BYU Wide Receiver Jojo Phillips 'Has Taken a Big Step Forward'

The BYU football program is approaching the end of spring practice. One of the biggest question marks heading into camp was the wide receiver room. The Cougars will need to replace their two leading wide receivers from a season ago in Parker Kingston and Chase Roberts.

On Friday, BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick expressed confidence in BYU's pass-catchers. He singled out redshirt junior wide receiver Jojo Phillips as a player that has "taken a big step forward."

"Been happy with [the wide receivers'] development," Roderick said. "Jojo Phillips has taken a big step forward. You know, that injury he had last year was pretty serious. We don't talk a lot about details and stuff, but that was a tough injury and it hurt his confidence and it took him some time to get back."

Phillips suffered an injury in week two against Stanford. That injury kept him out two full months before he returned to the lineup against Texas Tech. When he returned from his injury, he was targeted 12 times and he had 7 catches. He also had 3 drops, and some of the drops came in pivotal moments. It was clear that he was still rusty after being sidelined for two months.

Shoestring catch from Jojo Phillips pic.twitter.com/TLCOdTYwV9
— Casey Lundquist (@casey_lundquist) March 28, 2026

Then, Phillips had a couple weeks to prepare for the bowl game. He looked like the version of himself that he showed in Fall Camp. He had a season-high 4 catches for 53 yards.

"And then the bowl game, it was like, ok, that's Jojo that we've been expecting and I've seen more growth in him this spring," Roderick said.

Bear Bachmeier connects with Jojo Phillips. Phillips will start and is one of the front-runners to be WR1. pic.twitter.com/ioukjA9ajv
— Casey Lundquist (@casey_lundquist) March 4, 2026

At this point, Phillips is probably the leading candidate to become BYU's go-to wide receiver in 2026. He has filled out his long frame and, according to his coaches, has become the leader of the room as well.

"We'll have enough weapons"

Roderick highlighted the other pass-catchers on BYU's roster as well. The two transfer tight ends, Roger Saleapaga and Walker Lyons, will play a big role in the passing game.

"Kyler Kasper's had a great spring," Roderick said. "He's everything I thought he was going to be up to this point and he'll be a big part of our offense. I see Tei [Nacua] growing every day. You know, I see Reggie Frischknecht out there improving. I'm going to forget somebody there, but there's enough guys there for sure. And then when you factor in that we have some tight ends that are good receivers, we'll have enough weapons."

BYU will wrap up Spring Camp next week.