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Provo • Depending on how the opening coin toss goes, the first BYU player to touch the football in a game this season might be someone few fans are familiar with: redshirt freshman Jordan Johnson.

BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said Tuesday that if the season were to begin today, Johnson, a backup cornerback, and safety Mike Hague would be the kick returners. The punt returner would be J.D. Falslev, who was stellar at the spot last year, returning 15 punts for 136 yards, a 9.1 average, with a long of 43.

Mendenhall said Johnson, from Springfield, Mass., was picked because of how well he performed last year when he was redshirting.

"I ran the kickoff team a year ago, and Jordan Johnson was always the scout [team] kick returner. And both units had a really hard time getting ahold of him. So we were just kind of biding our time, waiting for him to be out of his redshirt year. No one has seen it yet in a live game, but we have seen it enough in practice to where we think [he will do well]. And the players believe in him, so we will see," Mendenhall said.

Falslev and first-string receiver Cody Hoffman would back up Hague and Johnson as kick returners.

"Jordan Johnson is very, very fast, and very quick. He can hit the holes really quickly. It will be good," Falslev said.

The former Sky View High star's backups at punt returner would be Hague, McKay Jacobson and Dallin Cutler, a walk-on who has also proved to be elusive in open-field situations.

Houston series announced

BYU announced Tuesday that it has agreed to a home-and-home deal with the University of Houston. The first game will take place in Houston on Oct. 19, 2013, while the return game will take place Sept. 27, 2014, in Provo.

The schools have never met before in football.

The Cougars now have eight known opponents for 2013: Texas, Hawaii, Utah, Boise State, Utah State, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame and Houston, currently a member of Conference USA.

Time to prepare for Ole Miss

Mendenhall said Tuesday that Thursday's entire practice "will shift toward Ole Miss." Basically, the Cougars will be a day ahead of schedule, with game-week preparations usually starting the second-to-last Friday before the opener.

"Just to play a game," Mendenhall said Tuesday when asked the team's greatest need right now. "I am comfortable with the situations. While we are not perfect, and execution isn't exactly where it needs to be, we just need to prepare for an opponent and play. That's the next step." —

Practice Points

What we learned • Preseason practice has pretty much concluded for the Cougars, who have almost completely turned their focus toward Ole Miss and the Sept. 3 opener.

Who was hot • Kicker Justin Sorensen was 6-for-6 on field goal attempts, all beyond 36 yards, and 3-for-3 on his PAT attempts.

Who was sidelined • Receiver Spencer Hafoka, linebacker Aveni Leung-Wai and lineman Marco Thorson were suffering from a stomach virus and didn't practice.