Breaking News: The BYU cougars head coach announced his departure and vow never to return due to his…

The BYU cougars head coach feel so bad and hot that his players are relaxing and could not do anything good or a thing that can pled him he always tell them 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 p2025lansTristan Sinclair 2024 Regular Season Highlights | Stanford LB

 

 

 

“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.

 

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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.

 

Lassiter, Etienne and Bamba all said at the Alamo Bowl that they were weighing their options.

 

Bottom line is the 2025 roster could look a lot like the 2024 roster, which should make expectations soar the next eight months unlike anything BYU fans have

seen in several years.

 

The competition in the QBs room will be for the all-important backup spot, with Western Michigan transfer Treyson Bourguet and Utah State transfer McCae Hillstead the primary battlers. With the new 105-man roster limits coming into play, look for Roderick to keep only four QBs on the roster, the aforementioned guys and a walk-on — perhaps former Corner Canyon star Cole Hagen.

 

LJ Martin remains the man at running back

BYU coaches didn’t bring in a big-time running back out of the transfer portal last year at this time when Aidan Robbins made the ill-fated decision to turn pro (the UNLV transfer went undrafted and was recently re-signed to the Cleveland Browns’ practice squad) and that call turned to be the right one as the LJ Martin-led group flourished in 2024.

 

Martin missed three games with injuries, but still rushed for 723 yards and seven touchdowns, including two in the bowl game. Having averaged 5.2 yards per carry, he will again be the workhorse RB1 next season if he can stay heal

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