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Provo • Players who are listed as tight ends on BYU's depth chart have caught zero passes for the Cougars this year, a startling statistic considering the program's success at the position the past four decades.
Well, Remington Peck hopes to change all that.
Yes, that Remington Peck, the one who has spent all four of his seasons at BYU playing defensive end after being recruited out of Bingham High as a tight end way back in 2008.
"He's been a good addition," offensive coordinator Robert Anae said Tuesday. "I think he brings some swag and confidence, and that goes a long way."
A senior, Peck was asked by coach Bronco Mendenhall and Anae to make the switch after starting tight end Bryan Sampson suffered a season-ending injury against Cincinnati. He will still play some defensive end — about 15 plays — in games, but will practice almost entirely with the offense this final month of the regular season.
Peck, 6-foot-4 and 265 pounds, officially donned the blue jersey that offensive players wear in practice on Tuesday, and was told by Mendenhall he could burn his old white jersey, or use it as a seat cover in his truck.
"I didn't see it coming at all, especially this late in the season," Peck said. "Coach Mendenhall, he came up to me and said, 'Hey, I want you to go to tight end individual today. I want to see if you can learn anything.' And they gave me a few plays in the team segment, and coach Anae came up to me and said, 'Hey, you might be the best tight end in our program. You are going to be here the rest of the year.' And I was like, 'Wow, I didn't expect that at all.' But it has been good. I have enjoyed it."
Peck, who was a defensive team captain in 2014, approached Mendenhall at the beginning of the year about making the switch, but the coach said they needed him on defense. Two defensive linemen were moved to tight end back then — Steven Richards and Tanner Balderree — but Richards suffered a season-ending knee injury in preseason camp and Balderree now shares the spot with Peck.
"I am just grateful to help where I can, hopefully do my best and be an asset there," Peck said. "I have been on a lot more pass routes than I thought I would be, to be honest. So hopefully that will transition to the games. It has been fun."
While it is true that a true tight end has not caught a pass this season, inside receiver Terenn Houk, 6-5, 225, often lines up next to the tackle or flexed out and has caught 22 passes for 346 yards.
Injury update
Anae said Tuesday that senior running back Adam Hine [ankle] has not practiced this week, but freshman RB Riley Burt (hamstring) did take some reps on Tuesday and should play against SJSU. He said the three injured offensive linemen — Ryker Mathews, Ului Lapuaho and Kyle Johnson — have not practiced this week.
Anae said junior RB Algernon Brown is fine after running into the cannon after scoring a touchdown against Wagner.
"For all the hoopla and how much he got beat up by the George Q. Cannon, he's back and he seems to be the healthiest guy" in the running back room, Anae said. "I am glad he didn't hurt the cannon. That's my thing. I am all for the cannon."
Kickoff time, TV plans set for Missouri game
The Southeastern Conference announced Monday that the BYU-Missouri game on Nov. 14 at Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium will kick off at 5:30 p.m. MST and will be televised by the SEC Network. Now the only remaining BYU game without a scheduled kickoff time is the final home game against Fresno State on Nov. 21.
Briefly
Several BYU players are from the Bay Area, including walk-on safety Grant Jones, who grew up in Concord, Calif. Jones said he's been asking teammates for some of their allotted tickets in hopes of accommodating a lot of friends and family members who want to attend the game in San Jose. … Mendenhall said his wife, Holly, called the 2016 schedule "awful" when she saw it in its entirety last week. "She knows enough about football now, and just says, 'What are you doing?' " Mendenhall said, noting the 12-game slate's difficulty.
Twitter: @drewjay —
BYU at San Jose State
P Friday, 9:30 p.m. MST
TV • CBS Sports Network