Bauman in, Ah You out

Max Hall took control of some blue zone and goal line work in Tuesday’s only practice, throwing touchdown passes to Michael Reed, Andrew George and Dennis Pitta.

Linebacker Matt Ah You said out another practice with a sore sternum as Matt Bauman returned to his position as the “Mike” middle linebacker. In the absence of Ah You, who earned the starting spot, Shawn Doman worked with the ones, as did Jordan Pendleton in place of David Tafuna (concussion).

Mendenhall said Ah You has some pain when breathing. “It may be more serious than we thought at first.”

The big news Tuesday was the amount of work Fui Vakapuna (hamstring) got as the lead blocking fullback in the formations with Harvey Unga. It has to be tough for Vakapuna to return from his mission and have his eye set on being the guy, then along comes the freshman of the year in the league, Unga, and moves him aside. Still, both were seen tapping helmets and encouraging one another during a 11-on-11 segment.

While Vakapuna didn’t look a hundred percent, he didn’t flop out there. One thing that is very noticeable is the strength of the offensive line that goes two deep. It is big and physical. Any shortcomings Vakapuna may have had after missing a lot of practice time may be shadowed by the work up front of Matt and Dallas Reynolds, Travis Bright, Ray Feinga and David Oswald. The run game will really benefit from the athleticism of this group, especially with Bright in the lineup after breaking his leg in the Las Vegas Bowl.

O’Neil Chambers ran a lot of plays with the first unit and was very impressive using his size on down-field blocks. The big play of the day was a 40-yard bomb from Hall to Spencer Hafoka, who got a few steps on Brandon Howard and scored.

Mendenhall announced the following captains on special teams: Matt Bauman on punt, Jan Jorgensen on kickoff returns and David Nixon on kickoffs. A captain for the punt return team will be announced later. Players vote on the captains.

LaVell Edwards attended practice with his grandson from Bountiful, who will try and walkon. Edwards told Mendenhall he liked how he handled practices and was impressed.