The 2026 BYU football season is shaping up to be one of the most watched in program history, and the first real look at this team comes when fall camp opens next week in Provo.
That’s where the questions start. After 23 wins over the last two seasons, BYU is chasing its first College Football Playoff berth, and the pressure that comes with that kind of buzz will be part of the story from day one.
This is the 11th team under Kalani Sitake, and fall camp will show how the Cougars respond to the kind of expectations that could be the highest the program has ever carried into a season. Sitake’s last preseason Top 25 team was the 2022 group that stumbled to a 7-5 regular season, so the way this “Running it Back” team handles the spotlight matters.
The receiver room is another major piece of the puzzle. BYU had two of the Big 12’s top seven receivers last season in Parker Kingston and Chase Roberts, but both are gone now.
That leaves a clear opening for someone to step forward. Josiah Phillips, Kyler Kasper and true freshman Legend Glasker are among the names to watch.
Phillips entered spring as the No. 1 receiver, while Kasper, the former Oregon transfer, stood out as one of the spring’s biggest performers.
Defensively, all eyes will be on Kelly Poppinga in his first year as coordinator. Sitake picked the former BYU linebacker to replace Jay Hill, who left for the same job at Michigan. Poppinga has spent the last three years studying the Fred Whittingham, Kyle Whittingham, Kalani Sitake, Morgan Scalley, Jay Hill and Gary Andersen branch of defense, while also leaning on the strong BYU defenses he played around during the Mendenhall era.
How the staff manages camp is its own storyline. BYU has six preseason first-team All-Big 12 selections, so the balance between keeping veteran players sharp and avoiding unnecessary wear will be important.
Sitake has long believed players need to “spar” in camp to get ready for the season, but this roster looks different from the last two. It’s older, more proven, and built with enough experience that the staff may have to decide how much contact to give the upperclassmen and how many reps to carve out for younger players who could matter if this season stretches to 15 or even 16 games.
Those are the big items heading into camp, and they’ll all be part of the conversation as BYU begins its push toward 2026.
In Other News...
BYU Suddenly Has Another Major Recruiting Battle Around A Familiar Name
Puleivai Kaufusi is back on BYUs recruiting radar, and this time the Cougars are in a familiar kind of fight. The Kahuku defensive lineman has drawn interest from Arizona State, Arizona and Cal as well, but BYU has stayed firmly in the mix while keeping steady contact with Kaufusi and his family throughout the process.
The name carries obvious weight around Provo, yet Kaufusi has made it clear he wants his own story to unfold on its own terms. He has talked most often with coach Sione Po'uha, and for now the focus remains on getting ready for his junior season at Kahuku before the recruiting picture sharpens any further. [Read more 🡒]
BYU May Have Early Momentum For A Fast-Rising Local Four-Star
A familiar local name is starting to draw national attention, and BYU is right in the middle of the mix. Malosi Ilaoa, the four-star athlete from Timpview, has become one of the most closely watched prospects in the offseason, with a growing list of offers and the kind of profile that has college staffs treating him like a major target rather than just another in-state option.
For the Cougars, the appeal is obvious: Ilaoa is already being viewed as a top priority in the 2028 recruiting class, and the relationship-building has been underway for a while. He is getting ready for his junior season at Timpview, where the team is looking to bounce back after a difficult year, and his next steps figure to matter well beyond Provo as the race for one of Utahs most intriguing young prospects keeps widening. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Heads Into Fall Camp With Two Huge Questions
Fall camp is about to open with BYU in a familiar but still tricky spot under Kalani Sitake, who is entering his 11th season with a roster that has to absorb real turnover on offense while also learning a new voice on defense. The Cougars are trying to carry momentum into the 2026 season, and the biggest storyline on one side of the ball is how they replace the production and leadership that disappeared from the passing game, even as new transfers arrive to help fill the void.
On the other side, Kelly Poppinga steps in as defensive coordinator with expectations that the unit will remain aggressive, giving BYU a chance to keep its identity intact even with the change on the headset. The good news is that LJ Martin is back after a standout 2025 season and remains the kind of centerpiece every camp plan can build around, but the Cougars still have two major questions hanging over August: who becomes the reliable answer at receiver, and how smoothly the defense adjusts to its new direction. [Read more 🡒]