Utah Utes, BYU football: Logan aims for big impact on Wynn

Utah quarterback Jordan Wynn's biggest obstacle Saturday might be an undersized cornerback from BYU.

Junior college transfer Brian Logan, who is 5-foot-6 and 176 pounds, has made quite an impact in his first season with the Cougars. He enters Saturday's rivalry game tied for second in the nation in passes defended with 16.

In addition, Logan has 13 pass breakups, three interceptions and three tackles-for-loss.

Besides Logan, the BYU secondary also includes safeties Andrew Rich and Scott Johnson. They've each picked off three passes this season.

"They've been doing a good job keeping things in front of them," said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham.

Wynn, he added, has also done well.

"I thought he's handled his business pretty darn good," said Whittingham, who doesn't expect Wynn to be intimidated by the hostile environment at LaVell Edwards Stadium. "I don't think he's the type of guy that will do that. He's a very composed individual."

BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall also has a positive take on Wynn.

"He does throw the ball accurately, he does throw the deep ball especially well and he certainly has enough mobility to run their offense in addition to that," Mendenhall said.

Wynn will make his fourth collegiate start. He does so with an average of 198.2 passing yards per game.

David Reed has been the most popular target. The senior leads the Mountain West Conference in receiving yardage with 92.6 per game.

"He's a great player, from what I've seen on film. He's a playmaker," Johnson said. "It doesn't matter if he's open, he can still catch the ball in traffic. I feel like he's one of the better receivers that we've seen or that we will see. He does a great job."

BYU's pass defense is currently ranked fifth in the MWC. The Cougars are giving up an average of 220.7 yards per game.

It's nearly identical to Utah's passing offense, which nets 221.9 ypg.

e-mail: dirk@desnews.com