As we know, BYU has been stacked at TE. There are no bad answers and my philosophy is to base it off of greatness first, then longevity and then including some NFL. As before I am not putting any current players on the list.

1. Dennis Pitta Dennis is #2 all-time in receptions, #4 in receiving yards and #9 in receiving TDs. He is number one among TEs in the 1st 2 categories and Gordon Hudson has 1 more receiving TD pushing Pitta down to 2nd in that category. Pitta was a consensus All-American in 2009, but his 2008 season was more prolific and his 2009 season almost mirrored his 2007 season. Gordon Hudson certainly has an argument for here, but Pitta finished with 47 more catches and 417 more yards. Both players played on some fantastic teams. Both played in the NFL although Hudson had 13 catches in one season and Pitta had 224 catches over 6 injury plagued seasons.

2. Gordon Hudson BYU's only 2 time All-American TE, Hudson was a beast at BYU. He is #2 in all time receptions for a TE, #2 in all-time yards and #1 in all-time receiving TDs from a TE. As crazy as it sounds, Hudson's one year at BYU as not a consensus All-American he finished #1 in the NCAA in receptions for a TE and #4 in receptions. Certainly some of the discrepancy between Pitta and Hudson in yards and receptions comes from Hudson playing 34 games in his prime 3 years and Pitta 39. So again choosing one over the other is a tough ask and I went with Pitta as the numbers are similar in college, but Pitta was a better pro. Hudson though was just an incredible TE and beast at BYU.

3. Chris Smith The 1990 Consensus All-American actually put up better years receiving than either of the two previous players, but his BYU career was basically 2 years as opposed to 3 (starting career anyway). Smith has the #1 and #2 receiving yards seasons for a TE in BYU history in 1989 and 1990. The craziest part about Smith is he finished 10th all-time at BYU in receiving yards (3rd among TEs), 15th in receptions but tied for 56th in TD receptions with just 8 for his career. Unfortunately due to multiple injuries Smith ran a 5.05 40 at the combine and fell to the 11th round of the NFL draft and never played.

After 3 comes a huge bunch.

4. Jonny Harline Harline was only at BYU for two years, but they were two really effective years culminating with 935 yards and 12 TDs his final year, one of which was to win over our rival in dramatic fashion. Harline is 4th on the all-time TE receiving list (not by much) and tied for 3rd in TDs by a TE. He made some fantastic catches over his career at BYU and made some camps in the NFL but his lack of speed/blocking hurt him on that front.

5. Clay Brown I think it is pretty fitting to have Harline and Brown right after each other as in my book they were on the receiving end of the best two plays in program history. Clay had one really big year as a TE (3 solid years as our punter) and that was his final year in 1980 when he led the NCAA in TD receptions and had over 1000 yards receiving. His catch at the end of the Miracle Bowl from McMahon is the stuff of legends. Brown was actually drafted in the 2nd round in the Broncos, but only played a total of 4 games over the next years accumulating no stats.

6. Todd Christensen I know Todd Christensen was a FB at BYU who finished with nearly 1000 yards rushing. But his position was also used very similar to that of an H-Back in the passing game whose best position fit is that of TE. Because Todd also played TE in the pros I am putting him here in this group as I believe this is the best spot for him. At BYU he had 152 receptions for 1566 yards and 13 TDs. In the NFL he finished with 461 receptions for 5872 yards and 41 TDs. He was an All-Pro 4 different years with the Raiders.

7. Itula Mili Mili was a 4 year player at BYU who was solid every year, but not really spectacular any of those years. He finished with 1763 yards on 125 receptions and 11 TDs. He was a part of that great 1996 team and duo with Chad Lewis. That was the year he topped out his receiving yards at 692. Mili was also a very prolific NFL TE who played 9 seasons and caught 164 balls for 1743 yards and 13 TDs. Mili was also an excellent blocker.

8. Matt Bushman Bushman finished his BYU career with 125 receptions, 1719 yards and 11 TDs. He is a rare guy for BYU who led them in receiving for 3 consecutive years, but unfortunately those were 3 of the poorest offenses in BYU history. Bushman suffered a horrible injury his Senior year or he would likely be much higher on this list. He again suffered a horrible injury last night that will cost him a lot of this season and probably a shot at having a role with the Chiefs.

9. Chad Lewis Chad is one of my favorites for being a hurdler. Chad had 111 receptions for 1376 yards and 10 TDs. He was with Mili and a part of that dynamic duo in 1996. Chad started a bit slow in the NFL, but played 10 years, caught 229 balls for 2,361 yards and 23 TDs. He was an All Pro once and 3 times a pro bowler. Chad was also an excellent blocker whose receiving stats might have suffered a bit with Mili on the roster and Lewis not always going out for passes.

10. Tie Byron Rex and Daniel Coats Rex finished 87 receptions for 1209 yards and 7 TDs. Coats finished with 86 receptions for 966 yards and 9 TDs. He was actually a freshman All-American and set records for receiving in his freshman year, but later in his career he was relegated to more of a blocking role. He played 4 seasons in the NFL appearing in 57 games as well. Rex was a stud TE in '91 and '92 and has the honor of bringing us another guy who will end up on this list in his son Isaac Rex.