BYU offensive lineman Bruce Mitchell has had a front-row seat watching his wife, former BYU track star Sadie Sargent Mitchell , live out her dream of becoming a professional athlete.
Next year, it will be his turn. Up to 10 members of the 2026 BYU football team , including Mitchell, are seeing their names pop up on 2027 NFL draft projections.
For now, however, the 6-foot-4, 305-pound senior from the tiny town of Oakley, Utah , is determined to help the Cougars get to where they just missed getting the past two seasons — the College Football Playoff.
"I've got some lofty goals," Mitchell said at Big 12 football media days in Frisco, Texas. "But I am going to keep them to myself, because I am superstitious, and also because I don't want to take anything away from the team goals, which is to go further than we've ever gone."
Last year, in his first full season playing center after having played defensive tackle his first two seasons at BYU, Mitchell was a first-team All-Big 12 selection. Not surprisingly, the product of Kamas' South Summit High is a preseason All-Big 12 pick this year.
He could not care less about those accolades, he said, if they are not accompanied by more team success in 2026. In 2025, BYU's offensive line ranked No. 13 nationally in fewest sacks allowed, and also helped the offense average 31.4 points per game.
"I am not worried about any (numbers) except wins," he said. "I just want to go out and play good football and hopefully the accolades will follow that. But mostly I don't pay any attention to those things."
After getting exactly one scholarship offer out of his small, 2A-level high school, Mitchell accepted the offer from BYU and then served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For a short bit, he was companions with recently graduated BYU basketball superstar Richie Saunders .
So he's accustomed to being around greatness, making it easy for him to support his wife, who attended rival North Summit High. The couple got married in January 2022.
A steeplechaser and distance runner for BYU, Sadie graduated in 2023 and turned pro. She currently runs professionally for Nike.
"She is my accountability buddy," Mitchell said in April after BYU wrapped up spring camp. "She makes sure I am eating the right things, getting my eight hours of sleep."
However, Mitchell said Sadie's biggest contribution to his career is the support she provides as another high-level athlete.
"She understands the grind, and all that," he said. "On an emotional and mental level, she understands everything. I'm lucky to have her in my life."
As far as having two probable pro athletes in the marriage, Mitchell said he and Sadie are careful not to take it for granted.
"It is just a really fun part of our lives that I am sure one day we will look back on and miss a little bit when it was just the two of us working really hard for our goals and our dreams and making them happen," he said.
Mitchell said he's gotten bigger, faster and stronger this past offseason, all while traveling around the country to watch Sadie race. He's been able to maintain his optimal playing weight — 305 pounds — while adding muscle and strength.
"There is a lot of good stuff going on at BYU right now," he said in Frisco when told that more than a half-dozen of his teammates could be drafted next April. "We are becoming a better football team, and it is good to be a part of it."
Other current Cougars on NFL radars are running back LJ Martin , cornerback Evan Johnson, linebackers Cade Uluave and Isaiah Glasker , tight end Walker Lyons , right tackle Andrew Gentry, safeties Faletau Satuala and Raider Damuni, and defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa .
Mitchell said that every BYU team he's been on has had its own identity, while staying within the culture established by head coach Kalani Sitake, so this 2026 iteration is still forming that.
"You develop your identity as you go through hard things as a team, hard trials as a team," he said. "We have a lot of good leadership and a lot of veteran players returning, such as myself. So I don't think the identity is quite there yet, other than when we put on the pads we are a tough, physical team. Teams like that are usually really successful, and really respected."
Speaking of respect from other teams and the media, Mitchell said that's also something he rarely thinks about.
"We just worry about what we have in the locker room, and those kinds of things usually handle themselves," he said.
Projected starting right tackle Gentry said in April that the BYU offensive line's goal is to be the best in the country and contend for the Joe Moore Award . Mitchell said he's also seen that potential, as BYU also returns right guard Kyle Sfarcioc and left guard Sonny Makasini.
Offensive line coach TJ Woods brought in Paki Finau, who started in four games at Washington last year. Freshman Bott Mulitalo and sophomore Zak Yamauchi, who transferred from Stanford , are also in the mix for starting jobs this year.
"Five of us have played a lot of college football," Mitchell said. "It will be fun to see who ends up at that left tackle spot. … I don't know who will be in the starting five, but everybody who goes out there will have played a lot of college football before. That's a big deal."
While Woods is the mastermind behind the offensive line, Mitchell has his own personal coach and mentor, in a way. Former BYU center Connor Pay is one of three offensive line analysts in the program.
"Connor is a great coach," Mitchell said. "I think he's a better coach than he was a player, if that's possible. He's helping me out a lot."
BYU offensive lineman Bruce Mitchell (63) prepares to snap the ball during the Big 12 Conference championship game between Texas Tech and BYU Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. | Julio Cortez, Associated Press
