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PROVO — The biggest moment in BYU punter Jonny Linehan's first year as a Division I college football player wasn't a touchback, a punt inside the 5-yard line, or a fake punt that went for a touchdown.
The biggest moment in the first half of his first football season, in fact, wasn't even a positive.
It was the moment he had his first punt blocked, a mismanaged moment against East Carolina that brought his weekly game average down to 49.5 yards per punt on four kicks.
Since then, he's been light's out on the football field, racking up 1,670 yards on 38 punts with seven punts of more than 50 yards, 13 punts downed inside the 20 — including four last Friday in BYU's 38-24 win over Cincinnati, and a career-long kick of 77 yards.
"That fired me up. I think it was the worst thing that could've happened to East Carolina," Linehan told reporters Monday morning. "After that, I hit a new switch and I was bombing balls. They were a little low, but we had great coverage and really good net (punt yards) after the blocked punt.
"Also, as a punt unit, it helped us realize that we need to pressure before they get to the shield, and then our shield needs to hold up."
Linehan punted the ball five times against the Bearcats, averaging 47.4 yards per punt for 237 total yards, including a 58-yarder. But the improvement on the punt team hasn't only been about the punter; it's spread to the rest of the squad as well, something the New Zealand native and rugby star calls "punter-ship."
"It's like sportsmanship, but for punters," Linehan said in trying to define his less-visible role than as the flyhalf and captain of BYU's top-tier rugby team. "I've really embraced the role of a punter and tried to do my best with the fourth-down army. But I'm also on the sidelines trying to pump the guys up. They can influence the game, whereas I can only do it on fourth down if we aren't in field goal range.
"That's been the biggest difference (from rugby), but I feel like I am trying to involve myself more than just kicking a ball."
BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall has noticed a significant improvement in special teams, especially during the past two weeks against American Athletic Conference competition. He called Friday night's win over Cincinnati the best special teams performance of the season, and pegged much of that success on Linehan and the punt team.
"He's done a really nice job all season, and I think that blocked punt reminded all of us how fast a game can change on an assignment mistake," Mendenhall said. "That's why you play the games; practices are fun, and I love that part, but games are stressful and you see if what you taught and your preparation holds. Sometimes small things don't, and they are exposed. I think that heightened our awareness to get that fixed."
Mendenhall also noted punt returner Garrett Juergens' 39-yard return against the Bearcats, the Cougars' longest punt return of the season to date, after making his way back from an injury suffered in fall camp.
"It was finally nice to get a long punt return," he said. "We've struggled to get a lot in that unit, so it was nice to have a breakthrough."
Linehan knows just how quickly a punter's fortune can change, too. He watched Blake O'Neill, the former Weber State punter from Australia who now starts Michigan, go from owning the NCAA's season-long punt to scapegoat in the Wolverines' final-play loss to Michigan State over the weekend.
The Kiwi tried to reach out to his Aussie companion, to whom he spoke after BYU played at Michigan in the final game of September. Linehan himself has been losing sleep over a heart-tugging play for O'Neill, and he hopes to be able to reach out to him better.
"He's a great dude, and a great punter, but caught up in a bad situation," Linehan said. "Honestly, I didn't think it would affect me that much. But I've lost some sleep the last few nights feeling bad for him. I know how much that would weigh down on him."
INJURY BUG — BYU will likely be without offensive linemen Ului Lapuaho, Ryker Mathews and Kyle Johnson on Saturday against FCS foe Wagner as the trio nurse injuries suffered in the previous two weeks. That adds to a significant injury report for the Cougars, who may have also lost Juergens and tight end Bryan Sampson to minor injuries and running back Riley Burt to a hamstring pull. "We have a pretty long list (of injuries) after this last game," Mendenhall said. "I was walking back to grab it, but I just stopped and said we'd have (head athletic trainer) Steve Pincock address it later; the list is pretty significant. I didn't know it after the game. The offensive linemen are just part of it."
None of the three usual offensive line starters were listed on Monday's depth chart. Brad Wilcox and Austin Hoyt were listed as the starting tackles, and Parker Dawe and Tuni Kanuch were the starting guards around center Tejan Koroma.
BYU has a bye week following the game against Wagner, and an athletic department spokesman expects each of the injured linemen back in time for the trip to San Jose State on Nov. 6 at 8:30 p.m. MST.
BYU also expects running back Adam Hine to return in time to face the Spartans in three weeks.
One player Mendenhall doesn't plan on sitting Saturday is freshman quarterback Tanner Mangum. The 22-year-old true freshman said he was "closer to the low end" of Mendenhall's 70-80 percent assessment after suffering a hamstring pull against East Carolina, but neither the quarterback nor the coach plan to let him take the full week off with a game on the weekend.
"I think that we and he and we will all do the very best we can to play the best game possible, and the same would be for our quarterback," Mendenhall said. "We'll make the decisions as the game goes, based on how it goes. But I don't intend to give him a play off, a day off, a week off. I intend to help him get better, if possible."
LEFT TOO SOON — Mendenhall also had a unique experience while watching a rare college football game on a Saturday afternoon.
The BYU head coach tuned into Michigan-Michigan State from his home while his family was out of town, but he left with 1:43 remaining to feed his horses and eventually get in the car to grab a burger and a milkshake.
He had no idea the Spartans returned the fumbled punt on the final play of the game to win, just as the entirety of Michigan Stadium was also in shock.
"I'm getting in my truck and on the radio, it shows the score — I thought it was a mistake," Mendenhall said, shaking his head. "Then I went to my phone, and I couldn't believe it.
"You never know. In a rivalry game, as well … I don't have words to describe it. I turned the game off."
