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How Cody Hagen's Retirement Impacts the BYU Wide Receiver Rotation

BYU will need to replace 70% of the wide receiver snaps in 2026
Casey Lundquist|
BYU wide receiver Jaron Pula at Spring Camp
BYU wide receiver Jaron Pula at Spring Camp | BYU Photo

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BYU Cougars

In 2025, Chase Roberts, Parker Kingston, and Cody Hagen played 70% of the wide receiver snaps for BYU. Going into Spring Camp, BYU was already needing to replace Roberts and Kingston. Then on Friday, junior wide receiver Cody Hagen retired for medical reasons. With Hagen out of the picture, no BYU position group returns fewer snaps than the wide receivers in 2026.

After Spring Camp, we projected Hagen to be one of BYU's starting wide receivers going into 2026. From a depth chart perspective, Hagen's loss is more impactful than any of the players that transferred out of the program in January.

In this article, we'll look at the BYU wide receiver rotation without Cody Hagen in the mix.

Coming out of Spring Camp, Jojo Phillips and Kyler Kasper were BYU's top two wide receivers. Hagen's departure doesn't change that. We fully expect Phillips and Kasper to start for BYU when the season kicks off against Utah Tech.

Behind Phillips and Kasper, the last starting spot is up for grabs. There are seven scholarship wide receivers that will compete for that job, and another two or three wide receivers will round out the core rotation.

In terms of who will replace Cody Hagen's snaps, it will come down to Fesi Sitake and whether he trusts the returning wide receivers that haven't played many snaps, or the true freshmen with high ceilings.

The Returning Options

BYU returns three scholarship wide receivers that played limited roles last season: Tiger Bachmeier, Tei Nacua, and Reggie Frischknecht.

Tiger Bachmeier, the older brother of Bear Bachmeier, played the most among this group. Tiger registered 263 offensive snaps, but he only had 7 catches for 59 yards. Like his younger brother, Tiger didn't join the program until the Summer last season. Perhaps a full year at BYU will allow him to produce at the same levels he did when he was a freshman at Stanford in 2023. That season, Tiger had 36 catches for 409 yards.

Reggie Frischknecht appeared in six games for BYU in 2025 after transferring in from Weber State. Frischknecht had one catch against TCU for seven yards and he played 66 snaps. He got a lot of run with the first-team offense in Spring Camp.

Tei Nacua, the younger brother of Puka, Samson, and Kai Nacua, played the least of the three returning wide receivers in 2025. Nacua played just 29 snaps and didn't have any receptions. Nacua is entering his third season with the program. Like Frischknecht, Nacua got a lot of first-team reps during Spring Camp.

The Freshmen Options

BYU has four true freshmen wide receivers on the 2026 roster: Legend Glasker, Jaron Pula, Terrance Saryon, and Jett Nelson. Glasker, Pula, and Saryon signed with BYU in December and enrolled in time for Spring Camp. Nelson, also on the Spring Camp roster, returned home from his mission and joined the program.

Legend Glasker looked like the next big thing during Spring Camp. Whenever Glasker was on the field, he was making plays. Whether it was a well-run corner route to create separation for a touchdown or getting behind the defense, Glasker consistently made plays. Even before Hagen's retirement, we expected Glasker to be in the rotation. Now that Hagen is out of the mix, Glasker has a real chance to win the starting job. Glasker is a little light right now, he was listed at 175 pounds during Spring Camp. If he can put on 10 pounds of muscle before Fall Camp, it's going to be hard to keep him off the field.

Jaron Pula was the most decorated recruit of the four freshmen on the roster. The four-star recruit picked BYU over the likes of Alabama, Tennessee, Washington, Utah, UCLA, Oregon, Ole Miss, Colorado, and Miami among others. Pula wasn't seen as often in team portions to start Spring Camp, but he appeared frequently during the back half of Spring Camp.

Pula has the requisite size to compete right away at 6'3 and 200 pounds. If he can learn the playbook and gel with Bear Bachmeier, Pula is another true freshman that could crack the rotation right away. In terms of potential, Pula might have the highest ceiling of any receiver on the roster.

Terrance Saryon is the quick, shifty wide receiver that is dangerous with the ball in his hands. Saryon flipped his commitment from Washington to BYU last summer. Saryon might be BYU's best option after the catch, so he could carve out a role for himself on jet sweeps and screens.

We don't expect Jett Nelson to contribute right away for BYU. It can take time for returned missionaries to shake the mission rust, so we expect Nelson to spend the 2026 season getting ramped back up for Power Four college football.

Wide Receiver Depth Chart Projection

To start the season, we think Fesi Sitake will lean on more experienced wide receivers like Reggie Frischknecht and Tei Nacua. If one of those two rises to the occasion, they will have every opportunity to play a major role in the BYU offense.

Keep an eye on the true freshmen wide receivers. We believe Legend Glasker and Jaron Pula will earn chances to play early in the season. By the end of the season, Glasker and/or Pula could become starters for the Cougars. They are talented enough to take reps from the more experienced wide receivers in the room.

  1. Jojo Phillips
  2. Tiger Bachmeier
  1. Kyler Kasper
  2. Legend Glasker
  1. Reggie Frischknecht OR Tei Nacua
  2. Jaron Pula

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Casey Lundquist
CASEY LUNDQUIST

Casey Lundquist is the publisher and lead editor of BYU On SI. He has covered BYU athletics since 2020. During that time, he has published over 3,500 stories that have reached millions of readers.

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