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BYU Football History Book: James Dye

By Nathan Cunningham

PROVO, UT - OCTOBER 14: 'Cosmo' the the Brigham Young Cougars mascot cheers during the Cougars game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs LaVell Edwards Stadium on October 14, 2016 in Provo Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images)
PROVO, UT - OCTOBER 14: 'Cosmo' the the Brigham Young Cougars mascot cheers during the Cougars game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs LaVell Edwards Stadium on October 14, 2016 in Provo Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images) /
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In this edition of BYU Football History Book, we take a look back at the most electric special teams player to ever come through Provo: James Dye.

You Punt, You Dye. Those signs were all over Cougar Stadium in 1995 and 1996, when James Dye was making history for BYU football.

An incredible return specialist, Dye was to BYU football what Devin Hester was to the Chicago Bears – a deadly weapon.

Let’s remember all he did with the Cougars.

Junior (1995): 2 carries, -1 yard; 1 reception, 12 yards; 11 kick returns, 276 yards; 20 punt returns, 438 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Senior (1996): 4 carries, 26 yards; 15 receptions, 182 yards, 2 touchdowns; 12 kick returns, 314 yards, 1 touchdown; 20 punt returns, 352 yards, 2 touchdowns.

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Dye finished with just 219 total receiving and rushing yards, but amassed nearly 1,400 return yards.

Following his junior season, Dye was named the Western Athletic Conference Special Teams Player of the Year after leading the nation in yards per punt return (21.9). Dye was also a two-time First Team All-WAC player.

As a senior, Dye had a 100-yard kick off return against UTEP. That return tied WAC and BYU football records. It also earned him the AT&T Long Distance Award for the second time.

Dye’s numbers are just staggering. Five touchdowns in two years is incredibly impressive. For some perspective, Devin Hester has five return touchdowns in an eight-year NFL career. Obviously the competition is completely different, but it is still illustrative of Dye’s dominance.

So just how great was Dye? Great enough that Wyoming opted to take a safety over punting to him in the 1996 WAC title game.

The Cowboys stopped the Cougars on the Wyoming two-yard line, but then stalled offensively. With just under three minutes left on the clock, while leading 25-20, the Wyoming coaches decided that taking a safety was better than punting to Dye on a short field.

You Punt, You Dye.

BYU football went on to win that game, and win the 1997 Cotton Bowl against Kansas State.

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