Jun 12, 2012
12:20:55pm
12:20:55pm
2012 Preview: Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Part 6 - Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
The 2011 season turned out to be quite a roller coaster, as Jake Heaps entered the season as an entrenched starter, but struggled more and more as the year wore on. Enter Riley Nelson, and the Cougars managed a ten-win but turbulent season behind the once again split leadership. Now Heaps has transferred, and Nelson finally gets his chance as a senior to have the team all to himself, as the Cougars embark on their second year as an independent. The coming season features a more challenging schedule, particularly on the road, so the Cougs have their work cut out for them.
When considering players who would have started all season but were injured along the way and players who started at least six games, BYU has 13 full-year starters coming back in 2012. There are 6 returning starters on offense, while 7 starters return on defense, along with 8 other players who also started at least one game at some point during the 2011 season. There are also 2 return missionaries back who were multi-year starters prior to leaving.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends:
The most notable loss from the 2011 wide receiver rotation is McKay Jacobson, who never quite returned to his freshman form post mission. The young cadre of tight ends essentially all return outside of Matthew Edwards, who went out in memorable fashion by scoring his only career touchdown. The tight ends improved markedly over a very rocky 2010 campaign last year. In spite of the loss of Jacobson, the Cougars also return a bunch of young starters at receiver that have started to make their mark on the program, players who also showed significant improvement over a poor display the first half of the year prior.
Personnel:
One full year starter returns at wide receiver in 2012, and that player is Cody Hoffman. Now a redshirt junior, Hoffman just missed out on a thousand yard receiving season in 2011, finishing with 61 catches for 943 yards and 10 touchdowns, a marked improvement over a good freshman campaign.
A starter also returns at tight end in the form of Austin Holt, who played in 11 games last year while starting 10 of them. Holt, a junior, had 11 catches for 180 yards before going down with a knee injury.
Other wide receivers that return with playing experience are Ross Apo, J.D. Falslev, Dallin Cutler, Rhen Brown, Dalin Tollestrup, and Brett Thompson. Redshirt sophomore Apo is certainly the most conspicuous of this group, and most Cougar fans would likely call him a starter last year. Possibly due solely to opening offensive alignment, Apo only started 4 games last year, but he was second on the team with 34 catches for 453 yards and 9 touchdowns, while playing in every game last year. Similarly, the junior Falslev played in every game last year while starting 3, with 31 catches for 330 yards and 2 touchdowns. Redshirt junior Cutler played in 8 games last year, with 3 catches for 23 yards. Brown, a senior, played in 3 games last year but did not record a statistic. Tollestrup is a senior who played in 4 games last year but did not record a statistic. Thompson is a true sophomore who saw action in 2009 prior to his mission.
Tight ends who return with playing experience, but that were not full year starters, are Marcus Mathews, Kaneakua Friel, Devin Mahina, and Richard Wilson. The junior Mathews played in every game last year while starting 3, notching 27 catches with 299 yards and 1 touchdown. Friel, a redshirt junior, played in 12 games, with 7 catches for 55 yards and 1 touchdown. Redshirt sophomore Mahina redshirted last year due to a neck injury after playing in 2010. Wilson, a redshirt junior, played in 7 games before suffering a season ending knee injury, and had 11 catches for 130 yards and 1 touchdown.
Wide receivers who have been on the team but without playing time are redshirt freshmen Terenn Houk, Cody Raymond, and Kurt Henderson, each who redshirted last year; redshirt sophomore Rex Morgan, a scout team player last year and 2008 redshirt; junior Jordan Smith, another scout team player; redshirt junior Skyler Ridley, a 2011 scout team player; and redshirt freshman Mitch Mathews, who redshirted in 2009 prior to a mission.
The sole tight end that has been in the program but without playing time is Trevor Brown, a redshirt freshman who redshirted in 2011.
Newcomers at wideout include walk on freshmen Andrew Cusick, John Lamont, and Kurt Henderson, and the one with a familiar last name, scholarship true freshman Dylan Collie.
Newcomers at tight end include freshmen walk ons Michael Edmunds, McCoy Hill, and Darin Tuttle.
Projected Starters:
BYU's 2012 prospectus still does not distinguish between positions for the receivers, continuing to reflect the trend of having them lineup in all different spots. Two players are listed as starters, and they are Cody Hoffman and Ross Apo. Backups to Hoffman and Apo are currently listed as Dallin Cutler and J.D. Falslev, respectively. It's possible and perhaps likely that Cougar fans will see Hoffman and Apo playing the X and Z positions primarily, while Falslev plays primarily at the H position, which has been making a comeback. It will be interesting to see how many players will be used this year in the receiver rotation. It seems the Cougars would be wise to keep Hoffman on the field at all times, and maybe Apo too. After Falslev and Cutler, expect Mathews, Thompson, and Collie to make the biggest pushes for playing time, but the Cougars certainly have a lot of bodies at wide receiver. In a strange twist, Mitch Mathews is both taller and heavier than his older brother Marcus, who is designated a tight end, so he might end up switching positions down the road.
The call at tight end is not as difficult to make as it was a year ago in terms of a starter, but BYU still has a major problem in terms of getting enough reps around. A disclaimer is in order because any commentary on the tight ends is assuming they return to full playing capacity after a host of serious injuries last year, particularly for Mahina, Holt, and Wilson. Austin Holt seems to have entrenched himself as the starter given the actual starting data from 2011. From the 2012 prospectus, Marcus Mathews is listed as the starter in "or" status with Kane Friel. Yet, Mahina and Wilson can certainly not be overlooked, particularly as Wilson was coming on strong prior to his injury. It is a nice problem to have, but BYU is certainly stocked with talent at tight end to the extent that keeping all the players satisfied with playing time appears impossible, barring another bizarre injury ridden year.
Outlook:
Things are a lot brighter this year for the wide receivers than they were a year ago. Hoffman continued his progression as a budding star while becoming the go-to player for Riley Nelson, and Apo appears to be on the same track. Throw into the mix a solid, gritty player like Falslev, and the wide receiver group looks great. Cutler has had some wow moments in practice, and should be getting more time on the field this year with the departure of Jacobson to show what he can do. On top of that, BYU's impressive recruiting efforts at this position are apparent by the group of younger players waiting in the wings. The wide receiver unit ought to be a strong position for the Cougars this year.
With any luck, the tight ends will continue to progress and start to put up numbers to show it. Accounting for 664 yards receiving and 3 touchdowns last year in aggregate was a lot better than the year prior, but still not close to BYU standards for tight ends. A lot of that might have to do with players getting hurt and being replaced frequently, and some of it may also be related to Heaps' propensity to look for wideouts and not tight ends or running backs so much in his throws. The frustrating part is that each individual tight end has shown flashes of great ability in the receiving game, particularly Mathews and Wilson. It's worth noting that Holt's dominance as a blocker has been a huge asset and should continue to be. All considered, BYU fans have reason to be cautiously optimistic about the tight ends, but they definitely need to be more involved this season and show their improvement statistically.
---
You can read Part 5, Offensive Line, here: http://www.cougarboard.com/board/message.html?id=8737148
Part 4, Special Teams, here: http://www.cougarboard.com/board/message.html?id=8730648
Part 3, Defensive Line, here: http://www.cougarboard.com/board/message.html?id=8724450
Part 2, Linebackers, here: http://www.cougarboard.com/board/message.html?id=8719026
And Part 1, Defensive Backs, here: http://www.cougarboard.com/board/message.html?id=8714262
The 2011 season turned out to be quite a roller coaster, as Jake Heaps entered the season as an entrenched starter, but struggled more and more as the year wore on. Enter Riley Nelson, and the Cougars managed a ten-win but turbulent season behind the once again split leadership. Now Heaps has transferred, and Nelson finally gets his chance as a senior to have the team all to himself, as the Cougars embark on their second year as an independent. The coming season features a more challenging schedule, particularly on the road, so the Cougs have their work cut out for them.
When considering players who would have started all season but were injured along the way and players who started at least six games, BYU has 13 full-year starters coming back in 2012. There are 6 returning starters on offense, while 7 starters return on defense, along with 8 other players who also started at least one game at some point during the 2011 season. There are also 2 return missionaries back who were multi-year starters prior to leaving.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends:
The most notable loss from the 2011 wide receiver rotation is McKay Jacobson, who never quite returned to his freshman form post mission. The young cadre of tight ends essentially all return outside of Matthew Edwards, who went out in memorable fashion by scoring his only career touchdown. The tight ends improved markedly over a very rocky 2010 campaign last year. In spite of the loss of Jacobson, the Cougars also return a bunch of young starters at receiver that have started to make their mark on the program, players who also showed significant improvement over a poor display the first half of the year prior.
Personnel:
One full year starter returns at wide receiver in 2012, and that player is Cody Hoffman. Now a redshirt junior, Hoffman just missed out on a thousand yard receiving season in 2011, finishing with 61 catches for 943 yards and 10 touchdowns, a marked improvement over a good freshman campaign.
A starter also returns at tight end in the form of Austin Holt, who played in 11 games last year while starting 10 of them. Holt, a junior, had 11 catches for 180 yards before going down with a knee injury.
Other wide receivers that return with playing experience are Ross Apo, J.D. Falslev, Dallin Cutler, Rhen Brown, Dalin Tollestrup, and Brett Thompson. Redshirt sophomore Apo is certainly the most conspicuous of this group, and most Cougar fans would likely call him a starter last year. Possibly due solely to opening offensive alignment, Apo only started 4 games last year, but he was second on the team with 34 catches for 453 yards and 9 touchdowns, while playing in every game last year. Similarly, the junior Falslev played in every game last year while starting 3, with 31 catches for 330 yards and 2 touchdowns. Redshirt junior Cutler played in 8 games last year, with 3 catches for 23 yards. Brown, a senior, played in 3 games last year but did not record a statistic. Tollestrup is a senior who played in 4 games last year but did not record a statistic. Thompson is a true sophomore who saw action in 2009 prior to his mission.
Tight ends who return with playing experience, but that were not full year starters, are Marcus Mathews, Kaneakua Friel, Devin Mahina, and Richard Wilson. The junior Mathews played in every game last year while starting 3, notching 27 catches with 299 yards and 1 touchdown. Friel, a redshirt junior, played in 12 games, with 7 catches for 55 yards and 1 touchdown. Redshirt sophomore Mahina redshirted last year due to a neck injury after playing in 2010. Wilson, a redshirt junior, played in 7 games before suffering a season ending knee injury, and had 11 catches for 130 yards and 1 touchdown.
Wide receivers who have been on the team but without playing time are redshirt freshmen Terenn Houk, Cody Raymond, and Kurt Henderson, each who redshirted last year; redshirt sophomore Rex Morgan, a scout team player last year and 2008 redshirt; junior Jordan Smith, another scout team player; redshirt junior Skyler Ridley, a 2011 scout team player; and redshirt freshman Mitch Mathews, who redshirted in 2009 prior to a mission.
The sole tight end that has been in the program but without playing time is Trevor Brown, a redshirt freshman who redshirted in 2011.
Newcomers at wideout include walk on freshmen Andrew Cusick, John Lamont, and Kurt Henderson, and the one with a familiar last name, scholarship true freshman Dylan Collie.
Newcomers at tight end include freshmen walk ons Michael Edmunds, McCoy Hill, and Darin Tuttle.
Projected Starters:
BYU's 2012 prospectus still does not distinguish between positions for the receivers, continuing to reflect the trend of having them lineup in all different spots. Two players are listed as starters, and they are Cody Hoffman and Ross Apo. Backups to Hoffman and Apo are currently listed as Dallin Cutler and J.D. Falslev, respectively. It's possible and perhaps likely that Cougar fans will see Hoffman and Apo playing the X and Z positions primarily, while Falslev plays primarily at the H position, which has been making a comeback. It will be interesting to see how many players will be used this year in the receiver rotation. It seems the Cougars would be wise to keep Hoffman on the field at all times, and maybe Apo too. After Falslev and Cutler, expect Mathews, Thompson, and Collie to make the biggest pushes for playing time, but the Cougars certainly have a lot of bodies at wide receiver. In a strange twist, Mitch Mathews is both taller and heavier than his older brother Marcus, who is designated a tight end, so he might end up switching positions down the road.
The call at tight end is not as difficult to make as it was a year ago in terms of a starter, but BYU still has a major problem in terms of getting enough reps around. A disclaimer is in order because any commentary on the tight ends is assuming they return to full playing capacity after a host of serious injuries last year, particularly for Mahina, Holt, and Wilson. Austin Holt seems to have entrenched himself as the starter given the actual starting data from 2011. From the 2012 prospectus, Marcus Mathews is listed as the starter in "or" status with Kane Friel. Yet, Mahina and Wilson can certainly not be overlooked, particularly as Wilson was coming on strong prior to his injury. It is a nice problem to have, but BYU is certainly stocked with talent at tight end to the extent that keeping all the players satisfied with playing time appears impossible, barring another bizarre injury ridden year.
Outlook:
Things are a lot brighter this year for the wide receivers than they were a year ago. Hoffman continued his progression as a budding star while becoming the go-to player for Riley Nelson, and Apo appears to be on the same track. Throw into the mix a solid, gritty player like Falslev, and the wide receiver group looks great. Cutler has had some wow moments in practice, and should be getting more time on the field this year with the departure of Jacobson to show what he can do. On top of that, BYU's impressive recruiting efforts at this position are apparent by the group of younger players waiting in the wings. The wide receiver unit ought to be a strong position for the Cougars this year.
With any luck, the tight ends will continue to progress and start to put up numbers to show it. Accounting for 664 yards receiving and 3 touchdowns last year in aggregate was a lot better than the year prior, but still not close to BYU standards for tight ends. A lot of that might have to do with players getting hurt and being replaced frequently, and some of it may also be related to Heaps' propensity to look for wideouts and not tight ends or running backs so much in his throws. The frustrating part is that each individual tight end has shown flashes of great ability in the receiving game, particularly Mathews and Wilson. It's worth noting that Holt's dominance as a blocker has been a huge asset and should continue to be. All considered, BYU fans have reason to be cautiously optimistic about the tight ends, but they definitely need to be more involved this season and show their improvement statistically.
---
You can read Part 5, Offensive Line, here: http://www.cougarboard.com/board/message.html?id=8737148
Part 4, Special Teams, here: http://www.cougarboard.com/board/message.html?id=8730648
Part 3, Defensive Line, here: http://www.cougarboard.com/board/message.html?id=8724450
Part 2, Linebackers, here: http://www.cougarboard.com/board/message.html?id=8719026
And Part 1, Defensive Backs, here: http://www.cougarboard.com/board/message.html?id=8714262
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