BYU Football Positional Preview: Wide Receivers

BYU boasts a deep wide receiver group heading into the 2022. It is spearheaded by a senior who opted to return for one final run in Provo and a P5 transfer.

Top Dogs

Puka Nacua

The Nacua brothers, Puka and Samson, made a big splash in their first year at BYU last season. Samson has moved on to try his hand in the NFL, while Puka looks to build off last year’s momentum. After transferring from Washington, Puka made an immediate impact. He led the Cougars with 805 receiving yards on 43 catches, with six touchdowns. The 6-foot-2 wideout is poised for a big year that could see him garner NFL Draft hype.

Gunner Romney

Romney mulled leaving the program for the NFL before ultimately deciding to run it back one more time in Provo. This injected some life into the team and set the offense up for another possible big year. He struggled to stay healthy at times, but still managed to collect 594 receiving yards in 10 games last season. He was second on the team in receiving in 2020 and has 1,900 receiving yards in his college career. If he and Nacua can stay healthy, the Cougars may have one of the best receiving tandems in school history.

Rising Stars

Kody Epps

Arriving as a prep standout at highly touted Mater Dei High School in Los Angeles, Epps is oozing with talent and potential. He turned down an offer from Oregon and spurned latecomer Oklahoma as well, to come to BYU. He played sparingly in 2020 as a reserve before missing all last season with a foot injury. Now, hopefully fully healthy, Epps looks to finally take the next step in realizing his immense upside.

Keanu Hill

Despite being listed as a sophomore, Hill enters his fourth season in the program. He appeared in all 13 games last season, becoming one of the more reliable receivers down the stretch. He accumulated 343 receiving yards and two touchdowns, including 72 yards and a score against USC. Look for him to challenge Nacua and Romney for a share of the targets.

The Challengers

Brayden Cosper

Entering his fifth season in the program, Cosper looks to play a bigger role in 2022. He missed last season with an injury. He has four career catches for 36 yards.

Chris Jackson

After initially entering the transfer portal in January and committing to Hawaii, Jackson did an about-face, returning to the Cougars for the 2022 season. He has 10 catches for 61 yards in his career thus far.

Hobbs Nyberg

As the primary punt returner for the Cougars in the last two seasons, Nyberg has been reliable in that role. He is yet to catch a pass in a game, but his diligence on special teams may pay off with more playing time on offense.

Chase Roberts

Roberts missed last season due to an injury. He was a prolific, three-star receiving prospect out of American Fork High School. He turned down an offer from Utah to attend BYU.

The Rest

Talmage Gunther

He was one of just a few BYU Cougars to appear in all 13 games last year. Though he didn’t catch a single pass, he made an impact on special teams. Against Arizona State, the game opened with BYU forcing a fumble off the opening kickoff, setting up an east touchdown for the Cougars. Gunther forced the fumble as a member of the kickoff squad.

Terence Fall

Over the last two seasons, Fall logged seven games, mostly on special teams. At 6-foot-3, 185 pounds, he is one of the tallest receivers on the roster. That can play to his benefit if injuries befall guys ahead of him.

Kyson Hall

The brother of quarterback Jaren Hall, Kyson was a three-star receiver rated the No. 1 pass-catcher in the state of Utah for the 2021 class. He is a young, all-around athlete that might need to work himself off the scout team. His athleticism will pay dividends in that regard.

Dom Henry

It’s not every day that BYU lands a top prep performer from Florida. Henry led the entire state of Florida in receiving yards last season, a feat not to be taken lightly given the richness of talent from the Sunshine State. He enters the program this season. While he is athletic, he is young and shorter than 5-foot-11, and just 170 pounds. He will have to grind and earn it just like the other young receivers on this roster. However, his potential is that of a prime-time receiver, if fully realized.

Parker Kingston

At Roy High School in Layton, Utah, Kingston did a little bit of everything. He was their starting quarterback, throwing for 24 career touchdowns, along with 2,136 rushing yards. He added 542 receiving yards and returned two kicks for touchdowns. He comes to Provo as a receiver and it’s not hard to see why. At six feet tall with tons of athleticism, his future is bright.

Kade Moore

The Lehi native is coming off two years on the scout team. He was named All-State in 2018, helping Lehi win the state title.

Preston Rex

The younger brother of Cougars tight end Isaac Rex, Preston will begin his college career this fall at receiver.

Tanner Wall

Wall got into two games last season as a true freshman. The Virginia native is a smart player, as displayed by schools like Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale being interested in him.