A year after serving ‘great mission,’ BYU’s Cody Hagen bursts into WR3 role

PROVO (KSL.com) — He was never seriously injured or hurt enough to worry about his long-term health, but Cody Hagen admitted his first year with the BYU football team was anything but easy — even at 20 years old.

The wide receiver who will step into a starting role as WR3 in the Cougars’ road trip Saturday at East Carolina (5:30 p.m. MDT, ESPN2) was simply transitioning between two very different roles during his freshman season, a transition that required more than merely removing a name tag.

Hagen spent the previous two years as a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in San Bernardino, California. For those who know, that sacrifice sometimes hits high-level athletes more than anyone, noted head coach Kalani Sitake.

“You mind thinks you’re ready to go, but your body doesn’t always agree,” quipped Sitake, a former missionary in Oakland, California, just a … ummm, few years before Hagen’s time in a white shirt and tie.

That’s especially true for those who served what Sitake called a “great mission,” with limited exercise beyond riding a bike or walking miles on end between teaching appointments.

“Cody served a great mission; last year I know he wanted to do more,” the 10th-year head coach added. “But he just had to transition from being a missionary to a football player. Now that he’s done it completely, we know we can lean on him heavily to do a lot of things. He’s so talented; he’s got speed, quickness and agility, but also great ball skills and vision.

“He can do a lot of things with the ball in his hands.”

The former Corner Canyon standout played in 10 games as a true freshman, and says he’s ready for a bigger role after the injury absence of Jojo Phillips. He’ll line up for first-team reps alongside veteran wide receivers Chase Roberts and Parker Kingston, per the team’s weekly depth chart that also tabs Hagen as the first-team kick returner.

Much of Hagen’s freshman season was spent on special teams a year ago, when he caught just three passes for 29 yards. He exceeded that in one play as a sophomore, taking a “tornado reverse” handoff from quarterback Bear Bachmeier and blitzing 57 yards against FCS Portland State for a touchdown in the Cougars’ 69-0 rout on opening weekend.

But those 10 games were important, Hagen insists — even if they didn’t always get him noticed by fans and newspapers.

“There’s a big difference in the college game versus the high school game, so it was great last year to be on the field and get those reps,” he said. “There’s a big skill difference, and it was great to be able to get on the field, to execute, and to build on that this year.”

With Phillips out an undetermined amount of time — though Sitake noted the 6-foot-5 receiver’s apparent collarbone injury is not expected to be season-ending — Hagen has a chance to step into more of a prominent role in Aaron Roderick’s offense.

“Jojo’s a big loss. There’s no one guy that replaces Jojo; he’s very talented,” Roderick said. “We’re going to really miss him. But we have some other good players at receiver who can step up in a by-committee way.

“I have a lot of confidence in the other guys.”

Hagen was always a gifted football player. The Gatorade Utah player of the year with the Chargers was one of the fastest 100-meter sprinters when he came out of high school alongside current teammate Kingston from Roy High and Utah cornerback Smith Snowden from Skyridge High.

In addition to trying to get faster and stronger — a given, he adds — last year, Hagen also spent time honing in on the technique of the wide receiver position with position coach Fesi Sitake.

That Sitake was also once a returned missionary — in Riverside, California. Truthfully, if there’s a place that knows how to help football players return from two years away and get back to peak form, it’s BYU.

Hagen is in good company, on a squad with 55 returned missionaries.

That doesn’t mean returning was easy, though.

“It’s definitely a grind when you first come back,” Hagen said. “But I’m feeling really great right now. I’m feeling just as faster, even faster, and definitely a lot stronger than high school. A lot more polished, as well. I’m excited for what’s to come.”