That could go on for the whole season. I have to correct them. I had to tell them, ‘That’s my twin brother, not me.’ I’m in a married ward and people should know that I’m Garrett. But still people came up to me. – Garrett Juergens, on being mistaken as his twin brother
PROVO — After a euphoric Saturday night that saw BYU knock off nationally ranked Boise State in dramatic fashion, the Cougars' Garrett Juergens showed up at church Sunday and was enthusiastically greeted by fellow LDS ward members.
“Nice catch!” some of them said.
Problem is, it was his identical twin brother, Mitchell Juergens, who hauled in Tanner Mangum’s 35-yard touchdown pass with 45 seconds remaining to put the Cougars ahead for good, 28-24.
“For a second, I want to play it off just not to make them feel awkward,” Garrett said, smiling. “But that could go on for the whole season. I have to correct them. I had to tell them, ‘That’s my twin brother, not me.’ I’m in a married ward and people should know that I’m Garrett. (Mitchell is not married.) But still people came up to me.”
While Mitchell, who’s listed at 5 foot 10, 180 pounds, is a star wide receiver for BYU, Garrett (5-10, 185) is a defensive back who suffered a broken clavicle during the fourth practice of fall camp.
From the sidelines at LaVell Edwards Stadium, Garrett was right there with his brother on that TD catch as Mitchell leaped in the air, stretched out his hands, grabbed the ball, and fell backward in the end zone.
Before the game, Mitchell had written the number "23" — Garrett’s jersey number — with a Sharpie on his left arm.
“He was playing for me,” Garrett said. “When I broke my collarbone, it was harder on him than it was on me. I was controlled and he came into the locker room and started crying. To say we have twin telepathy would be lie, because I can’t feel his pain. But emotionally, we feel everything for each other. He knew how bad I wanted a good fall camp. To see me go down, he knew how hard it would be for me. I know he’s playing for me a little bit because he writes my number on his arm. It’s awesome to be out there with him, even though I can’t be out there.”
The No. 19 Cougars are looking to keep rolling when they visit No. 10 UCLA Saturday (8:30 p.m., MDT, Fox Sports 1).
Mitchell, a one-time walk-on who earned a scholarship just a couple of weeks ago, scored his first touchdown of the season last Saturday night on the third play from scrimmage, when Mangum rolled out and threw a dart to him for an 84-yard touchdown — 51 seconds into the game.
“Both of us have worked so hard and I know how hard he works,” Garrett said. “To see it pay off in a game like that is rewarding for him and for me. On that play, I lost my voice.”
Fast forward to the final minute of the game. The Cougars were facing fourth-and-7 at the Boise State 35.
The play didn’t go exactly the way offensive coordinator Robert Anae had drawn it up.
“No, we were shooting for the sticks (going for a first down),” said Anae. “The read was blurry for (Mangum), and the protection held, so he worked the pocket. That’s his skill set, to create. He created. (Juergens) also created. When the ball was in the air he caught the high point. Quite a big play to make for a short guy. In my mind, it was outstanding.”
Before that play, Mitch Mathews, the 6-6 receiver who caught the Hail Mary at Nebraska one week earlier, thought the ball was coming to him.
“I was sprinting as hard as I possibly could and I look over my shoulder and I saw the ball floating halfway down the middle of its flight path and I said, ‘Oh my gosh, not again,’” Mathews said. “I had déjà vu from my catch. I said, ‘Somebody better come down with it.’ If there’s a guy to fight for a ball, it’s Mitch Juergens. He’s not the tallest guy in the world but he’s a guy that will play big and play tall when necessary. That’s what he did and he came down with it.”
“To be honest, I didn’t expect the ball,” said Mitchell Juergens, who caught four passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns against Boise State. “Knowing what the situation was, I thought it was going to one of our tall receivers. When I saw Tanner running around the pocket, I had my guy beat a little bit and I was like, ‘Is he going to throw this?’ He threw it and I just tried to make a play and fortunately I came down with it.”
What was Garrett’s view of the TD?
“Honestly, I wasn’t expecting a Hail Mary. I wasn’t expecting anything downfield,” he said. “I was expecting a play to get 7 yards and a first down. When Tanner scrambled and I saw both Mitch and Devon (Blackmon) going for the ball, I didn’t have a really good angle. I thought if both of them go for it, they could knock it away from the other one. I think I closed my eyes once the play happened. Before I knew it was a touchdown, I heard the crowd screaming and I saw him with his hands up. I was in shock. It took me five seconds to react.”
Mitchell Juergen’s second TD catch sparked a wild celebration, similar to the one when coach Bronco Mendenhall announced that Mitchell had been awarded a scholarship.
“When Mitch received his scholarship, the reaction of the team has never been like that,” Mendenhall said. “It was a mosh pit celebration because they respect him so much. That’s the best tribute anybody could ever pay. There is no one the team is happier to see make a play like that than Juergens. They respect him so much. The team is happier to see him make a play like that. He stretched out all 5 foot 7 of him, or however tall he is.”
Now Garrett, who has recovered quicker than expected from his collarbone injury, is waiting for his chance to make plays.
Mitchell and Garrett Juergens, who hail from Houston, spent the 2013 season together on the scout team after returning home from missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After that amount of time, many of their teammates, and coaches, can tell them apart.
“It’s gotten better over the years,” Garrett said.
But some still get the twins mixed up. And some just admit they can’t tell them apart. One day during fall camp, Anae and Mitchell Juergens ran into each other in the Student Athlete Building.
“Are you the healthy one or the hurt one?” Anae asked him.
“The healthy one,” Mitchell said.
Garrett is close to being another healthy Juergens twin. No matter the circumstances, they’ll continue playing for each other.
“We’re competitive, but we’re also very supportive,” Garrett said. “It was never one trying to beat out the other. That support has helped both of us. It’s not just me pulling for myself. Mitchell’s pulling for me too. We’re not doing it alone.”
No. 19 BYU (2-0) at No. 10 UCLA (2-0)
Saturday, 8:30 p.m. MT Rose Bowl
Pasadena, California
TV: Fox Sports 1
Radio: 1160 AM, 102.7 FM