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| BYU QB Tanner Mangum at Nebraska 2015 (Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News) |
The BYU Cougars came into the season certain they had the right quarterback. A month later, they weren't so sure anymore. Mangum has gone from fab freshman to ho-hum junior.
As a freshman, Mangum was forced into action when senior Taysom Hill went down for the season in game one. All Mangum did was throw a 42-yard hail Mary to beat Nebraska on the road. He came back the next week and passed for over 300 yards while throwing the game-winning touchdown on 4th and 10 from the 35-yard line with less than a minute to play. With the exception of one game at Michigan, and the first few series against Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl, Mangum provided good, steady quarterback play.
When Hill used his medical redshirt and decided to come back to BYU for one more season in 2016, Mangum went back to being the back up. However, everybody knew BYU already had its signal caller for 2017.
This season didn't start out the way many Cougar fans expected, especially when it came to Mangum's play. In the season opener against FCS foe Portland State, Mangum completed 16 of 27 passes for just 194 yards and one touchdown. By comparison, Mangum was 12 of 13 for 237 yards and three touchdowns in 2015 against FCS foe Wagner. Following the Portland State game, BYU was shutout by LSU, and Mangum had just 102 passing yards. Another loss to Utah followed.
By this point, BYU was ranked nearly dead last in the nation in most offensive statistics. Many fans were ready to give back up Beau Hoge a shot. Mangum hurt his ankle on the final play of the Utah game, so these fans got their wish.
Hoge passed for 111 yards and generated six points the following week against top 10 ranked Wisconsin. After two weeks to prepare for the next opponent, Utah State, Hoge had BYU leading 21-7 early in the game, but he was limping. He had a pass intercepted that was returned for a touchdown. A short time later, he took a hit that knocked him out of the game.
Hoge's injury pressed Mangum back into action while not being 100 percent healthy, and BYU's offense continued to struggle. Many fans still wanted someone else under center, even if it meant turning to freshman Joe Critchlow.
Reports indicate that Hoge is now back to full strength. With BYU going up against Fresno State's top 20 defense, it will be interesting to see how well Mangum plays, and whether or not the BYU coaches will send in Hoge if Mangum is struggling.
It is a situation not unlike what BYU and quarterack John Walsh faced 24 years ago.
Walsh won the job to succeed Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer in 1992. Although mobility was an issue, Walsh didn't have any problems throwing the ball. However, his sophomore season was cut short by a knee injury in game three against UCLA. Ryan Hancock ended up quarterbacking BYU for almost all of the remaining games, but he left the next season to pursue a Major League Baseball career. That allowed Walsh to claim the starting spot, again, in 1993.
BYU got off to a 4-0 start, but three of the four games were closer than expected. Walsh's cement feet were causing a lot of consternation with the fan base. Then, BYU was blown out by UCLA. Following that nightmare, top five ranked Notre Dame visited Provo. Walsh completed three of his first five passes for 13 yards. He had already been sacked twice for a loss of 13 yards. Much to the delight of the 66,247 fans in attendance, Head Coach LaVell Edwards sent back up Tom Young into the game.
Most fans were unaware that Walsh had sustained an injury. That injury, coupled with fan discontent, made Cougar coaches hesitant to start Walsh the next week against the Fresno State Bulldogs. Steve Clements led BYU to a quick 3-0 lead, but he quickly became ineffective. Young got another chance as the Trent Dilfer led Bulldogs built a 17-3 second quarter lead. Young attempted three passes. Fresno State defenders caught two of them.
Walsh was suited up on the sidelines, so with a few minutes to go before halftime, Edwards sent him in. Walsh directed a scoring drive that ended in a 14-yard touchdown pass to Kalin Hall. It closed the gap to 17-10, and gave BYU fans hope.
In the second half, Walsh was on fire. He threw four more touchdown passes, and led BYU to 35 second half points. The Cougar defense had no answer for Dilfer, so BYU still ended up losing, 48-45. However, Walsh finished with 439 yards passing and a 215.4 pass efficiency rating. More importantly, he silenced his critics.
There was no more debate about who should be the BYU quarterback.
Mangum has the chance to do the same thing in his junior season showdown with Fresno State. Mangum can become BYU's undisputed starting quarterback if he plays well against a good Bulldog defense, puts up 28 points or more, and if not win, at least give BYU a chance to win.
The Editor appreciates all feedback. He can be reached via email at bluecougarfootball@gmail.com
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