BYU TE Matt Bushman Out For 2020 Season From Injury Suffered In Practice

PROVO, Utah – BYU senior tight end Matt Bushman is out for the 2020 season.

The BYU Athletic Department issued a press release on Tuesday with the following statement, “BYU senior tight end Matt Bushman suffered a season-ending injury in practice Monday and will miss the 2020 football season.”

Official from #BYU: Senior right end Matt Bushman is out for the season due to an injury suffered in practice on Monday.#BYUFootball @kslsports

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) September 1, 2020

Multiple reports have indicated that Bushman suffered an Achilles injury.

Bushman turned down an opportunity to play in the NFL and returned to BYU with hopes of improving the Cougars record on the field and his NFL Draft stock.

The son-in-law to former BYU tight end great Chad Lewis, Bushman has led BYU in receiving yards the past three seasons. Becoming only the third BYU tight end in program history to accomplish such a feat. Bushman had the potential to become only the second player in program history to lead BYU in receiving yards all four years of his career until the injury struck.

Late Monday night, KSL Sports reported that the team gathered in prayer after Bushman suffered the injury on the practice fields. Sources have told KSL Sports that players were emotional and crying after seeing a teammate who had been a leader by example in the program during his career.

The NCAA has a blanket waiver available to all players this year in regards to eligibility, so Bushman could return to BYU in 2021 if he wished to do so. But it’s possible Bushman could move forward and begin training for the NFL Draft.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.