For the first time this season, both Talon Shumway and Gunner Romney are listed as starters on this week’s depth chart for BYU Football.
As usual, BYU Football released their weekly depth chart during Monday’s press conference with Head Coach Kalani Sitake, and there were a few surprises this time.
While both junior Talon Shumway and freshman Gunner Romney have each started one game so far this season, this is the first time they’ve appeared atop the depth chart at the start of the week.
In previous weeks, those starting spots have been held by Micah Simon, Neil Pau’u, and Dylan Collie.
Shumway started nine games as a sophomore last season, but entered 2018 as a backup wideout. Last season he had 25 catches for 257 yards, and he has two receptions for 28 yards and a touchdown so far this year.
Romney, one of the prized commits in the last recruiting class, has been learning on the go for the Cougars. He missed most of fall camp with minor injuries, so he’s slowly been working his way into more playing time.
So far this year, he’s caught five passes for 62 yards, tied for the fifth most catches and fourth most receiving yards on the team.
So far, none of BYU’s receivers have stepped up and become a reliable go-to playmaker. As a result, the passing offense has been sub-par, averaging just above 163 yards per game. It’s been barely enough to keep defenses honest, but with tough games coming against No. 11 Washington, Utah State, and Boise State that that same production may not be enough.
Both Romney and Shumway have been fairly reliable so far, although Romney did have a key drop on BYU’s first offensive play of last Saturday’s game against McNeese State.