Cougs Daily

Five BYU Football Players That Stood Out During Spring Camp

Casey Lundquist|
BYU tight end Carsen Ryan at BYU Spring Camp
BYU tight end Carsen Ryan at BYU Spring Camp | BYU On SI

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BYU Cougars

2025 Spring camp is in the books for the BYU football program. As the academic calendar turns to finals, BYU football players will take a few weeks off before returning back for Summer workouts. After Summer workouts, Fall camp will begin and another season of BYU football will be upon us. Today, we're looking back on Spring camp and going over five players that stood out during the limited segments that the media was able to observe.

5. Faletau Satuala

Faletau Satuala signed with BYU as part of the 2024 signing class. Satuala was the highest-rated recruit in the state of Utah in the 2024 class, and he enrolled at BYU in time for Fall camp. Unlike a lot of highly-touted recruits in this era of college football, Satuala did not enroll early. He had only Fall camp to learn Jay Hill's defense.

Satuala still found a way to the field as a true freshman. He played 119 defensive snaps over 12 games.

Satuala's talent has always been there, but he needed to learn the playbook and get accustomed to the physicality of Power Four football.

Towards the end of Spring camp, Satuala started to flash the talent that made him a four-star recruit coming out of high school. On one live rep, Satuala beat a block and tackled Tei Nacua for a loss on a screen pass. Satuala diagnosed the play and used his athleticism to beat the block and get a tackle for loss.

Satuala is gifted in coverage with his athleticism. If he can further develop in terms of his physicality, he has star potential. Expect Satuala to play a bigger role for BYU in 2025.

Returning veteran Tanner Wall is the leading candidate to start at free safety. True sophomore Faletau Satuala is going to push him to keep his starting job.

4. Jake Retzlaff

Jake Retzlaff had moments of brilliance in his first year as BYU's starting quarterback in 2024. There were also times, primarily in November, where the turnover issues that plagued him in 2023 surfaced again. Going into Spring camp, the progression of Jake Retzlaff was one of the top storylines.

In the limited segments where the media was able to watch, Retzlaff did not commit a turnover. He also did a really good job managing the offense. Besides one practice near the end of camp, the first team offense consistently moved the chains in a variety of ways.

In a four-minute drill, the offense was faced with a third & long. Retzlaff stepped up and fired a rocket to Jojo Phillips over the middle for a first down. On another third down, Retzlaff evaded pressure and dumped it off to Carsen Ryan for a first time.

Retzlaff was more poised and under more control than he was back in Fall camp. There are signs that Retzlaff is prepared to elevate his game to another level in 2025.

Aaron Roderick has not shied away from setting high expectations for Retzlaff in 2025. Roderick believes Retzlaff can be one of the best quarterbacks in the sport.

3. Keanu Tanuvasa

BYU was a little undersized along the interior defensive line last season. With the addition of Utah transfer Keanu Tanuvasa, that will not be the case in 2025. Tanuvasa's size and quickness stood out during Spring camp. Listed at 6'4 and 300 pounds, Tanuvasa has the potential to be the best interior defensive lineman at BYU since Khyiris Tonga.

Tanuvasa is a sure bet to start for Jay Hill and the BYU defense. The question will be who starts next to him. John Taumoepeau got a lot of first-team reps this Spring and newcomer Anisi Purcell had a lot of standout moments as well. Then there's Joshua Singh who always flies under the radar.

2. Keelan Marion

Chase Roberts was limited in Spring camp as he recovered from an injury. While Roberts was sidelined, it was Keelan Marion that took on the role as the top wide receiver on offense. Marion is 10 pounds heavier and entering his third year in the system.

On one play, Retzlaff connected with Marion over the middle and Marion did the rest. Marion is so gifted with the ball in his hands that he could play a role similar to the one that Puka Nacua played in 2022. Whether it's jet sweeps or screens, Marion will be a focal point of the offense.

If there is a candidate to fill the void left by Darius Lassiter, it is Keelan Marion. Marion has obvious talent with the ball in his hands - look no further than his kickoff returns for touchdowns in 2024. But he has developed more as a true wide receiver in Aaron Roderick's offense. Marion is one of the leaders of the wide receiver room in 2025, and he is a leader to be a breakout player in 2025.

Marion finished the 2024 season with 24 receptions and 346 yards. His role increased as the season progressed. The last three games of the regular season, Marion tallied 10 receptions for 130 yards.

1. Carsen Ryan

Utah transfer tight end Carsen Ryan will start for BYU at tight end and he will be a prominent feature in the offense. Tight end usage has been down at BYU over the last few years, but Carsen Ryan has the potential to bring it back. After Spring camp, BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff said Carsen Ryan was probably the offensive MVP of camp.

BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick said getting the ball to Carsen Ryan was an emphasis during camp and it showed during the media availabilities. There were a few occassions where Retzlaff used Ryan as a safety net when he was under pressure, and Ryan was targeted on third downs as well.

What separates Ryan from BYU tight ends of the last few years, at least in my opinion, is his ability to block and be an effective receiver. BYU has had good blocking tight ends and good receiving tight ends, but they've lacked a starter that excels at both. Ryan's dual capability will keep him on the field.

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Casey Lundquist
CASEY LUNDQUIST

Casey Lundquist is the publisher and lead editor of Cougs Daily. He has covered BYU athletics for the last four years. During that time, he has published over 2,000 stories that have reached more than three million people.

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