BYU Football: Midseason Awards for Players and Coaches

Football season is halfway over.

It's depressing, but true. We have only five, maybe six, more chances to watch Cody Hoffman, Kyle Van Noy and Daniel Sorensen (to name a few), and only two BYU home games remain.

On a brighter note, there have been several incredible individual performances this year, while other players have shined all year long. At the midway point, certain players, coaches and moments deserve awards, and here they are.

Offensive MVP: Taysom Hill

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Honorable Mention: Jamaal Williams (RB), Cody Hoffman (WR)

Although Williams and Hoffman have both put together solid performances, there wasn't much competition for the offensive MVP. Taysom Hill, despite a slow start to the season, has torn apart defenses in the last four games and brought quarterback dominance BYU hasn't seen in years.

Sure, he is still fairly inexperienced and makes a decent amount of mistakes, but Hill's stats in the last four games speak for themselves: 1,488 total yards, 11 total touchdowns, and 14 yards per completion on 66 percent passing.

It's hard to argue against a quarterback that has led an offense from struggle to success. Sure, Hill has been far from perfect, but this MVP award is well deserved.

Defensive MVP: Kyle Van Noy

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Honorable Mention: Uani 'Unga (LB), Daniel Sorensen (S), Alani Fua (LB)

Uani 'Unga has led this BYU defense in tackles, but none have played the huge role that Kyle Van Noy has. Consistently double-teamed and getting extra attention from offenses, Van Noy has still managed to shine and live up to expectations.

With 44 tackles on the season, 11 for loss, he has stuffed the statsheet. On top of that, he has four sacks, a pick-six, five pass breakups, 11 QB hurries, and a safety.

Van Noy will be a tough, tough player to replace, and we should all cherish the time we have left to watch him play.

Best Play: Taysom Hill's 68-Yard Touchdown Run vs. Texas

Honorable Mention: Cody Hoffman's TD reception vs. Houston; Alani Fua's Pick-Six vs. Georgia Tech, Kyle Van Noy's Pick-Six vs. Utah State

We have seen plenty of great plays this season, but none are as incredible or important as Taysom Hill's 68-yard touchdown against Texas. The play was the start of a huge game from Hill, and led to the flashiest win on BYU's resume.

Hill's touchdown to Hoffman against Houston was huge, as were Fua and Van Noy's pick-sixes against Georgia Tech and Utah State, but none were as unpredictable as a then-struggling quarterback blazing across 15th-ranked UT.

There is still plenty of time in the season for a big play to overshadow this, but as of now, Taysom Hill has won his second award.

Best Coach: Guy Holliday (Receivers)

Photo by BYUtvSports.com

Honorable Mention: Bronco Mendenhall (as defensive coordinator), Kelly Poppinga (outside linebackers), Mark Atuaia (running backs)

Of all the Cougar coaches this season, the most impressive has been Guy Holliday. No questions asked.

The receivers coach has brought nothing but hard-nosed, gritty class to BYU's program. He gets after his players and is almost drill sergeant-like, but he gets the work done. 

Read his quote after the sloppy Utah loss (via the Deseret News): “Nobody is as disappointed in the passing game as I am. No fan is even close to as disappointed as I am; it's my responsibility to fix it, and I’m going to get it done.”

While dropped passes were only a fraction of the aerial woes, Holliday took it as his responsibility to fix the whole scheme.

And fix it he did.

Most Improved Player: Mitch Mathews

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Honorable Mention: Uani 'Unga (LB), Taysom Hill (QB), Skyler Ridley (WR)

In 2012, Mitch Mathews caught a grand total of two passes for 27 yards. A season later, he trails only Cody Hoffman in receiving yards for BYU, despite being fourth in receptions.

Mathews leads the team in receiving touchdowns, and although it appeared his brother, Marcus, was poised to become the next great tight end/receiver combo, Mitch has stepped up this season.

Without Hoffman and JD Falslev, it will be great to have Mathews next year.

Rookie of the Year: Algernon Brown

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Honorable Mention: Dallin Leavitt (DB), Brayden Kearsley (OL)

If anyone said that Algernon Brown would be the top freshman at this point of the season, there's no way I would've believed it. BYU was bringing in a boatload of great first-year players, and heck, I hadn't heard much of an 'Algie Brown' until this run in fall camp.

With a logjam in the backfield, it appeared impossible for Brown to emerge as a good running back. But Michael Alisa, Adam Hine and Jamaal Williams, the top three running backs, all faced injury, and Brown was given the spotlight against Utah State.

He didn't disappoint, and made his first BYU end-zone trip against Georgia Tech.

Surprise Star: Uani 'Unga

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Honorable Mention: Mitch Mathews (WR), Paul Lasike (RB), Algernon Brown (RB)

Without Brandon Ogletree playing middle 'backer, the Cougar defense looked like it was done being a smash-mouth, run-stifling unit. Ogletree led the team in tackles in both 2011 and '12 and was named to the All-Independent First Team.

And then Uani 'Unga showed up.

An Oregon State transfer, we had seen 'Unga play in bits and pieces in 2012, but never looked like a starter. But a season later, the 6'1" linebacker has racked up 67 tackles, a team-best. He has made the future look bright for the BYU defense, and came out of nowhere to be a star.

Most Underrated Player: Daniel Sorensen

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Honorable Mention: Eathyn Manumaleuna (DL), JD Falslev (WR)

If there's one player that deserves a lot more credit than received, it's Daniel Sorensen. As arguably the best player in the Cougar secondary, there is no reason that he shouldn't be getting the same respect and praise as anyone else.

Sorensen refuses to give up; see his chase-down of Houston's Daniel Spencer on a fourth-quarter, blown-coverage pass. His two interceptions on the season lead the BYU defense, as do his nine pass-breakups.

He may not be the playmaking machine that Kyle Van Noy is, but Sorensen isn't getting close to the recognition he should.