BOISE, Idaho – For Boise-raised BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum, it was a story come full-circle.

His Cougars concluded his senior season in the city Mangum grew up in with a rousing 49-18 victory over Western Michigan in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl last Friday.

The thing was, it wasn’t Mangum who did most of the damage in the victory. It was true freshman Zach Wilson, who had taken over Mangum’s starting job halfway through the season who starred in the game.

Couldn’t have scripted it better.

Mangum checks in for his final game here at Albertsons Stadium, right where it all started for him as a kid from Boise

Thanks for everything @tannermangum!!#BYUFOOTBALL #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/WohSDkhBxT

— BYU Cougars (@BYUCougars) December 22, 2018

Mangum completed just one pass, a 41-yard bomb to Dylan Collie to set up a short 1-yard rush by Brayden El-Bakri for the Cougars’ final score of the afternoon.

It was perhaps a fitting end to Mangum’s career, one filled with ups and down during his tenure at BYU.

A Legendary Beginning

Mangum surged onto the scene in 2015, when he came on in relief of injured star Taysom Hill and completed a 42-yard hail mary as time expired to defeat Nebraska in Lincoln in the season opener.

Here’s the Hail Mary from Tanner Mangum to beat Nebraska in Lincoln. pic.twitter.com/LitktXibxa

— David S. Pumpkins (@dksouthorn) September 5, 2015

“It was an interesting welcome to the college football world,” said Mangum to KSL’s Rod Zundel after Friday’s bowl game. “Having only been home for just a few months and kind of starting off my career like that was exhilarating and just a lot of fun to fulfill that lifelong dream that I had to play for BYU, to put on that Cougar blue and do that was special.”

A Roller Coaster Career

Fast forward to 2018, Mangum stood on the blue turf at Albertson’s Field talking to Zundel, grizzled from experiencing some of the highest highs and lowest lows that a BYU quarterback had ever gone through.

Following his amazing start to his career, Mangum was forced to spend a year waiting in the wings behind Hill.

After that, as a starter, he had mixed results, ultimately leading to his being replaced halfway through the season by Wilson.

Mangum in.

Hail Mary.
Hail Mary again.
Win over No. 6.
And so much more.
Thanks for the memories, Tanner. pic.twitter.com/0GXyLoPkJ7

— BYU (@BYU) November 18, 2018

Through it all, Mangum maintained a positive attitude, something that keep him near and dear to the hearts of the Cougar faithful, even after his benching.

“I credit a lot of it to my family,” said Mangum. “To my parents, and siblings and how I was raised. And then also to coaches along the way who kind of helped mold my character and taught me the importance of keeping a positive attitude and being a good person regardless of what situation you’re in. Despite the adversity and setbacks, I didn’t want any of that to make me heart-calloused or to harden me or change who I was.”

No Regrets

Now that his career is over, Mangum has no regrets and is grateful the opportunity that he dreamt of as a high-schooler from Eagle High School in Boise.

“All I know is that I gave it my all,” said Mangum. “Throughout my time here at BYU, I gave it my whole heart and soul. It wasn’t perfect, but that’s OK, that’s life. But I can say that I gave it my all and I’m happy with that.”