clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Mitch Mathews rises to the occasion

BYU sophomore wide receiver, Mitch Mathews, tore up the Utah State secondary on Friday to earn him our player of the game honors.

By Kevin Schaefer
Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports

Coming into the season there were high hopes for Mitch Mathews. At a towering 6'6" tall, Mathews is a huge target for BYU starting quarterback Taysom Hill.  Add to his height a 37-inch vertical and its not hard to see why fans where expecting big things from the sophomore wide receiver.

Fans got of glimpse of Mathews impressive leaping ability in a pre-game dunk contest prior to BYU's basketball team showdown with Gonzaga last February. Here are his highlight reel dunks in case you missed them back in February:

BYU WR Mitch Mathews Crazy Dunks (via BYUtv Sports)

The high-rising Mathews continued to impress fans, local media, and his coaches as he emerged in Fall Camp as a talented young weapon for the Cougars and earned himself a spot in BYU's wide receiver rotation.

The hype around Mathews had settled a little coming into Friday's match-up with in-state rival Utah State. BYU's whole passing game had gotten off to a relatively slow start to the season and many doubted the Cougars' passing game could do much against a quality opponent. Mathews had racked up just 122 yards receiving on 8 receptions with no touchdowns over the first four games of the season.

Then on a chilly night in Logan, Utah, Mathews gave fans the huge performance they'd been waiting for with 112 yards receiving and 3 touchdown receptions in BYU's 31-14 beat down of the Aggies.

Matthews first touchdown came on a 30-yard strike across the middle of the field from Hill early in the second quarter giving the Cougars a 17-7 lead.

His second score came on the first drive of the second half off a 6-yard fade pass from Hill putting BYU up 24-7.

Taysom Hill's 3 touchdowns to Mitch Mathews against Utah State (via ksl sports)

The Hill to Mathews duo connected one more time for a 43-yard touchdown making it 31-7 BYU.

Mathews' big night also included a key block down field on Jamaal Williams' longest run of the night. The performance had several fans wishing they had Mathews on their Fantasy Football roster.

Mathews' 234 receiving yards and 3 receiving touchdowns on the season puts him as the team leader in both categories. He is quickly becoming one of Hill's favorite targets and you can expect his role to continue to grow as both Hill and himself get more comfortable in the Cougar offense.

Have an opinion on Mathews' performance versus the Aggies or his role on the team going forward? Share it below.

More From Vanquish The Foe