It’s first down and goal at the Oklahoma 6-yard line with 3:08 to play. Upset-minded BYU, who trailed the No. 3 Sooners 13-7, had just completed a first-down pass on fourth and 4 to stay on the attack.
Quarterback Max Hall looked over the defense in the shotgun formation. He had 6-foot-5 tight end Dennis Pitta lined up to his right and 6-5 tight end Andrew George positioned to his left. On the snap, the pair of giants ran toward the goal line, turned around and stopped.
“We are trying to get those safeties who are playing down and tight because there is no field to play behind you, and so when we post up at the goal line, that safety has a decision to make. Do I play that tight end at the goal line, or do I hang back and let him catch it for a touchdown?” George told the “Y’s Guys” livestream show this week. “Both safeties clamp on me and Dennis the minute we turn to the inside and behind us is a little dig concept that seemed to always be open.”
With two Oklahoma defenders near George and four around Pitta, Hall fired a strike to a wide-open McKay Jacobsen in the back of the end zone to give BYU one of the biggest wins in program history.
This is what having two big tight ends on the field together can do — no matter what they are doing. It’s also what offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick is restoring to the Cougars’ offense with 6-4 Walker Lyons and 6-4 Roger Saleapaga II.
“It’s the ability to be multiple without changing your personnel,” George said. “That is dynamic for a defense to try and match up against. If you have tight ends who can run, stretch the field and block, it makes it really difficult on the defense to know how to scheme you.”
George and Pitta, a consensus All-American, combined for over 3,700 receiving yards and 32 touchdowns during their three-year stretch together (2007-09). With a dangerous quarterback (Hall) and a star runner (Harvey Unga), BYU turned the tight end duo into a nightmare for opposing defenses.
“We played a ton of 12-personnel (single back and two tight ends), so Dennis and I would be on the field at the same time and we would start out in a two-by-two spread formation,” George explained. “We would motion me across and lead block (or) we would start out one-attached (or) trips with me attached and Dennis wide.
“We’d motion Dennis into the backfield in the I-formation (and) we’d go from a jumbo set into a trips formation or an empty, so you have the same personnel on the field (and) a defense is looking at it like — OK, we came out in an I-formation, but we shifted into something that looks like spread and suddenly they have their run-heavy defense on the field and now they are trying to defend the pass.
“It makes them have to play vanilla so they have to pick their poison — are they going to try and stop the run or put some coverage guys back there? It creates matchup problems and makes it really difficult for a defense to scheme you up and (get the right personnel for) what you are doing.”
During that three-year run with a one-two punch at tight end, the Cougars went 32-7. Hall threw for over 11,000 yards; Austin Collie caught 162 passes for 2,484 yards and 22 touchdowns (2007-08) and Unga rushed for 3,446 yards and 35 touchdowns.
BYU tight end Walker Lyons runs after a catch during spring drills at BYU's outdoor practice facility on March 2, 2026. | Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo“The strength of our offense back when Dennis and I played, no disrespect to our receivers, love them, but when you have Harvey Unga, Manase Tonga and Fui Vakapuna at running back, you want those guys on the field as much as possible, and then you mix in those two tight ends with them,” George said. “It also created a lot of single matchups on the outside (where Collie thrived).
“That can happen too with this team. Lean on those backs (LJ Martin and Sione Moa) and tight ends (Lyons and Saleapaga) and get teams to play from the inside out and now you are going to have single coverage on the outside for those skilled wide receivers (Jojo Phillips, Kyler Kasper and Legend Glasker) they have on the team.”
George contends sophomore quarterback Bear Bachmeier stands to be the biggest benefactor.
“I think it’s a comfort level for a quarterback, especially a young quarterback. Nothing makes you feel more confident than having a 6-4 or 6-5 tight end who can catch the ball with a big radius. You can put it anywhere near him and it’s like, the tight end is going to catch it, or no one is going to catch it,” George said. “At least, that’s how I always felt.
“I know Dennis felt the same way. There is a comfort level there for the quarterback. If he’s got those big bodies on either side, with the right concept, oh man, it’s an easier throw for the quarterback. He can throw with confidence. It can just help Bear take that next step forward. It’s only going to open up things on the outside when the time is right.”
George and Pitta shared the field on their final and most-memorable play at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Nov. 28, 2009. The Cougars trailed Utah 23-20 in overtime. On the shotgun snap to Hall, Pitta cut to his right while George ran to the middle.
“They (Utah) had the perfect coverage on. They had a clamp coverage, it was manned up across the board, and they played the safety down tight to take away anything over the middle,” George said. “There wasn’t a lot of space for Max to throw that ball. But he trusted that I’m going to be able to body-up the guy on me — either I’m going to catch it, or nobody is going to catch it. He fits it into a tight window. We are able to complete it. They miss the tackle and that was that.”
The royal euphoria that followed George’s touchdown, as BYU celebrated a 26-23 victory, was the result of countless hours of practice, which is what Bachmeier, Lyons and Saleapaga are trying to replicate in fall camp — 17 years after George and Pitta set the standard. Getting there won’t be easy, but George believes it’s possible.
“The confidence, the timing, the rhythm, that’s going to be key,” he said. “For these tight ends right now, it’s how quickly they can develop the chemistry with Bear and that will determine how fast they are able to move forward and create plays for (both of them).”
The first experiment outside the lab is coming quickly. BYU’s season opener is two weeks from Saturday against Utah Tech (6 p.m. MDT, ESPN+).
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.
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