'It's God's timing': After 2-year prep, Kody Epps showing out for No. 16 Cougars

PROVO — For some, Kody Epps' time to shine at BYU could've come as a freshman, when the former USA Today first-team All-American signed with BYU over scholarship offers from Oregon, Arizona State, Utah State and USC before a pandemic-altered 2020 season.

Others believe it could have come a year later, before 5-foot-11, 185-pound wide receiver was forced to use a medical redshirt on his do-over freshman campaign due to a foot injury.

Not Epps, though; he believes his time to shine has come exactly when it was intended.

"I talk about this with my family all the time: it's God's timing," said Epps, who currently leads all BYU receivers with 21 catches for 198 yards and three touchdowns. "I'm right on time with everything that is going on right now. There is no different time, that I can think of.

"The injury that I had to go through, that was for me, to grow as a person, in the classroom, with my friends, with my teammates. Everything that is happening with me right now is perfect timing."

The 16th-ranked Cougars are 4-1 as they head to Las Vegas to face Notre Dame (2-2) at Allegiant Stadium (5:30 p.m. MDT, NBC) in the final showdown between the FBS independents before BYU joins the Big 12 in 2023. And for Epps, the development of his path toward the top of the offensive charts came just as it was supposed to — even if it was hardly expected.

Epps came to BYU out of Mater Dei High, the west coast powerhouse in Los Angeles where he set school records with 93 receptions for 1,735 yards and 28 touchdowns as a senior. He caught passes from current Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, and played on a roster that featured over a dozen Division I and Power Five starters.

Epps attracted more attention than BYU. But the featured wide out, who is not a member of the school's sponsoring faith but considers himself a Christian, showed loyalty to a program that was among the first to offer him a scholarship.

That loyalty has paid off.

Epps played in six games as a true freshman, catching five passes for 47 yards during breakout seasons for Zach Wilson and Dax Milne with another two rush attempts for 18 yards.

When the former Salt Lake Valley duo departed for the NFL, Epps was "supposed to" break out in his own way, at least according to a certain segment of the fan base and analysts who observe the program.

But God has other plans, he likes to say. Epps even jokes at times that he had to spend two years "on a mission in Provo" learning college football before he could find his groove in Aaron Roderick's west coast offense.

That "mission trip," if that's what you want to call it (even in jest), has paid off in a big way. With star receivers Puka Nacua and Gunner Romney, Epps (along with fellow backups Keanu Hill, Brayden Cosper and Chase Roberts) have taken advantage of more snaps, more time and more passes from quarterback Jaren Hall to excel in the offense.

Each one of those receives took a different path toward playing time. But each one is showing what Roderick thought they were capable of doing when he and other coaches recruited them years ago.

"Cosper seems young because he hasn't played much, but he's been here and we believed in him for years. He just kept getting hurt," Roderick said. "Now his experience in the program is showing on the field, even though he's relatively new to some of the fans.

"Same with Kody; this is his third year in the program, and he came from Mater Dei, so he was very college-prepared and polished when he got here. But now he's playing like a veteran, even though he's a freshman. Keanu showed out last year, so he's a veteran player as well. I'm not surprised at all; what I'm most surprised is that we haven't had Gunner, Puka and Chase on the field yet. Until then, the guys are playing well and we'll keep rolling."

Epps admits the offensive scheme developed by Roderick, and the specific passing game coordinator by wide receivers coach Fesi Sitake, is complicated. It requires a lot of the receivers to know every in and out of the line, the backfield, even the tight ends.

"My number has been called a couple of times now, and I've been blessed to have the opportunity to make those plays," Epps said. "It's been fun to be a part of that."

The opportunity only gets bigger against Notre Dame, a beacon of college football that held top-talented Ohio State to 395 yards and 21 points in Week 1 before holding down Cal and North Carolina in back-to-back weeks prior to a bye.

"It's a great opportunity," Epps said. "We're playing against a traditionally amazing school, and we're traditionally pretty good, as well.

"Everybody's ready. Coach A-Rod's thing is efficiency, and we want to take care of all the small details."

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