BYU Getting Some Injured Players Back For Independence Bowl
Dec 16, 2021, 2:46 PM | Updated: 2:47 pm
BYU football will reportedly be without wide receivers Gunner Romney (pictured) and Puka Nacua against No. 9 Baylor. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
(Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
SHREVEPORT, Louisiana – BYU football has tested its depth throughout the 2021 regular season. They are still digging into that depth, but the good news for the Cougars is that some of those injured players are returning this week for Independence Bowl against UAB.
#BYU football team arrives at Loyola College for @IndyBowl practice. 🏈 🤙 #BYUFootball #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/9XGkynXZSj
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) December 16, 2021
BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick confirmed that wide receiver Gunner Romney and offensive linemen Harris LaChance and Campbell Barrington are all available to play on Saturday.
BYU football injury report for Independence Bowl
Romney, who could be playing in the final game of his BYU career, has been in-and-out of the lineup this season due to leg injuries. He was expected to play in the regular-season finale against USC but suffered a setback during pregame warmups that prevented him from playing.
The fourth-year player out of Chandler, Arizona, is second on the team in receiving yards at 539 on 31 receptions.
LaChance started at right tackle in the first four games of the season. He hasn’t played since the USF game back on September 25. LaChance’s backup, Campbell Barrington, stepped in and started the next six games at right tackle.
Barrington, the younger brother to All-American guard Clark Barrington, has been out since the Idaho State game on November 6. In relief of Barrington has been walk-on Brayden Keim. So now BYU will have three players with starting experience.
BYU still doesn’t have center James Empey and wide receiver Neil Pau’u. Pau’u was ruled “highly doubtful” by head coach Kalani Sitake and has been seen rolling around on a scooter this week in Shreveport. Empey is still nursing a boot on his foot.
Latest on Chaz Ah You
According to safeties coach Ed Lamb, BYU safety/linebacker Chaz Ah You is expected to be available for the bowl game on the defensive side. Lamb said on Thursday that Ah You has been in team meetings and participating in practice. Ah You is working his way back from a hamstring injury he suffered in October during a win at Washington State.
No. 13 BYU vs. UAB
2021 Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl
Date: Saturday, December 18, 2021
Kick: 1:30 p.m. (MT)
Location: Independence Stadium (Shreveport, Louisiana)
TV: ABC
Radio: KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM — Extended pregame begins at 9 a.m.)
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
