Breaking news: the BYU cougar Head Coach has decommit a5-star player from his team due to the players…
Breaking news: the BYU cougar Head Coach has decommit a5-star player from his team due to the players..
Indicated he was a key leadership presence for the Cougars in the locker room.
8. BYU sets top marks in special teams TDs, interceptions
Historically Cougar teams have been known for offense, particularly passing. In 2024, though, it was the BYU defense and special teams that turned out to be the best in the country.
Keelan Marion had a pair of kickoff-return TDs for the Cougars and Talan Alfrey added another on a Houston onside-kick attempt, making BYU the only team in the nation to return three kickoffs to the end zone (only five teams had two kickoff-return TDs). The Cougars were one of eight teams nationally to have two punt-return touchdowns (both by Parker Kingston), giving BYU the most total return TDs in 2024 (five).
The Cougars also did a great job picking off opposing QBs, snagging 20 interceptions during the regular season. That was tied for second heading into the bowl game, but BYU had two picks off Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders to take over first place in the nation (three teams with 18 or more interceptions are in the College Football Playoff, so the rankings could still change).
7. Cougar defensive coordinator Jay Hill suffers heart attack but keeps coaching
Hill may have a high-stress life as a college football coach but he figured he was in reasonably good health. The unexpected happened at the end of August before BYU’s first game, however, when he suffered a heart attack and had to be hospitalized.
Fortunately, Hill was able to recover from the scary experience. He moved from the sideline to the press box during games and had a tough time keeping his blood pressure from getting too high, but got through some nervous moments and showed significant improvement by the end of the season.
6. Defense, offense come up big in dramatic Cougar wins over Baylor and Oklahoma State
BYU talked all season about wanting to be a complete football team where the offense, defense and special teams all being an integral part of the team success. Each came through in big moments during the season to secure key victories.
In Waco in late September, it was the Cougar defense that took a turn as BYU faced Baylor. The Cougars had seen a big lead disappear as the Bears came roaring back to narrow the gap. Baylor had the ball down by six in the final minutes, but Cougar safety Crew Wakely intercepted a Bear pass to secure the BYU win.
Two games later, it was the Cougar offense that had to get the job done when BYU found itself in a dogfight at LaVell Edwards Stadium with a determined Oklahoma State squad. The Cowboys scored with 1:13 left to take a 4-point lead, but Retzlaff led the Cougars back down the field. He spotted Darius Lassiter coming open and fired, with Lassiter breaking a couple tackles. He got into the end zone to give BYU the thrilling 38-35 win.
