College students tend to believe they are more capable of performing well on two hours’ sleep than the average human being. Andrew George unintentionally tried to prove that in a big way on Saturday. 

After seeing the birth of his first child in Provo late on Friday night, the senior tight end from Englewood, Colo., rejoined his teammates in New Mexico just in time to provide a much-needed boost to an otherwise sleepy BYU offense. 

George made a tackler miss after catching a floating pass from Max Hall, then ran the rest of the way to the end zone untouched. The 27-yard touchdown, BYU’s second-longest play of the game, capped a speedy 5-play 53-yard drive and gave the Cougars a 17-7 lead with 1:56 left before halftime. 

After the game, George told KSL Radio the play was an audible Hall called after New Mexico showed man coverage. 

“[The defender] tried to make a play … and fortunately he wasn’t able to,” George said. “When you do that, you either make the play or you die trying. Luckily there was no one else back there, and it was an easy touchdown.” 

That effort came less than 24 hours after George was surprised by the news that his wife, Tawny, was in labor back in Provo. 

“We were leaving on our flight and right before they closed the door, I talked to my wife on the phone just to make sure everything was going OK,” George said. “She said, ‘Nothing’s changed, it’s all the same. Let’s just hope he doesn’t come.’ So I left, and 15 minutes later my wife’s water broke.” 

George, however, was already in the air and couldn’t be reached. Soon after BYU’s charter plane landed in Albuquerque on Friday afternoon, George caught the first flight he could back to Utah, and arrived around 8:30 p.m., according to the Salt Lake Tribune. Jack Andrew George entered the world nearly two hours later, at about 10:15 p.m. 

Somehow functioning on just two hours of sleep, George got on a 6 a.m. flight back to Albuquerque and arrived at University Stadium less than two hours before kickoff. 

A photo of baby Jack sporting a blue BYU beanie was shown by The Mtn. soon after George’s only other catch midway through the fourth quarter, which went for just two yards. The photo’s caption provided Jack’s vitals: 8 pounds, 14 ounces, 21 inches long. 

Success against New Mexico is nothing new for George: he caught two passes for touchdowns in BYU’s 21-3 win over the Lobos last season. It is probably safe to say this score means a bit more, and not just because it was the longest touchdown of George’s career. 

“It’s a belated birthday present for him,” George said.