Senior quarterback Riley Nelson will be the starting
quarterback for the Brigham Young Cougars on Saturday, October 13, 2012, when the 10th ranked Oregon State Beavers come to Provo for Homecoming. He had missed the
last two games with an injured back.
Following practice on Monday, Nelson said, “I’m good and full
go.” He added, “I feel good. I’m excited to get back and play healthy and not
have any limitations or any kind of pain or injury on my mind. It is going to
be fun to play with a clear mind again.”
Head coach Bronco Mendenhall, who is also the defensive
coordinator, didn’t watch Nelson practice on Monday. He did, however, tell reporters
that Nelson’s back is in good shape.
“I thought it was really close last week so I would assume
by the time we get to Saturday, it will be,” Mendenhall said.
Nelson pointed out that he practiced Monday-Wednesday last
week before BYU’s Friday night game. That was when Mendenhall decided to wait
one more week to allow Nelson to fully recover, and that Taysom Hill would
start his second game against Utah State.
Hill was injured and will be out the rest of the season with
a knee injury. Should Nelson need to be replaced again, senior James Lark will
get the call. Nelson believes that Lark would be successful leading the team in
his absence.
“James is just as good of an athlete as us and can execute
every play that Taysom and I executed so it wouldn’t skip a beat,” Nelson said.
As for now, Nelson’s focus is on this Saturday’s game.
"I am excited," said Nelson. "We’ve got a top-10 opponent in our house on
homecoming and it’s a great opportunity. We’re really excited; we had a lot of
energy today at practice and guys executed pretty well today for the first day
of a game plan."
BYU beat Oregon State last year in Corvallis, Oregon, 38-28.
In that game, Nelson completed 17 of 27 passes for 217 yards, with 3 touchdowns
and 1 interception.
The Editor appreciates all feedback. He can be reached via email at bluecougarfootball@gmail.com
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