After two of their top three pass-catchers from the 2025 football season, Chase Roberts and Carsen Ryan, exhausted their eligibility and headed off for a shot in the NFL, the BYU Cougars quickly signed Oregon's Kyler Kasper and USC's Walker Lyons out of the transfer portal.
It appeared that the Cougars were ready to give returning quarterback Bear Bachmeier all the weapons he would need to replicate his standout performance in 2025.
Then BYU's top receiver last year, Parker Kingston, was charged with felony rape last month and subsequently kicked off the team and out of school as he awaits trial in Utah's 5th District Court.
Will the Cougars try to replace the dynamic receiver and punt returner in 2026?
That does not appear likely, receivers coach and passing game coordinator Fesi Sitake told the Deseret News earlier this month after the Cougars had held four spring practices.
"Nope, no plans to do that," Sitake said. "Between the depth that we have from last year, Kyler Kasper, and the freshmen we brought in, we should be fine."
The most experienced returning guys are JoJo Phillips (14 catches, 161 yards), Cody Hagen (12 catches, 97 yards) and Bear's brother, Tiger Bachmeier (seven catches, 69 yards). Reggie Frischknecht, who had one catch for seven yards, and Tei Nacua, who appeared in five games last year but did not record a catch, are also on the spring camp roster.
The freshmen whom Sitake referenced that are already enrolled and going through spring workouts are returned missionary Jett Nelson, Lehi all-stater Legend Glasker and Terrance Saryon, a speedster from Portland.
"Between the depth that we have from last year, Kyler Kasper, and the freshmen we brought in, we should be fine."
"I know they are freshmen, but there are some ready-made guys who I think, if they stay on their trajectory, can fill in any type of void we have," Sitake said. "So I am excited for the depth we have."
Phillips, a redshirt junior who missed six games last year due to injury, has yet to meet expectations through three injury-riddled seasons at BYU. However, the former three-star recruit from California's Sierra Canyon High had a breakout game, of sorts, in the Cougars' win over Georgia Tech in the Pop-Tarts Bowl with four grabs for 53 yards.
"JoJo is kind of the leader of the group right now," Sitake said. "… When he came back he kind of had a two-game funk he had to get over. Then the bowl game came and he was great. He kind of showcased who he is. So we feel very confident that as long as JoJo stays healthy, he is going to do what we thought he was on track to do last year if the injury hadn't happened."
Sitake said Phillips, who had 10 catches for 211 yards and two touchdowns in 2024, has also "picked up the rifle" in the absence of Roberts and Kingston and is mentoring all the young guys in the receivers room.
"I feel like I am ready (to shine) now," Phillips said last week. "I am going into Year 4 now, which is crazy. It went by really fast. I learned a lot from Chase, learned a lot from Darius (Lassiter) and Keelan (Marion) and just all the older guys who came through here, and I feel like I am ready to break out, for sure."
Phillips said the performance in the 25-21 win over Georgia Tech helped him gain his confidence back.
"I am not gonna lie, my confidence was kind of going down a little bit with me coming back, dropping balls and just not playing well," he said.
Conversely, Hagen did not look great in the bowl game, and muffed a kickoff that enabled Tech to score an easy touchdown.
"Cody's confidence is still high," Sitake said. "He was able to shake that off, even within the game. But it has made him hungry. He's a super competitive guy, and he's gonna be better because of that. He's rolling a lot with the ones right now, and he's playing with a lot of confidence."
Sitake said Tei Nacua, the brother of Los Angeles Rams star receiver Puka Nacua , is doing "awesome" in camp as well.
"He's turning a really big corner right now, not just in football, but in every way," Sitake said of the 6-foot-2 redshirt sophomore from Provo's Timpview High. "So if he stays doing what he's doing, he will play a lot for us this fall."
The aforementioned Glasker, who is the cousin of BYU standout linebacker Isaiah Glasker, is also turning some heads in camp. The 6-1, 175-pounder who was a three-star prospect at Lehi High last fall, has already made some phenomenal catches, Sitake said.
"Legend absolutely has a chance to play this fall," Sitake said. "He's on a great track right now. I would say up to this point he has had the best spring of anybody in my room. I'm just really excited for him. He knows what things he needs to do to keep inching his way up to play a lot of meaningful reps for us this fall."
BYU wide receiver Tei Nacua (0) greets fans as he and the rest of the Cougars make their entrance during the Cougar Walk before a game against the UCF Knights held at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
