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May 4, 2020

BYU Fantasy Draft Round 4

-- Featuring an electrocution and a library security guard

Round 4 Recap

4.1 Daniel Coats (drafted by Magathisll)

I was in stadium for his freshman debut and what a debut it was. 6 grabs for 93 yards and two touchdowns powering BYU to a solid win over Georgia Tech. Let's just say I was very excitable as a youngster and quickly proclaimed Coats was on a path that would surpass all the tight end legends that came before him. I'd feel even stronger about that proclamation after the next game when he posted an 8 catch, 114 yard, 1 TD performance against #4 USC. And then, just like that, Coats was basically gone.

He'd never go over 100 yards again, despite playing 42 more games in his career. He had 14 catches in games 1 and 2 of his career back in 2003 and 13 total in the entire 2004 season. BUT! He brought one last quality performance in the regular season finale of his senior year, nabbing 80 yards and the touchdown that preceded Jonny Harline's kneeling '06 winner against Utah. He started great and ended great. Call him The Bookend I guess.


4.2 Dayan Ghanwoloku (drafted by Devon “Lasersheep” Smith)

2012 was the year things started to fall apart for me and Bronco. From '05 to '09 it felt like Bronco could do no wrong. But in '12 the cracks started to show. Somehow he didn't notice that his starting kicker hadn't practiced for an entire offseason. That seemed weird. Somehow he didn't prepare his team for the noise when playing against his rival. Also unusual. Then next thing you know Bronco is drawing a picture of Dayan Lake as a recruiting pitch. He's moving his best defensive lineman into a linebacker role. So I guess what I'm saying is I wasn't surprised when Bronco went full alien and called a timeout on an extra point against Memphis in the Brawl Bowl. Bronco had hidden it behind wins for a few years, but the dude was a weirdo.

What does this have to to do with Dayan? Not much really. That goofy drawing is just the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of him. I'd be happy to have Dayan on my team though.


4.3 Daniel Sorensen (drafted by Andrew Metcalf)

Three picks in a row featuring a Dan, a Da(ya)n, and another Dan. Which was the best of the three? The one picked last. Sorensen and those punts man. How many times did he race down the sideline and kill a punt within the 5-yard line? I know there aren't an stats on that but if there were Dirty Dan would have to be tops. His BYUtv highlight reel even features one. Oddly though I feel like his NFL career has had more memorable moments than his Cougar one.


4.4 Eric Drage (Drafted by Brian Henderson, he who once helped me get a ticket to the 59-0 UCLA game)

Imagine playing against BYU in the late 80s early 90s era. Guys like Drage would drive you crazy, right? How would you ever bounce back after being roasted for a 93-yard touchdown by a guy with this haircut?



Now get a load of this. Based on this great article by Dick Harmon, it turns out Drage actually aggravated his own team as well! He once almost punched Lavell. He once shoved an athletic trainer in the neck and it may or may not have led to surgery11. Here's what the article says about the incident. "Curtis ended up having neck surgery after the season and said it was due to that (shove). Drage says that’s bull, that  Curtis already had a bad neck." Can we get a BYUtv special to investigate the truth?!? I demand answers.? He once got into a fight with a linebacker in practice. One of his teammates felt the need to electrocute him for some reason. Why was Drage so intense? Because he cared. As a result Drage owns 3 of the top 10 best receiving days in BYU history and is #3 on the list of career receiving yards behind Hoffman and Collie.

We need more guys who care this much.


4.5 Jim Herrmann (drafted by Odyseuss)

Who??? Herman Munster?? This is embarrassing but I didn't know a thing about this guy before Odyseuss snatched him up with selection #45. What a value pick this was. You thought Jan Joregnsen was impressive with 14 sacks in 2007? Herrmann had 16 in 1983. You thought Kyle Van Noy's 26 career sacks were studly? Herrmann ties that amount in fewer games. His wiki page says he registered 46 QB hurries his junior season. That's what, 4 hurries per game? BYU fans born in 2010 don't even know what a QB hurry is.

WAIT THIS GUY WAS THE CAPTAIN OF THE '84 CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM AND I DIDN'T KNOW WHO HE WAS?? I AM A FRAUD.


4.6 Reno Mahe (drafted by me)

Ranking the BYU wide receivers after Austin Collie gets a little tricky. Due to sheer volume of work I think you have to give Hoffman the nod at number two. He's the Stockton of the group, with incredible durability powering him to all the career records. But at the peak of his powers he never seemed as unstoppable to me as Reno, or Hooks, or the aforementioned fireball Drage. I don't know where Reno ranks versus those guys but I do remember him as quite the athlete.

He actually played running back in his first season, notching 504 yards on 101 attempts for a solid 5 YPC average. He disappeared into Honor Code violation land and returned as a wide receiver, and paired with Doman in '01 caught the 3rd most balls in BYU history (and 5th most in the country). One of them was this catch, which came six days after an emergency appendectomy. With blood running down his jersey during the game, Mahe delivered the BYU equivalent of the Curt Schilling bloody sock incident, and cemented himself into rivalry lore forever more. Here's a related stat that's a bit crazy: the first three games immediately after the surgery were Mahe's best of the season. He combined for 28 catches, 454 yards, and 5 touchdowns against Utah, Mississippi State, and Hawaii.


4.7 Gordon Hudson (drafted by Tax Commissioner Danny)

How did this guy last til pick 47? It's been about 40 years and Hudson still has his name peppered throughout the college football record books.

Average receptions per game by a TE in a career - 5.4, Gordon Hudson

Most receiving yards by a TE in a single game - 259, Gordon Hudson

Average receiving yards per game by a TE in a career - 75.3, Gordon Hudson

Tax Man Dan put it best: "I had to give Steve one of his favorite targets."


4.8 Todd Watkins (drafted by Cousin Newt)

Growing up there was a less active young man in my ward named Todd Watkins. Every single time I was asked for an update on him during Bishop's Youth Council I'd reply with some version of the BYU Todd Watkins stat line, health status, or draft prospects. Every. Single. Time. There were a lot of eye rolls from the other attendees but I didn't care cause  I loved Todd Watkins (the BYU one, not the ward one).

Todd Watkins made me feel what Warriors fans feel every night with Steph Curry: with Todd, you were always in scoring range. Remember this hilarious play where it looked for half a second like Beck had overthrown his intended receiver by 30 yards?  Then your mind realized, oh wait, Todd is right there, he  just burned everyone so badly it looked like he wasn't even in the picture. 

And by the way, will we ever see another BYU receiver dust the #1 team in the nation's corner like he did? I say nay.


4.9 Jordan Leslie (drafted by BRoyalBlueCoug)

Recently on Cougarboard someone asked the question, what was BYU's most entertaining loss? I say without hesitation it has to be the Miami Beach Bowl from 2014. Not only was it a double overtime shootout, it also featured back-and-forth leads, turnovers for touchdowns, Bronson Kaufusi dropping foolishly into coverage, and announcers making fun of our head coach for his extra point timeout boondoggle. Oh yeah and it finished up with a brawl.

The only thing that could've made this game better? If Jordan Leslie had pulled down this ludicrous catch. This ball was impossible and yet he almost had it! Leslie had a nice impact on BYU considering he was a one-and-done who showed up out of the blue like the kid who moves into your neighborhood during senior year. 

He may have been a simple mercenary, but at least he was a good one.   


4.10 Shawn Knight (drafted by Jay Drew)

I didn't see Shawn play but based solely on his neck you know this guy was a beast. He sacked opposing QBs 16 times as a senior, which is tied with Jim Herrmann Munster for 2nd best in a single year. I will say the summary of his 1986 season is a little bit weird though.



Parting Thoughts from Round 2

Thought #1

Four wide receivers went this round and none of them were named Margin Hooks. That surprises me.

Thought #2

Jay Drew adds Shawn Knight to Jan Jorgensen and instantly vaults to the top of the defensive line rankings. Meanwhile I still have five open spots on the defensive side of the ball. Time for me to get busy.

Thought #3

I am still ashamed about the Jim Herrmann thing. 


Round by Round Recap


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