When one thinks of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, the image is of Mormons and football. At least it is that way to me.

Here is a new way to think of the university.

Former BYU football standout and NFL football player Reno Mahe and three of his friends were ordered to stand trial on theft charges.

Following a preliminary hearing Mahe, fellow former BYU football player Tevita Ofahengaue and Michael Andrus, were all bound over on second-degree felony theft charges. Fred Prescott, 35, was bound over on a third-degree felony theft charge.

The four men have been accused of stealing more than $6,000 in gasoline from a construction company between August and October of 2010.

Mark Evers, 31, was working for A-Core Concrete Cutting at the time and testified in court that he began stealing gas from the company in 2006 using a code he created for a company that maintained fuel pumps. A few months after the code was created, Evers realized its use wasn't documented in regular reports like those linked to employees or their vehicles.

Evers' alleged theft was discovered in October 2010, leading to a review of surveillance tapes dating back to August 2010 that helped police identify Mahe, Ofahengaue, Andrus and Prescott.

An audit showed that more than $55,000 was stolen between June 2006 and October 2010. In 2009, Evers said he told Mahe, a friend since high school, that he received free gas as part of his employment package and offered to give gas to Mahe.

"I don't recall how they got brought along, if it was Reno that asked them," Evers testified. "I didn't really know them, so probably Reno."

He said he knew some of them because they played church basketball together in Lehi. After their games, they drove to the A-Core facilities in Murray together to fill up their personal vehicles.

Evers said he thought Mahe and his friends eventually knew he wasn't actually authorized to take gas because of "little things," like the fact that they would wait until A-Core employees were gone before they would fill up. He conceded, though, that he once told Mahe that they had to wait because the other employees didn't know management received free gas and would become jealous if they knew.

But Evers was adamant that everyone knew, by mid-2010, that they were actually taking the gas.

Wow, things must be tough when an NFL football player has to steal gas.