The 2025 regular season opens on August 30 when the Cougars host Portland State and concludes on November 29 at home versus UCF. How the Cougars fare for the 12-game season largely depends on how well the personnel comes together on both sides of the football and a lot that process will occur during the next three weeks as players battle for spots on the two-deep roster.

So which storylines and position battles deserve the most introspection?

Certainly most eyes will be peeled toward the starting quarterback where sophomore McCae Hillstead will battle with junior Treyson Bourguet for team’s most visible role. Freshmen Bear Bachmeier and Emerson Geilman may both serve some notice, although they’ll both be hard-pressed to legitimately compete for a starting spot, at least not for the first month of practices.

But you know that already.

Indeed BYU’s quarterback battle has been diagnosed through print and over the airwaves throughout the offseason in the wake of Jake Retzlaff’s unanticipated departure from the football program, and absolutely deserves the most attention during preseason practice sessions.

But what other position battles and storylines deserve secondary and even tertiary notice in the coming weeks? Here’s three position battles I’ll be monitoring closely over the next four weeks.

Offensive tackle

BYU should be okay along its interior offensive front with quality players like Bruce Mitchell (6-4, 305 Jr.), who should lock down the center spot along with a mix of Weylin Lapuaho (6-4, 310 Sr.), Kyle Sfarcioc (6-4, 310 Jr.), Austin Leausa (6-5, 315 Jr.) and Sonny Makisini (6-4, 315 Jr.) making up the two-deep roster at the two guard positions.

It’s the tackle position where most of the questions lie.

Isaiah Jatta (6-6, 315 Sr.) acquitted himself nicely when called on to fill in for Brayden Keim at right tackle last season. Jatta is reportedly healthy after sitting out spring with injury and should be able to reprise his role at right tackle with relative ease.

But will he ultimately stay at right tackle or will coaches see fit to move him over to left tackle? Regardless of which side of the line Jatta ultimately anchors, he’s a very good bet to start.

Beyond Jatta there’s a lot of question marks at tackle beginning with the availability of Michigan transfer Andrew Gentry (6-8, 315 Jr.) Gentry sat out spring with a lisfranc injury, which can prove a difficult ailment to recover effectively from, but if the former 4-star recruit does prove a full-go, then he’s a very good bet to start opposite Jatta at either tackle spot.

Leausa could be switched over from guard to tackle if that proves to be the best option, although it seems preferrable to have him remain inside to add depth and possibly start at either guard position.

Several promising up-and-comers will be battling at tackle, too. This group consists of Kaden Chidester (6-8, 315 So.), Andrew Williams (6-8, 315 Fr.), Ethan Thomason (6-8, 305 Fr.) and Jake Griffin (6-5, 300 So.), among others.

Defensive End

Logan Lutui (6-2, 255 Sr.) will play and play a lot as the elder statesman of what may be the single most intriguing position on BYU’s roster.

Why so intriguing, you may ask? The position is stuffed with standout talent, but not much experience, which could mean a lot of volatility of quality of overall production throughout the season.

Chief among the notables that will be competing at defensive end will be Texas transfer Tausili Akana (6-3, 235 So.), Utah transfer Hunter Clegg (6-4, 245 Fr.), Ephraim Asiata (6-3, 210 So.), Bodie Schoonover (6-3, 265 Jr.), Orion Maile-Kaufusi (6-3, 240 Fr.), Viliami Po’uha (6-3, 265 So.), and Kinilau Fonohema (6-5, 240 Fr.)

Cornerback

Replacing Jaxson Robinson, who could well be argued as the best cornerback ever to pass through the BYU football program, won’t be easy. Marque Collins also provided very solid play opposite of Robinson throughout the 2024 season, leaving some significant voids that position Coach Jenaro Gilford will be hard-pressed to fill.

But that’s not to suggest the potential to approach last season’s overall production isn’t a possibility.

Both Mory Bamba (6-3, 190 Sr.) and Evan Johnson (6-0, 185 Jr.) saw a lot of quality playing time last season and largely performed well when called upon. Both players will likely stand as the two players to beat out throughout the fall practice session for the starting spots.

Jonathan Kabeya (5-10, 177 So.) appears primed to take on the primary slot corner role when the team opts for a nickel formation, and JUCO transfer Jayden Dunlap (6-0, 185 Sr.) hopes to finally contribute after battling through injury all of last season. Other options involve Marcus McKenzie (5-11, 185 So.), who was a special teams standout throughout the 2023 season, Therrian Alexander (6-2, 170 So.) who saw playing time last season as a freshman, and Canon DeVries (6-0, 185 Fr.)

As always, we’ll do our best to apprise our readers of any and all roster developments throughout fall practices as the team prepares for the coming season.