BYU’s Leading Receiver Matt Bushman Returning For Senior Year
Dec 27, 2019, 6:51 PM | Updated: 7:27 pm
Matt Bushman #89 of the Brigham Young Cougars celebrates his touchdown against the Utah Utes in the first half of a game at Rice-Eccles Stadium on November 24, 2018 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images)
(Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images)
PROVO, Utah – One of the top players in the BYU football program currently is returning to Provo for his senior season. Tight End Matt Bushman announced on Friday night that he was returning to BYU in 2020, instead of moving on to the NFL.
This is big news for BYU as Bushman on paper will be the Cougars’ top returning receiver in the 2020 season. In his junior season this past year, he had 47 receptions for 688 yards and four touchdowns. In his three seasons with BYU, Bushman has had 1,719 receiving yards which puts him in the top seven among all tight ends in BYU history.
Prior to the Hawaii Bowl, Bushman said he would make a decision on his future with the Cougars and him opting to come back for his senior season puts him in a situation to potentially set records for tight ends at BYU.
#BYU TE Matt Bushman announced he is coming back for his senior season. Cougar TEs will be stacked in 2019.https://t.co/880aIpwohR#BYUFootball @kslsports pic.twitter.com/20VdGUYOsK
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 28, 2019
Bushman told KSL Sports in November that figuring out what was best for his family and the team would weigh heavily into his decision process. Bushman, who is married, is the son-in-law to former BYU and NFL tight end Chad Lewis.
With Bushman back, BYU’s tight ends on paper appear to be a strength of the 2020 Cougar football team. The Cougars lose Moroni Laulu-Pututau to graduation but redshirt freshman Isaac Rex showed a lot of promise towards the end of the season and has the potential to be the second tight end behind Bushman.
Other tight ends include Carter Wheat, Hank Tuipulotu who will be returning from his second ACL injury, and redshirt sophomore Alema Pilimai.
The Cougars bring Bushman back to 2020 but lost running back Ty’Son Williams who announced he would be foregoing a potential sixth year of eligibility to declare for the NFL Draft. Defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga is the other prospect for BYU that will have a decision to make regarding his future.
BYU begins winter conditioning for the 2020 season next month.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
