PROVO — With NFL-bound Todd Watkins gone, there is a void to fill on BYU's receiving corps. Sophomore Michael Reed is eager to help fill it.

While freshman McKay Jacobson, the 5A All-Texas First-Team and the Texas wide receiver of the year who enrolled at BYU in January, has garnered much of the attention at that position, Reed is also expected to make big contributions this season. Like Jacobson, Reed earned Texas 5A receiver of the year honors — in 2003.

Reed remembers well the last time he played in a game, on Nov. 19, during a heart-wrenching overtime loss to Utah. In OT, on fourth down, quarterback John Beck threw a pass into the end zone in hopes of tying the game and forcing a second overtime.

Reed dove for the pass in the back of the end zone but wasn't able to snatch it. Game over. For Reed, it was season over, too.

"John lobbed it up and I tried to go get it. It was just out of my reach," he said. "As I was coming down, my left hand turned underneath me and all my weight came down on my thumb, making it go the opposite way. At first, I didn't feel anything. I kind of had the wind knocked out of me a little bit. Then I started feeling sharp pains in my thumb and instantly, I knew it was broken."

For that reason, Reed did not play in the loss to California in the Las Vegas Bowl. He underwent surgery, and doctors put screws and a plate in his thumb.

So which hurt worse? The injury or the loss to the Utes?

"Losing that game — every time I go to watch that play, I think, 'Man, what if I would have took off sooner?' It hurt me a lot to see us lose to Utah, and it also hurt me a lot not to be able to play in the bowl game. This year, I have a little vengeance for not playing in that bowl game. So I come out every day and work to get better."

Reed showed a glimpse of his potential last year against Air Force when he caught five passes for 103 yards (including a 50-yard reception) and a touchdown. He finished his redshirt-freshman season with 18 catches for 272 yards.

Without Watkins on the roster, Reed's role has changed — from understudy to possible starter.

"The coaches are expecting big things from me. They want me to be team leader out here," he said. "I'm pretty young still myself, I'm just a sophomore, but I've got a big amount on me right now. I'm willing to take it on. If anything goes wrong, I'm willing to blame myself. My goal is to come out every day, get better, master my position, and help the younger guys and help this team win games."

It's a major step going from role player to major contributor, said coach Bronco Mendenhall.