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PROVO — Puka Nacua drew rave reviews for his scintillating performance against Boise State, universally being acknowledged as the country's best wide receivers.
When it comes to his place in BYU football history, the time has come to remove all qualifiers. Recognizing the list is totally subjective, Nacua deserves to be considering the greatest receiver ever to catch a pass from a BYU quarterback.
The former Orem High star put an exclamation point on his outstanding ability with an acrobatic game-winning catch in the closing minutes against the Broncos, juggling the ball into his hands while tap dancing along the sidelines at the same time jostling with a defensive back. He finished with 14 receptions for 157 yards and two touchdowns.
"He's one of the best players in college football," Kalani Sitake said.
The seventh-year BYU coach will get no argument from quarterback Jaren Hall, who articulated the obvious: "I've always known that. One of the best players in college football, hands down. He does it all. There's nothing he can't do."
He's right there with the legendary Austin Collie, with the slight edge going to Nacua for his ability to pull off the spectacular.
During three seasons at BYU beginning in 2004, Collie established himself as the program's best receiver. Forgoing his final year of eligibility to enter the NFL draft, Collie left BYU first in career receiving yards (3,225), first in receiving touchdowns (30) and his 215 receptions are six behind tight end Dennis Pitta's program-best 221.
In 2008, his last in college, he ranked first in the NCAA in receiving yards (118.31), total receiving yards (1,538), and tied for first with Michael Crabtree with 11 consecutive 100-yard receiving yards. He also ranked in the top five in several other categories.
The Indianapolis Colts took notice, drafting Collie in the fourth round. He immediately became a favorite of Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning before a series of concussions led to his retirement in 2016.
For a multitude of reasons, there's little chance that Nacua will surpass Collie was BYU's most decorated receiver. Both players possess incredible individual talent, but the decision here is to rate Nacua has slightly better.
An unbelievable talent in high school, Nacua caught 103 passes for 2,336 yards and 26 touchdowns as a senior. He set state career records for receptions (260), yards (5,226) and receiving touchdowns (58).
One of Utah's most highly coveted players coming out of high school, Nacua originally committed to USC before switching to Washington. But injuries and other issues led to modest numbers of 16 receptions for 319 yards and two touchdowns spread over two seasons.
For family reasons, Nacua came home to play for BYU in time for last season and was joined by his brother, Samson, who transferred from Utah. As a sophomore, he led BYU with 43 receptions for 805 yards and six touchdowns.
Injuries again dogged him earlier this season, causing him to miss two games. Since inexcusably being ignored against Notre Dame, a game in which he had no receptions, Nacua has flourished over the last four games with 36 receptions for 491 yards and five touchdowns.
No wonder former BYU and NFL linebacker David Nixon tweeted during the Boise State game: "I'm going to miss Puka."
As with Collie, whose circumstances were different after taking two years off from football to serve a church mission, Nacua could enter the NFL draft this spring. Several NFL scouts have indicated he would benefit from playing another year in college, as would Hall.
Collie, who turns 37 years old this Friday, was the 127th player taken in the draft. As it stands, offensive lineman Blake Freeland, who also is a junior, is BYU's most draftable player.
