Observations From the First Day of BYU Spring Camp

PROVO, Utah - The BYU football program kicked off the 2026 season on Friday with a practice at the Zion's Bank practice field. The media was allowed to attend a brief portion of practice. Below are our observations from the first day of Spring Camp. You can also watch a few brief highlights from day one in the video at the top of the article.

First and foremost, if you've read our practice recaps before, you will know that we try to provide as much insight as possible. Today's report will be, frankly, less insightful. The media viewed about 15 minutes of practice from the balcony of the Student Athlete Building. Meanwhile, the team was practicing on the very opposite end on the turf practice field, meaning our view of practice was from about 150 yards away. Jackson Payne of the Deseret News captured the media's view of practice on Friday.

Let the spring ball begin pic.twitter.com/KzAuyfV7TK
— Jackson Payne (@jackson5payne) February 27, 2026

With that in mind, we'll do our best to provide the insights we can. Let's dive in.

Play of the Day

The play of the day came on the defensive side of the ball. Bear Bachmeier dropped back to pass and made an intermediate throw that was tipped up into the air. Veteran safety Raider Damuni intercepted the pass and took it back the other way.

Damuni will start at safety in 2026 alongside star safety Faletau Satuala. Damuni and Satuala have the potential to be the best starting safety duo on the Big 12.

New Faces

The newcomers were active on Friday. USC transfer Walker Lyons caught a ball from Bear Bachmeier during the team portion of practice. Lyons was targeted on another pass that fell incomplete.

First look at four-star USC transfer Walker Lyons in a BYU uniform.

Bear Bachmeier found Walker Lyons for a short gain. pic.twitter.com/oCHGb7Yo43
— Casey Lundquist (@casey_lundquist) February 28, 2026

Oregon transfer Kyler Kasper was targeted by Bachmeier on a fade route that fell incomplete.

Oregon transfer Roger Saleapaga caught a pass from Treyson Bourguet for an intermediate gain. More on Bourguet in a moment.

Returned missionary Matthew Frederick caught a quick pass from Bachmeier that was nearly intercepted by the defense. A defender (missed the specific player) almost jumped in front of the route. It was close enough that the defense started celebrating, thinking they had come down with another turnover. Instead, Frederick came down with it for a short gain.

Bear Bachmeier on Day One

Bear Bachmeier took the majority of the reps on Friday, all with the first-team offense. Bachmeier's best completion of the day was an intermediate throw to sophomore tight end Noah Moeaki. Moeaki is competing against transfers Walker Lyons and Roger Saleapaga for the starting job at tight end.

Bear Bachmeier connects with tight end Noah Moeaki for a first down on the first day of Spring Camp. pic.twitter.com/F3w21dWdSQ
— Casey Lundquist (@casey_lundquist) February 28, 2026

Besides the tipped interception, Bachmeier took care of the football. He completed an out route from the opposite hash to Jared Esplin for a first down.

Bachmeier also connected with Jojo Phillips for a quick out and a first down. Every time we've seen Bachmeier in a camp setting, Phillips has been one of his favorite targets.

Treyson Bourguet Gets Second-Team Reps

There will be no battle for the starting quarterback job in 2026. Bear Bachmeier will be the starter. The backup quarterback spot is a different story. Veteran Treyson Bourguet will battle freshman Enoch Watson for the backup spot.

It was Treyson Bourguet that got the second-team reps during the media portion of practice.

A First Look at the Offensive Line

It's way too early to draw depth chart conclusions about the offensive line. They will try multiple combinations of offensive linemen before settling in a on starting five in the fall.

With that in mind, the first-team offensive line (from left to right) was Washington transfer Paki Finau, Joe Brown, Bruce Mitchell, Kyle Sfarcioc, and Andrew Gentry.

Finau played guard and tackle at Washington before transferring to BYU. It looks like he will have a chance to be BYU's starting left tackle in 2026.

Eyes on the Big 12 Title

Three BYU players met with the media after practice: LJ Martin, Keanu Tanuvasa, and Bruce Mitchell. Their comments had one thing in common: their sights are set on the Big 12 championship game. All three mentioned coming up short against Texas Tech in Arlington. Both Martin and Tanuvasa mentioned that as a key part of their decisions to return to BYU for one more season.

On how that played into his decision to return to BYU, LJ Martin said, "I would say that's a big factor, you know. We had two opportunities these last few years to do it, and I feel like we'll have another opportunity this year where we've got to make the most of it."

Ulavai Fetuli

If you have read our comments about redshirt freshman Ulavai Fetuli, you will know that we believe he has a bright future ahead of him at BYU. He is part of a veteran defensive tackle unit in 2026. We believe he could be a multi-year starter at defensive tackle in 2027 and beyond. Fetuli got a shoutout from Keanu Tanuvasa on Friday.

On who has stood out from the defensive tackle room, Tanuvasa said, "Vai Fetuli is phenomenal. He's a freshman. This is his first spring, but you saw a couple games of him last year...he's got that natural instinct to play within the box, which is hard to find. The box is a difficult place to play, especially as a younger kid. So for him, he put on a lot of good weight and he's looking well."