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Oregon Transfer Kyler Kasper Ready to Unleash Full Potential at BYU
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- Oregon Transfer Kyler Kasper Ready to Unleash Full Potential at BYU
BYU wide receiver Kyler Kasper on day one of Fall Camp | BYU Photo
The wide receiver positions is the biggest question mark for BYU heading into the 2026 season. The Cougars are replacing the three wide receivers that played the most in 2025. With a large group of incoming freshmen, BYU only had room to bring in one wide receiver from the transfer portal, and they expect him to contribute right away: Oregon transfer Kyler Kasper .
Kasper, once a coveted recruit out of Arizona, picked the Ducks over the likes of Georgia, LSU , Ohio State , Penn State , USC, and Tennessee . Injuries limited Kasper's productivity and availability at Oregon. Over four years, Kasper dealt with nagging foot injuries and he produced just 6 receptions for 77 receiving yards.
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Kyler Kasper Updates His Health
After an injury-riddled experience at Oregon, Kasper can't wait to turn the page and contribute at BYU. "I'm looking forward to going to play, man," Kasper told BYU On SI after an eventful practice on Monday . "You know, I'm healthy...I haven't been able to play football how I wanted to in 4 years. [Dealing with injuries] has been, truthfully, miserable. I came to college to play football, so now it's that time to go play football and go show the world what I can do."
Most importantly, Kasper says that both of his feet are in great shape. "Feet are good, 100%," Kasper said. "[I] got a checkup MRI on them a couple of weeks ago, not because anything was feeling like anything, just wanted to, and they looked better than ever, man. Completely rock solid, both of them, so it's exciting."
Kasper played on a broekn foot the first four weeks of the season at Oregon last year. " I kind of knew it was broken. I just didn't want to, you know, admit it to myself." An x-ray confirmed Kasper's fear and he was sidelined for the remainder of the season.
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What Kyler Kasper Brings to BYU's Offense
Spring Camp at BYU was Kasper's first time back on the practice field since suffering the foot injury at Oregon. During the Spring, Kasper flashed the high ceiling that made him a coveted recruit in the first place. Kasper is all of 6'6, but unlike most wide receivers his size, he gets in and out of his breaks with fluidity and he moves really well at his size.
While there wasn't a lot of game film from Kasper's time at Oregon, he did share his practice film when he entered the portal. Kasper can take the top off a defense and he is nearly impossible to defend when he high-points the football. Between his length and his athleticism, no defensive back has the size to stop Kasper going up for a well-placed fade.
There were points against Texas Tech where BYU's offense needed someone to go up and make a play against one-on-one coverage. If Kasper is fully healthy, he has the potential to be that outlet for Bear Bachmeier in 2026.
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Kasper worked closely with Bear during the offseason developing chemistry, specifically on fade routes. "One thing we actually have been working on a lot is fade balls because he didn't really throw too many fade balls last year," Kasper said. "There's a few things that you can critique when it comes to that, so you know we've been working on that a lot, but then just overall just timing, that's the most important thing."
When Kasper is on the field, BYU might have the largest group of skill players in college football. There's a real scenario where BYU could start Kyler Kasper (6'6), Jojo Phillips (6'5), Walker Lyons (6'4, 245), Roger Saleapaga (6'4, 235), LJ Martin (6'2, 225), and Bear Bachmeier (6'2, 230).
While that might be his primary strength, Kasper believes he will bring a lot more than just a fade threat to the BYU offense.
"I can bring literally everything. I mean, when it comes to obviously deep routes, medium routes, short routes, or jet sweeps, whatever they need me to do. I mean. I don't know how much they're gonna be putting me on jet sweeps at 6'6," Kasper said with a smile. "But I know if I I get the rock, I think I can make something happen with it...I can move for my height. I think I'm one of the best, if not the best in the nation for a 6'6 receiver. There's not many of us, but I think everyone's going to be able to see that this year."
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How Kasper Ended Up at BYU
After entering the transfer portal, Kasper heard from his old 7-on-7 quarterback: BYU quarterback Treyson Bourguet . Bourguet helped Kasper get in touch with BYU wide receivers coach Fesi Sitake.
"I ended up talking to Fesi and some of the staff, and I liked him a lot through the conversations we had so I ended up visiting here first," Kasper said. He visited BYU first with plans to visit Arizona and Northwestern after. Instead, he locked down his recruitment and committed to BYU after the visit.
"After my visit here was done, I was like, you know what, this is the spot I want to be...after talking to Kalani and Fesi, everyone, and I loved it. The football, the medical staff, the people, family oriented, just everything about the place, so I locked it down while I was here."
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Given his injury history, Kasper paid special attention to the BYU medical staff on his visit. The BYU staff gave him the confidence that he could finish his college career healthy.
"The past two years, I've been banged up...that was my biggest problem, you know, the past two years why I wasn't as productive as I wanted to be, and I think this place had everything I needed to stay healthy and get healthy. So that's why I ended up choosing here."
Kasper is just a few weeks away from making his BYU debut. The wide receiver room is a question mark for BYU, and Kasper is capable of providing answers.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/byu as Oregon Transfer Kyler Kasper Ready to Unleash Full Potential at BYU .
