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The BYU pass attack has been ranked in the middle of the FBS pack over the last two seasons (47th in 2011, 51st in 2012), but the "receiving" part of the passing offense has shown steady improvement in the two years since Ben Cahoon was hired to coach the wideouts.
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If the wide receivers' primary objective is to catch every ball thrown their way, then BYU has come a long way from 2010--the season before Cahoon came on board.
Certainly, the receivers themselves should be credited for their own performances, hard work and improvement, but I don't think it's possible to ignore the impact Cahoon has had on the technical aspects of the receivers' craft.
Receivers are measured by various metrics and standards, but "catches" and "drops" are easy ways to gauge a wide receiver's effectiveness.
Let's look at the last three seasons' worth of WR stats, using "Catch Per Drop" (CPD) and "Drop Percentage" as the two main metrics.
"Catch Per Drop" is self-explanatory, while "Drop Percentage" is simply Drops/Catches + Drops, or in other words, the percentage of catches a receiver made relative to catching opportunities.
Cahoon uses film examination to determine whether a ball is catchable, i.e. whether a ball not caught can be considered a "drop," but he says standards and expectations are very high. He notes that on rare occasions, he will allow the WRs in the position room to vote on whether a ball was catchable or was a drop. Cahoon says the wideouts hold each other to a very high standard.
Cahoon considers a double digit CPD rate to be "respectable/acceptable." A CPD rate of 15-20 equates to a "very consistent, sure-handed" WR. A CPD rate 20+ is considered "excellent."
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2010 BYU Wide Receivers - Catch/Drop Performance
| Name | Catching Opportunities | Catches | Drops | Catch per Drop | Drop Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cody Hoffman | 48 | 42 | 6 | 7.0 | 8.8% |
| McKay Jacobson | 44 | 37 | 7 | 5.3 | 8.4% |
| Luke Ashworth | 41 | 32 | 9 | 3.6 | 22.0% |
| O'Neill Chambers | 8 | 5 | 3 | 1.7 | 37.5% |
| Spencer Hafoka | 8 | 5 | 3 | 1.7 | 37.5% |
| BJ Peterson | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2.0 | 33.3% |
| <b>Team WR Total</b> | <b>152</b> | <b>123</b> | <b>29</b> | <b>4.2</b> | <b>19.1%</b> |
2011 BYU Wide Receivers - Catch/Drop Performance
| Name | Catching Opportunities | Catches | Drops | Catch per Drop | Drop Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cody Hoffman | 70 | 61 | 9 | 6.8 | 12.9% |
| Ross Apo | 42 | 34 | 8 | 4.3 | 19.0% |
| McKay Jacobson | 35 | 25 | 10 | 2.5 | 28.6% |
| JD Falslev | 32 | 31 | 1 | 31.0 | 3.1% |
| Dallin Cutler | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3.0 | 25.0% |
| Matt Marshall | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 100.0% |
| <b>Team WR Total</b> | <b>184</b> | <b>154</b> | <b>30</b> | <b>5.1</b> | <b>16.3%</b> |
2012 BYU Wide Receivers - Catch/Drop Performance
| Name | Catching Opportunities | Catches | Drops | Catch per Drop | Drop Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cody Hoffman | 95 | 90 | 5 | 18.0 | 5.3% |
| JD Falslev | 37 | 34 | 3 | 11.3 | 8.1% |
| Ross Apo | 32 | 29 | 3 | 9.7 | 9.4% |
| Skyler Ridley | 23 | 20 | 3 | 6.7 | 13.0% |
| Alex Kuresa | 4 | 4 | 0 | INF | 0.0% |
| Mitch Mathews | 2 | 2 | 0 | INF | 0.0% |
| Cody Raymond | 2 | 2 | 0 | INF | 0.0% |
| Kurt Henderson | 1 | 1 | 0 | INF | 0.0% |
| Marcus Mathews | 1 | 1 | 0 | INF | 0.0% |
| <b>Team WR Total</b> | <b>197</b> | <b>183</b> | <b>14</b> | <b>13.1</b> | <b>7.1%</b> |
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From the year before Cahoon arrived to 2012, BYU's CPD rate has more than tripled, while the drop percentage is a little more than a third of what it was in 2010.
None of the six WRs in 2010 had CPD rates higher than 7.0, while in 2012, all nine WRs had CPD rates of 6.7 or higher.
Through 2010 and 2011, only three of 12 WR performances featured drop percentages in the single-digits, while in 2012, eight of nine WRs have drop percentages under 10.
Cahoon's first season as wide receivers coach, in 2011, saw minimal performance gains, with one standout effort from JD Falslev, who made catches on 31 of 32 opportunities.
2012 was clearly a breakout season for the position group, with Cody Hoffman's reliance as the team's go-to guy underscored by both targets and catches made. In addition, Hoffman's 25 third-down conversions were more than twice as many as were recorded by the next-best player on the team; of BYU's 87 third-down conversions, 29% were Hoffman chain-movers.
Hoffman's CPD rate almost tripled from 2011 to 2012, while Apo's corresponding rate more than doubled. While it seemed that Skyler Ridley caught everything thrown to him, his drop percentage leaves some room for improvement in 2013.
Based on Cahoon's standards listed before the tables, Faslev's 2011 CPD rate was "excellent," with a dip to "respectable/acceptable" in 2012. Hoffman's 2012 CPD rate is in the "very consistent/sure-handed range." For the other WR regulars, the double-digit CPD plateau and minimum standards still beckon.
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In a game-by-game breakdown of the 2012 season, there were five of 12 games in which BYU wide receivers had zero drops:
at Utah: 9 catches, 0 drops
v. Utah State: 14 catches, 0 drops
at Notre Dame: 12 catches, 0 drops
at Georgia Tech: 15 catches, 0 drops
at New Mexico State: 29 catches, 0 drops
There have been four multiple-drop games in 2012.
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The 2011 season included only two drop-less games:
at Ole Miss: 9 catches, 0 drops
v. Tulsa (Armed Forces Bowl): 12 catches, 0 drops
There were eight multiple-drop games in 2011.
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Regardless of who is throwing the football, all a wide receiver can do is secure the catchable balls that are directed his way. The data above shows that the BYU wideouts are doing a better job of that, under the direction of a position coach who as a college and pro player, did it better than practically anyone else.
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Photo: Courtesy Mark Philbrick, BYU Photo
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