Historically, this is one of the positions where we’ve been able to recruit top-tier talent. We’ve had as many as 3 NFL tight ends taking snaps for us on the same team at the same time. Utah, Arizona, CA and the Mountain West keep producing elite tier TE’s that BYU can actually recruit.

At some point, when you play very good defenses with very good coaches and players, it comes down to whether or not your player is better than the other guy. You can scheme, prepare, and execute, but eventually you’re just gonna have to beat a guy who has trained just as hard to do the same thing and is very talented in his own right.

We have had a lot of tight ends that can win their 1 on 1’s and have for a very long time. Four and five star kids keep popping up among our recruiting demographic as well.

Now recently, and aided by the transfer portal, we have been able to draw more playmakers at other positions. If you have elite wide receivers and running backs, that leaves less targets for the tight end. You might not even need the tight end as much.

That’s for when the offense is clicking. When the offense struggles, it’s fair to ask why you don’t lean into what has traditionally been a strength. Since Bushman left, we really haven’t emphasized the position outside of the red zone.