There's never been a more difficult time for a player to make the two-deep chart in the BYU football program, head coach Kalani Sitake said when spring practices concluded a couple of weeks ago in Provo.
Entering his 11th season , Sitake has as deep and talented of a roster as ever before, thanks to some outstanding recruiting, strong player retention, and an emphasis on development.
Defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga seconded that notion, saying that competition for starting spots is as fierce as he can ever remember.
Several players who transferred in from Big Ten programs — USC's Walker Lyons and Roger Saleapaga and Kyler Kasper of Oregon — have told the Deseret News that the talent they've found at BYU is on the same level as the talent at the schools they left.
"College football in general, you have athletes everywhere," Lyons said. "I think we have some guys over here as well who could play anywhere. I don't really think there's a big drop-off, at all."
When spring camp ended, Sitake and offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick said that the Cougars will never turn away a top-flight talent who really wants to join the program, but acknowledged that they are not actively searching for more players in the transfer portal or junior college ranks.
"We really like what we have," Sitake said.
Part of the reason for the optimism is the way players such as Lyons, Saleapaga and Washington transfer offensive lineman Paki Finau stepped in and quickly made the two-deep chart.
Other players who have been in the program for awhile have also improved, thanks to the efforts of coaches and analysts who have worked tirelessly to deepen the roster.
Who are those players?
As we've done in past years , the Deseret News presents its list of five players who were singled out by coaches as having made significant improvements since the previous season ended, or who entered via the transfer portal and almost immediately turned heads.
Some folks were mildly surprised that the Cougars landed the former Oregon tight end after USC's Lyons committed just days before Saleapaga did. Lyons has been outstanding, as expected, but coaches have said Saleapaga will also see the field a lot in 2026, too.
Roderick even said that both Lyons and Saleapaga are two of the best players on the entire team. Tights end coach Kevin Gilbride said that a couple of guys who saw some action last year behind the departed Carsen Ryan — Noah Moeaki and Keayen Nead — have also improved, giving the Cougars a lot of options to employ different personnel groupings.
There was some question when Finau transferred in from Washington whether or not he had the goods to start at left tackle, one of the most vital positions on the offense. Some folks figured that veteran tackle Andrew Gentry would move over to the left side to replace the graduated Isaiah Jatta.
But Finau, who never started at left tackle for the Huskies, quickly showed in camp that he could be penciled in as the starter there.
"Paki is a really good player," Gentry said. "He's solid all the way around."
Finau played in 16 games over two seasons at Washington, and started in four games at guard in 2025. He's considered a redshirt sophomore, because he didn't appear in more than four games his first year in Seattle.
When BYU brought in the aforementioned Kasper from the transfer portal back in January, it appeared the plan was to pair the lanky Oregon transfer with Parker Kingston as the offense's primary two receivers in 2026. Then Kingston was kicked out of school in the face of a felony rape charge , and many Cougar fans were concerned that the staff didn't immediately look for an adequate replacement.
But Roderick said the depth was still there, mostly because of the improvement of Phillips, injured for most of the 2025 season.
"I've been happy with the wide receivers' development," Roderick said. "JoJo Phillips has taken a big step forward. That injury he had last year was pretty serious. We don't talk a lot about details and stuff, but that was a tough injury and it hurt his confidence and it took him some time to get back."
Phillips shined in the Pop-Tarts Bowl, and enters the 2026 season as WR2 , most likely.
A track star out of Arlington, Texas, Criss joined the program last year and redshirted. Even then, teammates occasionally brought up his name as a player to watch when guys such as Mory Bamba and Jayden Dunlap graduated.
Criss played in only two games last year in order to preserve his redshirt, and shined enough in spring camp that new cornerbacks coach Lewis Walker mentioned him several times. Criss probably won't supplant veterans Tre Alexander and Evan Johnson as a starter, but he's right there with Mississippi State transfer Jayven Williams as a probable two-deep guy.
"He's just so fast, and has some good instincts," Johnson said when camp ended. "Our cornerbacks room is a lot better than people think. We will be fine."
Take it from the man whose job will be to stay healthy and keep Bourguet off the field, starting quarterback Bear Bachmeier . The rising sophomore said that if he is unable to play, Bourguet is more than capable of moving the offense.
Roderick said Bourguet has improved his accuracy, can throw the deep ball as well as any quarterback in the room, and is more athletic than most people think.
Bourguet's presence, and his knowledge of the offense entering his third year in the program, is one of the biggest reasons why BYU didn't go hard after a quarterback in the transfer portal. Of course, that was always going to be a tough sell with Bachmeier entrenched as the starter, and four-star recruit Ryder Lyons expected to join the program next year after his church mission.
