Tyler Allgeier, the untackleable
Fact #1 -- Tyler is tied for 5th nationally with 73 missed tackles this season.1
1. For comparison, Jamaal Williams was credited with 56 missed tackles forced in 2016.
Fact #2 -- Tyler is third in the nation in rushing yards after contact with 1,001 (and he's 13 yards away from 2nd).
Summary -- Tyler Allgeier is really, really good at not getting tackled. ("Wow, this is totally new information, thanks random blog!")
I know we all know how good Tyler is at evading and breaking tackles but his national ranks add another layer of perspective don't they? Plus I needed an excuse to reminisce on Tyler's 4th and 3 conversion against USC. Here's how things looked moments after Allgeier caught the swing pass from Hall. The blue arrow indicates Tyler's location, the three black arrows the closest USC defenders.
This screenshot should not result in a first down! The fact that it does is pure Allgeier. PFF can count broken tackles and yards after contact but there's no real way to value all the game-changing moments that occurred this year when Tyler gained an extra three yards when a normal running back would not have.22. I know this play wasn't necessarily a "game-changer" given BYU turned the ball over just after, but it still has a positive impact. At the very least it was a field position win and at most it gave BYU's offense confidence in short-yardage and fourth down plays.
How important can one extra yard be in a football game? Watch the end of the USC game or the Coastal game and the question answers itself.
Tyler Allgeier, welcome to the 1,600-yard club
Here's the list of Cougars who have gained 1,600 scrimmage yards or more in a single season.
Ronney Jenkins in 1998
Luke Staley in 2001
Harvey Unga in 2007
Austin Collie in 2008
Tyler Allgeier in 2021
Tyler's been an absolute workhorse -- he's 14 carries or catches away from the single season record for touches in a season by a BYU player33. Harvey holds the record with 288 touches in 2007. -- and yet his efficiency has never dipped.
He owns the record for best rushing performance against a P5 opponent ... he was the key player in rivalry wins over Utah and Utah State ... he's one great bowl game away from joining the 1,700-yard club ...
Oh and don't forget this little gem.
Tyler Allgeier gained more scrimmage yards (291) against Virginia than any BYU player has ever gained in any game in BYU history. Ever. When we discuss single game peak performances, he now holds the ultimate trump card. No other skill player has ever advanced the ball that much in one single game.
I've tried to raise this point on social media a handful of times, but I don't have any online juice. So I'll just keep mentioning it in these weekly write-ups until Tyler gets the credit he deserves or someone corrects me and tells me Charles Gatsby rushed for 292 yards against Northern Arizona in 1913.
He gained more scrimmage yards in a game than anybody ever has. That's a big deal right??? If Zach Wilson or Jaren Hall broke the single game passing record it'd be a talking point for years.
Kaleb Hayes is on a star trajectory
I've written a lot about Hayes this year yet he deserves two more paragraphs. The guy was targeted 11 times by USC yet allowed only 4 completions. Sure, two of those incompletions are graded drops by PFF, but Hayes played basically perfect coverage on this play that ended up a catch so it kind of evens out.
For the year Hayes was targeted 49 times but only gave up 22 catches -- which is the lowest catch-to-target ration on the team -- to go along with 11 pass breakups which is 6 more than the next closest Cougar. He's only given up one passing TD on the season (the loony Virginia first half). He's not as sure a tackler as D'Angelo Mandell but he had a better tackle rate than some of his peers in the secondary like Jakob Robinson and Malik Moore. The interceptions didn't materialize this year, but they'll come.
Puka, man of efficiency
I've written a lot about Puka this year too and why wouldn't I? This guy is a joy to watch, he gets open so easily. In the same way Allgeier doesn't get tackled, Puka doesn't get covered. Do PFF stats support this claim? Oh yes. Continue on, dear reader.
There is a stat called yards per route run which measures how many yards a receiver generates relative to the chances he has. Think of it this way -- a player who runs 100 routes is likely to catch more passes and gain more yards than a player who runs 20 routes. But is he a better receiver? Or did he just have more opportunity?
To put it another way, a receiver who gains 60 yards on 5 routes can be considered more efficient than a receiver who gains 60 yards on 10 routes (the first averaged 12 yards every time he lined up and ran a route, the second averaged only 6 yards). In a way it's kind of like yards per carry, but instead yards per opportunity.
Confused yet? Let's try this. Neil Pau'u has run 48 more routes than Puka over the course of the season. But Puka has gained 270 yards more than him. Isaac Rex has run 21 more routes than Puka has over the course of the season. But Puka has 25 more catches than him. What this means is Puka doesn't need tons of snaps or routes to amass yardage; he gets open so easily that he demands the ball every time he's on the field.
Which is a very, very, very long way of saying obviously Puka leads BYU in yards per route run. But even cooler he is ranked 2nd nationally in yards per route run. Only one player in the NCAA has been more effective at gaining yards per opportunity than Puka. What a stud.
USC blitzed Jaren like crazy. Is that smart?
I find this pretty wild -- USC blitzed on 20 of BYU's 33 dropbacks. Or in other words USC brought pressure 60% of the time BYU threw the ball. And I thought Baylor and Virginia were aggressive when they brought blitzers on over 40% of BYU's passes!
But here's the thing -- Jaren has posted great numbers against blitzing defenses all year. He has the 19th best accuracy44. Adjusted for throw aways and drops; minimum 100 blitzed dropbacks. among quarterbacks nationally when blitzed. He ranks 26th nationally for fewest turnover worthy plays when blitzed. He has the 24th deepest depth of target when blitzed, meaning he's moving the ball down the field and not just checking it down.
Remember the Mason Wake bulldozer clip that made rounds across social media? It started with Jaren standing tall against an unblocked linebacker and delivering a calm, catchable ball to his playmaker.
Masen Wake is a monster. USC Trojans bouncing off of him like Bo Jackson in Tecmo Bowl pic.twitter.com/xMLaxoXaHW
— Benjamin Criddle (@CriddleBenjamin) November 28, 2021
All that being said ... the blitzes seemed to affect Hall this game. His two interceptions came on blitzes and he threw the ball away three times this game when blitzed. (compared to having only thrown it away 5 times combined in his other 9 starts) Overall he was 5% less accurate this game compared to his season average. But it wasn't all bad. Hall threw for 175 yards when blitzed by the Trojans. That's a huge number! For reference, the national leader in passing yards when blitzed -- Bronco's very own Brennan Armstrong -- averaged 146 passing yards per game when blitzed this year.
Hooray, drop 8 works!
For the season Dart attempted deep passes (passes traveling more than 20 yards down the field) on about 1 out of every 5 throws. Against BYU's defense that rate dropped to once every 9 throws. Meanwhile Dart completed 36% of his deep throws over the season, but was zero for four against BYU.
Egads, drop 8 doesn't work!
BYU only managed to pressure Dart 5 times across 37 dropbacks. Ugh.
Holker deployment
I'm curious to see how Holker is used as he shakes off the mission rust. In both 2018 and 2021 he lined up like a traditional tight end on about 65% of his snaps. But where things have changed in 2021 is Holker has split his other receiving snaps evenly between lining up wide versus in the slot. How will he be used in 2022? BYU needs this guy on the field cause he makes plays (see Utah 2018, Utah 2021, or the timely fumble pickup against USC).
Alignment can have a big impact on a receiver. Neil Pau'u lined up wide about 70% of his snaps the first two years of his career. Starting in 2020 BYU's offensive coaches totally changed his role and moved him to the slot where he now lines up about 70% of the time. This change in deployment -- along with better QB play and individual improvement -- completely unlocked Pau'u.
I'm not sure where the best place to play Holker is but I like this offensive staff and trust they can find the way to maximize this versatile player.
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