BYU Football: How Personnel on Offense Changes Following Matt Bushman's Injury
“BYU senior tight end Matt Bushman suffered a season-ending injury in practice Monday and will miss the 2020 football season.” BYU said in an official statement on Tuesday morning.
Bushman, to no surprise, was listed as the starting tight end on the depth chart that BYU released in anticipation for their season opener against Navy. Matt "Honey Hands" Bushman has led the Cougars in receiving yards the last three seasons. In 2019, he recorded a total of 47 receptions for 688 yards and four touchdowns.
So where will BYU turn without their top pass catcher?
BYU’s depth chart suggests that redshirt freshman Isaac Rex will move into the starting tight end spot In June, we picked Rex to have one of biggest breakout seasons of any player on BYU's roster. This is from an earlier story:
"Isaac Rex, the son of former BYU Tight End Byron Rex, is my leading candidate to have a breakout season in 2020. Rex only had one reception for 23 yards in 2019. (BYU Cougars) Following a redshirt season last year and an impressive showing during the few spring practices, I expect him to play a big role in the offense this season. Rex is 6'6, 250 lbs. and he moves really well. Rex uses all of his 6’6 frame to impact the game as a blocker and a receiver. He is a matchup nightmare for smaller Defensive Backs."
BYU will probably feature fewer 12 personnel sets and put more wide receivers on the field. BYU has other options at Tight End after Isaac Rex - players like Carter Wheat, Lane Lunt, Bentley Hanshaw, and Hank Tuipulotu could fill the backup TE role.
The Cougars have struggled to convert in the red zone and Matt Bushman would have likely been highly targeted in an attempt to turn things around this season. Coaches Jeff Grimes and Aaron Roderick will need to reconfigure their redzone strategy with Bushman stuck on the sidelines.