Three Things to Know about New BYU Quarterback Bear Bachmeier

On Tuesday, BYU named true freshman Bear Bachmeier as the starting quarterback for the 2025 season. Here are three things to know about the newest BYU starting quarterback.

1. Making BYU Football History

Bachmeier wears a unique jersey number: 47. On the first day of Fall Camp, Bachmeier was asked about his number.

"Me and my dad joke around," Bachmeier said. "I used to play running back when I was younger or when I started playing football, and then when I made the transition to quarterback, I just kept the number and I continued to play middle linebacker up until 8th grade. I don't know I just kind of like the number and it kind of brings you back to your primitive nature when you're playing so it's cool."

Bachmeier will make history as the first BYU quarterback to wear the number 47. He will also be the first true freshman in BYU history to start at quarterback in week one.

2. A Unique Path to BYU

Bear Bachmeier's situation is especially unique because he spent part of Spring camp at Stanford. Bachmeier signed with the Cardinal before opting to enter the transfer portal when Troy Taylor was fired in March. Bachmeier faced a steep learning curve in terms of learning BYU's playbook, but according to BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick, he knew the playbook early in camp.

If anyone can learn a playbook quickly, it is the Bachmeier family. Bear is a smart - he picked Stanford over a long list of competing offers and academics were a big part of that. His older brother Tiger, a wide receiver at BYU, graduated from Stanford in 2.5 years before transferring to Provo.

He also comes from a football family and the Bachmeiers have been able to contribute early in their college careers. His older brother Hank Bachmeier won the starting job at Boise State in 2019 as a true freshman. He led the Broncos to a win over Florida State in his first college start. Tiger, meanwhile, had the most receiving yards in the Pac-12 among freshmen. The Bachmeiers know how to digest college football playbooks quickly.

Bear came into the BYU quarterback competition with many disadvantages. He had the least amount of college experience, he had the least amount of time with the playbook, and he didn't get to BYU's campus until late May.

It didn't matter - Bachmeier overcame the odds and proved he was the best quarterback on BYU's roster.

3. Decorated High School Career

Bear was a star quarterback at Murrieta Valley High School for three years. He arrived at Stanford and was one of two quarterbacks competing for the starting job before he decided to enter the transfer portal. Had he not transferred to BYU, he likely would have played against BYU as Stanford's starting quarterback in September.

Bear has all the physical tools to be a fantastic college quarterback. He is already 6'2 and 220 pounds, he is dangerous with the ball in his hands, and he has the arm talent to make every throw required of him in Aaron Roderick's offense. In high school, Bachmeier had a career TD/Int ratio (including rushing TDs) of 92/14.

Bear was a four-star quarterback that held competing offers from Georgia, Arkansas, Boise State, Colorado, Miami, Oregon, Notre Dame, Utah, and Texas A&M. He was one of the top quarterbacks in the 2025 class. The Georgia Bulldogs made a late push in his recruitment to try to flip him from Stanford. BYU did as well. Instead, Bachmeier signed with Stanford and intended to play for the Cardinal until Troy Taylor was dismissed.

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