BYU Football: Much-hyped Chambers remains a work in progress

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Provo » Two years ago, after he had just arrived on a campus far away from his hometown of Harmony, Fla. -- and perhaps even more distant culturally -- BYU receiver O'Neill Chambers would have taken questions about his future and turned them into a chance to make bold predictions and boasts.

Well, he's changed.

Maybe that's why, when asked about the progress that Chambers has made after two years in Provo, coach Bronco Mendenhall says, simply, "he's matured."

No more talk about being the go-to guy right away. No more complaining that he should be starting over upperclassmen who have been in the program longer. A lot less bragging.

"I am not a guy who is going to say he wants to be the go-to guy every time," Chambers said. "That's when you start having team controversy, and team unity falls through and bridges are broken. When you have that one guy who wants the ball every time, it can hurt team unity."

Still, if the Cougars are going to replace departed offensive stars Dennis Pitta, Andrew George and Harvey Unga this year, Chambers is going to have to start living up to the hype that accompanied him out of high school -- that of a playmaker and physical receiver with NFL potential.

The junior caught 32 passes for 376 yards and a touchdown in 2009. Decent numbers, but not good enough to guarantee him a starting spot this year over any of the three other veteran receivers in camp -- McKay Jacobson, Luke Ashworth and Spencer Hafoka -- or highly touted freshman Ross Apo.

He was the team's top kick returner last season, posting a 25.6-yard average on 19 kickoff returns and a 6.0 average on 22 punt returns.

"I feel like I have done well with the opportunities I have been given," Chambers says, when it is suggested that he hasn't quite lived up to the promise bestowed on him when he signed with BYU in February of 2008. "I have taken advantage of the opportunities that have been there, so I feel like I have been on track toward doing what I was supposed to do when I got here."

This should be the tell-tale year, and Mendenhall said he's confident the 6-foot-2, 211-pounder will deliver.

"I am not saying that he is all the way mature, and all the way grown up," Mendenhall said. "But I am really pleased with his consistency of choices, the investment he has made in our team, and how much he cares about really doing things right. He is mentoring the younger guys. That doesn't mean there won't be a relapse here or there, but I am really pleased with his growth and maturity."

Receivers coach Patrick Higgins made a lot of cross-country trips to Florida to recruit the prep star who had offers from the likes of Purdue, Texas Tech, Clemson and Louisville, and has taken a deep interest in Chambers' progress and acclimation in Provo.

"Well, anybody that is not your typical BYU kid, you always feel more kinship to, because you want to make sure they succeed. You want to make sure they have a good experience," Higgins said. "So it is always prevalent in my mind to make sure he is doing the right thing, that he is maturing and that his experience here is going to be positive, and that he is going to grow into a better human being."

So far, so good.

Chambers acknowledges he has had some off-the-field struggles, and overcoming homesickness has been a uphill climb. To combat that, he brought his younger brother, Nicholas, to live with him after going home for a couple weeks this summer. His cousin and his sister's boyfriend now live in Provo, too.

"It's our little clique," Chambers said. "A piece of home out here with me."

Chambers' longtime girlfriend, Georgia Southern track athlete Azura Robillard, visited for a few weeks this summer, and inspired him to work harder, he said.

"I went through my bad times, and now things are looking up," he said. "I am just doing whatever it takes to stay on that good path and continue to do my best and have fun."