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[a] Academic All-American [c] Consensus All-American [f] Freshman All-American |
See BYU's Media Guide for information about each of these players. |
Max Warner - Nicknamed "Greasy" came to BYU in 1931, and played for his first two years without a single substitution. In his third year he played for all but five minutes of the season. His teammates nicknamed him Greasy because he seemed to spend a lot of playing time in opponents backfields after slipping through lines. During his senior year at BYU he was elected team captain. He was named to the All-Conference team in 1933 and 1934, and became the first BYU football All-American during his senior year
Eldon Fortie - Nicknamed "The Phantom," Fortie broke 21 school records and is one of only two players in BYU football history to have his number retired. Rushed for 1,149 yards, an average of 5.8 per game, and passed for 814 yards in 1962. Holds BYU record for most rushing yards in a game (272).
Virgil Carter - Threw 141 completions for 2,182 yards and 21 touchdowns. Rushed for 363 yards. Led nation in total offense and touchdown passes. Set NCAA total offense record for one game (599). Most offensive plays in a career (1,059). NCAA post-graduate scholarship recipient.
Jay Miller - Led the nation in receiving with 100 receptions for 1,181 yards including eight touchdowns. Holds BYU record for most receptions in a game (22) and most receiving yards in a game (263).
Brad Oates - Recorded second highest grade ever for a BYU offensive lineman in 1975.
Orrin Olsen - Started all 11 games. Brother of Merlin and Phil Olsen.
Gifford Nielsen - Nicknamed the "Mormon Rifle," he threw 207 completions for 3,192 yards with 29 touchdown passes. Led nation in touchdown passes, second in total offense, fourth in passing. As a team, the Cougars finished first in passing (307.8), sixth in total offense (424.4) and eighth in NCAA scoring (31.9). 1994 College Football Hall of Fame inductee.
Marc Wilson - Threw 250 completions for 3,720 yards with 29 touchdown passes. Threw seven touchdown passes in first start. Led NCAA in total offense. Ranked fourth in the nation in passing efficiency with a 147.1 rating. 1979 Senior Bowl MVP. Finished third in Heisman voting. Set 10 NCAA records in his career. Winner of Sammy Baugh Trophy as College Passer of the Year. Led team to an undefeated regular season and was named the Holiday Bowl's Offensive MVP. 1996 College Football Hall of Fame inductee.
Clay Brown - Made game winning hail mary catch in 1980 Holiday Bowl against SMU. Member of Holiday Bowl Hall of Fame.
Nick Eyre - Nicknamed "The Bear." Was BYU's first consensus All-America lineman. Finished third in the Outland Trophy voting. Was a three-year starter for 24 consecutive games.
Jim Mcmahon - 1980 Led nation with 4,571 yards passing including 47 touchdowns. First Division I player to pass for more than 4,000 yards in a season. Set or tied 26 NCAA records. Led nation in total offense (385.6) and pass efficiency (176.9), which ranks second all-time in NCAA history. Finished fifth in Heisman voting. 1981 Won first-ever Davey O'Brien Award. Led nation with 3,555 yards passing including 30 touchdowns. Led the NCAA in pass efficiency (155.0) and total offense (345.8). Finished third in Heisman voting. Finished career with 70 NCAA records. 1998 College Football Hall of Fame inductee.
Dan Plater - Had 62 catches for 891 yards, an average of 5.2 yards per catch, including five touchdown passes.
Bart Oates - As a two-year starter on the offensive line, Oates earned Honorable Mention All-WAC in 1981 and All-WAC First Team in 1982. He was also named to the District VII. Oates also enjoyed a successful career in the NFL.
Gordon Hudson - A two-time All-American, Hudson had 67 catches for 928 yards and six touchdowns in 1982 and 44 catches for 596 yards six touchdowns in 1983. He was also a two-time first-team All-WAC selection.
Steve Young - Won Davey O'Brien Award and finished runner-up for the Heisman. BYU led nation in total offense and was second in scoring. Cougars set NCAA total offense record with 584.2 yards per game.
Robbie Bosco - Led BYU to only National Championship in school history. Led nation in passing and finished runner-up in passing efficiency (151.8). Runner-up for Davey O'Brien Award and third in Heisman voting.
Kyle Morrell - As BYU's safety Morrell was honored as the WAC Defensive Player of the Year with 70 tackles, three interceptions and one sack.
Leon White - MVP on Defense at 1984 Holiday Bowl. Recorded 90 tackles, 5 tackles for loss and two sacks.
Marv Allen - 131 tackles, four tackles for loss, four interceptions and one sack.
Mark Bellini - Walk-on led BYU with 63 receptions for 1,008 yards, including 14 touchdowns.
Jason Buck - Became only the third player in the Western United States to win Outland Trophy. Had 59 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks in 1986.
Pat Thompson - Led conference in punting with 49 punts for 2,195 yards, an average of 44.8 yards per punt. Led the nation in punting for much of the season.
Mo Elewonibi - Didn't play football until after high school. Led BYU to a 10-3 record, a berth in the Holiday Bowl and graded out four times with perfect pass protection as a senior.
Bob Davis - Had 137 tackles, including six sacks. Dick Butkus Award candidate.
Chris Smith - 1989 Led team with 60 catches for 1,090 yards, including five touchdowns. 1990 Set NCAA record for tight end with 1,154 yards receiving. Caught 67 passes and scored two touchdowns.
Ty Detmer - 1990, 1991 First collegian from the Rockies to win the Heisman Trophy. Passed for 5,188 yards and 41 touchdowns. Member of the NCAA All-Decade team. Still holds 58 NCAA records. His career record of 15,031 yards passing is nearly 4,000 yards more than anyone else in Division I history.
Byron Rex - Earned second-team UPI All-America and first-team All-WAC honors as a senior. Credited with 45 receptions for 612 yards and five touchdowns in his final season with the Cougars.
Eric Drage - Led BYU with 54 catches for 867 yards, including five touchdowns. Is BYU's all-time leading receiver with 3,066 yards. NCAA post-graduate scholarship recipient.
Alan Boardman - Started four seasons and set BYU career record for punts at 204 for 8,636 yards and a 42.3 average.
Chad Lewis - All-WAC selection who recorded 24 consecutive games with a catch. Had 10 touchdowns and 110 receptions in his BYU career.
Itula Mili - Had 46 catches for a nation-leading 692 yards and three touchdowns for tight ends. First-team All-WAC after senior season.
Ben Cahoon - Led BYU with 57 catches for 931 yards, including four touchdowns.
Rob Morris - Two-time all-conference selection. His 345 career tackles is eighth all-time at BYU. Was a first round draft pick in 2000 by the Indianapolis Colts.
Jared Lee - Had 86 tackles including three for loss. National College Football Foundation and Hall of Fame National Scholar Athlete. He was also named a Verizon Academic All-American.
Luke Staley - NCAA leader in scoring (15.45 points per game)and third in the nation rushing average at 143.82 yards per game. Set BYU single season records in touchdowns scored (28), Most points scored (170) and rushing yards (1,596). Led BYU to 12-2 record and MWC Championship.
Ryan Denney - Mountain West Conference first team selection was named BYU's defensive MVP and was 2002 Senior Bowl Defensive MVP. He was also named as a Sporting News Fourth-Team All-American selecti
Matt Payne - In 2004 he was named AFCA and Sporting News First Team All-American and AP Second Team All-American as a punter. 2004 Ray Guy and lou Groza Award Semifinalist. Led the nation with 51 punts for an average of 48.0 yards per punt while earning All-America honorable mention recognition in 2002. He was also an All-MWC First Team selection three times (2002-04).
Daniel Coats - Set a BYU freshman tight end receiving record with 30 receptions for 378 yards and four touchdowns. Named a Sporting News Freshman All-American in 2003.
Austin Collie - Named a Sporting News Second Team Freshman All-American in 2004 after leading the nation's freshman receivers with 4.82 catches per game and 70.1 yards per game. He was also the 2004 MWC Freshman of the Year.
Dallas Reynolds - Named a Sporting News Third Team Freshman All-American and a Rivals.com Second Team Freshman All-American in 2005 after anchoring an offensive unit that was ranked No. 13 in the nation. He started in all 12 games as a freshman.
Jonny Harline - Picked up six All-America citations, including First Team honors from The Sporting News, ESPN, College Football News, CBS Sportsline.com, SI.com and Third Team honors from the Associated Press. Harline led all BYU receivers in receiving yards (935) and touchdowns (12).
John Beck - Named a Sporting News Second Team All-American while picking up Honorable Mention citations from CBS Sportsline.com, Pro Football Weekly and College Football News. Beck finished his BYU career as the second Cougar passer to surpass to 10,000-yard mark.
Jake Kuresa - Named a College Football News Second Team All-American while earning an Honorable Mention citation from The Sporting News. Anchored an offensive unit that was fourth in the nation in yards per game. He started games at tackle, guard and center during the 2006 season.
Jan Jorgensen - Earned Third Team Freshman All-America honors from the Sporting News. Jorgensen started each of BYU's 13 games as a freshman. He tied for the team league with five sacks and led all defensive linemen with 34 total tackles.
Harvey Unga - Named a Rivals.com Second Team Freshman All-American in 2007 after compiling 1,050 rushing yards and 600 receiving yards. Unga is the Cougars' all-time leading freshman running back and the first BYU freshman to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark in a single season. He holds the school record for most 100-yard rushing games as a freshman with seven and holds the MWC Freshman Rushing record with 1,227 yards.
