Hinckley Ropati Stands Out During Practice Observation At BYU Camp

PROVO, Utah – BYU football kicked off fall camp practices on Wednesday.

The media was able to watch the final 25 minutes of practice. BYU welcomed media to the practice field 10 minutes before the expected start time.

During the media observation, BYU broke out into the team portion of practice on an evening when temperatures climbed to the low 90s.

Instead of one grouping of 11-on-11, two team portions occurred simultaneously. Jay Hill brought this approach from Weber State to BYU to get more snaps for other players.

BYU football split team portion on day one of fall camp practice

BYU took a similar approach during spring and fall camps in the 2023 season. Last year, some of the media observation windows featured the split 11-on-11 segments in practice.

“That’s a way we do to maximize reps. So we can split our offense up into two different groups and then do two different groups within that,” said quarterback Jake Retzlaff. “We essentially have four different groups going, So every position can get a ton of reps.”

#BYU Football 2024: Fall Camp Day 1 ⛺️ 🏈 @Mitch_Harper & @baiamontematt share observations from camp.

➡️: https://t.co/8Usd0TEo4y#BYUFootball #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/VGYfOEOwfh

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) August 1, 2024

Retzlaff was on the west portion of the practice fields leading the second-team offense, while Gerry Bohaon appeared to be with the first-team offense.

Gerry Bohanon had a solid performance

That doesn’t mean Bohanon established himself as the starting quarterback on day one. Sitake himself noted that the decision to name a quarterback isn’t happening this week and that both Bohanon and Retzlaff split the first-team reps.

Bohanon performed well, connecting on some short to intermediate throws to wide receiver Parker Kingston, who changed his uniform number from 82 to 11. Kingston’s speed was on display as he was able to move the sticks on some of the completions.

#BYU QB Gerry Bohnaon: “Reps are even right now. Kind of rotating with the 1s, split fields and get the same amount of reps. I thought it was a good day.”#BYUFootball pic.twitter.com/r9QdiGD8w1

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) August 1, 2024

Bohanon’s decision-making was noticeably quicker than where it was in the spring. During the media observation windows in spring ball, Bohanon looked like a quarterback still working his way back from the devastating shoulder injury he suffered in October 2022.

During the summer, Bohanon’s top priority was learning BYU’s offensive playbook. He appeared to be in command of the offense during Wednesday’s practice session.

It was not all smooth sailing for Bohanon. He had a pass batted down at the line of scrimmage by second-year defensive tackle David Latu. That was one of the few miscues by the former Baylor and USF quarterback.

Hinckley Ropati turned some heads at running back

Staying with the first-team offensive backfield on Wednesday is Hinckley Ropati at running back.

The redshirt senior ball carrier enters his fifth season in the program, and he looks to be a new man after recovering from an ACL injury that sidelined him last season.

Ropati had a pair of big runs, one of which had Bohanon celebrating with his index finger in the air as Ropati burst through a massive hole created by the offensive line. During the media observation period, the 5-foot-9, 220-pound Ropati had three big gains on carries.

After practice concluded, BYU head coach Kalani Sitake was asked if LJ Martin practiced. Sitake said that the sophomore from El Paso did participate on day one but did not go into the extent of his participation.

The run game is a top priority for BYU in 2024. Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick stressed the ground attack during spring practices. That was evident during media observation period, especially when you see new offensive line coach and run game coordinator TJ Woods coaching up players on the sideline from all positions on the offense to put together an effective ground attack.

First glimpse at BYU football newcomer McCae Hillstead

Wednesday was the media’s first opportunity to see former Utah State quarterback McCae Hillstead as a BYU Cougar.

The former Skyridge High star joins BYU after one season in the Cache Valley. He started in four games last year for Utah State and was a dynamic athlete for the Aggies.

The results were mixed on day one for Hillstead, as you’d expect for a player who only arrived on campus two months ago.

Hillstead was whistled down for a “sack” by JUCO defensive tackle Luke To’omalatai. One play later, Hillstead had a nice pass close to the sticks to his intended receiver.

The next play after that, Hillstead completed a ball that was thrown slightly behind freshman preferred walk-on Ty West. West still came up with the grab and gained yards up the field.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.

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