I apologize in advance if you have a brother, son, friend, mission companion, former teammate or brother-in-law who was listed on the roster as a TE for the 2016 BYU cougars. I'm going to be pretty critical of this group in the words that follow:

Looking down the 2016 roster, the TE group is so underwhelming, with so little promise. To think that out of those 6-7 guys we are having to use almost as many scholarships is discomforting. There are maybe 1-2 tight-ends who have a chance to be productive players at BYU - and one of them is a true freshman who switched positions during fall camp because the unit was so bad (Pilimai).

What's worse is the fact that you look at those players and they will basically be sophomores and juniors in 2017. It's one thing if a position group is thin/weak for a year and the upperclassmen just sort of wash out and new talent is ready to step in. We have at least 2 years left until this group actually turns over and we see more dynamic players that can produce. I wouldn't call BYU TE U, but we have consistently produced good pass catchers at TE, even if they were not always heavily featured in the offense. This group is has just fallen off.

I am aware that Bushman is back and will be competing as a true freshman this year. Im aware of his skillset and saw him on film. I was impressed. But is it realistic that he will come in as an RM and dominate? Maybe. I at least hope to see him be a contributor. Perhaps MLP just puts on 10 lbs this offseason and catches 60+ balls next year as a hybrid TE. Probably not. Our TE play in 2016 was just so uninspiring. Their contributions in the pass game usually came because defenses just stopped caring about them and those 5 yard flat routes or they were too focused on Jamaal gashing them and sold out on a play fake. We need the TE position to be much more than that in order for Tanner and the offense to take a step forward. This group had little to no impact in 2016. There is no play-making ability whatsoever. I don't know how many scholarships they command at this point, but beyond Bushman and maybe 2 others, its too many.