Harline's emergence as playmaker for BYU not surprising to some

Folks in the know say it is no big surprise Jonny Harline is a playmaker of major proportions for BYU's football team — now that he's been given the chance. Harline was destined to be a gamebreaker from the time he played football and basketball at Orem High School.

Harline leads BYU's list of players who have stepped up this season, propelling the Cougars to their first appearance in a bowl game in four seasons this Thursday at the Las Vegas Bowl in Sam Boyd Stadium.

"There's nothing that surprises me regarding Jonny," BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "From the first offseason workout on, I saw it. When I saw the way he was working and that he was going to win every conditioning drill that he was involved in, to spring practice when our linebackers had a hard time covering him, you could see it.

"From the beginning of spring practice to the end, from our two-a-days in fall to the season, he's been the most consistent football player on our team, not only in terms of production but day-to-day effort . . . His numbers this past season only confirm what I saw in him during workouts."

Mendenhall gives BYU offensive coaches credit for developing Harline and other parts of the offense this season. When BYU's offense called his number, Harline delivered. He had 10 catches against UNLV and produced 123 yards. When he got the ball seven times against San Diego State, he gained 123. He had eight catches for 100 yards at Notre Dame.

Harline ranks third in the country among tight ends in receiving yards. He ranks behind an LDS tight end playing at Tulsa, Garrett Mills (1,183 yards, 9 TDs), who broke former Cougar Chris Smith's 15-year-old NCAA single-season receiving record for a tight end; and Vernon Davis at Maryland (871 yards, 6 TDs). Harline had 56 catches for 780 yards and four touchdowns this past season, and was BYU's leading receiver on a squad that spread the ball around to a lot of receivers out of the backfield and on the line and slot positions.

"The thing is, Jonny isn't the only tight end on our team. We've got Daniel Coats, who we like to throw to," BYU offensive coordinator Robert Anae said.

Coats caught 20 balls for 182 yards and three touchdowns in 2005. Harline and Coats hauled in 962 of BYU's total 3,369 passing yards.

Anae is not surprised at Harline.