7 Takeaways From BYU's Signing Day Press Conference

On Wednesday, seven members of the BYU coaching staff met with the media as part of the February signing day. BYU head coach Kalani Sitake, offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick, and defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga met with the media to discuss BYU's 2026 signing class.

Other members of the coaching staff met with the media and discussed their new roles on staff, namely special teams coordinator Justin Ena, assistant head coach Sione Po'uha, safeties coach Demario Warren, and cornerbacks coach Lewis Walker.

In this article, we will recap our top seven takeaways from Wednesday's press conference.

1. BYU Will Lean on High School Recruiting & Development More Than the Transfer Portal

As part of his remarks, Kalani Sitake reiterated his stance on the transfer portal. Sitake says the foundation of BYU's program will be built by recruiting the high school ranks. High-level high school recruiting combined with player development is what Sitake wants BYU to be in the long run.

"I don't know if we'll be doing what a lot of these other teams have been doing, which is kind of wholesale changes and bring them in from the portal," Sitake said. "I'd like to think that we've done a great job recruiting and developing our players and being able to retain them here. I understand some years you might need the portal a little bit more than others, but I think we can rely on the development of our program, the development of these young men."

However, the transfer portal will still play a role, particularly when it comes to filling roster needs.

"It'd be foolish of us not to look at the portal and see some guys that actually fit the program," Sitake said. "[Some guys are] a perfect fit for the program on and off the field. And so I think we've been able to do that and provide some competition and some depth for our team...So I think we'll dabble in it a little bit, but I don't know if we can say that this is the bulk of our team's going to come from one way or the other. I'd like to think that we can still develop [our high school recruits]".

2. Enoch Watson Enrolled and Participated in Bowl Prep

As of this writing, BYU will have just three scholarship quarterbacks on the 2026 roster: Bear Bachmeier, Treyson Bourguet, and Enoch Watson. Bachmeier will be the starter, and the backup spot will be a battle between Bourguet and Watson.

Watson is a true freshman returned missionary that has enrolled at BYU. He enrolled early enough to participate in six of BYU's bowl practices, per Aaron Roderick.

"Super excited about Enoch," Roderick said. "He has been around for a few months now, practiced with us in bowl prep. I think he got about six practices or so in bowl practices with us. So we've actually had him in pads and seen him play already, and he looks really good. Very talented guy, strong arm guy with a lot of athletic ability and great size, and he looked good in the practice leading up to the bowl game and like what I see out of him so far in the weight room, and we've thrown a little bit on the field as well."

3. Don't Expect the Defensive Scheme to Change Much

New defensive coordinator expects to run the same scheme that Jay Hill had been running at BYU, he explained on Wednesday.

"I don't think it's gonna be too different, honestly," Poppinga said. "I think what we've been doing here has been, been working. We've had a lot of success with it."

Given Poppinga's experience in two different schemes, there were some questions about whether Poppinga would stick to the scheme that Jay Hill established or go back to his roots in Bronco Mendenhall's defense. Poppinga clarified that with Kalani Sitake and Gary Andersen still in the building, the defense will look like the ones BYU has been running the last three seasons.

4. DeVaugh Eka Mentioned as a Freshman That Could Play This Year

BYU returns star running back LJ Martin in 2026. Behind Martin, BYU declined to add a running back from the transfer portal. Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick says running back is a position where true freshmen can make an impact, and former Lehi standout DeVaughn Eka has impressed Roderick so far."

"He's here now and he looks very good," Roderick said on Eka. "I never want to put too much on a freshman, but if there's a position where a freshman can play on offense, it's running back. We'll see how he does, but I would not be surprised at all if he plays this year, and he's a very talented kid. We're super excited about him."

Eka enrolled in January after a standout career at Lehi High School. Eka could really boost the room if he's ready to contribute right away. He ran for 3,000 yards over the last 3 years at Lehi.

If we were in the business of selling ice, we would set our store front up in Lehi.

Why?

Because Devaughn Eka has moves that will make you need to ice your ankles and if you are able to actually tackle him, he makes sure you feel it with his bruising contact!

Lehi picks up a… pic.twitter.com/9GW6lBkETG
— KSL Sports Rewind (@KSLSportsRewind) October 4, 2025

5. Cade Uluave 'Can Do Everything'

When asked about Cal transfer Cade Uluave, Kelly Poppinga said he's a linebacker that can impact the game in multiple ways. "I think he's a very instinctive football player. He can do everything," Poppinga said. "When you watch this film from last year at Cal. [He's] phenomenal at fitting the run, very good instincts. He's great in coverage, and man, his pass rush abilities are really, really good too as well. So I think he's just, he's the type of backer that we want."

6. Aaron Roderick Speaks on Ryder Lyons

On the morning of the last signing day, Ryder Lyons had not signed when Aaron Roderick spoke to the media. Therefore, Roderick couldn't talk about Lyons specifically. Roderick was able to comment on Lyons for the first time on Wednesday.

"He's an elite passer," Roderick said. "He can really throw the ball, makes every throw you can make. He's a super athlete. He makes a lot of plays off schedule, buys time, keeps his eyes downfield. He scrambles to throw. He's a good runner too, but he scrambles to throw and makes a lot of plays. He's a very, very talented thrower. I mean one of the best you'll find anywhere. So yeah, I'm super excited about him. Won a lot of games in high school and, and we're expecting to do the same thing in college."

When asked about the future plans with Lyons at quarterback given the return of a young star like Bear Bachmeier, Roderick said they just want Lyons to focus on his mission.

"Well, [we] don't look too far ahead," Roderick said. " Like right now it's just go on your mission and focus on your mission. And when he gets home, I mean, he's a good player. So what I tell all these guys is we're going to sign the best quarterback we can get every year, and there's always going to be 3 or 4 really good players in that room, and the cream will always rise to the top, and I believe that...I think it's a little bit of a fool's errand to look too far ahead and say well we're going to plan this and this and this. We're just going one day at a time right now."

7. BYU is 'Expecting Big Things' From Oregon Transfer Kyler Kasper

Historically, BYU has brought in transfers with proven production at the college level. They went against that trend when they signed Oregon transfer Kyler Kasper. Kasper, largely due to injuries, tallied only six receptions at Oregon.

Still, Aaron Roderick is expecting big things from the former Duck.

"With Kyler, yeah, the injury really held him back from having the kind of success he wanted to have at Oregon. We checked that out as much as we can...he's full go right now doing everything, so we're excited about that. Usually when you go to the portal, you're usually going for guys that are proven...In Kyler's case, this is a situation where we had connections to him. We've known him for a long time. In high school, we weren't able to get him, but we're banking on what we know about his character, what we know about his family, what we know about his athletic ability. We're betting on him producing now that he's healthy, and it's a projection, but man, he has a lot of talent. He is all of 6'6, and what I've seen of him so far is very encouraging, and we're expecting big things."

Kasper is a long, fast wide receiver listed at 6'6 and 220 pounds. Coming out of high school, Kasper was one of the most coveted wide receiver recruits in his class. He was a top 150 prospect and one of the top 25 wide receivers. He held scholarship offers from the likes of LSU, Georgia, Miami, Tennessee, Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, Penn State, USC, and Ohio State among others.