We both reached out to Ben (Cahoon). He came out to one of our spring practices and we were doing some seven on seven. Ben took me aside and said he wanted to offer him right then. – Max Hall
Max Hall should know something about receivers.
After all, Hall threw a lot of passes to Dennis Pitta and Austin Collie, two of the best pass catchers ever produced by BYU. And when he was with the Arizona Cardinals, his target was Larry Fitzgerald, the third overall NFL pick in 2004. Collie ended up as BYU’s all-time leading receiver and Pitta just finished leading all NFL tight ends in catches with 86.
BYU just signed Hall’s tight end, 6-foot-5, 230-pound Donovan Hanna. He helped lead American Leadership Academy in Queen Creek, Arizona, to the 3A state title. Hall is the school’s offensive coordinator.
Hanna is one of three tight ends signed by the Cougars in 2017. Others included 6-foot-5, 200-pound Bentley Hanshaw and 6-foot-5, 235-pound Isaac Rex.
You get the idea Ty Detmer and Ben Cahoon are dialing for tight ends, a historic strength of the program in Provo.
When Hall took the job at American Leadership Academy, he was excited to coach Hanna because he was nearly 6-foot-6, had a great wingspan and was fast. “He was a little raw when I first saw him, but he broke his wrist right before the season started his junior year,” said Hall.
Hanna made a comeback and got his confidence back late that year. Then Hall had Pitta, his brother-in-law, work out with Hanna this past summer, and Hanna ended up having a big senior year with nearly 1,000 yards on 53 catches with 10 touchdowns.
“He’s a special talent,” said Hall. “And I’m not just saying that because he’s my guy. He’s really smart, he understands the game, he makes adjustments really well, he runs great routes, catches everything thrown to him. He’s a big physical kid. He needs to work on his speed and getting off the line. When he gets to BYU, he needs to learn to put his hand in the dirt. I didn’t do that with him.”
Hanna is a 4.0 student and “everything you’d want” in a football player.
BYU’s interest began early. Hall asked former Cougar Tyler Kozlowski, son of Robbie Bosco target Glen Kozlowski, to help coach receivers at the academy because he knew some of Hall’s terminology and play calls.
Hall asked Kozlowski what he thought of Hanna, and Kozlowski told him he was very impressed. Hall decided he’d call BYU receivers coach Ben Cahoon about Hanna and another running back and receiver.
“We both reached out to Ben. He came out to one of our spring practices and we were doing some seven on seven. Ben took me aside and said he wanted to offer him right then. “He’s got size, he’s LDS, he has a ton of potential. Let me get with the coaches and get back to you,” said Cahoon. A few days later, they offered him. “I think it was pretty cool they offered him that fast.”
Hanna played defensive end, receiver and tight end. “He made big plays on both sides of the line," Hall said. "He had some sacks when we needed them. He made some catches in the playoffs that were just unbelievable. Probably our biggest rival was against a team called Florence. In both those games, he had touchdown catches that were basically bossing over two guys, jumping up and bringing it down.
“He was also a guy on third down and 7 or 8, and we went to him, no matter if he was double-teamed or not. We knew he’d come down with it.
“He’d have games where he’d have eight or nine catches, and he was almost unguardable. He made it fun to coach him.”
Hanna will go on an LDS mission after he graduates this summer, which Hall believes will give him a chance to grow into his 6-6 frame. “In time, I think he can be a Pitta or Andrew George type of playmaker for Detmer, who likes the tight end,” said Hall.
There’s an interesting crop of tight ends shaping up in the next few years for Detmer. He signed the son of former teammate Peter Tuipulotu — Hank Tuipolutu from Fort Mill, South Carolina, who is serving a church mission.
BYU returns Tanner Balderree and Nate Sampson. Matt Bushman comes with credentials. Steven Richards returns from an injury, along with Solomone Wolfgramm and Hunter Marshall, among others. While the spring roster hasn’t been published, if you start counting tight end possibilities, it is a true curtain call.
This position might be one of the most interesting to follow in 2017.
There will be bodies to sift through and choices to be made. Some might end up playing defensive end.
In time, Hall puts his money on his own.