Fall camp is about to put a lot of BYU’s unanswered questions on the table, and the biggest ones are easy to spot: who steps up at receiver, whether the pass rush can become a real weapon, and how healthy some of the Cougars’ most important pieces are when the season gets rolling.
The wideout room sits at the top of the list because it’s the least proven group on the roster. Fesi Sitake has talent to work with, but no established returning option to lean on.
BYU needs at least one or two receivers to seize control as Bear Bachmeier’s top targets, and Jojo Phillips and Kyler Kasper have the best odds to do that. Even so, they won’t be alone in the mix.
Legend Glasker, Jaron Pula, Tei Nacua, Reggie Frischknecht, and Tiger Bachmeier are all in the hunt for targets.
That leaves Sitake with a real decision: does he trust the more experienced hands in Tei Nacua and Reggie Frischknecht, or does he let the younger talent in Legend Glasker and Jaron Pula force its way into the rotation?
Another area that could shape BYU’s ceiling is the defensive line. The best defenses can get to the quarterback without having to sell out with blitzes, and that’s one place where the Cougars can still make a major leap.
In 2025, the three defensive ends who played the most were Logan Lutui, Bodie Schoonover, and Viliami Po'uha. Lutui and Schoonover were stronger against the run than they were as pass rushers, and BYU’s defensive ends combined to generate pressure on just 9.4% of pass rush snaps last season.
That number stands out even more when stacked against Texas Tech. The Red Raiders’ defensive ends, widely viewed as the best pass rush duo in the country, produced pressure on 16.3% of pass rush snaps.
That made them 73% more effective than BYU’s edge group. Texas Tech could rush four, create chaos, and keep seven defenders in coverage.
At times, it looked like the Red Raiders had more bodies on the field than BYU. In a lot of ways, they did.
That kind of front forced BYU into max protection, with a running back, a tight end, or both staying in to help protect Bear Bachmeier. The result was three receivers running routes against seven Texas Tech defenders. Three of Bachmeier’s seven interceptions last season came against the Red Raiders, and their pass rush was the biggest reason he struggled so much in that matchup.
If BYU is going to climb from good to great on defense, the line has to become more consistent. The encouraging part for the Cougars is that the talent suggests a jump could be coming in 2026, and the most effective pass rushers on the roster last season were underclassmen.
True freshman Nusi Taumoepeau led the way with a pressure rate of 29.4%. That number jumps off the page even before you add context: Texas Tech star David Bailey, the second overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, posted a 21.3% pressure rate in 2025. Taumoepeau’s sample was much smaller, though, with only 51 pass rush snaps compared to Bailey’s 380.
Sophomore Tausili Akana and freshman Hunter Clegg were second and third, respectively, in pressure rate. For BYU to make the next step as a team and win the Big 12, the defensive end group has to be more productive than it was in 2025.
Health is another major storyline, especially on the back end. Star safety Faletau Satuala dealt with a foot injury during the offseason, and BYU badly needs him ready for the week two game against Arizona.
If he’s not fully available during fall camp, the Cougars will have to rely more heavily on experienced safeties Raider Damuni and Tommy Prassas. Still, Kalani Sitake told Mitch Harper of KSL Sports during Big 12 Media Days that he expects Satuala to be ready for week one.
Quarterback play is also going to be under the microscope. Last season, BYU eased Bear Bachmeier in during the first half before asking him to carry more of the load down the stretch, including wins against Iowa State and Georgia Tech.
He looked in command during Spring Camp, but the question now is how aggressive BYU wants to be with him early in 2026. Will the Cougars let him attack Arizona in week two, or will they lean on the ground game the way they did in Tucson last season?
Bachmeier was already effective in 2025, and if he takes another step to become one of the league’s best quarterbacks in 2026, BYU becomes a much tougher team to deal with. By the middle of the schedule, he’ll need to be operating at a very high level.
Fall camp should help reveal whether BYU plans to bring him along gradually again or give him full freedom right away. That decision will likely flow through Aaron Roderick.
Special teams is getting a reset too. BYU has a new coordinator in Justin Ena, who moved over from linebackers coach and will now devote nearly all of his attention to getting the special teams units ready. There are battles to settle at kicker, punter, punt returner, and kick returner, and BYU has to figure out what each of those spots will look like before the season begins.
That return game matters because the Cougars have been aggressive there with players like Parker Kingston and Keelan Marion over the last two years. The question now is whether they can find someone just as dynamic to keep that approach alive.
There are also some depth concerns worth watching. Running back and cornerback sit near the top of that list.
BYU does have a solid tandem at running back in LJ Martin and Sione Moa, with Preston Rex and Devaughn Eka competing for the third-string role. At corner, the Cougars still need to sort out who rises behind Evan Johnson and Tre Alexander, with Jayven Williams, Jordyn Criss, Jonathan Kabeya, and Kevin Doe all in the mix for spots in the two-deep.
In Other News...
BYU Suddenly Has A Freshman WR Fans Cant Ignore
With fall camp approaching, BYUs wide receiver room looks a lot different than it did not long ago, and that has created an opening for newcomers who can handle real responsibility fast. Freshman Jaron Pula is one of the names that keeps coming up. He arrived early as a highly rated recruit, and with key receivers gone, the Cougars are already treating him like a player who could matter sooner rather than later.
For BYU, the challenge is not just finding talent, but finding it in a hurry. Pula is expected to push for playing time right away, and the staff will need a handful of young receivers ready to absorb snaps as camp unfolds. His range of outcomes is still being sorted out, but the expectation around him is clear enough: he has a path to becoming a meaningful part of the rotation if he can translate his promise quickly. [Read more 🡒]
Sione Moa Could Quietly Change BYUs Backfield Ceiling
BYUs backfield is already drawing attention with fall camp set to open in early August, and Sione Moa is one of the more interesting names in the mix as the Cougars look ahead to the 2026 season. The sophomore running back flashed real potential as a freshman before last year was largely lost to injury, and his return to full participation in spring practice gave the staff a much better sense of what he can still become behind LJ Martin.
Moa is expected to be the primary backup at running back, which matters because BYUs ceiling at the position changes quickly if the Cougars can trust the depth chart behind Martin. If Moa stays healthy and keeps building on the promise he showed early in his career, he gives BYU something it badly needs in a long season: a second runner who can keep the offense from flattening out when the starter needs a breather. [Read more 🡒]
One BYU Big 12 Win Changed Everything For The Cougars
BYUs first run through the Big 12 has already produced a handful of wins that felt bigger than a single Saturday, the kind that change how a program is viewed by everyone else in the league. Jay Drews look back at the Cougars recent resume puts that into focus, with victories over ranked opponents like Kansas State, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Iowa State and Georgia Tech all helping build the case that BYU belongs in the conversation, not just on the schedule.
The debate now is less about whether the Cougars have arrived and more about which game did the most to make that clear. The 2024 Utah win stands out as the most obvious marker, while the Colorado bowl game and the 2025 road win at Iowa State each added their own weight to BYUs rise, giving the program different kinds of proof at different moments. What makes the discussion interesting is that the answer depends on what kind of legitimacy you value most, and BYU has given itself more than one candidate. [Read more 🡒]