BYU has had more than its fair share of outstanding tight ends over the years, guys such as Gordon Hudson, Chris Smith, Dennis Pitta and Clay Brown from decades ago and more recently Matt Bushman, Isaac Rex and Carsen Ryan.
Rarely have the Cougars had two great tight ends at the same time, however.
Not since Pitta and Andrew George combined for more than 3,700 receiving yards and 32 touchdowns from 2007-09 has BYU been absolutely loaded at the position.
That may be changing this season. The sample size is small — only six quarters, basically — but USC transfer Walker Lyons and Oregon transfer Roger Saleapaga II have shown the potential to become one of the top tight end tandems in BYU history. Lyons has five catches for 44 yards and Saleapaga has three catches for 28 yards.
Their blocking and execution in the run game has also been noteworthy, coaches say.
Neither tight end played in the second half of BYU’s 63-7 thumping of Utah Tech. BYU has played a lot of 12 personnel — one running back, two tight ends — to take advantage of the strengths of each and get as many of their best players on the field as possible.
“I think it’s a lot of fun to play alongside Roger because we just make each other better,” Lyons said on Tuesday. “Actually, it is just fun to be part of this entire offense. There’s a lot we can do with (12 personnel) so it’s exciting.”
Saleapaga said before the Utah Tech game that the two tight ends were still trying to find the best ways to co-exist, but that their progress was encouraging.
“Obviously, it’s college football, and I feel like me and Walker have the same goal, and that’s just to win,” Saleapaga said. “We truly believe that with team success comes individual success. So it’s been fun playing alongside Walker.”
Lyons and Saleapaga are both listed at 6-foot-4, with Lyons weighing 245 and Saleapaga hitting the scales at 235.
When the second week of fall camp began, BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick called the 2026 tight end room the best tight end group of his tenure, having arrived at BYU in 2018 when Dallin Holker and Matt Bushman were doing their thing and just before Rex (2020-23) would catch more touchdown passes than any tight end in school history.
“This is the best tight end group we’ve had since I’ve been here, as a group, and Roger and Walker are two of our best players,” Roderick said. “They will play in the game together a lot. They are a big part of what we are doing.”
Coincidentally, Holker left BYU in 2022 for Colorado State and led all tight ends in the country in receptions (64) in 2023 to earn second-team All-America honors. The Rams host No. 11 BYU on Saturday (5:30 p.m. MDT, CBS) at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins.
Both Lyons and Saleapaga in recent interviews have pointed out that their backups are talented as well, guys such as Noah Moeaki, Keayen Nead and Will Zundel.
“I love being in a room with a ton of guys who play a lot of minutes. I feel like it kind of takes a lot of stress off each other,” Saleapaga said. “There’s Walker, there’s Keayen, there’s Noah, and one person that doesn’t get talked about enough is Will Zundel.”
Coaches and starters are also excited about redshirt freshman Jacob Nye, who has been sidelined by an injury.
Walker Lyons enjoying ‘surreal’ first year in Provo
Before entering the transfer portal, Lyons played in 23 games at USC over the course of two seasons. In 2025, he caught 20 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns. As a freshman, after serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Norway, Lyons appeared in 11 games, making three starts.
Lyons was a four-star recruit out of Folsom High in Northern California and was rated as the No. 2 tight end in the country by ESPN, No. 4 by Rivals.com and No. 9 by 247Sports.
Having turned down BYU, Utah, Georgia and others in 2023 and signing with USC before his mission, Lyons said it has been “surreal” to finally run out on the field at LaVell Edwards Stadium as a BYU Cougar. His father, Tim, played defensive back for BYU in 1996 and 1997 and he grew up a BYU fan.
“It was a moment I had always envisioned at some point in my life. It was cool just to be able to have that and to feel that,” he said, noting that the feeling was similar to the first time he ran out of the tunnel at the Coliseum in Los Angeles before his first USC home game.
“They’re both super iconic venues. They’re both fun, but the energy at LES is pretty electric,” he said.
Lyons said tight ends do a lot of things that don’t show up in the box score, so he’s content with how the season has started for him.
“I feel like I’ve been good at just doing my job, doing what has been asked of me, whether that’s run blocking, pass blocking, running a route,” he said. “Whatever it is, I feel like I have executed pretty well.”
