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Franchuk: Veteran Coats epitomizes Cougs' new attitude |
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JaredCowley | Saturday, November 4, 2006, 10:40 am
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Jason Franchuk
DAILY HERALD
Daniel Coats has the grown man's dream. Three cute kids, a great wife.
He has the college kid's dream. A chance to play on a really good football team, to hear the roar of a crowd that sometimes shrieks for him.
And he has the freshly minted driver's dream. A sweet ol' convertible that's as close as a fella can come to pimpin' in Cougartown.
Living the dream(s) hasn't always been perfect, though. Once deemed a hotshot wide receiver recruit, he's been relegated to being a part-time tight end whose statistics are well short of what they once presumably could've been.
Yet it's players like Coats, moldling and accepting their roles around BYU's new-found success, that are invaluable.
"I'd be lying if I said there weren't some hard times," the senior said. "But that's just the competitiveness in me."
Coats' biggest beef came in 2003, his freshman year, when he went from slender and fast to stronger and much bulkier. Forty pounds later, he astonished himself when he stepped on a scale.
Sort of like the first time the "Incredible Hulk" became agitated and turned green. What was going on here?
"I never envisioned putting on so much muscle," Coats said. "It really hit me when I took a physical that I was a lot bigger. I wasn't really a receiver anymore. It's like the blink of an eye that all happened."
Coaches noticed it, too, and abruptly moved him at a practice.
Coats built up enough steam to power a tugboat. He didn't come here to be a tight end. He didn't want to be a tight end. Why were coaches doing this to him? Why'd they lie to him?
It hasn't been all bad.
He reluctantly joined the other tight ends for his first practice, and quickly found out that he'd still get a chance to contribute. He wouldn't be some meathead who never got to catch a ball again.
This story can't be told without mentioning Chad Lewis. He's synonymous with the phrase "Cougar tight end" and it's hard to find a story written about a current one, a former one or somebody merely considering becoming one without evoking the former NFL All-Pro's name.
But seriously, he was a major comfort to Coats.
"He said being a tight end at BYU wasn't the worst thing," Coats said. "In fact, it was a good thing in this offense."
This year has been about more balance than a senior citizen's diet, which the Cougars have. If your name isn't John Beck — and you're fortunate to be that guy right now — it's about biding time and waiting for him to throw to you.
Beck has passed to 13 different teammates. Coats is ninth with 11 catches. Perhaps a little stunning, considering the hype put around them years ago, is that he's clearly the second option from his position. Coats was once deemed the best player in the state, while Jonny Harline didn't have nearly the expectations from the outside.
Harline has 28 catches, only trailing running back Curtis Brown. Harline also has five more touchdowns than Coats.
Coats needs two more receptions to tie his previous worst season, the sophomore year he couldn't hold on to anything. It's a far cry from 2003, when the redshirt freshman hauled in 30 passes and appeared to be the next — here's that name again — Lewis.
This year, on a personal level, isn't even going to turn out as successful as last year when he caught 21 passes.
But that's just statistics we're talking.
This year hasn't been about words or numbers, but rather actions and wins. Coats took a backseat, but that's not such a bad thing.
Not when you're driving the sweetest car on campus, going home to a lot of love and, yes, winning a lot of games.
A man can dream, can't he?
Jason Franchuk can be reached at
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