Midterm assessment: Transfer portal additions add considerably to BYU’s overall grade
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- BYU tight end Walker Lyons (7) signals a first down against Colorado State in a college football game at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins, Colo., on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026.
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- BYU wide receiver Kyler Kasper celebrates after scoring a touchdown against Arizona in a college football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026.
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- BYU linebacker Cade Uluave carries the ball after an interception against Arizona in a college football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026.
Believe it or not, we’re already at the midpoint of BYU’s 2026 football season, which means it’s time to pass out midterm evaluations of the No. 2-ranked Cougars who have compiled a spotless 6-0 record so far this season.
Of course latter part of the above sentence reveals what overall grade the Cougars should warrant relative to preseason expectations, given the fact that the program has never enjoyed such a lofty ranking at this stage of any given season. So, to sum it up succinctly, the Cougars get an easy A grade
“I think 6-0 is amazing,” said BYU tight end Walker Lyons, stating the abundantly obvious during media availability this past week. “It’s where we thought we were going to be … I think we’ve done a lot of good things. I think there’s still so much that we can improve on. There’s still so much that we can get better at.”
Yes, BYU will have to show continued improvement to remain its perfect grade from now until the end of the season, and pundits are certain to evaluate all of it to a much more focused degree given the team’s current status, and that’s a good thing. But for right now, it’s time to evaluate how BYU has reached its current status, which sort of begins with Lyons himself, as one of several notable first year additions.
Nailing the transfer portal
BYU needed to replace tight end Carsen Ryan, who now plays in the NFL and provided one of the better tight end seasons during 2025 the program has produced in recent years.
Well, enter Walker Lyons, who through six games played has 18 receptions for 199 yards which includes one very notable game-winning touchdown reception during BYU’s 28-24 win over Notre Dame last season. Ryan, at this point last season, had 14 receptions for 202 yards with two touchdowns, making Lyons stats practically on par with what Ryan produced, if not a tad better.
Lyons transferred to BYU after spending two seasons at USC and arrived in Provo holding a lot of expectations, of which he’s met just about all of them.
But it’s not just Lyons.
BYU also added the services of Oregon transfer Roger Saleapaga, and while the Orem High product has been less conspicuous than Lyons with his overall production, he’s still managed seven receptions for 110 yards while holding a lot of promise regarding more gains as the season wears on.
Few would argue that BYU hasn’t upgraded its very good tight end position from a season ago, which has added considerably to the team’s production.
And then there’s at least two other notable transfer portal additions on the offensive side of the football.
BYU needed a left tackle entering the offseason. In fact it was one of the bigger camp stories extending back to the spring practice session back in March of this year. But that story was resolved rather quickly with Washington transfer Paki Finau all but winning the spot just a couple of weeks into the aforementioned spring practice session and he’s validated himself through six games this season in providing consistently high player performance grades while protecting Bachmeier’s blindside effectively.
With the addition of Finau and his play, it could be evaluated by most that BYU has improved its overall offensive line play, which has been key this season.
Receiver is one position where most pundits and fans alike assumed BYU would take a step back with the departures of both Chase Roberts and Parker Kingston, although Oregon transfer Kyler Kasper has paired very well with true freshman phenom Legend Glasker to at least come close to supplementing the loss of the Cougar’s top two receivers from a year ago.
Kasper is a former 4-star prospect who has used his 6-foot-6 height effectively to haul in 20 receptions for 244 yards and three touchdowns through six games. Roberts, through the midway point of the 2025 season, had 22 catches for 420 yards and three touchdowns, outdistancing Kasper, sure, but probably not to the degree that most fans and pundits assumed prior to the season.
On the defensive side of the football BYU didn’t have to replace much, given the plethora of returning standout starters at just about every position. But BYU needed someone to replace Mory Bamba as the team’s third cornerback, and while it probably didn’t need another linebacker, coaches went out and secured the services of Cal leading tackler Cade Uluave.
Through six games played it could well be argued that Uluave is BYU’s top defender. He leads the team in total tackles and was at his best during BYU’s big win over the Irish to add considerably to the overall play of the team’s deepest position even with the loss of standout Jack Kelly, who now plays for the New York Giants.
And then there’s Mississippi State transfer Jayven Williams, who didn’t receive near the hype of BYU’s other transfer portal additions, but has raised his level of play to be employed on almost every down when BYU opts to go with five defensive backs in nickel formation. Williams has provided consistent and adept coverages and has at least matched the overall play of Bamba from a year ago.
From BYU coach Kalani Sitake’s perspective, he’s been very pleased with what the transfer portal additions have provided while pointing out several other additions, like Stanford transfer Zak Yamauchi.
“We have a bunch of guys that can play. Those guys just got to stay hungry for it because you might have an opportunity,” Sitake said. “I bring Zac Yamuuchi up as an example because he had one play where Kyle (Sfarcioc) got banged up, and Zac wanted went in for one play, and was ready for his moment … and then got a pancake. And so that’s a guy that was tuned in from the very beginning, had his helmet ready to go.”
Overall the play and the willingness to prepare and work has contributed heavily to the team’s overall grade, with the notable transfer portal additions taking center stage in the team’s overall play.
“I’m just really proud of the way the guys prepared. We we talked about the will to prepare and mentioned Lavell (Edward’s) quotes to the team on preparation being way more important than the will to win,” Sitake said specifically regarding the prep prior to taking on Notre Dame, although the quote could easily be transferred to every week so far this season. “And I love the way the guys work all week. I think everybody wants to be ready to go during the game, but when you prepare the right way during the week, you can have a lot of confidence going into that moment.”
