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BYU Football: Who will be the unsung heros in 2019?

By Caleb Leming

BOISE, ID - DECEMBER 21: Head Coach Kalani Sitake of the BYU Cougars takes a Powerade shower during second half action against the Western Michigan Broncos at the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on December 21, 2018 at Albertsons Stadium in Boise, Idaho. BYU won the game 49-18. (Photo by Loren Orr/Getty Images)
BOISE, ID - DECEMBER 21: Head Coach Kalani Sitake of the BYU Cougars takes a Powerade shower during second half action against the Western Michigan Broncos at the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on December 21, 2018 at Albertsons Stadium in Boise, Idaho. BYU won the game 49-18. (Photo by Loren Orr/Getty Images) /
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SALT LAKE CITY, UT – NOVEMBER 24: Neil Pau’u of the Brigham Young Cougars gestures running off the field against the Utah Utes in a game at Rice-Eccles Stadium on November 24, 2018 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT – NOVEMBER 24: Neil Pau’u of the Brigham Young Cougars gestures running off the field against the Utah Utes in a game at Rice-Eccles Stadium on November 24, 2018 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images) /

Offense

Wide Receiver Neil Pau’u

Neil Pau’u is entering his third season with the BYU football team. His freshman season got off to a fast start, catching the first Cougar TD of the year from Tanner Mangum against Portland State. The rest of his freshman season saw him catch 14 balls, 2 for touchdowns, with 139 receiving yards in 11 games.

Last year, as a sophomore, Pau’u caught 18 passes for 216 yards and one touchdown. The lone TD came in the first quarter against Utah. Only five of his catches were during the games when Tanner Mangum was starting meaning that his 13 other catches were in the back half of the season with Zach Wilson. He went over 50 yards receiving in two of those games (UMASS and Western Michigan) and caught 3 or more catches in two different games. This means that perhaps Wilson and Pau’u have a new QB-WR friendship that he has not seen before with other quarterbacks.

The best thing Pau’u has going for him is his height. Listed at 6 feet 4 inches, he is the tallest receiver on the team this season. Most people believe that Gunner Romney will be the number one receiver this year, and with a guy with the height of Neil Pau’u, that could be a nice 1-2 punch at receiver. Time will tell how the Cougars junior receiver does.

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