This is a guy with an NFL caliber ceiling. At the end of the day he’ll be a premiere QB in the country. – Yogi Roth, on Tanner Mangum
Tanner Mangum is in the thick of a real football summer.
This time a year ago, Tanner was just getting his stomach back to chowing down American food after spending two years in Chile. His body wasn’t ready for football. He prepared as if he would play, but he had no idea he’d end up playing every game in BYU’s 2015 season.
This time, he’s put on lean muscle. His weight is up and his body fat is down. He’s got definition in his body. His legs are trained, his reflexes tuned. He has a vision of what it takes after nearly leading the Cougars to road wins over Missouri, UCLA and a bowl win. He experienced Michigan, he helped save victories at Nebraska and with Boise State with spectacular highlight throws.
He joined other elite QBs at a prestigious national camp in Oregon last week. He was invited, celebrated.
Mangum said he is his own worst critic. After last year he wants to be more sound in his technique, be less antsy in the pocket, get to know his reads and listen to Ty Detmer. “I want to be more solid overall,” he said.
When he returned from Chile he was about 200 pounds and 18 percent body fat. “All that bread and Coca Cola, it didn’t sit well. Now I’m 215 with more muscle mass. The strength and conditioning staff has been pushing us hard. I feel good. It’s at that point where you are looking forward to fall camp. I feel a lot better.”
One guy who has noticed Mangum’s situation and will keep close tabs on his progress this year is Yogi Roth, a member of the Elite Eleven QB camp at which Mangum earned co-MVP honors with Jameis Winston a few years back.
Roth, now a Pac-12 TV color analyst, New York Times best-selling author and former member of USC’s coaching staff, said he had no idea Mangum had returned from Chile last year so soon before the 2015 season.
I spoke with Roth when co-hosting an ESPN960 radio program with Ben Criddle this past Thursday. Roth said Mangum told his story of last summer in a group meeting of college quarterbacks who were working as counselors at the Elite Eleven Open this past week. The group included Clemson’s Deshaun Watson and Miami’s Brad Kaaya.
In 2015, Roth said he didn’t see much development in Mangum because of his situation after coming off a mission and getting thrown into the fire when Taysom Hill got injured.
“Tanner came back in June, then had a regimented plan for getting ready for training camp. You can’t jump back, especially in football, or your arm will be gone. He went through this process for a couple of months to get ready. He prepared to play but didn’t expect to play and suddenly he was thrown in.”
Roth said for Mangum, it wasn’t about developing, it was all about surviving.
“He would say the same thing. He talked about it. Every week was a new nick, because he hadn’t practiced, he’d get a new little injury because his body wasn’t used to it. It’s like picking up a guitar. If you haven’t played it in a while and just pick it up you get blisters on your fingers. Imagine playing football and getting worked by linemen and linebackers.
“So, for me, he didn’t develop last year a lot. I can’t wait for him to develop from last year to this year. He has a very unique situation. He’s really worked on the mental side of the game with this new system brought in by Kalani Sitake and Ty Detmer. He is so jacked about it; he’s on cloud nine about what he’s learning and processing and the system they have put in. I think he’ll make a jump big time.”
Roth said this week he put all the QBs through a pro day script. It was 20 throws in seven minutes and they were “catalogue graduate level type throws,” not just a three-step slam and throw exercise.
“We started there, then brought a variety of route combinations into the scheme and he did fine. Tanner is 6-3 and when he’s through he’ll be 225 to 230. He’ll kill it with the testing and will kill it in the room with the GM’s and coaches. This is a guy with an NFL caliber ceiling. At the end of the day he’ll be a premiere QB in the country.”
Roth said Detmer will be a huge asset to BYU in recruiting not only because of his resume and knowledge of the game but because he was a high school coach. “I think that’s cool.”
Roth said Sitake and Detmer will be able to compete directly for recruits with USC, Ohio State and others because of the training and system they offer. “If a guy wants the BYU experience, that is.”
Roth remembers a prep player coached by Detmer who came to one of his camps and signed with the University of Miami. His name was Preston Dewey. “He was far ahead of everybody else in camp as far as processing the game,” said Roth.
Summer 2016 is a new era for Mangum.
This time he’ll be physically and mentally ready.
Imagine.
EMAIL: dharmon@deseretnews.com.
TWITTER: Harmonwrites