Freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier rarely lets an interview pass by without crediting his teammates and coaches for his incredible success in his first season at BYU, continually praising offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick and the Cougars’ receivers, running backs, tight ends and offensive linemen.
Certainly, No. 11 BYU would not be 9-1 overall, 6-1 in the Big 12, if it had glaring weaknesses on either side of the ball, or on special teams. In BYU’s only loss, the 29-7 setback at now-No. 5 Texas Tech, the Cougars would have had to play almost perfectly to pull off the upset.
The Red Raiders (10-1, 7-1) are that good, especially at home.
In particular, Bachmeier has said that BYU’s pass-catching corps, led by senior standouts Chase Roberts and tight end Carsen Ryan, has helped make his transition from four-star prep quarterback in the Southern California area to a candidate for Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year honors as seamless as possible.
Juniors Parker Kingston and Tiger Bachmeier and sophomores Cody Hagen and JoJo Phillips have also contributed to the Cougars’ explosive offense, particularly Kingston.
Sure, the receivers have had a few costly drops in recent games, but for the most part they’ve been sensational and are a big reason why Bear has been named Big 12 Freshman of the Week five times and Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week once, on Monday after leading BYU to a 44-13 win over TCU.
“We had a bad outing against Texas Tech, and we’ve obviously put that behind us,” said receivers coach and passing game coordinator Fesi Sitake. “Within every game there’s always things we can improve. This last game, I thought we did well. We had two critical drops, with Parker on a seam in the end zone, and JoJo had one down the middle.
“They are harder on themselves than anyone else is, including me,” Sitake continued. “Every week we are trying to find those things we can improve on. But as a unit, I’ve just been real happy with how they show up each week.”
The receiving corps was less than full strength for much of the season, as Phillips sustained a clavicle injury against Stanford and missed six games. He had two catches for 33 yards against the Horned Frogs.
“I’m just really happy to be back out there with all of my teammates,” Phillips said Monday. “It was really good this weekend, playing back in front of our home crowd. I am just blessed that I was able to heal quickly and get back on the field.”
Roderick said the recent spate of dropped passes “is always a concern,” but noted that the positives have far outweighed the negatives, aside from the Texas Tech game.
The drops “were some of the negatives we talked about on Monday with the team,” Roderick said Tuesday. “But our guys have been making plays all year, so we’re just going to keep working and try to do better this week.”
Cougars could get Cody Hagen back Saturday
BYU is scheduled to leave Thursday for Cincinnati, two days ahead of Saturday’s 6 p.m. MST showdown with the Bearcats (7-3, 5-2) at Nippert Stadium.
“Our (receivers), they execute. They do a lot of things in our offense. They block for us. They’re involved in the run game as ball-carriers and as blockers, and have been executing a pretty high level in the passing game as well,” Roderick said. “We just try to keep getting a little bit better each game.
“It’s nice to have JoJo back. He played much better in game two (TCU) back than he did game one (Texas Tech), and we just need him to take another step this week as well, because when we have JoJo, Chase and Parker out there, that’s a pretty good group.”
The starter when Phillips was out, Hagen, missed the TCU game with an undisclosed injury, but has practiced this week and is trending toward being able to play against Cincy, Roderick and Fesi Sitake said.
“He just has to be up to a certain percentage of strength (after) his injury, and he should be on track to hit that mark this week,” Fesi Sitake said. “He wasn’t last week.”
Reggie Frischknecht looking to redshirt
In Hagen’s absence, Snow College transfer Reggie Frischknecht saw some playing time and made his first catch as a Cougar — for 7 yards. Frischknecht has appeared in three games and can play in one more regular-season game before reaching the limit of four because the plan is to call this his redshirt year.
“We’re planning on having him play this game with special teams, and in whatever role at receiver (that’s needed),” Fesi Sitake said. “Then we’ll put him to rest for the very last home game. Any game after that, he’s eligible to play in. … We are really proud of him and how he stepped up all year. He’s a really smart kid, tough, big and fast.”
Kingston has emerged as BYU’s leading receiver, in terms of catches, with 44 for 639 yards and four touchdowns. Roberts is the leader in yardage, with 43 catches for 702 yards and five touchdowns. The tight end, Ryan, has 28 catches for 371 yards and three TDs.
LJ Martin leads the running backs in catches, with 21 for 145 yards; BYU’s offense suffered a big blow when RB2 Sione Moa sustained a compartment syndrome injury after the Iowa State game. Roderick said coaches and medical personnel are hopeful that Moa can return before the season ends.
“He won’t play in this game, but we are hoping he does something for us before the season is over. He is slowly getting back. It has been a tough road,” Roderick said.
Tiger Bachmeier enjoying his brother’s success
Meanwhile, Tiger Bachmeier — Bear’s brother — has been patiently waiting for his time to shine. The junior who made 46 catches for 476 yards and two TDs for Stanford in two seasons has appeared in all 10 games for BYU, but has played sparingly from scrimmage.
He has six catches for 53 yards and one carry for 2 yards.
“Tiger is always ready. Every time his name is called, he’s ready. He knows what to do,” Fesi Sitake said. “As smart as he is, he’s had to go through some growing pains with some of the nuances of the offense. But he’s good. Every week he’s progressively gotten better. I feel a sense of explosion for him right now that he didn’t have midyear. Not sure if he was battling some kind of nagging stuff. But I love where he’s at.”
Tiger Bachmeier said Tuesday that it has been fun having a front-row seat to his brother’s sensational season, but acknowledges that he would like to play a bigger role, just like anyone else on the team who is not at the top of the depth chart.
“Whether I have 100 catches or one catch, I’m always gonna need more,” Tiger said. “I need more here, there, and there. Mentally, I’m always going to have that drive to me. That’s just my competitive nature. That’s what the coaches like about me. I am just going to keep going, no matter what the situation is.”
