QB Race for Freshman All-American

Now 11 weeks into the season, with Jake Heaps comfortably progressing as the starter for the Cougars, it is worth a look at how he and the team are doing compared to other teams with freshmen quarterbacks.  BYU has had a freshman all-american each of the last 7 years (see BYUs Freshmen AA), so it makes sense to see how Heaps stacks up in the race for the honor. 

Only 19 freshmen quarterbacks have more than 800 yards passing, all having played meaningful portions of at least five games.  Of those, only six have winning records in the games they have played (highlighted).  And of those six, only one has passed for more yardage than Heaps.

The numbers below only inlcude passing yardage and win/loss records, and I haven't seen most of these guys play, so this there are clearly other factors to consider as well.  However, at a minimum, you would expect a freshman all-american QB to have had a winning record in his games.  Here is the list:

Player, School                   G   Yds    Record
Aaron, Murray, Georgia       11   2580   (5-6) 
Pete Thomas, CSU             11  2565   (3-8)
Corey Robinson, Troy          9     2553   (5-4)
Kolton, Browning, ULM       10    2141   (4-6)
Matt Shilz, Bowling Green    9     1941   (2-7)
David Pilandy, Houston        6     1733   (2-4)   started last 6
Jake Heaps, BYU                 9     1593   (5-4)
Ryan Williams, Memphis      10    1575   (1-9)
Danny O'Brien, Maryland      7     1571   (5-2)   started last 7
Nathan Scheelhaase, Illinois 10   1482   (5-5)
Robert Boldin, Penn St          7     1350   (4-3)   injured
Keith Wenning, Ball St         10    1349   (3-7)
Taylor Martinez, Nebraska    9    1328   (8-1)  957 yds, 12 TDs rushing
Tanner Price, Wake Forest   8    1125   (1-7)
Jordan Webb, Kansas          6     1114   (2-4)  no longer starting
Chas Dodd, Rutgers             6     986    (2-4)  started last 6
Tyler Bray, Tennessee          5     951    (2-3)  started last 5
Chase Rettig, BC                  5     855    (3-2)  started last 5
Terrance Owens, Toledo      5     808    (2-3)   started last 5

With two regular season games remaining for most teams and the bowl season, there is still a lot of ball to be played, but at this point it looks as if the honor will likely go to Taylor Marinez of Nebraska or Danny O'Brien of Maryland.  However, a couple of solid performances, and a six game win streak to cap the season, could still put Heaps in the mix for freshman all-american.

A couple of other thoughts in looking at the stats:

• Either good teams don't start freshmen QB's or freshmen QB's haven't been able to carry their teams to vicory, but only about 30% of these teams have been able to get a winning record with the rookie QB. 
• BYU fans can feel slightly better about their early season struggles in light of how others with inexperienced QBs have struggled as well.
• I have not pulled out the redshirt freshmen from this group... it would be interesting to see how Heaps compares with just the true freshmen.

Observations on BYU's Last Seven Freshman All-Americans

Braden Hansen, the freshman who started every game at left guard for the Cougars this past season, was selected as a Freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association. This is the seventh year in a row that BYU has had a Freshman All-American named, dating back to 2003. Here is the press release from BYU:

PROVO, Utah (Jan. 7, 2009) – BYU freshman offensive lineman Braden Hansen was named a Freshman All-America Thursday by the Football Writers Association of America.

A Sandy, Utah, native, Hansen started every game at left guard as one of four new starters on BYU’s offensive line in 2009. The 6-foot-6, 300-pound redshirt freshman was a key contributor in helping BYU achieve an 11-2 record, including a 3-1 mark against nationally ranked opponents.

Hansen and Wyoming safety Shamiel Gary represent the Mountain West Conference on the 28-man team. The FWAA and Aon Insurance announced their ninth annual Freshman All-America Team Thursday during the association's annual awards breakfast.

BYU has had a newcomer earn Freshman All-America accolades each of the past seven seasons. Hansen joins a list of consecutive honorees that include offensive lineman Matt Reynolds (2008), running back Harvey Unga (2007), defensive end Jan Jorgensen (2006), offensive lineman Dallas Reynolds (2005), wide receiver Austin Collie (2004) and tight end Daniel Coats (2003).

That is an impressive seven year run. I thought it would be interesting to take a closer look at each of these players—how highly recruited they were, how productive they were in their sophomore, junior, and senior seasons, and if they have had any success in the NFL.


Daniel Coats (2003)
Recruiting: Class of 2002, 3 stars on Scout, ranked #42 WR, offers to Colorado and NC State
BYU: Always a solid blocker, though receiving stats never surpassed 2003
2003—30/378, 4TD
2004—13/160, 0TD
2005—21/189, 3TD
2006—22/239, 2TD
NFL: Free agent pick up, with Cincinnati Bengals, 3rd year in NFL, started 11 games, 16/150 yds

Austin Collie (2004)
Recruiting: Class of 2004, 3 stars on Scout, ranked #48 WR, offers to Stanford, Arizona State, Wash State
BYU: Increasingly productive at BYU, left after junior year as all-time leading receiver in yards (3,258) and receptions (215)
2004—53/771, 8 TD
2007—56/946, 7TD
2008—106/1538, 15 TD; Led NCAA in yards
NFL: 4th round draft pick of Indianapolis Colts, 60/676 yds, 7 TD; led all rookies in catches and TDs

Dallas Reynolds (2005)
Recruiting: Class of 2003, 3 stars on Scout, ranked #78 OL, offers to Colorado, Tennessee, Stanford
BYU: Started all 51 games while at BYU, first Team MWC
NFL: Free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2009, practice squad for most of year

Jan Jorgensen (2006)
Recruiting: Class of 2005, 1 star on Scout (unrated), not ranked LB
BYU: Started 51 consecutive games, 30 sacks in BYU career, career MWC leader, 3 time first team MWC, most productive sophomore season (14 sacks)
NFL: Will enter 2010 draft, projected as a free agent

Harvey Unga (2007)
Recruiting: Class of 2005, 2 stars on Scout, not ranked RB, offer from Utah
BYU: Started all three years and had 1,000+ yards each season; only a junior and already BYU career leader in rushing yards, third in all-purpose yards; 2009 first team MWC
2007—244/1,227 rushing 13 TD, 44/655 receiving 4 TD
2008—240/1,153 rushing 11 TD, 42/309 receiving 4 TD
2009—208/1,087 rushing 11 TD, 16/121 receiving 1 TD
NFL: Deciding whether to enter 2010 draft, projection uncertain

Matt Reynolds (2008)
Recruiting: Class of 2005, 4 stars on Scout, #8 ranked OL, offers from UCLA, Cal, Arizona, Arizona State
BYU: first team MWC sophomore season (2009)
NFL: Likely to participate in 2012 draft (or sooner), highly projected

Braden Hansen (2009)
Recruiting: Class of 2006, 2 stars on Scout, not ranked OL, offer from Stanford
BYU: TBD
NFL: TBD

A few interesting observations:

1. Overall a great group of players—we were lucky to have four of them together on the team this season. We actually had five of them last season (2008).

2. BYU owes a debt of large proportions to Mrs. Reynolds, showing tangibly that Bronco’s decision to retain Lance Reynolds on his staff has paid off multiple times over.

3. None of these players were true freshmen. Even those that didn’t go on missions (Coats, Jorgensen, Unga) still waited at least a year or two before starting as a redshirt freshman. Makes you wonder who on this year’s practice squad might be next year’s FAA.

4. All of them went on to have very productive four year (or three for Collie and possibly Unga) careers for the Cougars. They have also proven very durable with none of them ever missing any significant amount of time due to injury.

5. The first three, and only three to already have had a shot at the NFL, have made it with Collie and Coats as solid contributors this season.

6. There is one from every class 2002-2006. Three of them (Jorgensen, Unga, Matt Reynolds) come from the class of 2005. Hansen, this year’s winner is from the class of 2006. This again shows the lag that BYU experiences in recruiting (see article on the topic here: http://www.byucougs.com/2009/12/recruiting-lag-look-at-contributions-by.html), as other schools are already graduating players from the class of 2006.

7. Interesting that three of them are on the offensive line, given that BYU doesn’t usually like to start freshmen there, allowing them time to learn the system. But then again, that also means that for a freshman to start on the line, they must be very good.

In 2009, besides Hansen and Riley Stephenson (punter), I can’t think of any other freshmen that started, and only Brett Thompson, Craig Bills, and a couple of backup O linemen seemed to get any meaningful reps.

Given the historical precedent of the past seven years, the classes of 2007, 2008, and 2009 likely still hold players who will be named FAA. Next year, with a number of key openings and many talented newcomers, could be a year that offers more opportunities for freshman than in several years. Among those most likely to get playing time and make themselves candidates for FAA status are whoever starts as QB (Heaps or Lark) if it isn’t Nelson, an RB if Harvey leaves for the NFL (either Malosi Teo or Josh Quezada), a TE (Devin Mahina, Austin Holt, or Mike Muehlmann), Ross Apo or Marcus Matthews at the WR spot (both will likely be in the rotation), a LB (Kyle Van Noy and Zac Stout will both have shots to play given that there will be three openings), and on the DL with all three slots open (Bronson Kaufusi and Kona Schwenke would be the leading candidates, although I am unaware of their mission plans). There may be more freshmen playing next year than in a long time. BYU will need these players to step up next season, so here is my toast to the freshmen of 2010… may one of you be the next FAA!

What other observations do you have to add about the 7 FAAs, next year's freshmen or this year's freshmen?

Pitta Solidifies Frontrunner Status--Week 5 Update

Dennis Pitta (5 catches, 83 yards, 2 TD) was named the John Mackey Tight End of the Week for week 5, collecting the honor for the third time (after being named twice last year). He is the sixth player to have received the weekly award at least three times (last year’s winner Chase Coffman of Missouri also had won the weekly award three times). Last week I gave an update on the race for the Mackey Award and profiled five players that I consider the frontrunners, five contenders, and five dark horses (you can read that article at http://www.byucougs.com/2009/10/pittas-march-toward-mackey-award.html). Here is an update on the five frontrunners after week 5:


Player, Class, School           G    Rec   Yds  TD   rec/g   yds/rec  yds/g
Dennis Pitta, Sr, BYU          5     26     339   3    5.20     13.0      67.8
Ed Dickson, Sr, Oregon       5    22     309   4    4.40     14.0       61.8
Cody Slate, Sr, Marshall      5     26     289   2    5.20     11.1      57.8
Garrett Graham, Sr, Wisc   5     23     268   4    4.60     11.7      53.6
Jamie McCoy, Sr, TA&M      4     18     209   0    4.50     11.6      52.3

McCoy seems to be slipping behind the top four who are all very close at this point, and Pitta strengthened his frontrunner status this week as he is now leading in receptions (tied with Marshall’s Slate), total yards, and yards per game (although he trails Erik Highsmith of North Carolina who averages 72.5 yards/game).

An offical mid-season watch list will be released by the Nassau County Sports Commission on Monday, Oct 19.

Pitta's March toward the Mackey Award

Prior to the season, several Cougars were named to national award watch lists. A quick start to the season focused that lens on Max Hall in particular, who came in a consensus third, fourth, or fifth in Heisman forecasts by national pundits through the second week of the season. However now that we are entering week 5, it seems that Dennis Pitta has the only legitimate shot at a national award this year, but with his two primary competitors out for the season (Arizona’s Rob Gronkowski and Oklahoma’s Jermaine Gresham) he may very well be the frontrunner for the John Mackey Award given to the “best collegiate tight end” each year by the Nassau County Sports Commission. It is still very early, but here is how the competition breaks out so far, and the players to keep your eye on:

Frontrunners
These are upperclassmen playing on winning teams that were nominated to the preseason watch list and are in the top 10 in receiving yards per game.

Player, Class, School              G   Rec   Yds  TD   rec/g  yds/rec  yds/g
Dennis Pitta, Sr, BYU             4    21    256    1     5.25   12.2       64.0
Jamie McCoy, Sr, Tx A&M      3    13    169    0     4.33   13.0      56.3
Ed Dickson, Sr, Oregon          4    15    206    3     3.75   13.7      51.5
Cody Slate, Sr, Marshall         4    17    201    2     4.25   11.8      50.3
Garrett Graham, Sr, Wis        4    16    200    4     4.00    12.5     50.0

Dennis Pitta leads the nation in tight end receptions, while Garrett Graham leads in touchdowns by a tight end. Dennis Pitta and Cody Slate were were consensus top 5 tight ends in preseason fantasy football rankings (along with Gresham, Gronkowski, and Arkansas’ DJ Williams), with Garret Graham usually showing up in the top 10. Cody Slate and Ed Dickson were named 2009 Mackey Player of the Week for week 1 and week 4 respectively. Dennis Pitta was twice named Mackey Player of the Week in 2008.

Contenders
These are nominees on the preseason watch list that are either playing on teams with losing records or are underclassmen, as well as un-nominated players that are in the top 10 in yards per game or receptions.

Player, Class, School          G    Rec Yds  TD rec/g   yds/rec  yds/g
Erik Highsmith, Fr, N Car   3    16   279   2    5.33   17.4      93.0
Jason Harmon, Sr, Fl Atl     3    16   197   0    5.33   12.3      65.7
Riar Geer, Sr, Colorado      4    21   232   1    5.25   11.0      58.0
Kyle Rudolph, So, ND          4    17   214   2    4.25   12.6      53.5
Aaron Hernandez, Jr, Fla    4    15   198   2    3.75   13.2      49.5

Erik Highsmith is only a freshman and is the backup to the injured Zack Pianalto (Jr, North Carolina, who was named the Mackey Player of the Week in week two) and leads the nation in receiving yards by a tight end, yards/reception, and yards per game, all while only playing in three games. Jason Harmon was not nominated in the preseason but is second in the country in yards per game. Riar Greer is tied with Dennis Pitta for most receptions, but plays on team with a losing record. Kyle Rudolph was nominated preseason, and named Mackey Player of the Week in week three, but is only a sophomore. Aaron Henandez was also nominated preseason, but is just outside the top 10 in receiving yard per game at number 11.

Darkhorses
These are players that were nominated to the preseason watch list and are ranked in the top 25 in receiving yards per game.

Player, Class, School             G   Rec  Yds   TD   rec/g   yds/rec  yds/g
Tony Moeaki, Sr, Iowa          2    11     87     1    5.50      7.9      43.5
Anthony McCoy, Sr, USC       4     7     160     0    1.75     22.9     40.0
Weslye Saunders, Jr, S Car   4    14    156     0    3.50     11.1     39.0
Dorin Dickerson, Sr, Pitt       4    17    155     4    4.25      9.1      38.8
Jeffery Anderson, Jr, UAB     5    12    179     3    2.40    14.9      35.8

Because they already have somewhat of a spotlight on them by virtue of being named in the pre-season, with a couple of big games and/or special seasons for their respective teams, these players could move into contender status.

Records Should Fall

[Originally Posted on August 12, 2009 at www.philsteele.com/Blogs/Individual_Team_blogs/BYU_Blog.html]

Last week, I looked at the historical success of the BYU program over key periods. I noted that one of the obvious pieces missing over the last three seasons for BYU (as opposed to the previously successful periods) was individual awards and recognition. This might be the year to get back on track.


Several players have been nominated to preseason watch lists:

• Max Hall: Walter Camp Award (player of the year), Davey O’Brien Award (quarterbacks), Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (senior quarterback)
• Dennis Pitta: John Mackey Award (tight ends), Fred Biletnikoff Award (receivers)
• Jan Jorgensen: Ted Hendricks Award (defensive ends)

Hall, Pitta, Jorgensen, as well as Harvey Unga are also on tap to crash the BYU career stat leader boards. By the end of the season, look for Max Hall to be second in passing yards, second in total offense, and second in TDs thrown. Pitta should be first in receptions and either first or second in receiving yards. Unga should be first in rushing yards, first or second in touchdowns, top three in all-purpose yards, and second or third in scoring. If these players can manage to avoid injury, keep up the career-setting pace, and win some big games, there just might be some post-season hardware coming to Provo at the end of the season.

Max Hall, Sr
• Passing Yards: currently ranked #7 with 7,805; needs 3,217 yards to pass John Beck for second (Ty Detmer is first with 15,031)
• Total Offense: currently ranked #6 with 7,934; needs 3,126 yards to pass John Beck for second
• TD Passes: currently ranked #6 with 61; needs 24 to pass Jim McMahon (84) for second, would need 61 to pass Ty Detmer (121) for first

Dennis Pitta, Sr
• Receiving Yards: currently ranked #8 with 2,072; needs 1,184 to pass Austin Collie(3,255) for first, needs 994 to pass Eric Drage (3,065) for second, and needs 770 to pass Margin Hooks (2,841) for third
• Receptions: currently ranked #8 with 159; needs 57 catches to pass Austin Collie (215) for first, 46 to pass Matt Bellini (204) for second, and 31 to pass Margin Hooks (189) for third

Harvey Unga, Jr
• Rushing Yards: currently ranked #8 with 2,368; needs 854 to pass Curtis Brown (3,221) for first
• All Purpose Yards: currently ranked #10 with 3,335; needs 1,662 to pass Curtis Brown (4,996) for first, needs 1,315 to pass Austin Collie (4,649) for second, and needs 1,033 to pass Jamal Willis (4,367) for third
• Scoring: currently #7 with 200 points; needs 134 to pass Owen Pochman (333) for first, needs 113 to pass Matt Payne (312) for second, needs 91 to pass Luke Staley (290) for third
• Touchdowns: currently #4 with 33 touchdowns; needs 16 to pass Luke Staley (48) for first, needs 8 to pass Jamal Willis (40) for second, needs 4 to pass Curtis Brown (36) for third