Tight ends stepping up for BYU

PROVO — On the same day Bronco Mendenhall was introduced as BYU's head coach in December 2004, the school also introduced Robert Anae as the program's offensive coordinator.

Anae, who had spent the previous five years at Texas Tech as an offensive line coach, was bringing with him a Red Raider-style offense that doesn't utilize the tight end, mitigating the effectiveness of a traditional BYU offensive weapon.

That didn't last long, however.

During the Cougars' 31-10 defeat at San Diego State early in the 2005 season, tight end Jonny Harline showcased his abilities, catching seven passes for 123 yards. Anae, Mendenhall and the rest of the coaching staff concluded that Harline, as well as fellow tight end Daniel Coats, were being underutilized. From that point on, Harline and Coats became heavily involved in the offensive game plan and posted impressive outings the rest of that season and throughout the 2006 campaign.

"It wasn't until the San Diego State game that we realized we could utilize our tight ends more and reshape our offense to include them at a higher level," Mendenhall said.

The tight end position will continue to be a prominent part of the BYU arsenal, said Mendenhall, noting that the Cougars can routinely attract plenty of 6-foot-3, 235-pounders that run well.

"It is a very strong recruiting pull for us," he said. "BYU has had a strong tradition."

That tradition includes former All-America honorees such as Clay Brown, Gordon Hudson, David Mills, Trevor Molini, Chris Smith, Chad Lewis and Itula Mili.

While Harline and Coats are gone, the Cougars are adding to their tight end tradition this season with a triple threat — sophomores Dennis Pitta, Andrew George and Vic So'oto.

Pitta leads the way with 24 receptions for 375 yards and three touchdowns. So'oto has hauled in five passes for 63 yards while George has four grabs for 73 yards.

"We usually have three per game that are contributing," Mendenhall said.

After a solid freshman campaign in 2004, Pitta returned from his LDS mission last December and has been a consistent contributor and playmaker. He knows all about the standard of excellence at the tight end position at BYU.

"There have been some great tight ends that have come through here," Pitta said. "We have big shoes to fill. We just play to the best of our ability and try to fill those shoes."