BYU football: Tanner Mangum has suffered from overhype

Despite high expectations for  BYU football’s Tanner Mangum, stats show that he’s never been a consistently high-level quarterback. Not yet.

The hype train tends to claim more victims than passengers.

Players come into college as four or five star recruits, expected to do great things. Others have a huge game or make a memorable play early on in their careers.

BYU football’s quarterback, Tanner Mangum, fits both of those categories.

He came to BYU football as a 4-star recruit and an Elite 11 co-MVP, one of the top QB recruits in the country. Then came Nebraska in 2015. And Boise State.

He had the makings of a star.

But statistically, he wasn’t a star.

As a freshman, Mangum was a middle of the pack quarterback in terms of efficiency rating. His rating of 136.0 put him at 58th in the country.

You can’t get more middle of the pack than that.

Against Power 5 teams the numbers were even more grim. His efficiency dropped to 102.13 in those five games.

Yet the flashes of brilliance were there. Two game-winning Hail Marys. A game-winning drive against ECU. A near-comeback against Utah that would have reached historic proportions.

When the stakes rose and the pressure was on, Mangum elevated his game. The next step in his evolution as a quarterback would be to play at that elevated level at all times.

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That’s the step that fans, media and others expected coming into this season.

It’s not easy to take that step from flashes of greatness to consistent greatness. But that’s what most people expected of Tanner.

Instead, he’s taken a step backward.

His efficiency has dropped to 96.38. He hasn’t looked comfortable in the offense.

The change in offensive scheme plays a big part in his struggles. He’s been much more comfortable in shotgun than under center.

But those flashes of brilliance are still there under pressure. A possible two-score comeback over Utah was thwarted by dropped passes. He was moving the offense admirably at that point.

That elite-level Tanner Mangum is still there. He just hasn’t reached that level with consistently.

He can still reach that point. It may not be this season, but he can get there.

But it’s time to lower the expectations until he does.