"I played inside receiver in high school," Jacobson said. "Playing outside, it's really the same, but there are little things here and there, and little things make a big difference."

Jacobson was recruited by Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Purdue, Minnesota, Colorado State, Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Florida State, Arizona, Arizona State, TCU and Stanford, to name a few. Florida State, Baylor and Texas Tech recruited him to run track, too.

After committing to BYU, Wisconsin offered him a scholarship, but most of the other schools backed off.

Though he's never played a down of college football, Jacobson isn't going to sneak up on anybody. In July, he was named the Mountain West Conference's preseason freshman of the year.

"It's an honor to get the award. Obviously, a lot of people have high expectations for me. I have high expectations for myself," he said. "Most important is winning. That's the only thing that really matters. As a receiver, you want to help your team any way you can to win. If you get 10 catches for 200 yards and a couple of touchdowns and you lose, it doesn't matter. All that really matters is winning.

"That's our goal. I still feel like I have a lot to prove. I'm getting better and I'm excited for the opportunity to contribute to the team. The only expectation that I'm worried about is my own. I feel like I have high expectations for myself and my team."

If Jacobson meets those expectations, there will be inevitable comparisons to Austin Collie, who was the MWC's freshman of the year in 2004, catching 53 passes for 771 yards and eight touchdowns at BYU. Collie is currently serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"I remember him a little bit," Jacobson said. "I'll never be Austin Collie. I'm my own person. I'm going to work and compete and try to help my team win."

Jacobson, who turns 19 in October, is also planning on leaving for an LDS mission after the season.

Until then, Mendenhall plans to take full advantage of Jacobson's speed as often as possible — including the possibility of utilizing him on kick returns.

"My intent is to use McKay Jacobson in every way possible for us to win," Mendenhall said. "I hope he's tired at the end of the game."

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E-mail: jeffc@desnews.com