BYU Football: Lawless Republic End Of Year Awards

BYU is about to wrap up yet another football season. The national media is handing out their awards and trophies and the All-American teams are being announced each day as bowl season approaches. Here at Lawless Republic, we thought it was appropriate to hand out our awards this weekend before BYU takes on Memphis is the season finale. We hope you enjoy the Lawless Republic BYU Football Awards.

The Ty Detmer Offensive Player of the Year

We had a two-way tie for the winner of the Offensive Player of the Year. Quarterbacks Taysom Hill and Christian Stewart each received six points in our voting while freshman Tejan Koroma received three.

Sep 20, 2014; Provo, UT, USA; Brigham Young Cougars quarterback Taysom Hill (4) stiff-arms Virginia Cavaliers safety Anthony Harris (8) as he rushes for a touchdown during the second half at Lavell Edwards Stadium. The Cougars won the game 41-33. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Stewart finished the year having started eight games for the Cougars. He threw for 2273 yards and while completed over 58% of his passes. He had 22 touchdown passes to just six interceptions and added an additional four touchdowns on the ground. Not bad for a guy that nearly walked away from football a year ago, eh? While his numbers aren’t going to win you a Heisman Trophy, when you consider the road he’s taken to get to this point it really is impressive.

Our co-winner, Taysom Hill, threw for 975 yards and completed more than 66% of his passes. He threw for seven touchdowns and threw three interceptions and ran the ball for 460 yards and eight additional touchdowns. He did all of that during just four and a half games. I know, I am having a hard time typing this section due to the pain that it causes me knowing he only played in four and a half games. Had Hill not broke his leg, there is no telling how high his numbers would have gone.

Congratulations to both Taysom Hill and Christian Stewart for winning the coveted Ty Detmer Offensive Player of the Year award from Lawless Republic.

The Rob Morris Defensive Player of the Year

We had a five-way tie for this award. Jordan Preator, Skye PoVey, Zac Stout, Craig Bills and Bronson Kaufusi each received three points in our voting. We already had one cop out and had to split the Offensive Player of the Year award so we can’t do that again and split the Defensive Player of the Year Award. So, we’re not giving the award to anyone.

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Honestly, that seems fitting. The offense carried the defense this year. Some players had some really special moments, but no single player on the BYU defense stood out for 12 games as the best player on defense. Injuries, lack of production and an extremely disappointing month of October put a damper on the defense this year.

So, congratulations to those that received votes, but sorry, nobody wins this one.

The Matt Payne Special Teams Player of the Year

Aug 29, 2014; East Hartford, CT, USA; Brigham Young Cougars punter Scott Arellano (23) punts the ball against the Connecticut Huskies during the second half at Rentschler Field. Brigham Young defeated UConn 35-10. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

This one was a no brainer. Scott Arellano. BYU’s punter received every vote for the Special Teams Player of the Year. He was outstanding for the Cougars this year. He averaged 44.8 yards a punt and had a long punt of 81 yards. He punted for a total of 2687 yards this season. He was a big part of BYU’s successes this season.

Congratulations, Scott Arellano. The Matt Payne Special Teams Player of the Year award from Lawless Republic is one that you can tell your grandkids about.

The BYU Blackout Uniforms Newcomer of the Year Award

First of all, do you all remember how cool the blackout uniforms were the first time we saw glimpses of them in 2012? I never thought I’d see BYU in black so we named this award after them. Now onto the award.

Tejan Koroma wins your BYU Blackout Uniforms Newcomer of the Year Award. He just nudged out fellow freshman Fred Warner for the honor. Koroma won multiple freshmen All-American awards for his performance on the field this season. The undersized and underrated recruit came onto BYU’s campus this season and immediately made an impact. Throughout the early stages of Fall Camp we heard Koroma’s name and we continued to hear his name throughout the season. BYU fans, we’re lucky to have Koroma for three more seasons. He’s a real player.

Congrats to Tejan. We’ll be looking for “BYU Blackout Uniforms Newcomer of the Year Award from Lawless Republic Winner” in your Twitter bio tomorrow.

The BYU Tailgating Most Improved Player Award

If you haven’t tailgated with BYU fans lately, you need to. Each year the tailgating scene gets better and better. It improves so much year to year, that it’s earned the rights to the Most Improved Player award.

Oct 9, 2014; Orlando, FL, USA; Brigham Young Cougars tight end Devin Mahina (84) runs into the touchdown in the third quarter as the UCF Knights beat the Cougars 31-24 in overtime at Bright House Networks Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Manning-USA TODAY Sports

The recipient of this award is Devin Mahina. Truthfully, I think Mahina always had the talent and ability to do what we did this year and more. Unfortunately, injuries and under-utilization prohibited him from having the impact that he had this season throughout his career. Mahina had 18 catches for 190 yards and three touchdowns. The numbers aren’t eye popping, but considering how badly BYU has needed tight end play since Dennis Pitta left; Mahina’s numbers were a sight for sore eyes.

In addition to his catches, Mahina was an integral part in the run game. If you don’t believe me, go back and watch a few games. When Mahina had his hand in the dirt and it was a called running play the play often went to his side of the field. He had a huge impact in the run game.

Mahina beat out Mitch Matthews and Mitchell Juergens for this award. Congrats, Devin. Go ahead and put this honor on your resume. You have won the BYU Tailgating Most Improved Player Award.

The LaVell Edwards Senior We’ll Miss Most Next Year Award

This senior class is really talented. We’re going to miss a lot of these players. Guys like Craig Bills and Paul Lasike received votes. In the end, our winner was wide receiver Jordan Leslie.

Leslie was only in Provo for a single season but it was an incredibly impactful year. He picked up the offense really quickly and racked up 54 catches for 756 yards and five touchdowns. He came in with the expectation that he would help replace BYU great Cody Hoffman and that’s exactly what he did. Leslie was huge.

He was a favorite target of both Taysom Hill and Christian Stewart, he caught most of the balls thrown his way and he always found a way to come up with a big play when BYU needed it. Most importantly, he figured out how to be a leader on this team without being here for multiple years.

BYU fans are going to miss Jordan Leslie. He represented the team, the program and himself exceptionally well during his time at BYU. And he’s the recipient of the LaVell Edwards Senior We’ll Miss Most Next Year Award Lawless Republic.

Sep 20, 2014; Provo, UT, USA; Brigham Young Cougars wide receiver Jordan Leslie (9) celebrates a touchdown against the Virginia Cavaliers during the first half at Lavell Edwards Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

The Optimistic BYU Fan Best Setup For Next Season Award

If you’ve been a BYU fan for longer than 11 seconds, you know what it’s like to have hype and excitement just to be let down in the end. Whether it is a bad loss, injuries or honor code violations, BYU fans are often stuck looking forward to next year. Now, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Having a bring future means you have a pretty good looking present. This award goes out to a player that is set to have a breakout year next season after having a pretty darn good year this season. That player is Fred Warner.

Warner turned down the likes of USC to come to BYU as part of the 2014 recruiting class. Immediately, he drew comparisons to Kyle Van Noy. At the end of his freshman campaign, those comparisons seem to be spot on.

Warner had 22 tackes and an interception that he returned for a touchdown this season. During his Von Noy’s freshman campaign, he had 35 tackles and a fumble recovery for a touchdown. Similar numbers for two players with similar potential.

Next year, Alani Fua leaves the program and many BYU fans are hopeful that Bronson Kaufusi will move back to a true defensive end. This leaves the door wide open for Warner to step in and be one of the most important cogs in the 2015 defense. He has the talent, the size, the speed and now the experience to take his game to the next level.

Congrats, Fred. Feel free to contact us at Lawless Republic and we’ll send you a certificate of your award so that you can remember how much potential you have next year. Honestly, we’re all looking forward to watching you play.

The @beanmace Best Follow On Twitter Award

Many of you know Bean Mace from the Cougar Center podcast. He’s world famous and one of the best follows on all of Twitter. It’s only fitting that we name this award after one of our very own.

This year, the award is split between two very deserving candidates. @eagle88me and @jwaggdaddy tied for this honor this year. If you’ve never witnessed a Guy Holliday all caps rant or a Jamaal Williams retweet of penguins expressing his feelings for him, then you haven’t experienced Twitter yet. I hope most of you already do, but if you don’t, go follow these gentlemen quick. Also, shout out to @Jles9 for an honorable mention on this award.

The Jim McMahon to Clay Brown Play Of The Year Award

I’m not even going to ruin this play with my lame commentary. Just watch and you’ll all understand why it won.

Shoutout to Jamaal Williams’ cousin for getting an honorable mention with his song Phenomenon about Swaggdaddy. If you haven’t heard it, go check it out here.

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