Three games into the 2026 season, BYU’s transfer class has already left its mark, even if the group was one of the smallest in college football. Kalani Sitake and the Cougars didn’t bring in a flood of new faces, but the ones they did add have started to shape both sides of the ball.
At the top of the impact list is Paki Finau, and it’s not hard to see why. After moving from guard at Washington to left tackle - his more natural spot - Finau has settled in and become one of the best left tackles in the country so far.
He hasn’t allowed anyone to hit Bear Bachmeier, and over three games the only pressure he has given up is a single quarterback pressure. That’s the kind of quiet dominance that changes how an offense feels snap to snap.
Cade Uluave has been just as important on defense. He arrived with high expectations and has met them quickly, showing the sideline-to-sideline speed that makes him such a difference-maker.
His interception against Arizona was a turning point in that game, and he was one of two transfers named team captain. At this point, he looks like one of BYU’s best defenders.
Kyler Kasper has also delivered exactly what the Cougars wanted. He leads BYU in targets and sits second to Legend Glasker in receiving yards, but his biggest value has come where the field tightens up.
In the red zone, he’s been the weapon BYU envisioned during camp. Kasper’s size makes him tough to handle one-on-one, and if a defense leaves him isolated, Bear Bachmeier has made it clear he’ll look that way.
Walker Lyons has stepped into a key role as well, filling the gap left by Carsen Ryan. Ryan brought value in both the run game and the passing game, and Lyons has picked up that responsibility with 7 catches for 84 yards while also helping a dominant BYU rushing attack keep rolling.
Jayven Williams has been exactly what BYU hoped for at corner. The Mississippi State transfer has handled the third-corner role, playing 88 snaps through three games.
Opponents have targeted him 10 times in coverage, and he has allowed 6 receptions for 58 yards. That’s steady, dependable work from a player who was expected to fit right in.
Jake Clifton has made his presence felt too, especially after Siale Esera’s injury. The Kansas State transfer showed playmaking ability in Fall Camp, and while that hasn’t fully surfaced in games yet, he has stayed in the rotation and become especially important with the linebacker room thinner. He’s averaging 21.3 snaps per game.
Roger Saleapaga earned a starting job out of Fall Camp and was also named a team captain, which says plenty about how BYU views him. The Oregon transfer missed the Colorado State game because of injury, but before that he had 3 catches for 28 yards against Utah Tech and Arizona. He was one of the most targeted players in Fall Camp, and BYU believes there’s more vertical ability there than he’s shown in games so far.
Zak Yamauchi has carved out a role as a backup offensive guard. The Stanford transfer appeared in two games, and after missing most of Spring Camp with an injury, he had to fight uphill to win a job. He ended up securing one of the backup guard spots.
Jr Sia is the only transfer who hasn’t made the two-deep. The Utah State transfer, a former starting offensive lineman for the Aggies, spent most of Fall Camp working with the third-string offense.
Not every transfer has flashed in the same way, but through three games BYU has already gotten meaningful production, dependable depth and a few true difference-makers from a class that wasn’t built to be large.
In Other News...
BYUs Strong Start Just Got A Transfer Story Fans Will Love
BYUs early-season momentum has been built in part on the kind of trench play that tends to travel, and ESPNs Max Olson took note by including offensive tackle Paki Finau on his sleeper all-transfer team. Finau has started every game at left tackle, giving the Cougars stability on the edge while helping anchor an offensive line that has been one of the more encouraging pieces of the start to the 2026 season.
Olsons list is meant to spotlight transfer players who have made a strong impression without arriving with the loudest preseason billing, and Finau is not the only Big 12 name on it. Utah defensive tackle Jireh Moe also earned mention for the disruption he has brought up front, a reminder that the conferences transfer class is already shaping games in ways that were not fully captured by the rankings a few months ago. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Is Back At The Center Of A CFP Fairness Fight
The College Football Playoff Selection Committee is set to add a new metric meant to better emphasize the strength of a teams conference record while also giving more context to how tough that leagues scheduling really is. For BYU, that matters because the Cougars have spent the last few seasons navigating a landscape where perception, schedule quality and conference affiliation can all shape how outsiders judge a rsum.
The timing adds another layer to an already familiar debate around postseason fairness, especially with SEC coaches pressing the issue after the move to nine conference games. The committees intent is clear enough, but how much this actually changes the way teams like BYU are viewed in practice is the part everyone will be watching. [Read more 🡒]
BYUs Bye Week Could Still Shake Up The Cougars Top 10 Spot
BYU gets a breather this week, but the Cougars place in the AP poll is hardly resting with them. Sitting at No. 9 and heading into a bye before a demanding run that starts at TCU, BYU is still vulnerable to the kind of scoreboard chaos that can shuffle the top 10 without the Cougars even taking the field.
The bigger question is what happens around them. A look at the next stretch of games, using SP+ probabilities to weigh upset possibilities, turns up several matchups that could move BYU up or down in the rankings, with games involving Texas, Ole Miss, Northwestern and USC among the ones most likely to shape the Cougars trajectory. In a week off that should have been quiet, BYU may still be watching the poll as closely as any team in the country. [Read more 🡒]