PROVO — As hard as it may be to believe, 2014 will mark Bronco Mendenhall’s 10th year at the helm of BYU’s football team. Here is my list of the best performers on offense during Mendenhall’s tenure.

Quarterback: Max Hall

This was a very tough one between Hall and John Beck. Beck only played for two years under Mendenhall while Hall played three. In terms of individual seasons, Beck’s play in 2006 is, in my opinion, by far the best campaign by a quarterback in Mendenhall’s tenure. In 2006, Beck threw for 3,885 yards with 32 passing touchdowns and an additional six touchdowns on the ground. Beck also has the clear advantage in big games. In 2005 and 2006, Beck lit up TCU and Utah. Hall always seemed to save his worst outings for those two opponents. Still, Hall has the clear edge in terms of total body of work. Hall lead the Cougars to three straight double-digit win totals from 2007-2009. In that period, he also amassed 11,365 yards and 94 touchdown passes.

Running Back: Harvey Unga

This was another close call. Curtis Brown was one of the better backs BYU has had in its history. For his career, he had a healthy yard per run average (5.0 average), caught 157 passes, had 36 total touchdowns and gained a then school record 3,372 yards on the ground. While these numbers are impressive, it only took Unga three seasons to beat Brown in rushing yards and total touchdowns. Unga was an absolute stud during his three years in a Cougar uniform, rushing for over 1,000 yards in each of his three seasons. He also scored 36 touchdowns on the ground and caught nine more touchdown passes in his career. It is a shame that he did not get to play his senior year and raise the bar even higher for Jamaal Williams.

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Wide Receiver: Cody Hoffman

If the other two were difficult, this one was probably the hardest decision. It is arguable that Austin Collie was the best wide receiver in BYU football history. His stats from 2008 are unreal. In that year alone, he hauled in an incredible 106 passes, gained 1,538 receiving yards and scored 15 touchdowns. Similarly to Unga, Collie’s records may have never been caught up to if he decided to return for his senior year instead of entering the NFL draft. For his career, in just three seasons, Collie caught 215 passes, picked up 3,255 receiving yards and scored 30 touchdowns. In his four years in Provo, Hoffman caught 260 passes, gained 3,612 yards and scored 33 touchdowns. It is probably safe to say, barring injury, that Collie would have eclipsed Hoffman’s numbers.

But here’s why Hoffman gets the edge: Collie had a good and consistent quarterback throwing him the ball. Hoffman, on the other hand, caught passes from a host of different quarterbacks with varying accuracy and velocity on the ball. Hoffman spent four years bailing out his quarterbacks on poorly thrown passes. Had Hoffman had a good quarterback, his numbers would have skyrocketed.

Tight End: Dennis Pitta

This was the easiest pick of the bunch. Pitta is probably the best tight end the Y has ever had. At one point, Pitta owned the school record for most receptions in a career. In his four years at BYU, Pitta had 221 receptions, gained 2,901 yards through the air and got into the end zone 21 times. With BYU’s new offense featuring the tight end less and less, it’s safe to say, at the very least, that Pitta will not have anyone contesting him as the best tight end under Mendenhall.

Offensive Lineman: Matt Reynolds

Reynolds had a terrific four years in Provo. In his freshman year, he was selected to various Freshman All-American lists. In his sophomore and junior years, Reynolds was selected to the All-MWC first team. In his senior year, Reynolds made the All-Independent team. If you know nothing else about Reynolds, though, go back and watch the Armed Forces Bowl where Reynolds sans helmet laid a bone crushing block on an opponent to set up a touchdown pass.

Who do you think were the best performers at these positions under Mendenhall? Dylan Cannon is a regular KSL.com contributor and can be reached via email at dylancannon86@gmail.com.

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