Imagine you're a walk-on.

Imagine BYU asks you to come to the practice field and audition, with nothing more than a promise that if you can handle the duties, you can make the team.

Nervous?

Former American Fork standout Chris Muehlmann wasn't, and he earned the job.

"I was pretty confident," Muehlmann said of his audition last spring. "I've been doing it for so long, that gave me the confidence I needed. It really was just for Coach (Paul) Tidwell to show him I could do it."

Muehlmann handles the punt snaps, a distance of about 15-17 yards from the line of scrimmage to punter C.J. Santiago (sophomore John Pace snaps for PATs and field goals). Then Muehlmann runs straight down the field to the punt returner. He was credited with three solo tackles in 2007 and was named Academic All-MWC.

Muehlmann said the sophomore team at American Fork didn't have a deep snapper, so he went to the varsity snapper and asked him how it was done. That turned into two years of snapping and playing safety at Snow College in Ephraim. When he graduated from Snow, Tidwell contacted him about possibly trying out for snapping at BYU.

Muehlmann jumped at the chance.

No way ... not a chance," Muehlmann responded when asked if he thought his deep snapping skills would be his ticket to Division I football.

The key, he said, is consistency.

"I have to make sure I get the ball to the right spot every time," Muehlmann said, "the same spot every time. Being consistent really helps the kickers a lot. And we have to get it there as fast as we can."

How does BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall feel about his snappers?

"I like 'em," he said, "and not only for performing but we have depth. Not only do we have two of them but possibly a third in Coleby Clawson. Going back to my first year as coach, snapping cost us a couple of games. Being short at that position is not a mistake we'll make again."

Muehlmann (6-foot, 211 pounds), who is majoring in exercise science, will miss the return of his brother to the BYU program; Mike Muehlmann is a tight end currently serving an LDS mission in Texas. He will return in November.

Mendenhall said it would be possible for his deep snappers to earn a scholarship.

"I'm doing everything I can to make that happen," he said. "those guys are deserving."

• Practice report: Mendenhall called Tuesday's practice the sharpest of fall camp. The team portion was designed to throw a lot of downfield passes against the defense, and senior safety David Tafuna responded with his best practice so far. Tafuna had four pass breakups, including three on consecutive plays. Clawson had a sack and junior college transfer defensive end Bernard Afutiti showed great quickness in putting pressure on the quarterbacks.

During a simulated overtime session, Max Hall led the No. 1 offense to a touchdown in five plays, the score coming on a 4-yard pass to senior running back Fui Vakapuna.

The biggest highlight of team drills was the hit junior linebacker Matt Ah You "almost" put on sophomore receiver Landon Jaussi. On a short pass, Jaussi caught the ball and turned right into Ah You, who had a pretty good run at him. Ah You held up but it was still a big hit.

• False start: Junior center Tom Sorensen is still feeling pain in his left shoulder after returning to practice a couple of days ago. Mendenhall said Sorensen would undergo diagnostic orthopedic surgery and will be out for six weeks.

• Depth charting: Because of injuries, a couple of positions on the defense have changed. Ah You, who had moved past junior Shawn Doman at inside linebacker, found himself back with the 2's after sitting out a few days because of a concussion. Starting defensive end Ian Dulan (shoulder) has fallen behind junior Brett Denney at one of the defensive end spots.

• Last scrimmage: Mendenhall said most of the starters will sit out today's scrimmage and that most of the work would be for 2's and 3's who may have a chance of playing on special teams.

• Joining in: Wide receiver Brett Thompson (6-3, 210) has made an oral commitment to BYU's recruiting class of 2009 on Tuesday, as reported by the Sacramento Bee. Thompson plays at Oak Ridge High School in El Dorado Hills, Calif., the same school that produced current BYU All-MWC receiver Austin Collie. Thompson, who also received offers from Nebraska, UNLV and Air Force, totaled 560 receiving yards and six touchdowns last season.

• Get ready: Mendenhall's new redshirt policy (no one is awarded a redshirt until after the season) has resulted in more freshman and new players with opportunities to play right away.

"We're looking to play as many players as we can play that deserve to play," Mendenhall said. "If it's even close (the battle for a spot on the depth chart) we're going to look to play them."

• Daily Herald Sports Editor Darnell Dickson can be reached at 344-2555 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Read his blog on BYU football at cougarblue.com

Camp Cougar

• Player of the Day: Senior safety David Tafuna. He missed a few days of practice with a concussion but has come back strong. On Tuesday, he made stellar efforts to break up passes on three straight plays.

• Play of the Day: Sophomore wide receiver Landon Jaussi caught a pass, turned around and "Wham!" got an introduction to junior linebacker Matt Ah You. If Ah You hadn't help up, Jaussi would have had to check to see if he still had all of his teeth.

• Quote of the Day: No way ... not a chance." -- Senior deep snapper Chris Muehlmann when asked if he thought the deep snapping skill he picked up in high school would have result in playing college football.