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PROVO — Beau Tanner’s senior year at BYU almost didn’t happen.
So it’s fitting that the beginning of his ultimate year with the Cougar football program will start just a short drive from where it all began.
Tanner, a 6-foot senior from Gilbert, Arizona, was planning on leaving the program during the 2017-18 offseason. A move from wide receiver to cornerback wasn’t sitting well with him, and he thought his career may have been finished — or at the very least, his career at BYU.
But life has a way of reversing course sometimes.
“I just missed being around the atmosphere here,” Tanner said. “It’s a great team, a great group of guys, and I wanted to play right away.
“When the coaches reached out to me with an opportunity to come back, it was an easy decision.”
Now Tanner will be one of five players from the state of Arizona that will open up the Cougars’ 2018 season at the University of Arizona on Saturday. Kickoff from Tucson is scheduled at 7:45 p.m. MST on ESPN and KSL Newsradio.
And while the home crowd will be decidedly pro-Wildcats, one of those Arizonans — tight end Matt Bushman, who prepped at Tucson’s Sabino High — said the crowd also loves their football, and especially those players with Arizona roots.
“They really love Arizona football, especially when they have kids from the hometown,” Bushman said. “They really hype those guys up. I’m on the opposing team, but there is still excitement of playing a kid from Tucson. They have their eyes watching the Tucson natives.
“It’ll be exciting for Game 1. I’ve never been on the opposing sideline there, either.”
Tucson is a place Tanner knows well, too. Many of his friends went to college near Wildcat Stadium, though he admits to siding more with Arizona State in the heated Territorial Cup rivalry.
‘“I was definitely more of an ASU guy,” he said. “I was a big BYU fan growing up, but I lived 5-10 minutes away from ASU’s campus, while Tucson is a couple of hours away.”
It’s hard to argue Tanner’s role with the Cougars. After a 1,000-yard senior season at Shadow Mountain High School in the Phoenix area, Tanner initially enrolled at nearby Scottsdale Community College and set out on a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Santa Ana, El Salvador.
He returned and drew interest from the likes of Kentucky, Texas Tech, UCLA and Utah State. But he picked BYU and played 10 games as a sophomore in 2016. He went on to a junior season catching 12 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown, a highlight-reel grab in a 40-24 loss at Utah State.
When the Cougars cut ties with offensive coordinator Ty Detmer and most of his staff after a 4-9 campaign, Tanner’s future in the offense changed. A move to cornerback during spring ball was met with mixed reviews, and he sincerely doubted his future at BYU.
Assistant head coach Ed Lamb, who is also the team’s special teams coordinator, put several offensive players in a tackling drill to help them on special teams. Tanner had never played cornerback save a few spot moves from safety in high school. But he excelled in the drill, sparking talks of a full-time move.
“I had a good day,” Tanner said. “I’ve always loved tackling as a safety in high school. I love the physical part of the game, and I think they saw at receiver when I was blocking, too. It’s probably thanks to that drill that I am playing defense.”
Still, he admits he didn’t like the move to the BYU defensive backfield initially. He’s now listed as a co-starter at nickel and cornerback on the left side, but that’s only after a summer that included him temporarily leaving the program before returning to Provo to finish his college degree and his career.
“The old staff never let them move me to corner, but with the new staff, they thought it was a good idea and best for the team,” Tanner said. “I initially wasn’t happy with the decision.”
Tanner even went so far as to post an announcement of his departure on his Instagram page. He has since removed the post and insists everything is all right — and he’s excited to contribute to the Cougars’ defensive backfield.
“It wasn’t initially something I wanted to do,” he said. “But I think my game really fits playing cornerback. I love the physicality of it and being physical. It’s been a good fit.”
