BYU Football’s Best Players By Position Since 2000
Jun 10, 2025, 11:52 AM | Updated: Jun 11, 2025, 8:28 am
PROVO, Utah—It’s hard to believe, but BYU football has already played 25 seasons since the calendar turned to the 2000s.
Father Time is always victorious, and there’s no doubt about that with how fast the years are flying by.
The Cougar Sports Saturday team (Saturdays, KSL NewsRadio 102.7 FM, 1160 AM) looked back on the past 25 years of BYU football by putting together an All-2000s team.
BYU football All-2000s Team: Offense
On offense, we picked one quarterback, two running backs, three wide receivers, one tight end, and five offensive linemen.
Quarterback: Max Hall
The all-time winningest quarterback in BYU football history. Hall posted a record of 32-7 in his three years as a starting quarterback at BYU.
In all three seasons, he led BYU to 10-plus win seasons. What’s even more impressive is that he didn’t miss a start in all three years as a starter.
Hall is also the last BYU quarterback to lead the Cougars to a conference championship in 2007.
As you would expect at the quarterback position for BYU football, there were great candidates to make a case for the top quarterback spot. Those include John Beck, Brandon Doman, Taysom Hill, Zach Wilson, and Jaren Hall. But Max Hall stands above the rest in the 21st century.
Running Back: Luke Staley & Jamaal Williams
It’s hard to argue against a Doak Walker Award winner and BYU football’s all-time leading rusher.
Luke Staley put together one of the best individual seasons Cougar fans have ever witnessed from a BYU running back in 2001. He rushed for 1,582 yards and averaged eight yards per carry, racking up those numbers in only 11 games played.
Staley helped lead BYU to a 12-0 start in 2001, before suffering a season-ending injury. When healthy, Staley was dominant at BYU.
Jamaal Williams arrived at BYU as a 17-year-old kid in 2012, then he left the program in 2016 as a man and the program’s all-time leading rusher.
Williams rushed for 3,901 yards and 35 touchdowns during his four years at BYU.
Other BYU running backs considered were Curtis Brown, Harvey Unga, and Tyler Allgeier. You could argue the top five running backs to play at BYU have donned the blue and white in the past 25 years.
Wide Receiver: Austin Collie, Puka Nacua, Cody Hoffman
Magic happened when Austin Collie was targeted.
It’s hard to argue against Collie being the greatest wide receiver in BYU football history. In the 2008 season, Collie was unstoppable, posting 11 consecutive 100-plus receiving yard performances.
During that junior campaign in 2008, he finished with 1,538 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns.
Cody Hoffman finished as the program’s all-time leading receiver with 3,612 receiving yards and 33 touchdowns after arriving on campus as an unheralded two-star prospect.
Hoffman put up those numbers during a time (2010-2013) when BYU lacked stability at the quarterback position, which makes those numbers even more impressive.
Puka Nacua’s time at BYU was brief, with only two seasons in Provo after transferring from the University of Washington, but it was an impactful two years. The highlight moment of Nacua’s time in Provo was a 14-catch performance against Boise State that was capped off by a game-winning acrobatic touchdown.
Tight End: Dennis Pitta
When you needed a first down, Dennis Pitta was always there for quarterback Max Hall.
Dennis Pitta finished his career at BYU with 221 receptions, 2901 receiving yards, and 21 touchdown catches.
He was critical to BYU’s three-year run from 2007 to 2009, during which the Cougars won 32 games.
Offensive Line: Brady Christensen, Blake Freeland, Jake Kuresa, Ray Feinga, Connor Pay
With the offensive line, we tried to take the best players available regardless of position. The five that we landed on easily give us a group with two tackles, two guards, and one center.
Brady Christensen was the best of the group, earning Consensus All-American honors in the 2020 season at left tackle. Blake Freeland was on the same offensive line with Christensen in 2020, then stepped into the left tackle spot in 2021 and became a star.
Jake Kuresa and Ray Feinga were standout interior offensive linemen protecting for the likes of John Beck and Max Hall.
Connor Pay was an excellent center for BYU for five seasons.
Braden Hansen, Caleb Etienne, Matt Reynolds, Tejan Koroma, and Travis Bright were also considered for the offensive line.
BYU football All-2000s Team: Defense
For the defense, we picked four defensive linemen, four linebackers, two cornerbacks, and two safeties.
Defensive Line: Jan Jorgensen, Bronson Kaufusi, Tyler Batty, Khyiris Tonga
Like the offensive line, we went with the best players available regardless of position. These four players recorded over 80 sacks during their careers at BYU, with Jan Jorgensen leading the way with 30.
Jorgensen’s 30 sacks rank second in BYU football history.
Bronson Kaufusi is the last BYU player to post more than 10 sacks in a season in 2015.
Tyler Batty finished his BYU career with 16.5 sacks and was a first-team All-Big 12 selection in 2024.
BYU captains Tyler Batty and Connor Pay share how they want the 2024 senior class to be remembered. pic.twitter.com/5QKXbJdDe4
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 29, 2024
Khyiris Tonga anchored the interior of BYU’s defensive line and was an NFL draft pick. He’s entering his fifth season in the NFL.
Linebacker: Kyle Van Noy, Fred Warner, Cameron Jensen, Brady Poppinga
Kyle Van Noy is arguably the greatest defensive player in BYU football history. During his four years at BYU, Van Noy had 222 tackles, 61.5 tackles for loss, 26 sacks, 12 forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, 30 quarterback hurries, and 16 pass breakups.
His successor in 2014 was a young Fred Warner, who also went on to a decorated career at BYU. Warner started in 42 games during his four years in Provo.
Brady Poppinga was a three-time All-Mountain West Conference selection as a Cougar. He’s the only player in BYU history to achieve the honor from three different positions, but we slid him in as a linebacker for this all-time team.
Cameron Jensen was a leader in BYU football’s turnaround during the early years under former head coach Bronco Mendenhall. “The General” finished his BYU career with 294 tackles and six sacks.
Cornerback: Jernaro Gilford & Jakob Robinson
Jernaro Gilford set the tone for excellent cornerback play in the 21st century at BYU, finishing his career with 10 interceptions. Years later, he coached one of the all-time great cornerbacks at BYU in Jakob Robinson.
Robinson played four years at BYU and had 11 interceptions, 182 tackles, and eight tackles for loss.
Whenever BYU’s defense needed a big play, Jakob Robinson was there to make it happen.
Safety: Kai Nacua & Aaron Francisco
Kai Nacua was a ballhawk with a knack for making big plays in his BYU career. He finished his career with 163 tackles and 14 interceptions.
Pairing Nacua’s ability to generate takeaways with Aaron Francisco’s hard-hitting ability would be a great duo on the back end of a defense.
Francisco started all four years at safety in his BYU career. He finished with 330 tackles.
BYU football All-2000s Team: Special Teams
On special teams, we picked one kicker, one punter, and two return specialists.
Kicker: Will Ferrin
A current player cracks into the all-time team for the 21st century. Ferrin has been excellent in his first two seasons, making 35 of his 41 field goal attempts.
Last season, he was four of five on field goal attempts from 50-plus yards.
But his all-time status in BYU lore was cemented when he booted a 44-yard field goal through the uprights against rival Utah last season.
WILL FERRIN CALLS GAME 🚨#Big12FB | 📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/njxuPwhdSG
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) November 10, 2024
Punter: Matt Payne
Matt Payne is the leader in BYU football history for punts with 8,713 over 192 punts in his four seasons at BYU. He also has one of the five longest punts in BYU history, a 79-yard punt against No. 1 USC in 2004.
Also, how can you forget his ability to lay the hit stick on return men?
Return Specialists: Keelan Marion & Parker Kingston
BYU’s special teams unit in 2024 produced five touchdowns. Four of those five touchdowns were from Keelan Marion and Parker Kingston. Marion earned First Team All-American honors and then transferred to Miami. Kingston received less fanfare for his returns but delivered some game-changing punt returns for scores against Kansas State and Colorado in the Alamo Bowl.
Others considered for the return specialists spot include JD Falslev, Adam Hine, and Cody Hoffman.
Individual All-2000s BYU football teams by Cougar Sports Saturday
Mitch Harper
QB – Max Hall
RB – Luke Staley & Jamaal Williams
WR – Austin Collie / Puka Nacua / Cody Hoffman
TE – Dennis Pitta
OL – Brady Christensen / Blake Freeland / Ray Feinga / Caleb Etienne / Braden Hansen
DL – Jan Jorgensen / Tyler Batty / Bronson Kaufusi / Khyiris Tonga
LB – Kyle Van Noy / Fred Warner / Brady Poppinga / Cameron Jensen
CB – Jernaro Gilford & Jakob Robinson
Safety – Kai Nacua & Aaron Francisco
K – Will Ferrin
P – Matt Payne
KR – Keelan Marion
PR – Parker Kingston
Matt Baiamonte
QB – Max Hall
RB – Luke Staley & Jamaal Williams
WR – Austin Collie / Cody Hoffman / Mitch Mathews
TE – Dennis Pitta & Jonny Harline
OL – Tejan Koroma / Matt Reynolds / Brady Christensen / Blake Freeland / Jake Kuresa
DL – Tyler Batty / Bronson Kaufusi / Khyiris Tonga / Jan Jorgensen
LB – Fred Warner / Kyle Van Noy / Cameron Jensen / Brandon Ogletree
CB – Jernaro Gilford & Jakob Robinson
Safety – Andrew Rich & Daniel Sorensen
K – Jake Oldroyd
P – Ryan Rehkow
KR – Keelan Marion
PR – Parker Kingston
Nate Slack
QB – Max Hall
RB – Luke Staley & Tyler Allgeier
WR – Austin Collie / Puka Nacua / Cody Hoffman
TE – Dennis Pitta & Jonny Harline
OL – Ray Feinga / Jake Kuresa / Blake Freeland / Brady Christensen / Dallas Reynolds
DL – Bronson Kaufusi / Jan Jorgensen / Brett Keisel
LB – Kyle Van Noy / Fred Warner / Cameron Jensen / Brady Poppinga
CB – Jernaro Gilford & Jakob Robinson
Safety – Kai Nacua & Aaron Francisco
K – Will Ferrin
P – Matt Payne
KR – Keelan Marion
PR – Parker Kingston
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
