Final scrimmage kicks off this morning

Bronco Mendenhall will post his official depth chart within 24 hours for the team and then he could release it publicly by Friday or over the weekend. But this morning, he’ll put his team through a final scrimmage in the stadium.

Today’s scrimmage will be devoid of most of the starters, Mendenhall told reporters on Tuesday, but it will give coaches an idea of where they should plug in whom to be what. From there, he?ll create a scout team and give them assignments to become Northern Iowa so the varsity can prepare for the Aug. 30 season opener.

On Thursday, with a few key guys back on defense, it made a difference.

“When we have some of our guys back, we’re solid. We have people running around making place, guys like David Tafuna and Matt Ah You,” said defensive captain Jan Jorgensen.

“I think we’re getting better,” said defensive coordinator Jaime Hill. “We’ve had a lot of guys hurt and have played soe mixed parts, mixing and matching. But when we get our core guys together, we have guys out there who are used to playing alongside one another and are used to knowing what the guy next to them is going to do.”

The team had an activity Tuesday night that included divvying out pinewood derby kits and a challenge to get them ready for a little fun competition.

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The Honolulu Advertiser featured on of BYU’s recruits for 2009 today, Kahuku QB and safety Jray Galeai who has moved over to play safety for the Red Raiders.

Here is a taste; some excerpts:

“By moving Jray, it allows us to use his versatility,” Kahuku coach Reggie Torres said. “He can play special teams. We can (still) use him on offense as a receiver. He just needs to get more reps on offense. Once he does, he’ll be on that side of the ball more (often).”

By freeing him from quarterback, he becomes a multi-purpose player. Even on defense he is versatile, as he has been playing cornerback of late instead of free safety.

“That’s because we have two good safeties in Aulola Tonga and Irwin Ah-Hoy,” Torres said.

That’s how deep talent runs in Kahuku, which is expected to challenge for the postseason again, despite a 35-0 shellacking from Kamehameha on Friday.

Galeai said he loves the switch of positions.

“I’ve always dreamed of playing defensive back,” he said. “Funny, instead of getting hit, now I’m the one doing the hitting.”

Galeai, listed at 6 feet and 177 pounds, is ranked third in www.Rivals.com’s top 15 prospects in Hawai’i. (Tonga, who is 6-3 and 205, is ranked 10th.) Galeai already has offers from Brigham Young, Hawai’i and Oregon State. Michigan State has been inquiring of late, he added.

The Cougars were the first to offer Galeai and he accepted – after his sophomore season at Timpview High in Provo, Utah.

“Coach (Bronco) Mendenhall said he doesn’t do that too often,” Jray’s father, Ray Galeai, said. “But he felt that Jray was a good fit and being that he was Mormon and his endorsement from the church leaders were pretty good, he felt it was good to offer him a full ride.”

But Jray is still listening to other schools, he said. He chose BYU because, so far, it is the only school that meets his needs.

“I felt that BYU was the best place for me religion-wise because of my faith,” he said. “Their academics challenge you a lot and I wanted to further my education. Plus, they’re doing pretty good in football.”