BYU football is hoping to rebound after a 5-7 campaign in its Big 12 debut last season.
The Cougars’ disappointing first impression in the Big 12 last year has pushed them to the bottom of the new 16-team league in the perspective of media members.
BYU was picked to finish 13th in Big 12 Media Days, which begin on Tuesday. Kalani Sitake and his players will take center stage on Wednesday.
Being picked to finish so low generates little preseason hype. However, after two consecutive losing seasons (2004, 2017), BYU advanced to the postseason the next year.
State of BYU football entering the 2024 season
Tom Holmoe, BYU athletic director, is starting his 20th season in charge of the football program. He spoke with KSL Sports on BYU football and the current state of the program.
“I like our program; I think we’re in a fantastic situation. Last year, I anticipated that transitioning to the Big 12 would be challenging for all of our clubs. And I believe we did. I believe we knew it was coming. “And it came,” Holmoe told KSL Sports.
“So, in football this year, we had a really good spring, a good recruiting class, and we made some changes to the transfer portal.” We were able to hang on to players. Retention is a significant factor. I believe we are currently in a position to continue improving. A lot depends on how people participate in the new transition. Have our student athletes improved from last year to this year? How much growth do we demonstrate? In football and other sports, we have made adjustments to the coaching and support staff. So I believe we have done everything necessary to be as competitive as possible.
Retention was a top priority
BYU demonstrated a strong dedication to roster retention. During the Early Signing Period last December, BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick stated that keeping the key guys was likely the most significant victory for the offensive staff on the recruiting trail in 2024.
The one unexpected departure from last season was running back Aidan Robbins, who declared for the NFL draft and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Cleveland Browns.
BYU’s top five receivers return from last season. They return four offensive linemen with starting experience, and running back LJ Martin is one year older and bigger following a strong freshman season.
Despite roster retention, expectations for BYU have remained low due to one of college football’s most difficult schedules. BYU will face the top five teams from the Big 12’s preseason media poll.
According to Phil Steele’s annual college football preview, BYU has the 23rd toughest schedule in NCAA football.
A challenging schedule combined with a significant question mark at the most important position, quarterback, explains why BYU has low expectations for the 2024 season.
Holmoe is enthusiastic about the bunch, which includes returner Jake Retzlaff, USF/Baylor transfer Gerry Bohanon, Western Michigan transfer Treyson Bourguet, and Utah State post-spring transfer McCae Hillstead.
Quarterback competition
“I believe there was much competition. One of the primary reasons for having spring ball is to see who is coming in. All of these men could step in and compete. “We have a lot of depth at that position,” Holmoe added.
Retzlaff and Bohanon emerged from spring ball as the top two candidates for the position. Aaron Roderick felt they had distanced themselves to be the top two contenders. Hillstead has yet to compete in a BYU practice session.
Aaron Roderick said the QB battle will continue into fall camp.
Roderick noted that Jake Retzlaff had zero INTs in all 15 practices.#BYUFootball pic.twitter.com/NlRtnIG7Ig
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) March 30, 2024
Head coach Kalani Sitake has already mentioned that he wants the quarterback unit to be stocked with talent. He has four guys who have started FBS games. Holmoe is pleased with the choices available in BYU’s signal calling room.
“If you look at BYU football over the last 20 years, or at least since I’ve been here, there haven’t been many years where you’ve gone through one quarterback the entire season. So we’ll need to go as deep as we can. Being deep and good is one of the keys to success in all Big 12 positions.
“When you have that depth, you can develop the younger or newer kids so that when the time comes, hopefully, you can have them homegrown and not have to look at the transfer portal.” But the transfer site has been really beneficial to BYU.”
BYU football will kick off fall camp practice on July 31. The season opener is against Southern Illinois on August 31 in Provo.
