With Big 12 media days set for Tuesday at The Star in Frisco, Texas, BYU is walking into the spotlight with a very different kind of energy than it usually brings to these meetings. This time, the Cougars aren’t the forgotten team in the room. They’re one of the league’s teams to watch.
That shift comes from what BYU has done over the past two seasons, going 23-4 overall and coming up just short of the College Football Playoff both times. Now the Cougars head into 2026 with real expectations attached, led by rising sophomore quarterback Bear Bachmeier and last year’s Big 12 offensive player of the year, running back LJ Martin.
Head coach Kalani Sitake, along with six players from the 2026 team, will be on hand for the annual event. Along with Sitake, Bachmeier and Martin, BYU is sending offensive lineman Bruce Mitchell, linebacker Isaiah Glasker, defensive back Evan Johnson and defensive lineman Keanu Tanuvasa.
Only Arizona State is bringing more players, with seven. Most Big 12 teams are sending five or six, while Utah and Cincinnati are bringing four and West Virginia is bringing three.
For BYU, the tone around this season has already been set. Sitake said after spring drills wrapped up on April 2 that the group came back with a clear purpose.
“We were right there within grasp of the playoffs, and didn’t get in,” Sitake said after the Cougars wrapped up spring drills on April 2. “There was a reason why a bunch of these guys came back, and that is to reach the (CFP). I just want them to focus on being their best, and then if we can perform at our best, I like our chances.”
That message has been repeated through spring camp: stay humble, stay hungry, and keep the focus on the work. Sitake has also been open about supporting the Big 12’s push for a 24-team playoff expansion.
If that format had been in place the last two seasons, BYU would have been in for the first time in program history.
“We have a system in place now that there’s a playoff. So you got to find a way to get there, and the best way for us to get there is to play our best football, and that’s easier said than done, because everybody else is wanting that same thing, too,” Sitake said.
“As long as we just keep trying our best, we’re gonna be able to live with it, and be excited about the results. … But hope isn’t enough.
You gotta go get the work done, and build that confidence that you did everything you can, so you can put your head up high and take the field with a lot of momentum, a lot of strength.”
One of the biggest changes for BYU this year is at quarterback, where there’s no lingering drama like there was a year ago. The Jake Retzlaff situation dragged into late July before he eventually transferred to Tulane after facing a seven-game suspension for violating the BYU honor code in the wake of a civil lawsuit alleging sexual assault that was later dismissed at the request of both parties.
This time, the only real question at quarterback is behind Bachmeier. The leading candidates are redshirt senior Treyson Bourguet and freshman returned missionary Enoch Watson, with Snow College transfer Max Barker and freshman Owen Geilman also in the room.
“Treyson’s a veteran player. He knows our offense very well.
Has a lot of respect from his teammates. He’s playing good football.
Lots of confidence in him,” said BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick. “And then Enoch Watson is learning what to do, but super talented.
He’s a very high-ceiling guy. Super athlete, live arm.
He’s just in the process of learning the offense each day. He’s right on schedule to be a really good football player.”
The other major offensive question is at receiver, where BYU has to replace Chase Roberts, the injured Cody Hagen and the expelled Parker Kingston. That leaves the Cougars looking for answers from a group that includes Oregon transfer Kyler Kasper, redshirt junior JoJo Phillips and Tiger Bachmeier, who the staff hopes can produce the way he did at Stanford.
Bear Bachmeier said after spring practice on April 3 that the group has a chance to be dangerous on the outside.
“Great teams are defined by how they adapt,” Bear Bachmeier said on April 3. “I think we are going to be really dangerous on the perimeter.”
Defensively, the biggest concern has shifted a bit after safety Faletau Satuala suffered a right foot injury that has kept him out of player-run practices for the past month and will likely keep him off the field for the first few weeks of preseason camp, which begins Aug. 4.
Even with that setback, the broader concern around the defense is less about talent and more about continuity. New defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga and incoming coaches Lewis Walker, Demario Warren and Danny Sorensen are tasked with keeping the unit strong after the departures of Jay Hill and Jernaro Gilford to Michigan.
“I feel really good about where we are at,” Poppinga said when spring camp concluded. “We have great senior leadership. We have great players coming back that have a ton of experience.”
BYU’s roster profile backs that up. According to ESPN’s Bill Connelly, the Cougars rank sixth nationally in returning defensive production, 50th in returning offensive production and 18th in overall returning production.
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BYU Enters Big 12 Media Days With A Feeling Fans Missed
BYU heads into the 2026 Big 12 media days with a different kind of buzz than it brought into the league a few years ago. The Cougars have spent the past two seasons proving they can belong in the conference, capped by a 12-win run that turned a once-intriguing newcomer into a legitimate contender. Bear Bachmeiers rise at quarterback helped define that climb, and with LJ Martin back in the fold, the roster looks more like one built to stay in the race than simply surprise it.
Six veteran Cougars are scheduled to represent the program in Frisco, giving the team a chance to put its confidence on display before the season even starts. Bachmeier, Martin, Bruce Mitchell, Evan Johnson, Isaiah Glasker and Keanu Tanuvasa give BYU a mix of offensive and defensive leadership, and the bigger question now is whether the Cougars can turn that returning experience into the kind of consistency that changes how the rest of the Big 12 views them. [Read more 🡒]
Big 12 Respect For BYU Just Reached Another Level
BYUs rise in the Big 12 is showing up before the season even kicks off. In the leagues preseason media vote, the Cougars landed six players on the All-Big 12 team, a sign that last years breakthrough run has carried real weight with voters around the conference. The group includes offensive lineman Bruce Mitchell and four defensive players, giving BYU a broad footprint on both sides of the ball as it heads into another pivotal year.
LJ Martin is the headliner after a season in which he piled up 1,305 rushing yards during BYUs 12-2 campaign and Big 12 championship game run, even though his year ended with an injury before the bowl game. The rest of the preseason recognition also puts BYU in some notable company, alongside honorees such as Utah returner Mana Carvalho and Texas Tech defensive lineman A.J. Holmes, but the bigger takeaway is clear enough: the Cougars are no longer being treated like a feel-good surprise. [Read more 🡒]
LJ Martin Leads Another Major Sign Of BYUs Big 12 Respect
The Big 12s 2026 preseason awards gave BYU another clear sign of how the league views the Cougars heading into the new season. Running back LJ Martin was named the conferences Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, and he was joined by five teammates on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team, a haul that trails only Texas Tech and underscores how much respect BYU has earned in media voting.
For a program still building its standing in the league, that kind of recognition matters because it suggests the Cougars are being discussed not just as a feel-good story, but as one of the teams expected to shape the race. The selections also point to a roster with talent spread across both sides of the ball, and they leave BYU in a familiar spot entering camp: with outside expectations rising, and with the real test still ahead. [Read more 🡒]