PROVO — For all the talk about BYU’s older players, like 26-year-old quarterback Taysom Hill, Saturday’s season-opener against Arizona came down to the foot of a baby-faced, freshman walk-on place-kicker, Jake Oldroyd.
Fittingly, Oldroyd’s 33-yard game-winning kick with four seconds remaining gave BYU 18 points — 18 happens to be Oldroyd’s age — in an 18-16 victory over the Wildcats.
“It was crazy,” Oldroyd told reporters after the game. “I’m trying to let it all sink in. Not the whole team even knew who I was before this. There’s a lot of people who didn’t know my name before now.”
Later that night, Oldroyd tweeted, “I just met a lot of new friends. Thank you all.”
During BYU’s final drive, assistant coach and special teams coordinator Ed Lamb recommended to coach Kalani Sitake that he should send in Oldroyd for the final kick. Sitake trusted Lamb, who trusted in Oldroyd, who ended up as the unlikely hero.
On the final drive — BYU marched 53 yards on nine plays in 1:16 — seniors Hill and Jamaal Williams put the Cougars in position to win. And the freshman delivered in dramatic fashion at about midnight Utah time.
“I was joking around afterwards that there’s been so much conversation about my age, and being 26,” Hill said. “I told my teammates I’m too old for this much stress. But it was a great win. I trusted the kicker and I trusted coach Lamb putting Oldroyd in. He did a great job.”
Earlier in Saturday’s game, the Cougars exhibited place-kicking woes. Rhett Almond kicked a wobbly 24-yard field goal and he later missed a PAT. So the coaches turned to Oldroyd for his first career field goal attempt for BYU.
“You’ve got to have faith in your teammates,” said running back Jamaal Williams. “There was no doubt on that sideline. Everyone was believing for him to make that field goal. To see him coming off smiling, it’s great for him to have that type of accomplishment. We couldn’t be prouder of him.”
Now for the rest of the improbable story.
Oldroyd, who graduated from Carroll High School in Southlake, Texas, a few months ago, didn’t even kick during his senior year, meaning that the last time he had attempted a kick in a game was two years ago. But he was a perfect 60 of 60 in PATs and 8 of 8 in field goal attempts in his two seasons.
He’s still perfect.
Oldroyd tore his meniscus in his non-kicking knee early in fall camp and didn't return to practice until last Monday. He wasn’t even listed on BYU’s depth chart going into the game and he almost wasn't put on the travel roster.
Meanwhile, Oldroyd was set to turn in his mission papers Sunday, with plans to leave for missionary service after the season is over.
“He has some things to do before his mission call,” Sitake said.
In the season-opener a year ago at Nebraska, it was quarterback Tanner Mangum who was thrust into action, and he threw a game-winning Hail Mary as time expired.
Once again, a freshman came through for BYU.
For the Cougars, it was an idyllic way to enter rivalry week, as BYU visits Utah Saturday (5:30 p.m. MDT, Fox).
Ironically, exactly 10 years earlier in the season-opener between BYU and Arizona in Tucson, the Wildcats’ Nick Folk drilled a 48-yard field goal with five seconds left for a 16-13 win over the Cougars.
Saturday, BYU turned the tables on Arizona.
“I told him I wanted to give him a big kiss," Hill said of Oldroyd. "I didn’t, but it’s so much fun to put so much work into performing and then you have an opportunity and he took full advantage of that opportunity. I couldn’t be happier or prouder of him.”
EMAIL: jeffc@deseretnews.com