alt=Jay DrewPROVO — BYU’s football team will lose its top three receivers to graduation this offseason, as seniors Micah Simon, Aleva Hifo and Talon Shumway move on after saving the best for last. They’ve combined for 104 catches for 1,264 yards and eight touchdowns through 10 games and all three have surpassed, or are close to surpassing, single-season career highs.
The Cougars’ top tight end, Matt Bushman, is a junior but could make his name available for next April’s NFL draft. Bushman leads the team in receiving yards (502), while Simon has caught the most passes (39).
Quarterback Zach Wilson says those players will be missed dearly but promises more help is on the way.
Freshman receiver Keanu Hill, the speedster from Texas, is going to be special when he gets the chance to show what he can do, Wilson and several BYU coaches have said.
“It is one of those decisions we will have to make. It is cool that we get extra practices with those guys before the bowl game.” — BYU coach Kalani Sitake
But coaches may have an important decision to make, because Hill played in his third game of the season in Saturday’s 42-10 win over Idaho State. He also played against Tennessee and Utah State. The 6-foot-4, 210-pounder will lose his redshirt year if he plays in more than four games, and the Cougars have three contests remaining: Saturday at UMass, Nov. 30 at San Diego State and the Hawaii Bowl on Dec. 24.
So what’s the plan? Even Hill isn’t certain.
“The plan is to just come to practice every day and get better, and then when my number is called, I go in and do what I was recruited to do,” Hill said. “I don’t have a preference. I just stay patient and do what the coaches would like me to do.”
Hill gave BYU fans a glimpse of what he can do against the Bengals, catching three passes for 40 yards. He made a great grab along the sidelines that would have nearly doubled those yards, but a penalty wiped it off the board.
“Those guys (such as Hill, fellow freshman receiver Tevita Ika and freshman running back Jackson McChesney) have been itching to get on the field, and so it was really awesome to see those guys come in and make plays,” Wilson said. “It was good to see that we have some depth for the next couple of years and guys who can step up.”
Asked Monday whether Hill will redshirt, head coach Kalani Sitake wasn’t even sure how many games Hill has played in, finally settling on “one or two.” Hill confirmed Tuesday the number is three.
“It is one of those decisions we will have to make. It is cool that we get extra practices with those guys before the bowl game. Yeah, he is a big playmaker,” Sitake said, while also mentioning Ika, McChesney and freshmen tight ends Carter Wheat and Masen Wake as decisions that will have to be made.
Receivers coach Fesi Sitake and quarterbacks coach Aaron Roderick “have some tough decisions to make with the redshirt years,” Kalani Sitake concluded.
Wilson said watching the South Florida, Boise State, Utah State and Liberty games from the sidelines gave him a greater appreciation for the seniors who have made “huge strides” this season.
“Great work ethic and tenacity (is what) those guys have just to get the job done,” Wilson said. “They come out here and they practice hard and they just dominate the whole practice. They are so focused because they are seniors and they want so much to help out this team win.”
Simon has 494 receiving yards. Hifo, who missed the ISU game with a minor injury, has 406 and Shumway has 364. Hill and sophomores Gunner Romney (26 catches, 298 yards) and Dax Milne (15 catches, 216 yards) should be Wilson’s go-to guys next year.
“That’s why we can have quarterbacks come in and have so much success is because the game plan is to just get the ball in the playmakers’ hands, and those guys can extend plays or catch the ball behind the line and make someone miss for a 15-yard gain. That’s huge,” Wilson said. “So all these guys are playmakers. They have all grown up to be really good receivers.”
Hill is getting there.
“I am genuinely happy to be at BYU,” said the son of former Texas Tech All-American receiver Lloyd Hill and nephew of former Dallas Cowboys great Roy Williams. “The coaching staff is amazing; the school is amazing. Even the people are amazing — always nice, always want to start conversations. So I like it here.”
Whether he redshirts or not.
Cougars on the air
BYU (6-4) at Massachusetts (1-10)
At Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium, Amherst
Saturday, 10 a.m. MST
TV: FloSports
Radio: 1160 AM, 102.7 FM