There isnt much news now about basketball or football, so stay with me for 3 more weeks. In 3 weeks we will finally get to watch a BYU Football game!! I am eager to see how they do this year. Our first year in a power conference was not our best season, actually our worst season since 2017, also with Kalani, when we went 4-8. Another bad 4-8 or 5-7 season could put Kalani and Roddick, our offensive coordinator, on the hot seat. So this year is big. And the biggest decision they will have to make is the QB. That decision will likely determine their jobs, so its quite important.

BYU Football Fall Camp Update

BYU has now being doing Fall Camp for about 2 weeks. There has been a lot of talk about who they expect to be the starting QB. Kalani has said that its mainly a two man race and that both Bohanon and Retzlaff have split team one reps. So there hasnt been a decision made. I would expect a decision to be made in 2 weeks or so. Or at least that is when it will be made public to us.

LJ Martin Injury…Or Not?

Media reporters reported that LJ Martin had a shoulder injury and would be out the first 3 or 4 games of the season. That looked like an early gut punch for BYU. Our starting RB is injured after we didnt have a great running game last year. But LJ was interviewed a couple of days ago and he said that he is not injured and that is ready to go for the first game. I tend to believe more when it comes from the actual source compared to the media, and this could be a good sign for BYU fans.

If LJ is ready to go, that is a big sign. BYU needs him. We cannot rely on iffy QB play and not have LJ ready to go. Behind Martin, we have Miles Davis who is a big speedster and very quick and twitchy and then also Hinckley Ropati. He is a bulldozer and power back but also very fast for his size. I believe in those guys if Martin truly cant go.

News Out of BYU Fall Camp

The hype and news of our BYU Fall Camp is that the defense has played better than the offense. I dont know if that makes me excited or not. I am happy on one side in that our defense should improve and be better this year. Year 1 of a new coach and system is hard. Year 2 should be better. So that side of it is encouraging. But the other side of it is that I am concerned about the offense. BYU fans were already calling for Rodericks job after last year’s bad performance. If Roderick has another bad year, I think his time as offensive coordinator is done.

It could also be that we dont have a great QB. Retzlaff and Bohanon could be good but I dont see them being great. I think they will more reside in the area of okay and mediocre. They could have some good games which may help us pull off some upsets. But I dont see them being great. That doesnt bode well for an offense that is trying to redeem themselves from last year. We also have a new offensive line coach. That could spell huge changes this year, some that I hope are for the better. But there could also be some growing pains.

WR and TE are Highlight of Offense

The two areas that I have the least concern about on offense are the TE and WR positions. Keanu Hill switched from WR to TE which will make that position more of a threat. Hill was the go-to WR for BYU last year. Jackson Bowers and Ryner Swanson are two 4 star TEs. Ethan Erickson also has high upside as a junior TE.

We also have Lassiter, Kingston, Marion, Epps, and Roberts at the WR position all coming back from last year. Cody Hagen was the Utah Gatorade Player of the Year at WR before his mission and he is now back from his mission. Jojo Phillips is a big freshman at 6’5 who can catch anything. We will be great at those positions. We just need an offensive line to give us time and a QB who can make the throws to these guys.

Cougars Being Recognized

The preseason awards lists are being released and some Cougars have popped up on them. They go as followed:

• DE Tyler Batty: First Team All-Big 12 and Bronko Nagurksi Trophy watchlist (Best defensive player in college football)
• PR/WR Parker Kingston: Paul Hornung Trophy watchlist (Most versatile player in college football)
• C Connor Pay: Allstate Wuerffel Trophy watchlist (Exemplary community service and leadership on and off the field)
• CB Jakob Robinson: Second Team All-Big 12
• OT Brayden Keim: Third Team All-Big 12
• K Will Ferrin Third Team All-Big 12
• LB Jack Kelly: Honorable Mention All-Big 12
• RB LJ Martin: Doak Walker Trophy watchlist (Best running back in college football)
• RB Hickley Ropati and QB Gerry Bohanon: 2024 Comeback Player of the Year candidates (Best player who overcomes injury, illness, or other challenging circumstances)

BYU’s Best Players

If you want a list of some of our best players, there you go. On defense, DE Tyler Batty, CB Jakob Robinson, S Micah Harper, and LB Jack Kelly are the main dudes to focus on. On offense, its C Connor Pay, RT Brayden Keim, RB LJ Martin, WR Chase Roberts, and QB Gerry Bohanon.

One Week At A Time

We’re almost there. We have almost made it to the college football season. BYU has one of the harder schedules in the Big 12. They will play all 4 teams with the highest odds to win the conference according to ESPN. Those teams are Utah, Oklahoma St, Kansas St, and Kansas. But luckily for BYU, 3 of those 4 games are at home, with Utah being the only away game.

So BYU can cause some chaos in the conference. I expect BYU to at least have a good fight in all of these games. Last year, BYU didnt play against Utah or Kansas St, but they lost in double OT to Oklahoma St in Stillwater after leading for most of the game, and lost by 11 to Kansas in Lawrence after leading at halftime.

I think BYU is a better team this year, now that they know how a power conference goes and are returning most of their production and good players from last year. It will also help that BYU now gets to play Oklahoma St and Kansas at home in LaVell Edwards Stadium. It could be a crazy season, BYU still has some tough road and home games. But we always know that BYU will usually put up a good fight. I expect BYU to go 7-5 this year, an improvement from last year, and headed to a bowl game.

Thank you for reading! You can check out my previous posts here.