BYU Position Group Rankings: Is This the Offensive Line of the Decade?

It’s amazing how much can change in three years. In BYU’s first year in the Big 12, BYU boasted the 14th worst run game in college football at just over 100 yards per game. A few years later, BYU rushed for just under 180 yards per game, thanks in large part to a resurgence of the offensive line under new coach TJ Woods.

Coming into 2026, expectations for the offensive line rival the end of the independence era, when BYU produced three straight draft picks at left tackle and ranked top 10 in pass protection for three straight years. This group is excellent but is not without his question marks. If those questions can be answered, this could propel BYU to its best offensive season in the Big 12 era.

Projected Depth Chart

1. Andrew Gentry, Sonny Makasini, Bruce Mitchell, Kyle Sfarcioc, Paki Finau

2. Jr Sia, Joe Brown, Trevor Pay, Zak Yamauchi, Siosiua Latu-Finau

Strengths: At least two future draft picks

BYU center Bruce Mitchell at Fall Camp | BYU Photo

BYU loses 3 of their top 7 linemen from last year in terms of snaps, but the guys returning were terrific last season. Bruce Mitchell, Sonny Makasini, Andrew Gentry, and Kyle Sfarcioc played 1,394 combined snaps last season and gave up just 10 combined sacks + QB hits between them. Couple that with a top 15 run blocking unit per PFF and it’s easy to see why Pick 6 Previews (14th), Athlon (19th), and PFF (10th), consider BYU to have a top 20 offensive line coming in to 2026.

This line will be anchored by two projected NFL draft picks in Andrew Gentry and Bruce Mitchell, who could not have had two more opposite paths to stardom. Gentry was a former top-100 recruit and national champion at Michigan before transferring to BYU, where he was highly productive as a Junior, giving up one QB hit and one sack coming off a major foot injury. Bruce Mitchell, on the other hand, was a former walk-on defensive tackle before becoming the nation's third best returning center according to PFF. Mitchell graded as the 5th best run blocker and 7th best overall at his position last season while playing nearly 1,000 total snaps. Turns out, BYU had a top center in the country all along. He just happened to play football. The guard and left tackle positions are still up for grabs as Fall Camp rolls on among 6 players, 4 of whom played over 140 snaps at the Power Four level last season.

Incoming transfers Zak Yamauchi (Stanford) and Paki Finau (Washington) were both blue-chip recruits brought in to battle with incumbent starters Makasini and Sfarcioc, while former Stanford commit and RS Freshman Siosiua Latu-Finau has rotated with the ones throughout fall camp. Whoever winds up winning the job, this group is talented, deep, and experienced, and is projected to be among the best in college football this season.

Needs to Prove: Pass protection

BYU offensive tackle Andrew Gentry at Fall Camp | BYU Photo

Under Kalani Sitake, BYU has developed a reputation along the lines of scrimmage, which was only bolstered by a strong 2025 campaign. BYU bullied the bulk of their schedule, particularly on the ground, en route to a top 15 run blocking grade per PFF. At first glance, BYU did a decent job protecting QB Bear Bachmeier as well, ranking 13th in sack rate allowed, but Texas Tech exposed the cracks that perhaps we should have seen all year long. Despite a great sack rate, the Bachmeier was pressured on 31.1% of snaps (75th nationally), showing that BYU still had room to grow to compete with the best pass rushes in the sport.

Fast forward one offseason, BYU is viewed as a potential top 20 offensive line in the country despite losing half of their top 6 linemen. Why? BYU appeared to upgrade at the position that struggled most. Last season, BYU’s starting offensive line allowed a combined 21 QB hits and sacks last season. 11 of those came from the left tackle position to go with 11 penalties. Projected left tackle Paki Finau allowed 0 sacks, 1 QB hit, and committed 0 penalties in 229 snaps at Washington.
If Finau’s numbers replaced the pass blocking snaps taken by BYU’s left tackles last season, BYU would have allowed just 12 QB sacks and hits combined, matching the total of the 2021 offensive line which ranked second nationally in those metrics.

Position ranking: #5

BYU offensive line in Fall Camp | BYU Photo

BYU is absolutely loaded along the offensive line this season, but the unsettled position battles and questions at left tackle keep them from being much higher on this list. Don’t get it twisted, though. If BYU hit on transfer Paki Finau like we think they did, this unit will be one of the 10 best in the nation by season's end. BYU should be able to dictate the terms at the line of scrimmage against the vast majority of their schedule. Outside Texas Tech, BYU played 5 teams ranked in the top 40 of EPA per rush allowed with a healthy LJ Martin. In those games, BYU averaged over 180 yards per game. BYU will play 4 of those teams again this season plus 6 more teams that ranked outside the top 60.

In laymens terms, BYU should be able to run the football as much as it wants to with the talent in the room. If they can also take a step forward protecting the QB, BYU might have its most productive offense since 2021.

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