BYU Football: 6 Things We Learned From Houston
By Jeff Hansen
4. Devon Blackmon is in the doghouse and Mitchell Juergens is not
Sep 11, 2014; Provo, UT, USA; Brigham Young Cougars wide receiver Devon Blackmon (19) gets past Houston Cougars defensive back Brandon Wilson (26) and runs up the field during the third quarter at Lavell Edwards Stadium. Brigham Young Cougars won the game 33-25. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports
Walk-on Mitchell Juergens has done some nice things so far this season. Last night, however, was not his game. He fumbled the ball on a long pass from Taysom when he should have just stepped out of bounds and that led to a Houston touchdown. He let Trevon Stewart rip the ball out of his hands for an interception that led to more Houston points, and yet, he never left the field. I don’t want to turn Juergens into a BYU scapegoat at all, but the guy is a walk-on for a reason. Not only is he a walk-on, he’s a sophomore walk-on. He may very well develop into a fine player at BYU, but the guy’s leash is as long as anybody’s on the team and I just don’t understand why.
Devon Blackmon has no leash. At all. Zilch.
Blackmon lined up wrong and caused an illegal procedure penalty early in the game. Dumb mental mistake that shouldn’t have happened. Like most illegal procedure penalties, it wasn’t called until after the play is finished. Sure, Blackmon lined up off the line of scrimmage when he should have been one yard forward and on the line of scrimmage, but he showed what he is capable of on that play. He caught a pass on a short crossing route and then used his speed to juke one defender and run past another and trot into the end zone untouched. It was called back because of his mental mistake, obviously, but then we didn’t get to see much Blackmon at all after that. He did show what he’s capable of doing on punt returns as well as he turned a return that was bottled up for nothing into a very entertaining 16 yard run back.
And yeah, I realize that Blackmon and Juergens don’t play the same position on offense every time. But Blackmon can play in Juergens spot if the coaches let him. Let him line up in the slot, out wide, in the backfield or in a wildcat formation if you have to. Just let him line up.