Last week, BYU was busy celebrating AJ Dybantsa’s commitment to the Cougars. It’s not every day the next Tracy McGrady, Paul George or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander comes to Provo.
BYU fans were already flocking to Lehi on Saturday to catch a glimpse of the high school senior play Duncanville (Texas).
Want to know more about BYU’s pitch to the top recruit in the country?
But the Cougar faithful will have to turn their attention from one generational talent to the next because BYU football is getting ready to play Colorado’s Travis Hunter in the Alamo Bowl in 11 days.
The two-way star is fresh off winning the Heisman Trophy. BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick had some high praise for him.
“He’s probably the best football player I’ve ever seen,” Roderick said. “He’s an unbelievable player. To play 100-something snaps every game and be that good on offense. And cover people the way he does in the fourth quarter of games after he’s played 100 plays. Lots of respect for him.”
Colorado’s Travis Hunter holds the trophy after winning the Heisman Trophy as the outstanding player in college football, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, in New York. (Todd Van Emst/Heisman Trust via AP, Pool)
Free agency needs
The transfer portal opened last week and BYU has been relatively quiet so far. There aren’t a lot of players coming in, or going out.
The two main needs on offense are offensive line and tight end, Roderick said. Beyond that, adding a quarterback is never out of the question and maybe a running back would be nice too.
“Our immediate need is a little more depth at O-line and that is pretty much it,” Roderick said.
So far, BYU has only added tight end Carsen Ryan from Utah. BYU desperately needed it. Ryner Swanson, the future of that room, is leaving to serve a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints mission for two years. Plus, the Cougars lose Keanu Hill, Ray Paulo and Mata’ava Ta’ase to eligibility. Former four-star tight end Jackson Bowers hit the portal.
Ryan played at UCLA before coming to Salt Lake; he’s originally from American Fork. But he’s never been overly productive. His best season was in 2023 when he had 13 catches for 205 yards. BYU shied away from using its tight ends much in the passing game last year — partly due to personnel. The strength of the roster was at receiver.
Hill led all tight ends with 108 receiving yards in 2024.
Outstanding questions
The one transfer portal subtraction that could end up hurting the Cougars is Crew Wakley. The safety anchored Jay Hill’s backline. But he wasn’t on scholarship. So the senior hit the portal.
That said, Wakely could still return (although it appears unlikely). Losing Wakley would be a blow to this defense and force Hill’s hand to turn over the secondary the younger guys waiting in the wings. That was part of the plan anyway, to give the younger guys more freedom next year. But Wakley’s production shouldn’t go unnoticed. He did win the Baylor game for BYU, after all.
Up next
See you in San Antonio next week!
— Kevin Reynolds
