How Steve Young fared in the BYU alumni game – Deseret News

Steve Young broke the rally on the old Provo High School football field with some of the same fire that fueled his Hall of Fame career. Under the Friday night lights, as a late surprise to the annual BYU Alumni Game, Young pulled off a play he'd seen before.

The former San Francisco 49er and BYU star took the snap and waited for a receiver to cross against a Navy defender in the back of the end zone. Areva Haifo (2016-2019) slipped out to Young's left and the left-hander floated it in for a touchdown.

“The play was called 'Shake!'” Shake! I was shaking,” Young told BYUtv while catching his breath. “Last fall, I coached the girls in flag football. The touchdown was Taylor Swift's 'Shake, Shake, Shake.' We didn’t need the Cougs’ stuff (Riley Nelson’s playbook). I have my own. Taylor Swift won the match. ”

Young (1980-1983) played in a touch football game for Team Navy, but threw an interception to linebacker Ouani Unga (2012-2013) on the second play, making a move unique to Taylor Swift. “I shook it off” and returned. One more drive in the second half.

Apparently more comfortable throwing to players wearing Royal jerseys rather than navy, Young changed teams and immediately sent his new team onto the field with a series of short passes.

“I was heading home,” Young said. “They said, 'Do you want to do one more play?'” I said, 'Okay, let's do one play,' and it went like this. ”

To the crowd's delight, Young's Royal roster hoisted him onto their shoulders. The former Super Bowl MVP threw his hands in the air as if he had just won another victory. Not a bad end to an unexpected day for Young.

“I didn't know (the game) was tonight,” Young said. “I was on campus and someone said, 'You know there's an alumni game tonight,' and I said, 'I've wanted to go to the alumni game for years!' I did. So here we are. My arms feel better than I expected. So what is it all about? Let's see what we can do. ”

Not getting carried away by BYU's most decorated quarterback, Max Hall (2006-2009), the program's winningest signal-caller (32 wins), marched Navy onto the field, and receiver Cody Hoffman (2009-2009) He took the lead again with a touchdown strike in 2013).

“We need to get them more here,” said head coach Kalani Sitake, who concludes spring practice next Saturday. “We need to get the legends here so the fans can interact with them. It's great for our team culture to have these mentors perform here. I can see myself working on it. It’s a lot of fun.”

Quarterback Jackson Brown (2002-2005) gave the Royals the lead back with a fourth-quarter touchdown pass and a circus catch by Neil Powe (2017-2021).

Navy fought back with a drive to the Royal goal line, but a pass from Jake Heaps (2010-2011) to Devon Blackmon (2014-2015) fell incomplete and time expired, with Royal trailing 18-13. won.

The game was played at the old Provo Field because LaVell Edwards Stadium's playing surface was being replaced.

First-half touchdowns included passes from Riley Nelson (2009-2012) to Mitch Jurgens (2014-2016) and from Heaps to Hoffman.