Thank you Seniors: Remembering the best moments of the BYU football graduating class

Before sending off this great class of seniors tomorrow night in Provo, we wanted to highlight the best games and moments for each player.

It’s been a great ride for these seniors and we couldn’t have asked more from this bunch.

Chris Badger - DB

The Notre Dame transfer provided some added depth at safety and did a great job on special teams when he joined the team in 2013. His best game came against Memphis in the Miami Beach Bowl where he recorded four tackles and recovered a fumble.

Algie Brown - RB

Is it weird that I want to show a highlight from a scrimmage for Algie? This isn’t to say that he didn’t have a bunch of amazing games (154 total yards and four touchdowns, including the game winner, against ECU in 2015) and plays (this amazing one handed catch and run for a touchdown against Cal) but this highlight from the 2013 fall scrimmage was our first introduction. Algie showed us what he was capable of and in his four years at BYU he didn’t disappoint.

Michael Davis - CB

After making the transition from wide receiver to cornerback, Davis has been a very solid player for the Cougars. After a freshman season which was very much a baptism by fire, Michel had great games against ECU where he tied the school record for pass breakups and against Cal where he made a nice play to stop the Bears from scoring to seal the victory. It wasn’t until this season that Davis recorded his first interception and it was a big one against Michigan State.

Parker Dawe OL

As a former offensive lineman I know that the best games are those when people don’t notice your handiwork because they’re busy watching a running back take it to the house. This year against Toledo Jamaal Williams set the single game rushing record for BYU and it wouldn’t have been possible without the help of the big ugly fellas on the offense line, including our guy Parker Dawe.

Austin Heder - LB

There seems to be a lot of trading back and forth between these players who play linebacker and running back, with Austin Heder being one of the many. In his freshman season in 2011 he saw action in the fullback position and then made the switch to linebacker upon returning in 2014. This year he had a decent game against Michigan State filling in for the injured Butch Pau’u as he collected three tackles and assisted on a sack.

Taysom Hill - QB

Oh man, there was the first Texas game where he got Manny Diaz fired. Always fun. Then there was his insanely efficient game against UConn where he five total touchdowns. And we can’t forget that shootout in Houston where he passed for 417 yards and ran for 128. But if we had to go with one single moment that could define the career of Taysom Hill at BYU it would be this.

Kyle Johnson - OL

The big offensive lineman has had a tough senior campaign as he’s suffered quite a few injuries. Early in his career Johnson contributed to a massive offensive effort against Houston in which the Cougars racked up 681 yards of total offense. Taysom Hill gets a lot of credit for this game, as he should, but it doesn’t happen without the offensive line paving the way.

Garrett Juergens - WR / PR

Garrett made a name for himself as a punt returner but just this last week he was able to record his first touchdown of his career against UMass.

Mitchell Juergens - WR

No explanation needed here.

Nick Kurtz - WR

The lanky wide receiver had his first season derailed because of injury but once he saw the field in 2015 he made an impact. His most impressive performance came in a come-from-behind victory against Cincinnati where he hauled in six catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns. One of the touchdowns was a crazy back shoulder catch where he just barely got his feet in bounds for the score.

Harvey Langi - LB / DL / RB

In 2015 when BYU faced off against UCLA, most of the attention was focused on freshman quarterbacks Tanner Mangum and Josh Rose but it was Harvey Langi who had the best all-around performance. He racked up eight tackles, collected two interceptions and ran for a couple of first downs on offense. The most impressive play was this interception of Josh Rosen where he deflected the pass up in the air and then came down with the interception.

Kai Nacua - DB

After a dubious end to his sophomore season against Memphis, Kai has become one of the better defensive backs in the country which has overshadowed his part in the Miami Beach brawl. In 2015 he made an immediate impact against Boise State as he picked off three passes, one of which he took to the house to seal the victory for BYU.

Colby Pearson - WR

Back in 2014 BYU was blasted by a Boise State team that put up 55 points on offense but one of the lone highlights of the night came on offense thanks to Colby Pearson. In the second quarter he hauled in a Christian Stewart pass on his fingertips and took it the house for an 81-yard touchdown. He’s made many great plays since but this one was easily his most impressive.

Logan Taele - DL

The quiet but effective Logan Taele never had many “WOW” games but one performance that stands out was his 6 tackle, 1 sack game against Nebraska. After his fellow defensive lineman Travis Tuiloma went down with an injury Taele played well in the nose guard position to help the BYU defense to a strong effort in the 4th quarter.

Eric Takenaka -DB

Eric has really come on strong the last couple of weeks with some impressive plays, including this spectacular one-handed interception against Southern Utah.

Sae Tautu - LB / DL

If there is anyone here that I wished had another year to play and develop at BYU it would be Sae. In his senior campaign he has shown more progress than just about any player on the team. After sitting out the first half of the Michigan State game he came on strong in the second half and then had an impact performance against Mississippi State where he collected six tackles (2.5 for loss) and 1.5 sacks.

Travis Tuiloma - DL

We never really had the chance to see the very best of Tuiloma as he suffered a string of injuries in his final couple of seasons but we saw his potential against Utah State in 2015 when he had nine tackles and a huge sack.

Jamaal Williams- RB

THE RUNNING BACK Y’ALL. It’s hard to choose from so many great games but you can’t deny the game that put him in the record books.