Five "What ifs" for the 2026 BYU Football Season

The BYU football season is inching closer. In two months, the Cougars will be in the middle of Fall Camp. As the BYU football season approaches, now's that time to ask: what if? Here are the five biggest "what ifs" of the 2025 BYU football season.

1. What is BYU establishes a dominant pass rush?

For as good as BYU has been the last two seasons, the pass rush generated by defensive ends is one area where the Cougars could improve. For context, BYU's defensive ends generated pressure on 9.4% of pass rush snaps last season.

Texas Tech, who had arguably the best pass rush in the country, generated pressure on 16.3% of pass rush snaps. In other words, Texas Tech's pass rush was 73% more effective than BYU's pass rush.

The difference between good and great defenses in college football is a dominant defensive line. If BYU is going to take the next step as a defense, it's going to depend on the consistency of the pass rush.

Fortunately for BYU fans, the talent on the roster suggests BYU could take a major step forward in that area in 2026. In terms of pressure rate, BYU's most effective pass rushers last season were underclassmen.

True freshman Nusi Taumoepeau led all pass rushers with a pressure rate of 29.4%. Taumoepeau's pressure rate is even more impressive in context. Texas Tech superstar David Bailey, who was the second overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, generated pressure on 21.3% of pass rush snaps in 2025. Time will tell if Taumoepeau can consistently generate pressure at scale - he played just 51 pass rush snaps last season comopared to 380 for David Bailey.

Sophomore Tausili Akana ranked second among BYU defensive ends in pressure rate and freshman Hunter Clegg ranked third. All three of Taumoepeau, Akana, and Clegg are entering their second seasons with the program, and all three of them were four-star recruits. With a full year under their belts, it's reasonable to expect them to take a step forward.

There are defensive ends on the roster that could factor in as well. Kini Fonohema could play a role after multiple years in the program, and true freshman Braxton Lindsey was a standout during Spring Camp.

So what if BYU's defensive ends consistently generate pressure? The surrounding talent suggests this could be one of the best defenses in program history, and maybe the best defense since 2012.

2. What if BYU's tight ends are as good as advertised?

Transfer tight ends Walker Lyons and Roger Saleapaga drew rave reviews during Spring Camp. On a team that's trying to sort out questions at wide receiver, the tight ends could be the answer to BYU's pass-catching questions.

Bear Bachmeier finds Walker Lyons in the end zone for the touchdown.

The perfect placement beat good coverage by Evan Johnson.

It might be time to buy stock in the BYU tight ends if you haven't already. pic.twitter.com/vyNhsbqObg
— Casey Lundquist (@casey_lundquist) March 11, 2026

Aaron Roderick went as far as calling Lyons and Saleapaga two of the best players on the team.

"Super impressed with Walker," Roderick said during Spring Camp. "He is a really complete player. I would say. He's a good blocker. He's an excellent receiver. He's smart. You can just tell he's been well coached and played a lot of good football, and he's going to be a big part of our offense and so is Roger. Both of those guys are two of the best players on our team for sure."

So what if BYU's tight ends live up to the hype? BYU's offense would have its best tight end duo since perhaps Dennis Pitta and Andrew George, and it would give Aaron Roderick a lot of options.

There is a somewhat likely scenario where BYU's starting offense could feature Kyler Kasper (6'6) and Jojo Phillips (6'5) at wide receiver, Bear Bachmeier (6'2, 230 lbs.) and LJ Martin (6'2, 225 lbs.) in the backfield, and Walker Lyons (6'4, 245 lbs.) and Roger Saleapaga (6'4, 235 lbs.) at tight end. That lineup, combined with BYU's large offensive line, could overwhelm defenses with size.

3. What if BYU goes into the Notre Dame game undefeated?

BYU will likely start 2026 as a preseason top 15, or top 20 at minumum, team. Notre Dame will start the season as a preseason top 10 team, and they might even start out as a preseason top 5 team.

Notre Dame will be heavily favored in their first six games, so there is a real chance the Fighting Irish are 6-0 when they come to Provo to play BYU.

The Cougars, meanwhile, will probably be favored in their first five games as well. While advanced analytics will probably suggest a 4-1 record is more likely than a perfect record going into that game, a 5-0 record is probably more likely than a 3-2 record.

If both BYU and Notre Dame go into that game undefeated, it will almost certainly be a matchup of two top 10 teams. That game would be one of the biggest games, if not the biggest game, in the history of LaVell Edwards Stadium.

4. What if BYU's young wide receivers are ready to roll?

BYU is looking to replace the three wide receivers that played the mots in 2025: Chase Roberts, Parker Kingston, and Cody Hagen. Without those three in the mix, we project Jojo Phillips and Kyler Kasper to start for BYU.

Behind those two, there are three returning wide receivers that could factor into the rotation: Reggie Frischknecht, Tiger Bachmeier, and Tei Nacua.

However, the wide receivers with perhaps the highest potential are true freshmen. True freshman Legend Glasker looked like the next big thing during Spring Camp. While he still needs to add a little weight to his frame, Glasker consistently made standout plays throughout Spring Camp. In terms of athleticism and skill, Glasker is ready to contribute. It remains to be seen if he is ready for the physicality of Power Four football. If Glasker is ready to unseat veterans like Frischknecht and Bachmeier, he would give BYU's offense a true deep threat.

Perfectly-thrown deep shot from Treyson Bourguet to Legend Glasker.

The true freshman wide receiver continues to make plays. pic.twitter.com/0ycUYUNdyB
— Casey Lundquist (@casey_lundquist) March 28, 2026

Along with Glasker, four-star true freshman Jaron Pula could factor in. Pula has a college-ready frame at 6'3 and 200 pounds. Pula's ceiling is as high as any wide receiver on BYU's roster. He is a fluid route-runner with great hands.

If either Glasker, Pula, or Terrance Saryon are ready to contribute right away, BYU's offense could be one of the best, if not the best, in the Big 12.

5. What if injuries impact Bear or LJ?

BYU has some depth questions at two of the most important positions: quarterback and running back.

If Bear Bachmeier is healthy, BYU's quarterback room will be in a good place. If Bachmeier goes down with an injury, there are a lot of question marks behind him. Treyson Bourguet hasn't played in multiple years since transferring in from Western Michigan.

If Bachmeier is out for a short period of time, we would expect Bourguet to step in and play. If Bachmeier is out for an extended period of time, perhaps the Cougars would turn to freshman Enoch Watson. Watson fits the mold of quarterbacks that have had success under Aaron Roderick. We believe Watson's skillset could mirror that of former BYU quarterback Baylor Romney. It remains to be seen how quickly Watson will be ready to play after returning home from his mission last year.

At running back, LJ Martin will be one of the best running backs in the country. He will share the backfield with Sione Moa. As long as those two are healthy, they will consume the lion's share of the carries for BYU.

The running back position takes on a lot of hits, and it's unlikely BYU will survive the season with Martin and Moa missing time at some point. Both Martin and Moa missed time due to injuries last season.

Behind those two, BYU would probably turn to true freshman DeVaughn Eka or Preston Rex.

If BYU is going to reach its potential and push for a spot in the playoff, they need Bear Bachmeier and LJ Martin to be available in the most important games.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on X and Facebook for the latest news.

Add us as a preferred source on Google