PROVO — There’s no quarterback derby to speak of, unless one considers the battle to be Bear Bachmeier’s backup in 2026 a topic worthy of discussion.
There’s no debate over who’s going to be RB1, as LJ Martin enters his fourth and final season at BYU with some reachable school records in sight if he maintains the pace he established in 2025 before missing the 25-21 win over Georgia Tech in the Pop-Tarts Bowl after shoulder surgery.
Even the five spots on the offensive line are mostly settled, especially if Washington transfer Paki Finau proves capable at the all-important left tackle position.
Putting together a BYU football depth chart a month before the season starts is usually a fool’s errand, but not this year. That speaks to just how experienced head coach Kalani Sitake’s roster is heading into arguably the most-anticipated season in school history.
Expectations are soaring for Sitake’s program, and for good reason. According to a report by CBS Sports, BYU is No. 3 in the country in overall returning players with snaps under their belt, at 63%. On offense, it is 60% and on defense it is 65%. While a lot of programs continue to hit the transfer portal hard, BYU has relied more on roster retainment and player development after the near-disaster that was the 2023 season, in which coaches prepared for their first season in the Big 12 with a massive roster overhaul.
That didn’t work. Since then, BYU has gone 23-4 (11-2 in 2024 and 12-2 in 2025) and become one of the top programs in the Big 12, and a top 20 program nationally.
Will the upward rise continue in 2026, and will the Cougars stay hungry and humble — the program’s unofficial slogan, as it were — and shrug off all the platitudes and accolades and stave off complacency now that they’ve gotten near the top?
Sitake’s 11th preseason training camp begins Wednesday
Whether or not they can stay focused and grounded and handle the lofty expectations being heaped upon them is probably the biggest question mark hovering around the Cougars as they enter training camp on Wednesday in Provo.
“We certainly haven’t arrived, and we don’t think we’ve arrived,” Sitake said at the annual BYU Football Media Golf Classic last Thursday. “We are going good right now, but we still need to get better during fall camp.”
A year after the tumultuous offseason of 2025 — spurred by the situation involving projected starting quarterback, Jake Retzlaff, and his eventual departure from the program in July — the 2026 offseason has been rather quiet, save the loss of star receiver Parker Kingston.
“I just know everybody around here is eager to get back at it,” said Cal transfer linebacker Cade Uluave. “We’ve done a lot the past few months to prepare for this month of August, for camp. We will be ready.”
After Sitake fielded serious overtures from Penn State last December, BYU stepped up in the form of more resources, better coaching pay, more support staff members, etc. Now it is time for the 11-year coach to repay that confidence placed in him and the culture he’s established and take the Cougars to the promised land. Indeed, it is “College Football Playoffs or bust” for BYU in 2026. That’s clearly the goal.
The season opener is Sept. 5 at home against Utah Tech, and the Big 12 opener is a week later. It’s a huge one, as BYU welcomes another squad with eyes on a Big 12 championship game appearance, Arizona, on Sept. 12.
5 storylines to follow through fall camp
As camp begins Wednesday, one storyline to follow is how the Cougars will handle the August heat, as some of the hottest days of the year in northern Utah are expected the next few weeks. Most of July was an outright scorcher throughout Utah. Aside from those mid-to-high 90s temperatures in Provo — maybe higher — here are five compelling storylines to watch as Sitake’s 11th training camp unfolds:
How much physicality is needed with an experienced team?
As mentioned in our opening paragraphs, this is one of the most experienced teams in the Sitake era. Do the Cougars really need to tackle, block and play “real” football as much as possible?
Sitake certainly thinks so, with the caveat that stars such as Martin and Bachmeier might not be tackled until the Utah Tech game.
“I think we’re gonna be physical. My mindset is to go in there and be physical. And then you have to spar,” Sitake said, adding that plans could be adjusted if needed. “There are guys on the team that need to tackle and be tackled. They can’t have the first time getting tackled be against Utah Tech.”
Sitake said the days are long gone at BYU in which every player went through the same “cookie cutter system” in conditioning and physical drills.
“Our stuff is a little bit more specialized,” he said. “LJ Martin’s fall camp is probably going to look different than Sione Moa’s and DeVaughn Eka’s.”
Moa and Eka, a freshman from Lehi, are the front-runners to be named RB2, along with perhaps Preston Rex.
Which receivers and tight ends will emerge as Bear’s best targets?
Perhaps the biggest question mark, personnel-wise, for the Cougars entering camp revolves around the pass-catchers. BYU did a good job replacing tight end Carsen Ryan — who was drafted in the seventh round by the Cleveland Browns last April — with USC’s Walker Lyons and Oregon’s Roger Saleapaga. Both those guys should play a lot, and play together, in some packages.
It is a different story at receiver. There’s no surefire star in the remaining group. There’s no guy who can take the top off defenses like Kingston could, no reliable third-down option like Chase Roberts was.
While Sitake, offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick and receivers coach Fesi Sitake downplayed the situation after spring camp, BYU appears thin at receiver. Sure, Oregon transfer Kyler Kasper and returners JoJo Phillips, Tei Nacua, Tiger Bachmeier and Reggie Frischknecht showed well in spring camp, but the questions still persist.
Kasper and Phillips seemingly have the most upside, but Kasper didn’t do much at Oregon — injuries were mostly to blame — and Phillips hasn’t done much in his three previous seasons at BYU. Nacua could be the wildcard. The brother of Los Angeles Rams superstar Puka Nacua certainly has the bloodlines to be a star.
Can new secondary coaches Demario Warren and Lewis Walker maintain their group’s rise?
Much has been written and said about whether Poppinga can adequately replace Michigan-bound Jay Hill as the Cougars’ defensive coordinator. A more pressing concern could be whether new cornerbacks coach Lewis Walker and new safeties coach Demario Warren can replace Hill (who developed safeties Raider Damuni and Faletau Satuala into what they are) and Jernaro Gilford, who also bolted for Michigan.
Speaking of Satuala, Kalani Sitake said the Bountiful High product is “on track” to play in the opener, but will be gently eased into training camp and probably won’t do much the first two or three weeks.
That’s a blow to Warren and Walker, or a blessing in disguise, depending on perspective. Backup safeties Tommy Prassas, Jarinn Kalama and Cannon DeVries will get more work with the ones. Sitake made a good move in bringing in former BYU standout Daniel Sorensen to help coach the safeties.
Another defensive back, Jonathan Kabeya, “is still in the rehab process” after an injury last year, according to Walker, and won’t be ready for contact drills until later in the month, at best.
Can a mostly veteran offensive line pave the way to greatness for LJ Martin?
Returning offensive linemen Andrew Gentry and Bruce Mitchell haven’t shied away from proclaiming that one of their main goals in 2026, aside from winning football games, is to help pave the way for Martin to put his name in the record books as one of the top rushers in school history.
Martin has 2,541 career rushing yards, which ranks ninth in BYU history. He needs 1,361 yards to break Jamaal Williams’ all-time career rushing record of 3,901 yards.
“I think we have the guys in place who can make that happen,” Mitchell said last month in Frisco, Texas.
Gentry, Mitchell and guards Kyle Sfarcioc and Sonny Makasini return with experience, and BYU brought in Washington’s Paki Finau to replace Isaiah Jatta at left tackle. Another expected transfer contributor, Stanford’s Zak Yamauchi, probably won’t be ready to contribute due to an undisclosed injury, Sitake said last week.
“We have a good amount of (offensive linemen) who have experience,” Sitake said. “With that being said, there’s a lot of young talent, too. In (camp), we want to see how those guys play and how they react in certain games.”
Will Bear Bachmeier be held back to prevent injury?
On Monday, Bachmeier was named to the watch list for the 90th Maxwell Award, which goes to the most outstanding player in college football. Martin is also on the list, and BYU is one of just 16 schools to have at least two of its student-athletes on the list.
Coming off surgery, Martin won’t see much action in the contact portions and scrimmages of training camp, if any at all. In July, he said he was 100% recovered from shoulder surgery performed last December.
Bachmeier’s situation is obviously different. A gimpy ankle slowed him in the bowl game, but that was gone by the time spring ball started. Having thrown for 3,033 yards and 15 touchdowns with seven interceptions in 2025, Bear is also on a fast track to greatness.
How much the sophomore does in camp remains to be seen, but Sitake last week stressed the importance of the younger Bachmeier avoiding injury in 2026. The coach wants the fearless player to be smarter in the way he plays.
“The thing is, Bear will always try to do whatever he can to help the team. It’s just gotta be within reason,” Sitake said. “I think young quarterbacks are just ready to get after it and put themselves at risk, but it didn’t help when he was banged up against Texas Tech, both games.
“So you’ve got to be smart,” Sitake continued. “Then you look at how many hits he can take. That’s always something that you have to be really careful about. But you can’t put him in bubble wrap, either.”
