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Provo • When he arrived at BYU last summer, quarterback Beau Hoge took one look at Taysom Hill's physique and figured there was no way the well-built senior would suffer another season-ending injury.
Then Hoge watched, after Hill went down against Nebraska, how well Tanner Mangum played against the likes of Nebraska, Boise State and UCLA, and figured there was no way the 22-year-old returned missionary would ever give up the starting role.
But the unthinkable has happened — Mangum suffered a hamstring injury in Saturday's 45-38 win over East Carolina — and now the 18-year-old freshman from Fort Thomas, Ky., could possibly start against Cincinnati on Friday at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
"I feel really prepared," Hoge said last week. "Coach [Jason] Beck does a great job of preparing not only Tanner, but me and Koy [Detmer] as well. I feel confident that I could go in and perform."
Thrown into the fire in the third quarter against ECU when Mangum pulled up lame, Hoge did not perform as well as he thought he would. He completed just one pass on five attempts, and threw an interception that set up ECU's tying field goal in the fourth quarter.
Neither Mangum nor Hoge was among the players whom BYU made available to the media for interviews on Monday. Coach Bronco Mendenhall said Mangum's status for Friday's game is "probable" and acknowledged that the injury involves a hamstring.
"Beau will be with our offense the entire week, just in case, and getting grooved in, and as many reps as he can around whatever Tanner gets to try and make sure they are both ready," Mendenhall said.
Koy Detmer Jr., a walk-on freshman from Texas, will become the full-time scout team QB after splitting time there with Hoge since the season started. The only other QB on the roster is 6-foot-6 sophomore McCoy Hill, a QB from Jordan High who was originally a tight end at BYU before his church mission.
Offensive lineman Ryker Mathews said Mangum had been getting "mostly all" of the reps in practice since he replaced Taysom Hill, out for the season with a lisfranc foot injury.
Mangum "is a trooper," Mathews said. "You could definitely tell he was in a lot of pain. He [went back in and led the game-winning drive] for the team. It says a lot about him, his character, and the type of player he is."
As for Hoge, Mathews described him as "more of a runner" who doesn't talk a lot and "probably didn't expect to have this type of a role" this soon.
"But he's a good player," Mathews said. "He's a good athlete. I think if he had a little bit more preparation, he would have done a lot better than he was probably hoping he would have done."
Receiver Mitch Mathews said he expects Mangum to play on Friday, hurt or not.
"If it was that bad, he wouldn't have came back into the game," Mitch Mathews said. "I have never had a hamstring injury that bad, but seeing him limp that bad, it must have been something. But he is a super tough kid, and he is not going to be held back, in my opinion. But whoever it is, we know we can win with them."
Hoge's father, former NFL running back Merril Hoge, underwent successful heart surgery last week. The Hoges' home in Kentucky is just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, a 10-minute drive. Beau Hoge played for a school with a graduating class of only 200 and threw for 3,458 yards and 35 touchdowns his senior season.
"He is a different style of quarterback [than Mangum], but really effective," Mendenhall said. "We like him a lot."
Meanwhile, Mangum's injury has caused some to wonder if Taysom Hill will return for another year. Hill, who gets his degree in December, has said in interviews that he has yet to decide whether he will return, retire from football entirely or make himself available for the NFL draft.
Mendenhall said Monday that the two have decided to wait until after the bowl game, "and then I will advise him at that point. I am not going to try to persuade him. I am just going to be a sounding board and try to help him make a great decision."
Twitter: @drewjay —
About freshman QB Beau Hoge
• Prepped at Highlands High in Fort Thomas, Ky., and is the son of ESPN NFL analyst Merril Hoge, a former NFL running back.
• Led his high school team to a 13-2 record and the Kentucky 4A state championship game in 2014.
• Threw for 3,458 yards and 35 touchdowns and rushed for 865 yards and 26 TDs his senior season
• Recruited by Cincinnati, Ohio and Miami (Ohio), but BYU was his only Division I offer
• Completed 1 of 5 passes for 9 yards and was intercepted once in Saturday's 45-38 win over East Carolina —
Cincinnati at BYU
P Friday, 6 p.m.
TV • ESPN