PROVO, Utah – Coming off the first 1,000-yard rushing season by a BYU player in four years, Tyler Allgeier is getting the star treatment. The junior running back is on the cover of the Mountain West region of the 2021 Athlon College Football Preview.

Athlon has 23 regional covers to choose from. Allgeier joins Utah tight end Brant Kuithe and Colorado linebacker Nate Landman. Kuithe and Landman graced the cover of last year’s regional magazine. Allgeier, who last year at this time was still listed as a running back/linebacker on BYU’s roster, was not on the cover. That honor went to former BYU QB Zach Wilson. A wise choice from the folks at Athlon.

Wilson, who is now with the NFL’s New York Jets, graced the Athlon Mountain West regional cover for two years. Before that, Tanner Mangum was on the cover in 2017, Taysom Hill landed the cover in 2016.

You can purchase the 2021 Athlon College Football Preview now at their online store.

Tyler Allgeier is BYU’s top running back

Last year, Allgeier rushed for 1,130 yards and averaged an eye-popping 7.53 yards per carry. A native of Fontana, California, Allgeier joined the BYU football program in 2018 as a preferred walk-on from Kaiser High School, where he became the school’s all-time leading rusher.

 

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Allgeier capped his impressive 2020 season with a 173-yard performance in the Boca Raton Bowl against UCF. BYU rolled through UCF 49-23 and put an exclamation on an 11-1 season that saw the Cougars ranked No. 11 in the final AP Top 25 poll.

Looking ahead to the 2021 season, Allgeier leads a deep and experienced running back room for BYU. Allgeier is rated by Pro Football Focus as the ninth-best running back in the country this season.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.