Position Group Rankings for BYU Football According to Phil Steele

Originally posted on BYU Cougars on SI
By Casey Lundquist | Last updated Jun 14, 2025 11:00 AM ET

You know the college football season is on the horizon when Phil Steele releases his preseason magazine. As he always does, Steele ranked the position groups for every Big 12 team. Steele is not high on BYU overall - he picked BYU to finish tied for seventh in the Big 12 and he ranked the Cougars 53rd nationally. However, he is high on the BYU special teams units.

Special Teams - #1

Steele ranked the BYU special teams first in the conference. The Cougars return kickers Will Ferrin and Sam Vander Haar. They also return star punt returner Parker Kingston.

Ferring, Vander Haar, Kingston, and Grimes (long snapper) were named the the Steele First Team All-Conference.

Linebackers - #2

BYU returns two stars in Isaiah Glasker and Jack Kelly. Steele ranked the BYU linebacker unit second behind only Utah.

Defensive Backs - #5

Despite losing starters Jakob Robinson and Marque Collins, Steele ranks the BYU defensive backs fifth in the Big 12. Veteran cornerback Mory Bamba was named to the Steele preseason third team all-conference.

Wide Receivers - #9

Despite having a preseason first team all-conference player in Chase Roberts, Steele ranked the BYU WR corps ninth in the Big 12. Steele's ranking is likely driven by the loss of Darius Lassiter and Keelan Marion. BYU has the talent in the room to outperform this ranking.

Running Backs - #10

Steele ranked the BYU running back unit in the bottom half of the league. Returning starter LJ Martin has a chance to be one of the best backs in the league if he can stay healthy. Behind Martin, BYU is relatively inexperienced. However, the coaching staff is high on backups Pokaiaua Haunga and Sione Moa.

Offensive Line - #10

If BYU is going to compete for a championship this season, the offensive line will need to be better than the 10th best in the league. The Cougars need to replace both starting tackles in 2025.

Defensive Line - #12

The BYU defensive line will replace all four starters from a season ago. However, they are more talented on paper. It will be up to Sione Po'uha and Kelly Poppinga to get the new faces on the same page to outperform this ranking from Phil Steele.

Quarterback - #13

Steele made his predictions after the Jake Retzlaff news. He believes BYU should be able to replace Retzlaff's production if he is unable to play. "If Retzlaff returns they are improved but if not they will not drop off as much as most will anticipate as Sitake has some options beyond Retzlaff, who only had a 20-12 (TD/INT) ration last season," Steele wrote.

The Big 12 returns a lot of star quarterbacks in 2025. If the Cougars quarterback room is only 13th best in the league, they will not compete for a championship in 2025. The uncertainty at quarterback is the top storyline heading into Fall camp.

This article first appeared on BYU Cougars on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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