Hoffman begins fall camp with BYU

Former Del Norte High wide receiver Cody Hoffman, above, during a game last season. The true freshman has just begun fall football camp with the BYU Cougars of the Mountain West Conference. Triplicate file photo.

While the overall consensus is that it’s still too early to say with certainty if Hoffman, 18, a wide receiver, will contribute this year or perhaps redshirt, what has been made clear is that many folks believe that this true freshman has potential. Fall practice began in Provo, Utah, on Saturday.

BYU is a consistent top 25 team and opens the season on Sept. 5 against Oklahoma, which played in the BCS title game last season, at the new stadium of the Dallas Cowboys.

In an audio interview on ksl.com, BYU wideouts coach Patrick Higgins briefly talked about Hoffman.

“Cody Hoffman’s got a lot of pure natural ability. He is just  learning how to be more efficient in his route running.” Higgins said.

In a phone interview with The  Triplicate on Tuesday, former Del Norte quarterback Buck Pierce, currently the starting quarterback for the British Columbia Lions of the Canadian Football League, talked about Hoffman. A story on Pierce and his season so far with the Lions will run in The Triplicate on Thursday.

Before Hoffman, Pierce was the last Warrior to sign with a D1 football program right out of high school. Pierce signed with New Mexico State back in 2000.

“It’s a big jump he has to get used to,” Pierce said about Hoffman “You’re there to get an education and play football.”

The biggest adjustment he will face, Pierce said, is adapting to playing at this level of football and the sheer amount of competition and effort it takes just to get on the field as well as balancing football with getting an education.

Dick Harmon, a DeseretNews.com blogger, talked about Hoffman in his Aug. 8 blog. The Deseret News is a newspaper based in Salt Lake City.

“I had no idea he was this good an athlete,” Harmon wrote.  “I don’t know how fast he is, but he looked very solid, great hands, big size at 6-foot-4 and simply caught your attention running routes.”

On TotalBluesports.com this observation on Hoffman was written by TBS managing editor Brandon Gurney:

“Cody Hoffman was very much an unknown coming in, but after the first day of practice one could readily see the potential. Hoffman is a bit raw in his route running, but showed very good agility for a player his size. He is every bit of 6 feet 4 inches and fans should be optimistic regarding his prospects.”

In the user forum section on Cougarblue, a few comments were written about Hoffman.

“I have been hearing really, really good things about WR Cody Hoffman,” a user wrote.  “People are just glowing about this kid.”

“He just may be a diamond in the rough that will see some playing time this year and a lot more playing time next year,” the person added.

“Those at practice said he is very athletic but raw in the technical stuff,” another user wrote. “Definitely one to watch once he gets coached up a bit.”

Hoffman signed a full football scholarship with BYU in February and fulfilled a longtime goal of playing for a top tier  football program.

Known as a versatile athlete who has played several sports well, such as basketball and track and field in high school, he again showed his uncanny ability to display top notch skills in another sport this summer.

Hoffman was a member of  the Del Norte Grizzlies American Legion baseball team this past June and July despite not playing  baseball for several years.

He was a standout on the team despite his long layoff from  baseball and showed quite a bit of power from the plate.

This included going 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs in a win against Southern Humboldt on July 11 for the right to go on to the district title game.

In a contest against Northern Humboldt on June 13 Hoffman hit a solo homer in the second inning.

Later in the game he smacked an inside the park home run that brought in two runners. Hoffman finished the game 3-for-4 with six RBIs, four runs and two home runs.