Predicting the Winners of Every Position Battle Ahead of BYU Football Fall Camp

BYU Football Fall Camp kicks off this week. Yesterday, we previewed the position battles to follow during Fall Camp. Today, we're calling our shots and picking the winners of those position battles.

Cornerback

The Pick: Evan Johnson

The Reasoning: We project Evan Johnson to beat out Tre Alexander and start opposite of veteran Mory Bamba. Evan Johnson was the highest-graded player on BYU's defense in 2024. The sophomore cornerback played in 12 games. He had the highest coverage grade of the BYU secondary. He allowed receptions on 47.8% of targets, the lowest of the BYU cornerbacks.

Johnson is also one of the fastest players on the roster. He ran a 10.4 100M in high school. His combination of speed and experience give him the slight edge in this position battle.

Wide Receiver

There are two starting wide receiver spots up for grabs behind Chase Roberts.

The Picks: Jojo Phillips & Parker Kingston

The Reasoning: We think Jojo Phillips and Parker Kingston are the favorites here. BYU wide receivers coach Fesi Sitake tends to prioritize experienced players that are willing to wait their turn before taking on larger roles. Phillips and Kingston fit that description. Phillips and Kingston were in the rotation last year, but they were behind Chase Roberts, Darius Lassiter, and Keelan Marion. Now is their time to emerge as starters for the BYU offense.

The wide receiver room is unique. While only three typically start, BYU consistently rotates five or six wide receivers. We expect Cody Hagen and Tiger Bachmeier to push for the starting jobs. Even if they don't start in week one against Portland State, they will play big roles for the BYU offense.

Right Tackle

The Pick: Andrew Gentry

The Reasoning: Michigan transfer Andrew Gentry is healthy and ready to compete in Fall camp. We give him the slight edge to beat out Austin Leausa for the starting right tackle job. Gentry emerged as a starter for the Michigan offensive line in 2024 before an injury ended his season. He wasn't fully cleared in the Spring.

Among offensive lineman that played 100 or more snaps for Michigan in 2024, Gentry had the highest pass-blocking grade. Gentry got his first career start for Michigan against Illinois in 2024. He started the following week against Michigan State when he suffered a foot injury that ended his season.

When he was healthy, he was very effective. Gentry did not allow a single quarterback pressure in 2024.

Right Guard

The Pick: Kyle Sfacioc

The Reasoning: Kyle Sfarcioc was a three-year starter at guard for SUU and he is playing his final year of eligibility at BYU. He was one of the better pass blocking offensive lineman in the FCS. Over the course of his career, which includes 733 pass block snaps, Sfarcioc has never allowed a quarterback sack. It is along the interior of the offensive line where he will play at BYU.

Sfarcioc's pass blocking is certainly the strength of his game. His run blocking has improved over the last three years, but his chief strength is defending pass rushers. BYU offensive line coach and run game coordinator TJ Woods saw enough on Sfarcioc's film to offer him a spot at BYU. Sfarcioc ran with the first-team offense for most of Spring Camp.

Defensive End

The Picks: Logan Lutui and Viliami Po'uha

The Reasoning: Besides the quarterback battle, this is the position battle we are most excited to watch. There are so many talented players competing for just two starting spots. For the first spot, we are going with the most experienced player in the room: Logan Lutui.

After Lutui, we give a very, very slight edge to Viliami Po'uha. Po'uha was one of the most effective pass rushers on BYU's roster in 2024 in terms of pressure rate. Po'uha returned from his mission in January of 2024. With the benefit of a full offseason and one year under his belt, we think Po'uha is a candidate for a breakout sophomore season.

There are a bunch of players that could win these spots. Bodie Schoonover is a veteran that has really changed his body since arriving at BYU. It wouldn't be surprising if he won the starting job.

Tausili Akana is probably the best pass rusher on the roster right now. If he has added enough weight, he could be the answer to BYU's pass-rushing woes of the last several seasons.

Regardless of who starts against Portland State, we expect BYU to distribute a lot of reps over the first few weeks to see how these guys perform in game action.

Quarterback

The Pick: McCae Hillstead

The Reasoning: Hillstead fits the mold of quarterbacks that have been successful in Aaron Roderick's offense: he throws strikes from a clean pocket, he is mobile, and he can hit deep shots downfield. He was particularly effective from a clean pocket in his true freshman season at Utah State.

McCae Hillstead had a PFF pass grade of 90.2 from a clean pocket as a true freshman (22nd nationally in 2023, min. 40 drop backs)

That was better than JJ McCarthy, Quinn Ewers, Rocco Becht, Cam Ward, Drew Allar, Noah Fifita among others.
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— Casey Lundquist (@casey_lundquist) June 30, 2025

However, he was a backup for a reason. He is inexperienced and he put the ball in harm's way too often in 2023. That's to be expected from a true freshman, but it's something he will need to improve if he hopes to win the job. When the pressure got home, Hillstead really struggled. He is also undersized and staying healthy has been an issue.

Hillstead is the fastest quarterback on the roster, but he's probably not the most elusive. At Utah State, he was sacked on 23% of pressures (and boy did he face a lot of pressure at Utah State). He's not as good at escaping pressure as most quarterbacks with his speed. For comparison, Jake Retzlaff was sacked on 15% of pressures last season.

Before Fall camp kicks off, we give Hillstead a slight edge to win the starting job. If Hillstead has cleaned up the freshman mistakes he committed in 2023, he can win lots of games for BYU.