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Under-the-radar receivers a big part of BYU's offensive success |
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JaredCowley | Monday, November 13, 2006, 7:22 am
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Darnell Dickson
DAILY HERALD
So let’s see: There’s a freshman from the No. 1 high school team in the country who teammates call “Virgil.”
There’s a senior who’s constantly reminded of the legacy left by his freshman brother. There’s a guy from Texas who survived the scandal that gutted his recruiting class and another guy who high-jumped 6 feet, 10 inches in high school. There’s a guy who leads the “Haka” before games and another who walked on from Snow College.
This is BYU’s receiving corps.
McKay Jacobson, Zac Collie, Michael Reed, Matt Allen, Bryce Mahuika and Nathan Meikle are the wide receivers for the 25th-ranked BYU football team, and who can say they’re surprised at their success? Hasn’t BYU always had these kind of guys catching passes?
The BYU all-time receiving list is headed by players like Phil Odle, Eric Drage, Matt Bellini, Glen Kozlowski, Andy Boyce — guys you wouldn’t want to anchor the Olympic 4x100 relay team but someone you’d trust every time to make the big catch.
“You know, McKay is pretty fast and the rest of us are just average speed,” Allen said. “Well, maybe a little above average.”
Even without last year’s deep threat (Todd Watkins) the 2006 receivers are making John Beck’s job a whole lot easier. Yards per pass, yards per catch and completion percentage are all up this season. Beck doesn’t seem to play favorites; he’s completed passes to 13 different receivers including a strong contingent of backs and tight ends.
Only two receivers have 100-yard receiving games in 2006 (Allen and Jacobson) and that’s just how BYU wants it.
“It’s reflective of a core approach on our team,” BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall said. “I’m not sure any player or coach cares about what statistics they have. The players look at their given roles to help the team win.
“I’ve been thankful that the team doesn’t look for those marks and that this year I haven’t had to deal with players wanting this many touches or this many catches or this many plays. To not have that burden on my shoulders has allowed me to focus on winning. This team is not about the individual but about the scheme that is played and contributing in their assigned roles.”
In 2004, junior college transfer Todd Watkins burst onto the scene as one of the country’s top deep threats. In Gary Crowton’s big-play offense, Watkins caught 52 passes for 1,042 yards and six touchdowns, averaging 20 yards per catch.
In 2005, Crowton was gone and Watkins had to adapt to new offensive coordinator Robert Anae’s short passing game. Watkins still caught 49 passes for nine touchdowns but averaged only 13.8 yards per catch. He never seemed comfortable in the offense, but still, opposing defenses had to account for his blazing speed.
With Watkins gone to the NFL, BYU fans wondered what would become of the BYU receivers. Sure, running backs Curtis Brown, Fui Vakapuna and Manase Tonga would catch passes out of the backfield and tight ends Jonny Harline and Dan Coats would be big targets over the middle.
But without Watkins to loosen things up, how would BYU’s receivers get open?
Very well, as it turns out. Jacobson, who played for the No. 1-ranked Southlake Carroll (Texas) Dragons in 2005, graduated early from high school and showed up on campus for spring ball. He’s been in the regular rotation since Game 1 and is averaging a team-best 19.3 yards per catch with 21 receptions and two touchdowns. Jacobson (his middle name is “Virgil”) also returned a punt 77 yards for a touchdown against Wyoming.
Collie, who’s younger brother Austin was a freshman All-American at BYU in 2004 before leaving on an LDS mission, is averaging almost 18 yards per reception and is adept at running crisp routes. Reed had big games in wins over TCU and Wyoming and Allen had a huge day against Boston College. Mahuika has been battling injury but had a 30-yard reception against Wyoming. Meikle, who caught 12 passes in last season’s Las Vegas Bowl, is a reliable punt returner (12.9 average) and popped an 84-yard kickoff return against Wyoming.
It seems that a different receiver steps up every game.
“We’re being very productive in our routes,” BYU receivers coach Patrick Higgins said. “We have eight or nine guys catching the ball every game. We’d rather have a bunch of guys with 60 or 70 yards than one with 100 yards.
“Everyone wants the ball more and you want them hungry for the football. But all the receivers understand what we’re trying to do and our bigger goals. They have to keep working hard and when their times comes, they have to make a play.”
Allen said the whole team embraces the philosophy of everybody contributing.
“It’s happening everywhere, on both sides of the ball,” Allen said. “We’re such a tight team that if somebody makes a play on the field, you feel like it was you that was out there, too.”
A perfect example of this philosophy is Reed, a 6-1 sophomore from Baytown, Texas. He caught four passes for 67 yards and a 40-yard touchdown in BYU’s 31-17 upset of TCU on Sept. 28 but had just eight receptions in the next four games. Against Colorado State, Reed didn’t catch a single pass.
Yet early in the game against Wyoming, Beck went deep twice to Reed; once for a 36-yard gain where Reed outfought single coverage for the ball and once on a 33-yard touchdown pass. On that one, Reed beat double coverage and juggled the reception before falling into the end zone.
“You can tell when Mike’s ready,” Beck said. “He really had the fire in his eyes. He made a great catch on the first ball and then later, I saw McKay’s guy was off him and Mike’s man was in press coverage. I thought, ‘You know what? The chances are Mike will come down with the ball if we go there.’ I put it out there and Mike came up with an amazing play.”
Amazing plays happen, but it’s the routine plays that make this group special.
“We work really hard on our route running,” Allen said. “We knew we’d have to do that to get away from people. Sometimes you can catch them in bad technique and manipulate them that way.
“Precise routes matter. If John throws the ball to us in our breaks, it’s almost impossible to stop. Even from last year, John’s so much better. Last year he wasn’t making the throws he’s making this year. He trusts all the guys out there.”
Beck is a senior, and in 2007 a new quarterback will take over the offense. Only Collie and Meikle, both seniors, and Jacobson, who will be leaving on an LDS mission to Japan, won’t be back next year among the top group of receivers.
“We’re looking forward to that and the new quarterback, whoever he is, should look forward to it, too,” Allen said. “All of us guys coming back will make it easier on the new guy coming in.”
Daily Herald Sports Editor Darnell Dickson can be reached at 344-2555 or by e-mail at
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