Assessing BYU’s needs from the transfer portal to avoid a repeat of unsatisfying 2023 season
If BYU’s recently completed 2023 football season, the Cougars’ first in the Big 12, unveiled anything, it was that the program that spent 12 seasons as a college football independent did not have the talent level and depth needed to compete week in and week out in a Power Five conference.
The Cougars went 5-7 in Kalani Sitake’s eighth season at the helm and will miss a bowl game for just the second time in 19 seasons.
It wasn’t that the Cougars lost seven games that was the most discouraging aspect of the season. A losing season was expected by most.
It was how the Cougars lost four of those games, barely looking competitive against TCU, Texas, West Virginia and Iowa State.
“We bring in a lot of people to look at a lot of people to narrow it down to the ones we take. You hope like crazy that you make good evaluations and that they are going to fit into the culture of the team, and that they are going to fit into the scheme, or the system you have, whatever the sport might be.” — BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe on the transfer portal
How can BYU close the talent gap?
The obvious answer is the transfer portal, which opened last week and will remain open until Jan. 2.
There has already been a lot of action in the college football free agency market, including at BYU.
Last week, BYU landed a commitment from punter Sam Vander Haar, who played for Pitt in 2022 and sat out the 2023 season.
And as of midday Monday, no fewer than eight players who have been a part of the BYU football team the past year have entered the portal, most notably defensive ends Michael and John Henry Daley, receiver Dom Henry and running back Miles Davis.
Another remedy is recruiting, with the early signing period opening next week (Dec. 20-22) for three days. But rarely are high school and junior college recruits quick fixes for a program such as BYU, which sees roughly 75% of its signees go on two-year church missions before enrolling.
We will have more on BYU’s 2024 signing class and high school targets next week; As of Monday, the Cougars had 16 pledges from the class, the most recent being offensive lineman Ikinasio Tupou of Palo Alto, California.
As for the need to get better quickly, Sitake said after the 40-34 double-overtime loss to Oklahoma State that everything in the program will be evaluated, from coaching (changes have already been made) to strength and conditioning to the need for more talent acquisition via the portal.
“The key in the transfer portal and in recruiting is to make sure that they are a good fit for our culture and our program. If they do that then I think they will be fine,” he said. “If they want to be at BYU, then we will play a lot better with them being here. … So there is a lot happening in college football. We will look at the places to improve on and find a way to get it done.”
BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe, who has an extensive background in pro and college football, weighed in on the season and the need to utilize the transfer portal last week in a one-on-one discussion with the Deseret News.
“The transfer portal is a little bit different at BYU because of the unique culture at BYU, (it) being a faith-based institution sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A lot of people don’t know much about it,” Holmoe said. “So during high school recruitment, or even (junior college) recruitment, we have a lot time to go through and develop and listen and talk and converse about cultural fit and athletic fit and what we are all about.”
“In the transfer portal, that is sped up. And you just don’t want to make mistakes for our sake, or for the student-athletes’ sake, where it is not a good fit,” Holmoe continued. “The transfer portal is challenging for that reason. We bring in a lot of people to look at a lot of people to narrow it down to the ones we take. You hope like crazy that you make good evaluations and that they are going to fit into the culture of the team, and that they are going to fit into the scheme, or the system you have, whatever the sport might be.”
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Holmoe said that, for the most part, BYU coaches in all sports have “made some good decision” with transfers.
“There have been a few decisions that didn’t quite work out, but I think our average is pretty good,” Holmoe said. “I am pretty pleased with how we have done.”
Here’s a position-by-position look at what BYU needs, or doesn’t need, from the transfer portal:
Quarterback
Whether you believe BYU needs a new quarterback probably depends on whether or not you believe Jake Retzlaff showed enough in four starts — all losses — to carry the load in 2024.
A week into the process, it appears that BYU coaches think the junior college transfer who threw for 648 yards and three touchdowns in 2023 is not the answer. They’ve reportedly reached out to at least four QBs in the portal.
Those quarterbacks are Ohio’s Kurtis Rourke, Boise State’s Taylen Green, Hawaii’s Brayden Schager and Michigan State’s Sam Leavitt, who is the brother of former BYU and Utah State defensive back Dallin Leavitt.
Monday, Leavitt committed to play for Arizona State and Green committed to play for Arkansas.
Even if BYU doesn’t land a QB from the portal, like they did last year when they convinced Kedon Slovis to come to Provo for one final season after stints at USC and Pitt, Retzlaff will have plenty of competition from within the QBs room.
Coaches spoke favorably of the work freshman Ryder Burton did in practice all season running the scout team, saying Burton knows the offense as well as anyone and has a nice mixture of savviness running ability and arm strength.
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“Ryder Burton is an up-and-coming young player,” Sitake said on more than one occasion last season.
Boise State transfer Cade Fennegan and walk-ons Nick Billoups and Cole Hagen should also remain in the mix.
Another thing to consider, in regards to transfer quarterbacks: A good one won’t come cheap. Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said with a straight face a few weeks ago that “a good QB in the portal costs $1 million, $1.5, $2 million in NIL (money).”
If BYU wants to beat out some of the other schools in the picture for one of the aforementioned signal-callers, as they all reportedly have multiple offers, it will have to pony up in some form or fashion.
Running back
Running back isn’t a pressing need for the Cougars, assuming Aidan Robbins and LJ Martin return for at least another season in Provo. If both leave — and neither has indicated there’s much of the possibility of that — it is a huge priority to get not one, but two capable backs.
If one leaves, it is still a priority to replace him, as both were injured at various points of the 2023 season and a team can never have too many capable running backs, as recent seasons have shown.
If Hinckley Ropati comes back from an ACL injury, that will be a bonus for the Cougars, who also have Enoch Nawahine and Nukuluve Helu in the fold.
Colorado transfer Deion Smith is out of eligibility and junior Miles Davis hit the transfer portal last week, as mentioned above.
Receiver
BYU looks reasonably set at receiver, providing 2023 contributors Chase Roberts, Darius Lassiter, Keelan Marion, Kody Epps and Parker Kingston all return, as expected. Keanu Hill has another season of eligibility remaining, but some inside the program believe the tall Texan is moving on.
Walk-on Kade Moore, a scout team standout, is expected to transfer.
Freshman JoJo Phillips saw some playing time late in the season and made a touchdown catch in the 45-13 loss to Iowa State.
So the Cougars should be OK if they don’t add another pass-catcher, but if there’s another Lassiter or Marion available in the portal that would make a good fit, BYU should give him a good look. They still don’t have a guy who can take the top off defenses, but those types don’t grow on trees, obviously.
Tight end
If freshman and former four-star recruit Jackson Bowers is as good as coaches say he is, BYU should be OK at the tight end spot as it goes about replacing Isaac Rex. Rex leaves for a shot at the NFL as the all-time touchdown receptions leader for a BYU tight end, with 24.
Ray Paulo, Mata’ave Ta’ase, Ethan Erickson and walk-on Anthony Olsen are also in the room, but have a ways to go to be consistent contributors.
Offensive line
Sitake has already started making changes here, reportedly hiring Georgia Southern offensive line coach TJ Woods to come in and replace the fired Darrell Funk. This is probably the biggest rebuilding project on the team, and a lot of help is needed from the portal.
It was in the trenches where BYU was exposed the most as not being ready for Power Five football, particularly on the offensive line.
Left tackle Kingsley Suamataia and right guard Paul Maile are moving on to pursue NFL dreams, and starting center Connor Pay and right tackle Brayden Keim are still weighing their options. Utah State transfer Weylin Lapuaho and OSU transfer Caleb Etienne are expected back.
Tyler Little was moved to defensive line at the end of the season when injuries ravaged that group, and could return to his recruited spot. Others in the room with talent include center Peter Falaniko and Weber State transfer Jake Eichorn and Kaden Chidester, from Richfield High.
Defensive line
Edge rushers Tyler Batty and Isaiah Bagnah have said they will return in 2024, but that’s not great news because the tandem wasn’t good at getting sacks in 2023. BYU had just 11 sacks in 12 games, tied for the lowest total in the nation with Virginia.
Jackson Cravens is out of eligibility, while Caden Haws and John Nelson, who were injured the last part of the season, have not made their intentions known.
Whatever they do, help is clearly needed at this position, as BYU not only struggled to get pressure on opposing QBs, it also struggled to stop the run, especially in the season finale against Oklahoma State.
The losses of the Daley brothers to the portal hurts, especially John Henry’s departure.
Blake Mangelson, Aisea Moa, Logan Lutui and Nuu Sellesin are presumably returning.
Linebacker
Max Tooley and AJ Vongphanchanh are out of eligibility after being stalwarts at linebacker last season. Ben Bywater, leading tackler in 2021 and 2022, suffered a season-ending injury in the Kansas game, which turned out to be a huge blow to Jay Hill’s defense. BYU never really recovered.
Bywater had surgery and is still trying to assess whether he needs to return and show NFL scouts he can put together a full season and thrive again.
If he doesn’t come back, expect guys such as Siale Esera, Harrison Taggart, Ace Kaufusi and Isaiah Glasker to move in, giving the Cougars an extremely young, but promising, starting LBs group.
So yes, an experienced tackling machine, à la Vongphachanh last year, should be on Sitake’s wish list.
Defensive back
BYU cornerbacks coach Jernaro Gilford says you can never have enough quality and experienced cornerbacks, so expect the Cougars to look into the portal for replacements for Eddie Heckard and Kamden Garrett, who both exceeded expectations last year.
Jakob Robinson is back to nail down one corner, while special teams ace Marcus McKenzie and junior college transfer Jayden Dunlap will compete for the other spot along with SUU transfer Dylan Flowers, Evan Johnson and Mory Bamba.
At safety, BYU shouldn’t need much portal help if Micah Harper and Talan Alfrey return from injuries that sidelined them for all (Harper) or most (Alfrey) of 2023. Walk-ons Crew Wakley, Ethan Slade and Tanner Wall battled through injuries and became solid contributors to the safeties room, along with former receiver Preston Rex.
The secondary might be the only place where BYU can get along OK with the guys it has — providing they avoid injuries.
Special teams
Punter supreme Ryan Rehkow is moving on and will be missed. He had a phenomenal career at BYU. His brother, Landon, will compete with the aforementioned Vander Haar to fill Ryan’s sizable shoes.
The Cougars are set at kicker, too, with Will Ferrin returning after the Boise State transfer proved to be one of the most pleasant surprises of the 2023 season.
