Top Storylines of 2025 BYU Football Fall Camp

BYU football is back this week. The Cougars will kickoff Fall Camp in preparation for the 2025 season. We will preview the top storylines of Fall Camp in this article.

1. The Quarterback Battle

Treyson Bourguet, McCae Hillstead, and Bear Bachmeier are about to kickoff what should be a contested quarterback competition. The three quarterbacks were originally slated to compete for the backup quarterback job before a civil lawsuit filed against starter Jake Retzlaff ended with Retzlaff withdrawing from school and transferring to Tulane. Now, one of those three will take the first snaps when BYU kicks off the 2025 season against Portland State.

The quarterback battle is going to be fascinating to watch. McCae Hillstead is a dual-threat quarterback that fits the mold of quarterbacks that have been successful under Aaron Roderick. He can beat defenses with his arm or with his legs. Hillstead started four games for Utah State as a true freshman in 2023 before transferring to BYU as redshirting in 2024.

Treyson Bourguet might be the most natural leader among the three quarterbacks. He has the arm talent to win the job, but he is the least mobile of the three quarterbacks. He started a handful of games at Western Michigan in 2022 and 2023. His ability to lead a huddle and win the respect of a locker room is an underrated aspect of this quarterback battle.

Bear Bachmeier has the highest ceiling of the three quarterbacks, but he is the least experienced. Bachmeier is a true freshman that spent Spring camp at Stanford before transferring to BYU. If Bachmeier can grasp enough of the playbook, BYU might turn to the youngster in September for the easier portion of the schedule. Bachmeier was one of two quarterbacks competing for the starting spot at Stanford before he transferred.

2. Preseason Expectations

BYU used low preseason expectations to fuel an 11-2 season including a 9-0 start in 2024. "They don't know, but they are about to find out" became the theme of the season.

When BYU finished the 2024 season with a dominant win over Colorado, BYU was a consensus top-25 team in way-too-early rankings for the 2025 season. One thing felt obvious: BYU wasn't going to fly under the radar again heading into 2025.

Then, the Jake Retzlaff news broke. Once it was clear that Retzlaff wouldn't suit up for the Cougars in 2025, BYU was removed from the Big 12 title conversation by a lot of national pundits. BYU suddenly has a chip on its shoulder again heading into 2025.

3. A More Talented, Less Experienced Defense

The BYU defense was really good in 2024. The Cougars led the Big 12 in most of the important stat categories. Looking ahead to 2025, BYU will need to lean on its defense to start the season while a new quarterback gets up to speed.

On paper, BYU has the talent to be even better than they were a season ago. In terms of experience, however, BYU will have to replace some of its most experienced players from the 2024 defense.

Can Jay Hill and his staff get a younger, but more talented defense to play even better than they did in 2024? That will be one of the top storylines in camp.

4. Other Position Battles to Watch

The quarterback battle will dominate the headlines, but there are a handful of starting spots up for grabs heading into camp. A few spots along the offensive line need to be sorted out, the defensive end spots will be competitive, and couple wide receivers need to separate themselves behind Chase Roberts.

5. Running Back Situation

In Spring camp, there were three running backs at the top of the depth chart for BYU: LJ Martin, Sione Moa, and Pokaiaua Haunga. BYU running back Hinckley Ropati did not participate in Spring Camp and he entered the transfer portal during the April transfer window.

On his podcast, Ropati announced his plans to exit the portal and return to BYU. Ropati was the backup running back behind LJ Martin last season. It remains to be seen what Ropati's role will be assuming he is back on the roster when camp begins.

6. Roster Size

After Spring Camp, BYU thought a 105-man roster cap would be in place for the 2025 season. The BYU coaching staff started making cuts to get to 105. Then, the House settlement was tweaked to allow the 105-man roster to be grandfathered in over the next few years. In other words, there will not be a hard cap of 105 for this season.

BYU's roster size will be a story to watch. How close will they get to the 105? Will they grow the roster back to 125 like they have in previous years?