Cougs Daily

Postgame Awards from BYU's Win Over Wyoming

Casey Lundquist

Keelan Marion scores a touchdown on a kickoff return against Wyoming
Keelan Marion scores a touchdown on a kickoff return against Wyoming / BYU Photo
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BYU improved to 3-0 on Saturday night with a road win over Wyoming. Today, we're handing out postgame awards for BYU-Wyoming.

Player of the Game - Chase Roberts

Chase Roberts is BYU's leading wide receiver by a wide margin. Roberts was BYU's best wide receiver against the Cowboys. He was making contested catches and creating chunk-yardage plays. He finished with 6 catches for 129 yards.

Roberts has the best chemistry with BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff.

Play of the Game - Keelan Marion Kickoff Return

The was an easy one. Since the turn of the century, BYU has averaged about one kickoff return for a touchdown every ten years. On Saturday night against Wyoming, Keelan Marion took the second half kickoff back 103 yards for the score. The blocking was great to give Marion a hole to run through, then he did the rest. The last 40 yards were pretty spectacular. Marion made a tackler miss, stiff-armed another would-be tackler, and outran the Wyoming kicking unit.

Newcomer of the Game - Jack Kelly

BYU has been looking for someone to get after the quarterback dating back to 2018. Jack Kelly has been BYU's most consistent threat as a pass rusher. Kelly had BYU's lone sack of the night against Wyoming.

Freshman of the Game - Pokaiaua Haunga

Haunga tallied 35 rushing yards on just 5 attempts, averaging 7.0 yards per carry. That's the highest per-carry average by any BYU running back in 2024 (minimum five carries). He also had one reception for 11 yards.

Haunga displayed a combination of vision and burst that, frankly, BYU has lacked since LJ Martin left the lineup. In the opinion of this author, he made a case to get more carries for BYU in the coming weeks while LJ Martin recovers from an ankle injury.

Coach of the Game - Kelly Poppinga

Special teams coordinator Kelly Poppinga gets the nod in this one due to the kickoff return for a touchdown. BYU was also 2/2 on field goals.

BYU's special teams haven't been perfect since Poppinga took over, but the return game has been markedly better. Marion's touchdown against Wyoming should have been his second kickoff return for a touchdown in a BYU uniform. Marion had one last season against West Virginia that was called back for holding (the holding occured away from the play).

Kingston has also shown flashes as a punt returner.

The kickoff return for a touchdown essentially ended the game - it squashed Wyoming's hopes of a comeback.

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Casey Lundquist

CASEY LUNDQUIST

Casey Lundquist is the publisher and lead editor of Cougs Daily. He has covered BYU athletics for the last four years. During that time, he has published over 2,000 stories that have reached more than three million people.

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