Three Takeaways from the 2025 BYU Football Roster

BYU football is back. On Wednesday, BYU released the roster for the 2025 season. Here are out top five takeaways from the BYU football roster.

1. Running Back Depth

BYU's top two running backs are LJ Martin and Sione Moa. At this point in camp, that's not in question. Both Martin and Moa could be very effective for the BYU offense and as long as they are healthy, the running back position will be in a good spot for BYU.

However, staying healthy is a consistent challenge for running backs. Just last year, BYU used five running backs in the month of September alone. After Martin and Moa, there could be some depth concerns.

Senior running back Hinckley Ropati was not on the roster to start Fall Camp. Ropati announced on his podcast that he plans to play for BYU in 2025. He is still not on the roster, and until he is, there are some depth concerns at running back.

A few position changes signal potential depth concerns as well. There were only three position changes compared to 2024, and two of the three position changes were defensive players switching to running back. Former safety Preston Rex will play running back in 2025 and former linebacker Lucky Finau will play running back as well.

2. Size of the Defensive Line

BYU's defensive tackles in 2024, while effective, were undersized. The Cougars had converted defensive ends Blake Mangelson and John Nelson as the two veteran starters at that position. They weighed 275 pounds and 290 pounds, respectively.

Size will not be an issue for the defensive tackles in 2025.

BYU brought in five defensive tackle transfers during the offseason. They were all listed at 300 pounds or more on the Fall Camp roster.

1. Anisi Purcell - 305 lbs.
2. Keanu Tanuvasa - 300 lbs.
3. Justin Kirkland - 340 lbs.
4. Alvin Puefua - 310 lbs.
5. Kaufusi Pafoke - 345 lbs.

There were multiple defensive adds that added a lot of weight as well. Redshirt freshman Kinilau Fonohema added 30 pounds since last season. Texas Transfer Tausili Akana, who was listed at 209 pounds last season, is up to 235 pounds.

3. The Weapons Around the Quarterback

The quarterback battle has been well documented. Whether it's Treyson Bourguet, McCae Hillstead, or Bear Bachmeier, the BYU starting quarterback will be taking his first snap in a BYU uniform against Portland State.

Fortunately for the new quarterback, there are a lot of weapons on the 2025 BYU offense.

BYU returns proven veterans Chase Roberts and LJ Martin. The Cougars also have up and coming wide receivers like Jojo Phillips, Parker Kingston, Cody Hagen, Tiger Bachmeier, and Reggie Frischknecht.

Last but not least, BYU has an experience tight end in Carsen Ryan as a safety valve.

This offense is equipped to handle some inexperience at quarterback, at least to start the season. It's a soft runway for the BYU quarterback in September, but they will need to be up to speed by October.