It's transfer portal season in college football. The Cougars will add more transfers to the roster for next season. Today, we'll take a way-too-early look at the depth chart at the start of the transfer window.
Bold print indicates newcomers.
Quarterback
- Jake Retzlaff
- Ryder Burton
Jake Retzlaff showed flashes during his four starts for BYU this year. Until the Cougars add a transfer quarterback, Retzlaff has the edge over the other quarterbacks in the room to start.
BYU has reached out to multiple transfer quarterbacks, and they will continue to reach out to quarterbacks until they get their guy. Getting a quarterback is a top priority.
Running Back
1. LJ Martin OR Aidan Robbins
2. Miles Davis
BYU's running back room is in a good position going into next season. LJ Martin and Aidan Robbins have a chance to be a very good one-two punch.
The Cougars could swing for the fences and try to add a replacement for Deion Smith, but they can be picky.
Wide Receiver
- Darius Lassiter OR Kody Epps OR Parker Kingston
- Keanu Hill OR Keelan Marion OR Dominique McKenzie
- Chase Roberts OR Jojo Phillips OR Cody Hagen
BYU returns a lot of experience at wide receiver. The Cougars are set to get some reinforcements at wide receiver in Dominique Mckenzie and Cody Hagen. Both coveted recruits, those two will immediately be two of the fastest players on the roster. If they can shake the mission rust, they could both factor in for the 2024 season.
Tight End
- Jackson Bowers
- Ryner Swanson
- Ethan Erickson
- Mata'ava Ta'ase
The race for the starting tight end position is wide open. Maybe former four-star Jackson Bowers can take over the job. True freshman Ryner Swanson is a name to watch here. Swanson, a four-star recruit, will play right away. He could be the best receiving tight end on the roster as soon as he steps on campus.
Fullback
- Ray Paulo
Offensive Line
Left Tackle
1. Jake Griffin
2. Trevin Ostler
Left Guard
1. Weylin Lapuaho
2. Jake Eichorn
Center
1. Connor Pay
2. Weston Jones OR Peter Falaniko
Right Guard
1. Caleb Etienne
2. Tyler Little
Right Tackle
1. Brayden Keim
2. Joseph Paulo
Of all the position groups on the roster, no group will lose more players from the two-deep than the offensive line. Kingsley Suamataia has not made an announcement, but it is assumed that he will declare for the NFL Draft. Connor Pay and Brayden Keim have not made announcements, but they could return for one more season. We assumed they will return in this projection.
The transfer portal will play a critical role here. The majority of BYU's transfer portal offers have been to offensive linemen. It's clear that BYU wants to add a few players to this group.
Defensive Backs
Cornerback
1. Mory Bamba
2. Jonathan Kabeya
Cornerback
1. Marcus McKenzie
2. Therrian Alexander
Strong Safety
1. Ethan Slade OR Crew Wakley
2. Preston Rex
3. Chika Ebunoha
Free Safety
1. Micah Harper
2. Crew Wakley OR Talan Alfrey OR Raider Damuni
Cornerback
1. Jakob Robinson
2. Evan Johnson
BYU will get Micah Harper back from injury. When healthy, Harper is one of the best players on the defense. True freshmen Therrian Alexander and Jonathan Kabeya are two of BYU's top commits in the 2024 class. Don't be surprised if you see their names on the depth chart early in their BYU careers. Those two are some of the best defensive back prospects that BYU has had in a long time.
Linebackers
Rover
1. Siale Esera
2. Isaiah Glasker
Mack
1. Harrison Taggart
2. Maika Kaufusi
Sam
1. Ace Kaufusi
2. Sione Moa OR Miles Hall
BYU has a young, solid core of linebackers led by Siale Esera, Harrison Taggart, and Ace Kaufusi. Those three are expected to play major roles for the BYU defense next year.
Defensive Line
Defensive End
1. Isaiah Bagnah
2. Logan Lutui
Defensive End
1. Tyler Batty
2. Blake Mangelson
3. Bodie Schoonover
Nose Tackle
1. David Latu
2. Joshua Singh
Defensive Tackle
1. John Nelson
2. Bruce Mitchell
BYU needs to add reinforcements in the interior defensive line. The Cougars lose both starters to graduation this year.
Specialists
Place Kicker
1. Will Ferrin
2. Matthias Dunn
Punter
1. Sam Vander Haar
2. Landon Rehkow
Kick Returners
1. Hobbs Nyberg
2. Parker Kingston
3. Keelan Marion
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