Hoffman and the Cougars prepare for Friday bowl contest in Texas

Was able to see family in town for Christmas

Former Del Norte Warrior Cody Hoffman during a game against Oregon State on Oct. 15. The Brigham Young University sophomore and 2009 Del Norte graduate is a starting wideout with BYU. On Friday, BYU faces Tulsa in Dallas, Texas. Photo courtesy of Roger Schultz /Hot Shots Photography

The former Del Norte Warrior standout and current sophomore starting wide receiver at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, has spent the past few weeks finishing up finals and preparing for the Cougars Friday game against Tulsa at the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl in Dallas, Texas.

The season finale begins at 9 a.m. PDT and will be shown live on ESPN.

Practice finished in the afternoon this past Friday and Hoffman quickly headed to the airport for a quick jaunt back home to Crescent City to visit his family.

On Christmas night on Sunday, Cody was on a plane going back to his team as they headed to the Dallas/Fort Worth area for the bowl game.

In a phone interview with The Triplicate after practice on Wednesday in Texas, Hoffman said it meant a lot to be able to come back home, even though it was only for a short period time.

“I didn’t have a lot of time, but it was worth it,” he said. “It meant a lot to be with them.”

For Hoffman, who had not been back to his hometown since the summer, it was wonderful to have a holiday dinner with many of his family members Christmas Eve and be at home on Christmas Day with his loved ones.

On the field in 2011 Hoffman has become one of the best sophomore wideouts in the country with his ability to grab practically anything thrown his way. He also has shown a knack for making more than his fair share of jaw-dropping plays that have filled highlight reels on ESPN’s SportsCenter and has been a major reason that BYU is 9-3 for the year in its first year as a football independent.

He earned first team all-independent honors at wideout from Yahoo! Sports and Phil Steele. So far this year, he has had 53 receptions for 821 yards and seven touchdowns. On kick returns Hoffman has tallied 838 yards and a score, a 93-yard scamper against Central Florida that was the first kick return for a touchdown for BYU since 1998.

When asked what his favorite play of the year was, Hoffman said it had to be either the kick return for the score or the grab against Oregon State that was a finalist for the 2011 GEICO Play of the Year on CBS.

Or, he pondered, it may have been the one-handed touchdown grab against Hawaii. After thinking about it for a moment Hoffman said that if he had to pick it would be the Hawaii catch because it went for a score and due to the way quarterback Riley Nelson eluded a defender and got the ball out in the nick of time.

Tulsa, an 8-4 squad, is an excellent team and Hoffman said he and his teammates know they need to go out and play their best if they want to win.

Hoffman said his goal for the game was “just to help my team any way I can to get the win. Hopefully we play the way we know we can.”

Hoffman said that the Cougars have been busy with practices and doing activities along with the Tulsa players this week.

“It’s just been a lot of fun,” he said.

Even with the season ending, Hoffman’s work is not over.

After all, next Wednesday, Hoffman will be starting winter practices as he gets ready for his junior year on the gridiron.

“It’s a year-round thing,” he said.

Hoffman has become the go-to receiver for Nelson, who is the undisputed starter heading into next season after highly recruited sophomore and former starter Jake Heaps left the program after the Hawaii game in December and recently signed with Kansas.

Nelson replaced Heaps as the starting signal caller during the Utah State game on Sept. 30 and rallied them to a win. He was the starter the rest of the way despite missing a few games due to injury.

“He’s great,” Hoffman said. “He‘s quick and can really scramble around the pocket and find the time to get the ball out and find the open receiver … The team has really rallied around him.”

find the opener receiver... The team has  team has rallied around him.”

the ball out and find th eopener reicver.... The team has  tesm relyl reield aorund him.”

Hoffman said he has a gret relsishion with him on and off the field which is nice to have with the QB, It was tnghed, he said. with Nelson which he said got only stoner when they both rom werotmes otgtehr last eyar,

The Armed Forces Bowl begins oN Friday at 9 a.m. and will be shown live oN ESPN.