College football is back, and former BYU players are scattered across the country as the 2026 season gets rolling. A total of 11 players who left the program after the 2025 season found new homes, and their new spots will be worth tracking as the year unfolds.
The biggest name in that group is McCae Hillstead. After transferring back to Utah State, he won the starting quarterback job.
BYU will also see one of its former offensive linemen on the opposite sideline in week two. Jake Griffin is now with Arizona, and that trip will bring him back to Provo.
The 2025 exodus from the program was a large one, with 26 players moving on after the season. Some have already finished their college careers, while others have moved on to a third school. Among that group, Dallin Havea and Micah Harper both landed in the FCS before ending up at Power 4 programs, with Havea at UCLA and Harper at Iowa State.
A few names from the 2024 transfer class are still in the mix, too. Ryder Burton is now the starting quarterback at UAB after a short stint at WVU, while Dylan Flowers moved from BYU to SUU and then on to Duke.
John Henry Daley stands out as the biggest loss from that class. He emerged as a star at Utah before following Kyle Whittingham to Michigan.
There are also former Cougars nearing the end of their college careers elsewhere. Tate Romney is the most notable of that group. He left BYU for ASU, spent a few seasons in Tempe, and then transferred to Oklahoma State.
In Other News...
BYU May Have Found A Bigger Role For Tausili Akana
Tausili Akana arrived at BYU with the kind of pedigree that makes people wonder when the production will finally catch up. A former Texas edge prospect and consensus four-star recruit, he came to Provo after two seasons to chase the ceiling that made him such a coveted player in the first place, and the early signs of fall have been encouraging. Akana has added weight, looked better against the run and emerged as the top option at field backer on the initial depth chart, which suggests the Cougars may have found a much larger role for him than the one he carried coming in.
Akana has also sounded comfortable with where he is off the field, pointing to BYU's culture and the development he has gotten from the coaching staff. For a player whose upside has long been part of the conversation, that combination matters, because it often takes both physical growth and the right environment before a gifted transfer turns into a real defensive factor. BYU is hoping this latest version of Akana is closer to the one it envisioned when he first made his way to campus. [Read more 🡒]
USC Fans May Not Love This Name In The Next Coaching Cycle
With the college football season just getting started, the usual early whisper campaign around the next coaching cycle is already taking shape. A new look at the market points to three names that could surface if Power Four jobs open up, with Kliff Kingsbury, Mike Norvell and Kalani Sitake all mentioned as possible fits depending on how the fall unfolds.
Sitakes inclusion is the one that should matter most to BYU fans, even if nothing is imminent and nothing is decided. He has built enough credibility to keep showing up in these kinds of conversations, which is a compliment as much as a warning, because the more successful the Cougars look under him, the more often his name figures to appear whenever a major program starts casting a wide net. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Will Learn A Lot About Faletau Satuala Right Away
The first weekend of the 2026 college football season is going to tell Big 12 coaches a lot in a hurry, and BYUs chance to get an early read on Faletau Satuala stands out among the leagues opening tests. The freshman defender arrives with plenty of buzz, and in a slate built around key players in marquee matchups, he is one of the names worth tracking because his first real snaps could say a lot about how quickly he fits into the Cougars plans.
BYU is not alone in that spotlight, with Baylors DJ Lagway, Houstons Makhi Hughes, Arizona States Omarion Miller and Texas Techs Adam Trick also carrying their own early expectations, but Satualas situation has a different kind of intrigue because the opener can expose both talent and readiness right away. For a program that wants to hit the ground running, getting a clear answer on what Satuala can handle in a live game setting may end up mattering as much as any other development from the weekend. [Read more 🡒]