 |
| Reno Mahe carries the ball in the 1998 Liberty Bowl (Courtesy 1999 BYU Media Guide). |
While the first two Polynesians on this list used their size to physically punish opponents, Reno Mahe was too small for that. He relied on amazing quickness to make big plays for BYU.
Mahe wore Barry Sanders' number 20 as a Cougar and in high school. Coming out of Brighton High School, he had displayed Barry Sanders like elusiveness that earned him Gatorade Player of the Year honors for Utah. It also earned Mahe immediate playing time as a true freshman.
Going into 1998, the buzz about the BYU backfield was for the return of Ronney Jenkins. After the season opening game at Alabama, Jenkins and Mahe were tied for the team high in carries, but Mahe had more than double the number of rushing yards. He also was the only running back to score a touchdown in Tuscaloosa. Game two was against the 14th ranked Arizona State Sun Devils. Mahe broke off a 57-yard run in that game and averaged an even eight yards per carry. It wasn't the ideal way to ease a freshman into the college game, but Mahe demonstrated he was more than up to the task.
He continued to be a valuable contributor the entire season. Mahe had his first two-touchdown game, and first career receiving touchdown, in week four. It didn't take long for him to have his second multi-score game as he ran the ball in twice against UNLV.
While Jenkins was in the midst of one of the greatest seasons for a running back in BYU history, Mahe proved to be an excellent running mate. In fact, Jenkins let Mahe lead the team in rushing for the Hawaii game (67 yards on 12 carries). In Jenkins' absence, Mahe was also the team's leading rusher in the Liberty Bowl against Tulane with a season high 70 yards.
Mahe was off to a very good start. He was second on the team with 481 yards rushing (third most by a true freshman in school history at that point), which was made more impressive considering Jenkins set a new school record for most carries in a season. Mahe was second on the team with seven touchdowns, and third with 851 all-purpose yards (181 receiving, 171 kick return, and 18 punt return yards to go with his rushing total).
As good as his freshman season was, it was going to take more for Mahe to land on this top 10 list. However, Cougar fans weren't going to get more Mahe for a few years. He missed the 1999 season for violating the school's Honor Code. He chose to enroll in junior college in 2000.
In the end, Mahe decided to return to the new look Cougars as a junior in 2001. While he had been gone, not only had BYU's uniforms undergone a drastic makeover, LaVell Edwards had retired as head coach, so why not move Mahe to a new position?
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| Photo by Chuck Wing, Deseret News |
Luke Staley and Brian McDonald gave BYU two viable options in the backfield, but Mahe was too much of a weapon to keep him on the sideline. New head coach Gary Crowton moved him to wide receiver, but Crowton was innovative enough to get Mahe the ball any way he could. That resulted in Mahe having a 55-yard run in the the first game of the 2001 season to go along with his team-highs of 12 receptions and 97 yards receiving.
Mahe had his first 100-yard receiving game the next week (103 yards on six receptions). He remained a consistent part of the offense all season, but the final three games were his most impressive.
Six days before the Utah game, Mahe had his appendix removed. That didn't stop him from suiting up and catching five passes for 94 yards and one touchdown. Two weeks later, BYU was playing Mississippi State in Starkville. Mahe had a career-high 189 yards receiving (10 receptions) and scored BYU's first two touchdowns, including a 62-yard catch. With Staley lost for the year, Mahe played both running back and wide receiver against Hawaii. He caught 14 passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns, including one for 55 yards. As a ball carrier, he had eight carries for 69 yards, giving him exactly 250 all-purpose yards for the game.
It was the best season of his career. Mahe was second on the team in touchdowns (9) for the second time in his career, but first in receptions with nearly 60 more than the next closest players. In fact, his 91 receptions and 1,211 yards receiving were both the second highest totals for a single season in school history.
The quarterback struggles that BYU had during Mahe's senior season had an impact on his stats. He was still the team's leading receiver, but he had just two receiving scores. He did have 102 yards on just five receptions during the huge comeback win against Utah State. He also had a season-high 124 yards and eight receptions against UNLV.
Mahe was also the team's leading punt returner in 2002. He had 15 returns for 196 yards (13.1 yard average). He was also one of four players with six or more kickoff returns (Curtis Brown led the team with nine returns), and had the second best average yards per return (21.3).
| Rush | Yards | Ave. | TD | Fum | Rec. | Yards | Ave. | TD | Fum | FR | |
| 1998 |
98
|
481
|
4.9
|
6
|
n/a
|
16
|
181
|
11.3
|
1
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
| 2001 |
15
|
174
|
11.6
|
0
|
n/a
|
91
|
1,211
|
13.3
|
9
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
| 2002 |
15
|
64
|
4.3
|
1
|
0
|
59
|
771
|
13.1
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
| Career |
128
|
776
|
5.6
|
7
|
n/a
|
166
|
2,163
|
13.0
|
12
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
| Returns | KO | Yards | Ave. | Long | TD | Punt | Yards | Ave. | Long | TD | |
| 1998 |
8
|
171
|
21.4
|
29
|
0
|
3
|
18
|
6.0
|
9
|
0
| |
| 2001 |
2
|
22
|
11.0
|
22
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
| |
| 2002 |
6
|
128
|
21.3
|
38
|
0
|
15
|
196
|
13.1
|
28
|
0
| |
| Career |
3
|
321
|
20.1
|
38
|
0
|
18
|
214
|
11.9
|
28
|
0
|
Mahe's 3,417 all-purpose yards was seventh most in school history at the end of his career, and is currently 12th most.
Mahe went undrafted by the NFL, but made the Philadelphia Eagles roster as an undrafted free agent. He played five seasons in the league seeing most of his action as a return specialist. The highlight of his career was leading the league in punt returns (12.8 average) in 2005.
Top 10 Polynesian Players
10. Mekeli Ieremia, DT, 1974-77
9. Kurt Gouveia, LB, 1982-85
8. Reno Mahe, WR/RB, 1998, 2001-02
7. Glen Kozlowski, WR, 1981, 1983-85
6. Aaron Francisco, DB, 2001-04
5. Vai Sikahema, PR/KR/RB, 1980-81, 1984-85
4. Kai Nacua, FS, 2013-16
3. Lakei Heimuli, RB, 1983-86
2. Harvey Unga, RB, 2006-09
1. Kyle Van Noy, LB, 2010-13
The Editor appreciates all feedback. He can be reached via email at bluecougarfootball@gmail.com
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