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BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick talks to the Cougar quarterbacks during the first full day of fall camp in Provo on Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021.

Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo

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BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick talks during the "State of the Program" show at Cougar football Media Day at the BYU Broadcasting Building in Provo on Thursday, June 17, 2021.

BYU Photo

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BYU coaches (from left) Aaron Roderick, Kalani Sitake and Jay Hill speak on a media teleconference on early signing day in the football offices in Provo on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023.

BYU Photo

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BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick has evaluated numerous offenses during his coaching career, including having the coordinator role at three different universities since 2003.

He’s come to see that a college football offense needs to strike a balance between change and consistency.

“You always want a little bit of change, but if you’re completely revamping all the time, you’re probably not going to be good at anything,” Roderick said at the end of Cougar spring camp. “I think every year we’re trying to keep the majority of our offense intact, but have enough change and enough evolution that we’re featuring our best players and that we’re also staying hard to defend.”

The adjustments Roderick and the rest of the BYU coaching staff have made heading into their second year of the Big 12 aren’t just window dressing either, according to Cougar wide receiver Chase Roberts.

“What I saw was what they did in the offseason,” Roberts said. “From our last game to now, we’ve changed up some things. It just shows that they’re always watching in the film room and working hard to be the best that they can be, to make sure that we’re in the right positions and they have the right people on the field.”

He said that the impact they had was apparent as they were implemented in spring.

“It’s been working,” Roberts said. “Guys on the defense have come up to me and said like, ‘wow, this is different. You guys are looking great and it’s hard to guard. There’s things where we don’t know what to do.’ Roderick is a genius. You’ll see it come fall, so I’m excited.”

BYU senior offensive lineman Connor Pay has worked with Roderick for a number of years and said there is a lot that he respects about the job he does.

“There’s probably a lot of stuff in his offense that I don’t even understand,” Pay said. “He’s been evolving because he has so many more years of football knowledge in his brain than I’ve ever even seen. I feel like his identity as a play caller hasn’t changed very much, but I feel like each year that I’ve been here he’s adapted really well to the players that he’s had.”

Pay ruefully admitted that it didn’t work out as well in 2023 as in other, but said that was due to the offensive line not taking care of its responsibilities and thus “handcuffed” Roderick’s ability to get the offense more success.

But he feels like the way Roderick applies his knowledge to his personnel is excellent.

“I think he’s really good at taking these intricate schemes that he’s a master at designing and adapting them to the skills of the players that he has,” Pay said. “If you look at that 2020 offense, there were very similar plays that were run very differently in 2021. Then there was shifting again in 2022, even though they’re the same concepts. We had different players. I think he’s really good at that.”

The proof, of course, will be in what happens next fall and the Cougar players and coaches know that.

Roderick said he feels like his unit did well in spring and is showing progress, but he also has reason to not get too excited about that.

“I think we’re ahead of where we were last year,” Roderick said. “Last year we lost so many of those offensive linemen, and it was a whole new group. But last year I thought we were farther ahead in our development in that group then we were, so this year I’m a little bit reluctant to say for sure.

“But I think I think we’re on the right track. I feel like our defense has improved and we’re doing a lot of good things against those guys. We know how tough our schedule is, so we’re going to stay humble and keep working.”

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