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PROVO — BYU football fans looking for some good news after a woeful loss in the Hawaii Bowl and a pair of departures Thursday got some welcome relief Friday at the holiday weekend deadline.
Junior tight end Matt Bushman, the Cougars’ leading pass-catcher from a year ago, announced that he will return for his senior season instead of departing for the 2020 NFL draft.
“After thought and consideration, I have chosen to stay for my senior year,” Bushman wrote on Instagram. “I’m excited for the future! Go Cougs!”
Bushman caught 47 passes for 688 yards and four touchdowns as a junior in 2019, helping the Cougars to a 7-6 record. His total catches finished second only to senior Micah Simon, but Bushman totaled 83 more yards than the Texas-born wideout. That includes an athletic 91 yards on six catches on Christmas Eve in a 38-34 bowl loss to Hawaii.
Bushman finished his junior year averaging 14.64 yards per catch, including with a season-long grab of 44 yards Nov. 9 in a 31-24 win over Liberty. He caught a pass in every game but one, a 42-14 win at Utah State.
Bushman has received mixed ratings from several NFL draft analysts regarding his stock, but seemed to be in solid consideration to be drafted by the third day of the annual event, which will be held in Las Vegas next April.
Complicating his draft stock was his age, though; the former BYU outfielder served a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Chile. His wife Emily Lewis, the daughter of former BYU and NFL star tight end Chad Lewis, just wrapped up four years on the BYU women’s volleyball team, as well.
A former USA Today Freshman All-American, Bushman has caught 125 passes for 1,719 yards and nine touchdowns in three full seasons at BYU. Now he’ll return for one final year, giving quarterback Zach Wilson a sure target and steady hands for the 2020 season.
