It was supposed to be a somber moment for BYU football in Week 1. For a second consecutive season, Taysom Hill suffered a season-ending injury (right foot). Even the game against Nebraska was to be lost.
One pass from Tanner Mangum changed all that.
With Hill in the locker room, Mangum stepped in to finish 7-for-11 for 111 yards and the improbable game-winning TD. The freshman QB showed glimpses of why he was a heralded recruit and co-MVP of the Elite 11 with Jameis Winston.
His ability to extend the play with his feet -- scrambling for an additional 26 yards in his first appearance -- is already a concern for opposing defenses.
"We've got to contain the quarterback," Michigan LB Ben Gedeon said this week, per Detroit Free Press. "He makes a lot of plays scrambling around."
He makes plays, period.
This is probably the best description of Tanner Mangum ever written. pic.twitter.com/69fQyTiHb4
— Steve Pierce (@PostJimmer) September 26, 2015
The same cannot be said for Jake Rudock -- John Harbaugh's senior QB at Michigan. In three starts, Rudock is completing just 59 percent of his passes for 582 yards and three TDs. His five INTs highlight his biggest weakness, a propensity to turn the ball over.
In Rudock, Harbaugh has more questions than answers. Even his back Shane Morris leaves him in a pinch.
He has no prominent solution at the game's most important position. BYU does, which will allow them to avoid the growing pains a Division I program can ill-afford to have.
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