playing for the Red, the outcome was to be expected, but what pleased
the coaching staff was the performance of two quarterbacks Brian Johnson
and Tommy Grady. The two signal callers, combined, completed 90% of
their throws for 296 yards and three touchdowns.
Wyoming
– In the final scrimmage of the spring season, the offense registered a
52-25 victory over the defense, using a modified scoring system. As the
only healthy quarterback on the roster, Ian Hetrick had a solid day,
completing 20 of his 31 throws for 269 yards and three touchdowns. Wide
receiver Hoost Marsh hauled in two of those touchdowns on big play TDs,
one for 51 yards and one for 71 yards.
