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How BYU football became an NFL pipeline once again

Just a few months ago, I walked into the College Football Hall of Fame in downtown Atlanta. The entrance wall was filled with helmets, one for each NCAA football team.

The first thing you do when you walk in is fill out some information about yourself, particularly your college football fandom. The Hall of Fame gives you a lanyard that carries your information and tailors your experience to your team.

As you walk up to interactive exhibits, it can read who you are and will begin showing you information about your school. You can walk to nearly any screen and immediately learn more about Cougar legends like LaVell Edwards, Steve Young and Gordon Hudson.

As we wandered through the exhibits and examined BYU's featured players, I noticed that none of them had played in the 21st century.

The reason I was in Atlanta was to interview Tyler Allgeier, former BYU running back and current member of the Atlanta Falcons, for a senior capstone project with some other students.

We wanted to tell the stories of former Cougars in the NFL and how BYU had made an impact on their journeys there.

Being 24 years old, I immediately thought of all the great players I had grown up watching at BYU that I felt deserved to be highlighted in these exhibits. However, as I read about the great Cougars of the past, I realized that things used to be different in Provo on the football fields.

Were all of the BYU greats before my time? No, that's what we were in Atlanta for. Allgeier was one of the many former Cougars in the league we had to choose from for our story.

So what had happened? Why is there a gap in the history of BYU's relationship with the NFL?

This story is about the resurgence of BYU Football in the NFL and the players that made it happen.

The Beginning

The first former Cougar to truly find a place in the NFL was Rex Berry. Berry was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in 1951, and carved out a nice career in the league, starting as a defensive back for six seasons and accumulating 22 interceptions and three touchdowns. He was the first BYU alum to truly make an impact on an NFL squad.

Dick Felt was the first Cougar to receive Pro Bowl honors during both the 1961 and 1962 seasons. He also played defensive back.

Though they weren't the first BYU alumni to make NFL squads, Berry and Felt pioneered the idea that kids from that religious school tucked underneath the Wasatch Mountains could make an impact at the highest level of the sport, though nobody could have foreseen the impact that BYU football was about to have on the NFL in the coming decades.

The first wave

The hiring of LaVell Edwards in 1972 was the start of the most dominant run in BYU Football history. Edward's influence didn't just translate to wins on the field; it made Provo a destination for NFL hopefuls.

Edwards gained a reputation for his success with quarterbacks, earning BYU the nickname "Quarterback Factory." That factory was in full production, pumping out BYU's first-ever first-round draft pick, Marc Wilson in 1980.

Wilson was closely followed by not just signal-callers but a whole slew of NFL talent. Between the years 1980-1989, BYU had 39 players drafted in the AFL and NFL. Those players went on to have over 23 Pro Bowl selections and 30 Super Bowl wins between them.

Vai Sikahema was the league's best punt returner for years. Bart Oates was invited to the Pro Bowl five out of six years. Todd Christensen was a First Team All-Pro twice. The league was stuffed with star power out of Provo.

Jim McMahon quarterbacked the Chicago Bears to the Super Bowl XX title during the 1985 season. Young went on to be named the AP's NFL Most Valuable Player in 1992 and 1994 and was the MVP of Super Bowl XXIX, where he set a Super Bowl record with six touchdown passes. During his 1994 MVP campaign, Young set a new NFL record for passer rating at 112.8 and is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

"It was a combination of LaVell Edwards accumulating an amazing coaching staff, developing players, and players that had goals and dreams to play in the NFL," said Tom Holmoe when asked about what made the Cougars a powerhouse in the 80s.

Holmoe played for Edwards and had a career playing and coaching in the NFL before becoming BYU's athletic director in 2005.

It was a time when you could hear former Cougars being discussed and analyzed on major network studio shows and pregame programs. Young was the highest-paid athlete of all time at the time, Christensen led the league in receptions for two years, and McMahon was the most polarizing character in sports. BYU's fingerprint wasn't just present in the NFL; it was shaping the league's history.

The Journey in Atlanta

Lugging two cameras, tripods, and a bunch of lighting equipment with us, we made our way into the Falcon's practice facilities in Flowery Branch, almost an hour outside of Atlanta. The grounds were impressive, and the people even more so. We were given a full tour of the team's media building and set up in one of their studios for the interview.

Allgeier walked in, having just cleaned up after practice. He shook everyone's hand as we sat him down and told him about our project.

"We want to tell the story about the resurgence of BYU players in the NFL," I told him as he hooked up his lapel microphone, and we framed the cameras. "We're here to interview you since you were a pivotal part of that process."

"Thank you very much," he said with an appreciative smile on his face.

We began asking him about his time at BYU and his journey to the NFL. Allgeier was the definition of an underdog. He told us about his time walking on to BYU and how he provided for himself.

"I ended up doing a trash valet job," he told us. "At those times, I was just trying to get as much money as possible."

"The NFL was not even in the picture," continued Allgeier. "It was all about just getting a scholarship."

Allgeier had to fight for a spot on the team, switching between linebacker and running back multiple times throughout his first two seasons on the team. Through his first two seasons at BYU, he had only touched the ball 30 times.

The 2000s Drought

Edwards retired in 2000, and things started to change in Provo. The coaches, the culture, the recruits, the jerseys—everything seemed to start moving in a different direction. The BYU to NFL pipeline took a nosedive.

The Cougars didn't stop winning games, though. With the new century came three conference titles and plenty of bowl wins.

BYU also had plenty of talent on the field, boasting over 20 All-Americans, including two consensus in the span of 10 years.

Despite winning 10-plus games in five of six seasons between 2006-2011, BYU only had six players drafted in that span, none lasting more than six seasons in the league.

Guys like John Beck, Dennis Pitta and Austin Collie had almost turned into anomalies, an endangered species of pro Cougars.

Courtesy of the Baltimore Ravens
Photo by Courtesy of the Baltimore Ravens

Between the years 2004-2013, there were only 11 starting seasons from BYU alumni in the entire NFL. Former Cougars were featured in the Pro Bowl just three times in that span (two of them from legendary long-snapper John Denney).

At one point in 2014 and 2015, there were only seven former Cougars in the entire NFL, the lowest amount since the 60's.

Where there was once an almost synonymous relationship between BYU and the NFL was suddenly replaced by a feeling of unfamiliarity. The two had become long-lost cousins, someone you grew up close to but had since grown apart.

You just no longer saw Cougars on Sundays. BYU's pro football prominence had left with Edwards, and the players who wore the "Y" were destined to end their careers in the stadium named after the great coach.

The Sitake Era

Allgeier finally got his chance to start at the beginning of the 2020 season. It was an interesting and pivotal season for a plethora of reasons.

The "COVID season" marked the fifth year as BYU's head coach for Kalani Sitake. His winning percentage was just barely over 50% for his career, and people were wondering how long he would last with such lackluster success.

Where Sitake lacked in on-field success, he made up for in player development. In his first two seasons, Sitake sent enough players to the NFL to more than double the amount of Cougars in the league.

Courtesy of the Carolina Panthers

"He's an incredible man," said Brady Christensen, former BYU offensive lineman and current member of the Carolina Panthers. "He would always bring me into his office, and we would talk about more than football . . . He's a better man than he is a coach, and he's a great, great coach."

At the start, Sitake benefited from inheriting players who were ready to play pro. Guys like Taysom Hill, Jamaal Williams and Harvey Langi weren't necessarily recruited by Sitake but started a trend that put BYU in the right direction.

What's notable is how those guys led the way. Hill and Langi both went undrafted, fighting their way to the league on practice squads and preseason performances. Even Williams was the 134th overall pick.

That's how the resurgence of pro talent in Provo started. It wasn't blue-chippers or 5-stars. It was players and a program being looked over that fought their way to the league. It was guys like Tyler Allgeier.

In the very first game of that wacky season, the Cougars traveled to Indianapolis to play Navy. It was Tyler's first-ever start as a featured back.

Because of the circumstances, no one really knew what Tyler or the rest of this BYU team would look like. One hundred thirty-two yards and two touchdowns later, it became apparent that both Tyler and this BYU team were different after rinsing the Midshipmen, 55-3.

2020 proceeded to be Cougar's best season in 10 years and the most important BYU team of the 20th century. In all, nine players from that team ended up in the NFL.

The most notable, of course, was quarterback Zach Wilson. His selection in the 2021 draft at No. 2 overall was the highest ever for a player coming out of BYU (Steve Young was drafted first overall in the AFL draft in 1984).

"Zach (Wilson) brought a lot of attention to BYU football, and that brought attention to me," said Christensen. "I just started to get more attention, and I think it was because of that great year."

It was the start of a new movement in Provo. BYU's pro day was filled with representatives from every single NFL team. A Cougar quarterback was the talk of the draft. The NFL tides were turning.

Moving to the Big 12

The momentum gained from the 2020 season was that catalyst for many things, including an invite to a coveted power conference in 2021. Being welcomed into the Big 12 brought new recruits, new prestige, new coverage and new money to the program.

"What comes to mind is just opportunity at BYU to play better competition," said former BYU linebacker Kyle Van Noy. "I believe now it's kind of changing . . . As much as we can give money and give the resources to the people that are playing sports, especially football, the more talent you'll get and the better outcome you'll get."

The Cougars took advantage of the boost the conference invite gave them and continued to build off that 2020 season by finding more success on the field and in the draft in 2021.

Allgeier had his marquee year. His 1,601 rushing yards broke the BYU single-season record, and his 23 touchdowns were tied for the most in college football.

That entire team was full of NFL talent. Puka Nacua, Blake Freeland, Jaren Hall and Ryan Rehkow are all in the league today.

For Allgeier, it was the breakout year he had been preparing for his whole life. Like BYU, he had climbed his way out of obscurity and showed what he had to offer the NFL.

Courtesy of the Atlanta Falcons

Allgeier heard his name called in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons and fulfilled his lifelong dream. And he did it at BYU.

The Resurgence

Why BYU? Why even choose a school that, at the time, hadn't sent guys to the league, much less running backs?

These were the questions we were dying to ask Allgeier and everyone else we interviewed. What was it about this religious school at the foot of the Wasatch front that made them think — made them even dream — of making it into the NFL here?

When Allgeier committed to BYU in 2018, only one former Cougar was drafted a few months later in the NFL draft.

Simply put, Provo wasn't a destination for NFL hopefuls, but Allgeier along with many others, changed things.

"We don't have a lot of outside noise at BYU," he said. "I think everyone matures pretty fast."

Instead of being a deterrence, BYU's unique culture had become one of its biggest selling points.

"The culture that (Coach Sitake) brought was so amazing," continued Allgeier. "He just made football fun, and that was so awesome to be a part of. Everyone loves playing for Kalani."

Allgeier also cited Sitake's willingness to adapt to the ever-changing college football landscape.

"He made a great stance on a lot of the NIL stuff," he said. "If you truly want to be at BYU, you want to be here for the academics and the football, and the N.I.L. stuff is going to come."

The number of players in the league steadily increased each year into the 2020s. Today, 22 former Cougars have homes on NFL teams across the country.

Cougars in the NFL

These days, BYU products aren't just a presence in the league, they're standouts. Just like back in the 80s, former Cougars are being discussed and analyzed daily and fought over in fantasy drafts.

Taysom Hill is one of the most unique players in NFL history. He is an endeared player in the league and in the conversation for the Hall of Fame.

Jamaal Williams might be the most beloved player in the league. Just two years ago, he led the league in rushing touchdowns with 17.

Kyle Van Noy continues to be a defensive force for the Ravens. The two-time Super Bowl winner is currently in his 11th year in the league.

Andy Reid continues to have one of the greatest NFL coaching careers of all time. His 294 career wins as head coach puts him fourth all-time to go along with three Super Bowl rings and the current pursuit of a fourth.

Fred Warner has been universally considered the best linebacker in football for the past three years. He's been named a First Team All-Pro three times and is well on his way to Canton Ohio.

Courtesy of the San Francisco 49ers

Puka Nacua set the rookie record for receiving yards and receptions last season. He hasn't slowed down this season, becoming the second player in NFL history to record over 150 receptions, 2,000 receiving yards and seven touchdown catches in his first 25 games.

Allgeier became the first BYU player to rush for over 1,000 yards in their rookie season. He continues to be a force in the Atlanta backfield.

These are guys that every NFL fan across the country knows and are a mere handful of former Cougars in the league today.

You could say the relationship between BYU and the NFL isn't just back to the way it was; it's better than ever. The narrative has changed, and Provo has become the home of some of the biggest stars in football.

The next time I visit Atlanta, the College Football Hall of Fame may include a few more Cougars, and it won't be the only Hall of Fame to include the new generation of Cougars.

That religious school at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains produces some pretty good football players.