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PROVO — While BYU football is known for its rich quarterback traditions, it’s not the only position where the Cougars have turned out some great athletes. With names like Pitta, Harline, George, Lewis, Mili, Hudson and Brown, the tight end position has proven to be a productive and beneficial part of the BYU offense.
The past two seasons have seen a decline in the production of BYU’s tight ends. In 2012, tight ends caught 48 passes for 567 yards and seven touchdowns. Last season, Cougar tight ends caught only 35 passes for 387 yards and one touchdown. Compare that to 2009, when Dennis Pitta and Andrew George combined for 92 catches for 1,237 yards and 13 touchdowns, it’s clear that things have changed in Provo when it comes to the tight end position.
The obvious question is, why have the numbers gone down so significantly? In regards to last season, offensive coordinator Robert Anae believes it’s because the tight ends didn’t do enough to warrant having the ball thrown their way.
“The offense works kinda like your elementary school voting booth,” Anae said. “People aren’t going to vote for you to be Romper Room leader unless you earn that — it’s the same thing in football. If those tight ends weren’t getting open, they weren’t getting balls, they just weren’t earning that; it’s the same principle. You earn it, your teammates respect you and it becomes more productive visibly — we did not have that happen last year.”
This season, it appears that the biggest difference for the tight ends is what actually classifies a player as one. With an influx of talented receivers, BYU plans to utilize everyone’s skills, and that has meant calling certain receivers a tight end based solely on where they’ll line up on the field.
“It’s not so much using the tight end, it’s where can our best players be used,” head coach Bronco Mendenhall said. “We have different versions of tight ends as you’ve seen. Devin (Mahina) (6-6, 245) will be more a hand-on-the-ground true tight end … but you’ll also see Jordan Leslie (6-3, 210), Keanu Nelson (5-11, 184), guys like that playing an inside receiver spot … there’s really not quite the hybrid of Dennis Pitta, Jonny Harline; we kinda have either receivers or tight ends now. Based on the personnel grouping will be how we use them.”
For senior Devin Mahina, he doesn’t believe that the days of a productive tight end at BYU are a thing of the past.
“I don’t think those days are gone,” Mahina said. “I think they just have changed a little bit. We’ve brought Jordan Leslie, Terenn (Houk) and Keanu (Nelson); back in the day it was (Dennis) Pitta and (Andrew) George doing those things, but now we have specialized guys that can do those things ,and I’ll stick to my three-point stance, traditional tight end.”
With an offense that has started fall camp with positive reviews, it’s obvious that the coaches have taken a lot of new talent and put it in the right places. Taysom Hill’s offensive options in 2014 are numerous. Hill has tall, speedy receivers who should be able to stretch the field, and a group of running backs that have proven to be productive game in and game out.
Hill also believes that the tight ends will play a larger role than they have the past two seasons.
“I expect to use the tight ends more this year,” said Hill. “The nature of being in the spread offense is (that) we’re looking for one-on-one matchups, and oftentimes that comes on the outside.”
Historically, when BYU gets significant production from its tight ends, the offense is much better. While the Cougar offensive scheme has changed recently, there is still a need for a productive tight end in Provo … traditional or otherwise.
