OC Aaron Roderick says BYU ‘upgraded at every position’ on offense

Provo • On the surface, BYU’s offseason was all about the defense.

Firing former defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki. Hiring Jay Hill from Weber State. Getting rid of starters and bringing in a bevy of transfers.

But offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick said it might be the offense that had the biggest jolt since December. As the Cougars prepared to close fall camp, Roderick said he believes that his unit “upgraded at every position.”

“We are not game ready yet, but we have a good team,” Roderick said. “We have upgraded at every position on offense this year. I’d say quarterback, we are replacing a good player. So that is probably a wash. But I feel like we are stronger at every position group on our team than we were a year ago.”

Last season, BYU’s offense finished 36th in the country in yards per game. It averaged just under 6.7 yards per play and produced 51 touchdowns. Those numbers mirror the outputs at Texas, Penn State and Florida last year. For reference, BYU finished No. 16 in the country in yards per play.

But this offseason, Roderick heavily invested in the transfer portal. At quarterback, BYU brought in Kedon Slovis from Pitt and USC to replace NFL draft pick Jaren Hall.

At receiver, BYU added Keelan Marion (UConn) and Darius Lassiter (Eastern Michigan). At running back, it added Aidan Robbins (UNLV and Louisville) and Deion Smith (Colorado). The tight end spot even added Ray Paulo and Mata’ava Ta’ase — who have logged significant reps in fall camp.

The offensive line might feature the most drastic changes. It has five new transfers who could see snaps.

“We have a lot of new players who are very talented,” Roderick said. “We have some weapons. I really believe we have upgraded at every single position, like I said before. But it is a matter of getting all of our execution down with all these new guys. Being midseason form by the time we kick off for Sam Houston, that is the goal.”

How BYU can make all these new pieces fit will be the overarching question for Roderick over the next month. He has the rest of fall camp and realistically the first two weeks of the season against Sam Houston and Southern Utah to figure it out. Then it will be 10 straight Power Five opponents starting with Arkansas on the road.

Roderick admitted he is looking for “just an overall improvement of execution.”

Does he feel ready now?

“I don’t think we are behind schedule, but we are not game ready yet,” he finished.