BYU football: Cougars excited for Jacobson's return

McKay Jacobson's wait is over.

The super sophomore BYU deep threat receiver will make his comeback this week just in time for a balmy trip to Laramie.

He couldn't wait.

Only five days ago, Jacobson and his coach, Patrick Higgins were unable to say when he would be allowed to run full speed and be cleared to play.

Jacobson didn't know what protocol he'd have to meet, what test he'd have to pass, what physical threshold he'd have to perform at in order to be cleared.

That is apparently over. On Monday, BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall said BYU medical personnel hadn't exactly publicly pronounced Jacobson's status, but he was doing it for them. "He'll play on Saturday."

Said Mendenhall: "He's practicing well enough to where I'm comfortable telling you that."

How big of news is this for the Cougar offense?

You could argue it could prove big. Just see how TCU built its entire defensive scheme around covering Dennis Pitta and you'll understand how Jacobson's speed could open up coverage options for Hall.

His effectiveness? That's another matter. A guy with a hamstring injury, coming back in a cold weather venue like Laramie?

Nobody knows how the time off has affected his timing with quarterback Max Hall. In his absence, Luke Ashworth has had plenty of big plays at the wide out position. In fact Ashworth has more catches (18) than Jacobson this season.

Still, Jacobson remains the fastest player on BYU's roster, the one legitimate deep threat and he's a proven commodity.

Jacobson's missed four games since injuring his hamstring warming up against Utah State. With eight games into the season, he's had a measly 11 catches.

That's not that impressive until you consider how those catches have come. He had a 70-yarder against Florida State. His TD catch late in the opener in Dallas lifted BYU to a win over Oklahoma.

Jacobson's 11 catches have gone for a whopping 280 yards, second on the team to Pitta's (583). His 2009 average per catch is 25.5 yards, significantly better than the active Division I leader, Demaryius Thomas of Georgia Tech (18.6 ypc).

"With McKay back, you'll see more rep distribution at wide receiver," said Mendenhall, who told reporters his staff will rotate more players in at other positions to keep bodies fresh in the final four games.

On Saturday, the Cougars face a Wyoming defense that's kept Dave Christensen's team in every game until the fourth quarter with the exception of the loss to Texas.