As far as BYU football is concerned, the work being accomplished in the early offseason, specifically with the comings and goings of players via the transfer portal, it’s off to a rousing start.

The NCAA transfer portal opened up on January 2 and closes today, January 16. It’s a two week period where collegiate football players can basically declare for free agency, with most of those who do as much will almost assuredly wind up elsewhere. According to those who actually keep count, more than 4,000 Division 1 players entered the portal this year alone, providing ample evidence of how fluid rosters have become from a year-to-year basis.

So how did BYU do?

As mentioned, any objective measure would indicate the Cougars having done very well, all factors considered.

Staying in house

BYU lost a total of 12 players to the transfer portal, of which only three of whom saw any amount of significant playing time during the 2025 football season.

Those three include linebacker Max Alford, cornerback Marcus McKenzie, who was employed mostly as a gunner during kickoff and punt coverage, and cornerback Tayvion Beasley.

That’s it.

The other nine could be well-defined as players whom coaches likely recommended transfer portal entrance due to the desire of opening roster spots for other incoming players.

Sound harsh? Yeah, it is, but that’s what college football has become in this day of NIL and relaxed transfer restrictions.

Considering BYU’s success last season, retention of a good portion of the existing roster indicates another strong season for BYU in 2026. But the other factor that makes the Cougar’s relatively strong retention rate impressive is the fact that they lost both their defensive coordinator, Jay Hill along with Cornerbacks Coach Jenaro Gilford to Michigan. As of January 15, none of the players, save the sparsely-used Alford, McKenzie and Beasley elected to leave with only Alford electing to join both Hill and Gilford in Ann Arbor.

The Cougars also retained the services of at least two players who were assumed to move on to the NFL in running back LJ Martin and linebacker Isaiah Glasker.

Glasker battled through an ankle injury throughout this past season and most likely is determined to put out better film prior to entering the NFL draft, among other factors. Martin, meanwhile, won’t likely see his draft stock increase by playing another season in Provo, yet still elected to return due to enough factors in play to lead him to believing one more season as BYU’s top running back is his best option.

Filling needs and pouring on some gravy

Most of us like gravy. It’s a welcome topping that enhances the flavor of, well, just about anything. Which brings us to BYU’s most decorated transfer portal addition; Cade Uluave.

BYU already looked strong at linebacker heading into the 2026 season, considering the return of the aforementioned Glasker, on top of players such as Siale Esera, Nusi Taumoepeau and Ace Kaufusi, along with the anticipated return of Choe Bryant-Strother after his season was missed almost entirely due this past year.

Uluave is a 6-foot-1, 235 pound linebacker from Cal, who was tabbed as the No. 1 linebacker in this year’s transfer portal by the 247 Sports Network, which also rated him a 4-star prospect. Uluave was named a First-team All-ACC Conference performer last season and earned Defensive Freshman of the Year honors in 2023.

Uluave has just one year of eligibility remaining and should compete immediately for the starting middle linebacker spot, considering his credentials. BYU also added former Kansas State linebacker Jake Clifton.

As far as addressing needs, BYU has a big void left at the tight end position due to the graduation of Carsen Ryan. Enter the older brother of celebrated 5-star quarterback 2026 signee Ryder Lyons, and the Cougars likely reeled in an ample replacement for Ryan in former 4-star prospect Walker Lyons.

Walker Lyons is a 6-4, 245 transfer from USC who will have two years of eligibility remaining when he arrives in Provo. The Southern California native had 20 receptions for 223 yards and two touchdowns last season for the Trojans, making him a good bet to assume Ryan’s starting spot come the start of the 2026 season.

Another big need was quality offensive line depth with at least one player proving able to fill in at left tackle on the heels of Isaiah Jatta playing out his eligibility. Among the 12 players leaving BYU through the transfer portal were three offensive linemen, all of whom had yet to see any amount of playing time. The Cougar coaching staff went to work, however, and replaced all three of those linemen with three proven performers from other programs.

Those players are former Stanford Cardinal Zak Yamauchi (6-4, 325), Paki Finau (6-5, 310), who played for Washington, and Jr Sia (6-5, 325), who comes to BYU from Utah State. All three players saw playing time with respective programs with Finau and Yamauchi each having three years of eligibility remaining and Sia two.

Both Finau and Sia are expected to compete for the open left tackle spot while all three can add depth and competition at the interior offensive line positions. BYU is set to return four players who either started or saw significant playing time in 2025 in center Bruce Mitchell, guards Kyle Sfarcioc and Sonny Makisini, along with starting right tackle Andrew Gentry. The problem is that all four of them will be entering their final season in 2026, but with the additions of Yamauchi, Finau and Sia, the process of replacing all four of them is well underway.

The final intriguing addition is towering 6-foot-6 receiver Kyle Kasper, who played sparsely for Oregon before electing to enter the transfer portal to eventually wind up signing on with BYU. Kasper was a 4-star prospect out of high school and will have two years of eligibility remaining as he works to help replace standout receiver Chase Roberts.

It’s yet to be determined how each of BYU’s seven transfer portal additions will pan out, but considering their collective credentials compared with the departing 12 players on the roster, the early transfer portal returns for the Cougars look very promising.