Three Things We Learned from BYU's Depth Chart and Three Things We Didn’t

On Monday, BYU released the depth chart for the season opener against Sam Houston State. Today, we review three things we learned and three things we didn't learn from the first depth chart.

Three Things We Learned

1. Talan Alfrey injury confirmed

One presumed starter, safety Talan Alfrey, was not listed on the depth chart. Alfrey suffered an injury late in Fall camp that will make him "highly doubtful" against Sam Houston State, head coach Kalani Sitake confirmed on Monday. Sitake clarified that Alfrey is not out for the season.

The Cougars already suffered one season-ending injury at safety earlier in camp. Alfrey, a sophomore, was expected to replace starter Micah Harper who suffered an injury during the first scrimmage of Fall camp.

2. Jojo Phillips is next in line at wide receiver

Throughout camp, BYU's offensive staff said the top six wide receivers had separated themselves from the rest: Kody Epps, Chase Roberts, Keanu Hill, Keelan Marion, Darius Lassiter, and Parker Kingston. Not much was said, however, about who would be next in line at wide receiver. On Monday, true freshman wide receiver and former coveted recruit Jojo Phillips was named a co-starter alongside the top six.

Phillips signed with BYU in December over a long list of competing Power Five schools. Phillips is all of 6'5 and he has a large catch radius. He will factor into BYU's rotation eventually but on Monday, we learned that could be sooner rather than later.

3. BYU will live or die by the transfer portal

The Cougars went all in on the transfer portal after last season. 13 players that transferred into the program since December were listed as either starters or co-starters on Monday.

This is something we already expected, but Monday's depth chart confirmed that BYU will live or die by the transfer portal in 2023.

Three Things We Didn't Learn

1. Safety by committee rotation

Without Alfrey and Harper in the fold, BYU turns to walk-on Ethan Slade to start at strong safety. A redshirt sophomore, Slade has appeared in 13 games for BYU in his career, but this will be first career start. Slade has tallied 18 total tackles including one tackle for loss. He also has three pass break-ups.

On Coordinators' Corner, BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill said BYU approach would be "safety by committee" to start the season. Utah State transfer Crew Wakley and true freshman Raider Damuni are listed as Slade's backups.

What we didn't learn, is what that rotation will look like. Will the reps be split evenly between Slade, Wakley, and Damuni? Or will the two backups play sparingly? That's something we won't learn until Saturday.

Damuni has all the talent to be a special player at BYU, but he is only eight months removed from missionary service. If Damuni can grasp the playbook and shake the mission rust, he will have the opportunity to see the field very early on in his BYU career.

2. Who will line up at offensive line and where

Only one thing is certain for the BYU offensive line on Saturday: Kingsley Suamataia will start at left tackle. After Kingsley, the remaining offensive line positions are in flux. We know that Connor Pay and Paul Maile will start, but we don't know where. One of them will start at center and the other will start at guard.

The other guard spot is a competition between transfers Weylin Lapuaho and Ian Fitzgerald. They were listed as co-starters on Monday.

The right tackle spot is, you guessed it, also up for grabs. Oklahoma State transfer Caleb Etienne, who has been expected to start, was listed as a co-starter alongside Brayden Keim.

We expected to learn more about the offensive line on Monday. This is another one that will have to wait until Saturday.

3. Where will LJ Martin fit into the rotation

Aaron Roderick hasn't shied away from praising true freshman running back LJ Martin. Martin was listed as the third-string running back behind veteran transfers Aidan Robbins and Deion Smith. Roderick has been clear: Martin will play in 2023. But it remains to be seen what the rotation at running back will look like. Historically, BYU likes to rotate just two running backs.

According to the reports coming out of camp, however, Martin is too good to not be on the field. So what will that rotation look like? We don't know. It wouldn't have been surprising to see Martin listed as a co-backup alongside Deion Smith - and that would have shed some light on BYU's plans to fit Martin into the rotation. Instead, we'll learn on Saturday how early and how often Martin is used in BYU's offense.

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