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Overreacting to BYU Fall Camp Highlights: Week 1

Joe Wheat|
BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier at Fall Camp
BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier at Fall Camp | BYU Photo

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Listen. Everyone does it and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. The official BYU account drops that days Fall Camp highlights, and you immediately cancel your meetings for the rest of the day. The clips might be six seconds long, but that is plenty of time to place your bet for Arlington. “Oh sweet! An interception! Lets go fram- by-frame to determine which quarterback’s facemask we can pick out at the beginning of the video.” We get it. We at BYU On SI do it too. At the end of the day, we are all starving for football so lets get it all out in the open. Here are five observations (let’s face it, overreactions) of the first week of 2025 BYU fall camp highlights.

1. The downfall of the BYU secondary has been greatly exaggerated

Many have felt that the BYU secondary would take a massive step back this year following the loss of Jakob Robinson and Marque Collins. That may still be true, but there is still so much talent in this secondary. According to sources, BYU corners and safeties recorded 7 interceptions through the first two days of Fall Camp including 3 by sophomore safety Faletau Satuala and the one shown above by cornerback Evan Johnson.

Lest you take this to mean the quarterback competition isn’t going well, don’t be too concerned. Last year, both of BYU’s QB battle participants were turnover happy and everyone was concerned with the seasons outlook. Turns out, they were facing the defense that would lead the nation in interceptions the following year. There is room to be encouraged that this secondary is still regularly producing big plays on the backend, even if it is just in the first 3 days of practice.

2. This wide receiver room will be better than last year

A few days ago, I wrote that BYU’s receiver room will be about the same production as last year. After 3 days, I am prepared to amend that prediction. Watch the 2 clips in the tweet above. One of these freakish athletes (Lamason Waller and Tei Nacua) will be the 8th best receiver on the team. Ahead of them is Reggie Frischknecht, Cody Hagen and Tiger Bachmeier who each received rave reviews from Aaron Roderick and Fesi Sitake in post-practice interviews. Parker Kingston and Chase Roberts are known commodities and will receive a big boost in targets. Then there is JoJo Philips who has been prominently featured in the posted highlights and already looks poised to fill the role left by Darius Lassiter as a redshirt sophomore. We may not know who the quarterback is, but we can rest easy knowing that the 8th best receiver on the team can still do THAT.

3. Bear Bachmeier is much further along than anyone expected as a passer

Everyone following the quarterback battle has heard the same things about the 3 quarterbacks:

(1)    Mccae Hillstead was the most dynamic downfield passer but is limited by size.

(2)    Treyson Bourget is the quarterback that looks the part in terms of size and mechanics

(3)    Bear Bachmeier is the most talented of the 3 but is likely too raw as a passer to take the reigns as a true freshman.

Bachmeier seemed to dispel that notion on day one. Bachmeier had the best showing in media availability on Monday, going 4/5 with 3 downfield completions to Chase Roberts and JoJo Philips. He followed that up with perhaps the best throw and catch of Fall Camp so far in this clip above, hitting LaMason Waller on a rope 30 yards downfield just before an airborne Waller reached the sideline. Bachmeier has already exhibited a much better arm than anticipated. He is so good as a runner, it's easy to forget that he finished his high school career throwing for 59 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 29 career starts. If this is where he is at the end of week one, there is a serious three-man competition.

4. BYU’s tackles will be the best tandem since 2020

Andrew Gentry and Isaiah Jatta are large human beings. At a combined 13 feet, 2 inches tall and 630 pounds, it’s hard to imagine a much more idyllic looking tandem to play tackle at BYU, and boy are the talented. Rewatch the clip of Bachmeier’s throw to Waller and look and Gentry’s pass protection. The pass rusher Gentry is facing is a 6’3 235 former top 50 recruit who is never given a chance to get home. In the clip above, the chasmic running lane was created by Gentry essentially holding BYU’s #3 recruit of the 2023 class in place while RB Joseva Damuni scoots into the secondary. On the last clip, Sione Moa breaks free as there is nothing Isaiah Glasker can do to break the edge set by LT Isaiah Jatta. BYU’s interior offensive line started a lot of games for BYU last year, but the reason BYU’s offense takes a step forward this year is because they have two Argonaths protecting the first person to get the ball on every play.

5.       LJ Martin is going to rush for 1,100 yards

Not so much of an overreaction as a regurgitation of what was already believed. LJ Martin’s vision was always exceptional, but his agility seems to have taken a step forward as shown in the clip above. Martin’s ability to turn negative yards into positive is the reason why many feel that BYU can compete for a conference title even without last year's QB1. With moves like that, he is going to have a case for being the top running back in the Big 12 this year.

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Joe Wheat
JOE WHEAT

Joe Wheat has covered BYU since 2020. He specializes in passionate opinions fueled by statistics and advanced analytics. Joe’s goal in writing is to celebrate the everyday fan by understanding what they are feeling and giving them the data to understand why.

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