5-star decommit and Flip to Tennessee Vols over Alabama and Georgia bulldogs and for…..
Jay has covered sports in Utah for more than 30 years and has been writing for the Deseret News since 2019.
Anything can happen, and usually does, in college football, so pronouncing any team’s roster for the upcoming season finalized and a done deal is almost always a fool’s errand.
Even predicting a depth chart some eight months before the season starts is a stretch in this day and age of the transfer portal and NIL enticements. Massive roster turnover has become the norm.
Another transfer portal window for college football opens on April 16 and closes on April 25, so for the BYU Cougars, who usually wrap up spring practices in late March or early April, there will be more departures once camp ends and players learn they aren’t part of the program’s future
plans.
Just looking forward to the momentum that we can gain from this,” head coach Kalani Sitake said after the bowl game. “Obviously, just really happy and want to celebrate with the seniors, but I think this is a really good step for us, and I am glad that we were able to get this done.”
With the winter transfer portal window having closed on Dec. 28, BYU lost a few key players — such as safety Crew Wakley and defensive end Aisea Moa — but mostly kept a lot of the guys expected to be big contributors in 2025. Credit the culture that Sitake has established in Provo, and the coaching staff he has assembled that includes defensive wizard Jay Hill.
“It is a nice cycle of things that are happening,” Sitake said after the bowl game. “I don’t mind it at all. Sometimes as a leader I’ve just got to step out of the way and let these (players) do it.”
Of course, players currently in the portal can sign with their new programs whenever they want, and several former Cougars already have, including receiver Kody Epps (Western Kentucky), tight end Jackson Bowers (Oregon State), running back Miles Davis (Utah State), receiver Prince Zombo (Utah Tech), offensive lineman Jake Eichorn (Utah State) and the aforementioned Moa (Michigan State).
Other BYU players in the portal who hadn’t found a landing spot as of midday Tuesday included safeties Wakley and Micah Harper, defensive linemen Dallin Havea, Dallin Johnson and David Latu, quarterback Noah Lugo and linebacker Sione Moa.
BYU has also been active in the portal, having received seven commitments as of midday Tuesday. Utah tight end Carsen Ryan and defensive end Keanu Tanuvasa, Michigan offensive lineman Andrew Gentry and Texas defensive end Tausili Akana are among the big gets so far. BYU has also reportedly got commitments from SUU linemen Anisi Purcell and Kyle Sfarcioc and Utah State linebacker Max Alford.
About five BYU players who thought they were out of eligibility, but have been given an extra year if one of their years was in the junior college ranks, have the option to return thanks to the ruling in the case involving Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia. That group includes some of the best players on the BYU roster in 2024 — offensive lineman Caleb Etienne, receiver Darius Lassiter and running back Hinckley Ropati. Also eligible are cornerback Mory Bamba and tight end Ray Paulo
