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BYU Football: Cougars need to win, but also send the seniors off right

By Shaun Gordon

PROVO, UT - SEPTEMBER 12: Fred Warner #4 of the Brigham Young Cougars signals to the crowd as he and his team take the field before their game against the Boise State Broncos at LaVell Edwards Stadium on September 12, 2015 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images)
PROVO, UT - SEPTEMBER 12: Fred Warner #4 of the Brigham Young Cougars signals to the crowd as he and his team take the field before their game against the Boise State Broncos at LaVell Edwards Stadium on September 12, 2015 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images) /
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Saturday is Senior Day for BYU Football, and a win will be the most important tribute. Letting all the seniors play meaningful time would be fitting too.

25 seniors will wear their BYU Football uniforms while running onto LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, playing their last collegiate home game.

And while the large number of youngsters on the team have gotten the lion’s share of the attention this season, there’s a who’s-who of seniors that have stepped up big for the Cougars throughout their careers:

  • Squally Canada
  • Dylan Collie
  • Brayden El-Bakri
  • Matt Hadley
  • Austin Hoyt
  • Corbin Kaufusi
  • Ului Lapuaho
  • Tanner Mangum
  • Butch Pau’u
  • Michael Shelton
  • Sione Takitaki

That’s not a complete list of the seniors, but some of the biggest difference-makers in this senior class.

BYU’s first priority on Saturday is to beat New Mexico State and clinch bowl-eligibility. That takes priority over any other consideration.

But giving all of the seniors a proper sendoff is next on that list.

Some of these players would get a lot of playing time even if it wasn’t Senior Day. Players like Canada, Collie, El-Bakri, Hadley, Kaufusi, Pau’u, Shelton, and Takitaki are fixtures in the rotation.

Other seniors are injured and won’t be able to play, but as many as are healthy should get a chance to take the field one last time in front of the home crowd.

For that to happen, BYU needs to control the game quickly and put it away early, similar to what they did against Hawaii. New Mexico State isn’t a good football team, so this is doable.

But UMass wasn’t a good football team and the Cougars couldn’t put them away until the second half. The scrubs only saw time in the last few drives.

If the Cougars can put the Aggies away early, though, the seniors should be able to play a good amount of time after the half.

And that goes for Tanner Mangum especially. The senior quarterback deserves one more time to run the offense on the home turf. Not just for a drive or two, but for a large chunk of the game.

It wouldn’t mean much to have Mangum come in for the last two drives and hand the ball off over and over. It would be much more fitting to build enough of a lead that he can come in and actually play quarterback for the last half of the game.

Winning comes first, and that’s not automatic, as the Cougars learned the hard way on last year’s Senior Day.

The most fitting tribute to the seniors will be a win and bowl eligibility. But giving them the chance to play meaningful minutes in that win would be the icing on the cake.

And it’s on the whole team to make sure that’s able to happen.

More from Lawless Republic

All BYU Football Seniors:

  • K/P Rhett Almond
  • DB Joshua Butler
  • RB Squally Canada
  • WR Dylan Collie
  • FB Brayden El-Bakri
  • LS Matt Foley
  • DB Gavin Fowler
  • RB/LB Matt Hadley
  • OL Austin Hoyt
  • DB Tanner Jacobson
  • DL Kamalani Kaluhiokalani
  • DL Corbin Kaufusi
  • OL Ului Lapuaho
  • QB Tanner Mangum
  • K Andrew Mikkelsen
  • TE JJ Nwigwe
  • LB Butch Pau’u
  • LB Riggs Powell
  • DB Sawyer Powell
  • LB Adam Pulsipher
  • LB Nate Sampson
  • LB Rhett Sandlin
  • DB Michael Shelton
  • LB Sione Takitaki
  • DL Merrill Taliauli
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