Kingston was charged with first degree felony sexual assault and subsequently dismissed from BYU, both as a player and as a student, as a result. Kingston was set to enter his senior season as the team’s most dynamic playmaker having accumulated 928 yards receiving on 67 catches last season while returning three punts for touchdowns over the course his career.

So how does BYU replace everything Kingston brought to the offense and special teams?

It’s not an easy answer, and BYU may again hit the transfer portal in search of a replacement, despite three potential options that already exist on the Cougar roster.

Cody Hagen is the first option that comes to mind. The former 4-star prospect from Corner Canyon has shown flashes of his dynamic ability, and returned kickoffs for the Cougars last season, although he didn’t have the breakthrough season last year many were anticipating. Even so, the 6-foot-1 speedster should be afforded the first look in fulfilling Kingston’s ability in operating out of both the slot and outside receiving positions.

BYU receivers coach Fesi Sitake doesn’t often opt for shorter receivers on the recruiting market, so it’s notable that the efforted to bring in Terrance Saryon from Washington. Saryon is a 5-foot-10, 170 pound prospect who flipped his commitment from Washington to BYU just prior to signing day and is already enrolled in order to participate in spring practices.

Tiger Bachmeier, much like Hagen, didn’t provide quite the impact some were expecting last season, but he remains on the roster as potential replacement after spending a full season in Provo after transferring from Stanford.

The battle to replace Kingston should be a good one come spring practices, and one of the storylines that will be worth noting leading up to the the 2026 football season.

Utilizing Uluave

Perhaps first and foremost of the transfer portal additions, particularly on the defensive side of the football is Cal linebacker transfer Cade Uluave. The former Mountain Ridge High School standout is a a 6-foot-1, 235 pound linebacker who was named as the Pac 12 Conference Defensive Freshman of the Year in 2023. Since then he’s racked up 237 total tackles, six sacks and three interceptions while leading the Bear defense in each of his three seasons played in Berkeley, California.

“I think he’s the guy’s a very instinctive football player,” appraised BYU defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga. “He can do everything when you watch his film from last year at Cal. He’s phenomenal (at) fitting the run (with) very good instincts. He’s great in coverage and man, his pass rush abilities are really, really good, too.”

So where will Uluave fit in?

It’s no secret that BYU doesn’t lack quality frontline linebackers and enjoys quite a bit of depth at the position to the point where it could well be argued to be the top position group on the entire team. On the outside the Cougars will likely employ returning senior Isaiah Glasker, along with upstart sophomore-to-be Nusi Taumoepeau, who was a standout during the Pop-tarts Bowl win over Georgia Tech. On the inside the team returns starter Siale Esera while quality backups like Ace Kaufusi, Miles Hall and Pierson Watson, among others.

So where will Uluave fit in?

“There’s a slew of guys in there, right? It’s gonna be super competitive,” Poppinga said. “But I think we just felt like, just like…if there’s a chance to add a really, really good football player, we’re going to add them. And just knowing for those other guys that it’s competitive, and that’s how you want it. That’s how it’s going to help our team get better.”

Uluave was primarily played as an inside linebacker for Cal, and will likely fulfill the same role in Provo where he’ll pair with Esera when the team opts to play a 3-man front, as it did for most of last season.

“He can do a lot of different things,” Poppinga said. “Sometimes in this game, especially a linebacker, you get a guy that just can play in the box, or just a cover guy, but this guy could do it all. And that’s combination of being a great explosive athlete and also being a physical football player. And so those are the type of linebackers that we that we need here and that we want.”

Backing up Martin

While adding linebacker depth wasn’t viewed as an imperative during the offseason, adding quality running back depth behind returning senior and Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year LJ Martin was. Sure, Jovesa Damuni looked capable of providing quality reps at running back during the Pop-tarts Bowl, but beyond that there’s a lot of question marks.

The Cougars didn’t bring in any notable running back transfers through the portal, at least not so far, but they do have a lot of confidence in incoming freshman DeVaughn Eka, who is already enrolled and ready to compete come spring practices. Eka is a 5-foot-11, 190 pound product from Lehi High School, who was rated a 3-star prospect by most recruiting services.

“He’s very good,” said BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick. “You never want to put too much on a freshman, but if there’s a position where a freshman can play on offense, it’s running back. We’ll see how he does, but I would not be surprised at all if he plays this year. He’s a very talented kid, we’re super excited about him.”

Beefing up the big uglies

Offensive linemen are sometimes referred to as ‘the big uglies upfront,’ but that’s not to suggest their collective production as a position group isn’t of the upmost importance. In order to enhance that production coaches opted to bring in three notable transfer portal additions to the offensive line, which includes Stanford transfer Zak Yamauchi (6-4, 325), Utah State transfer Jr Sia (6-3, 325) and Washington transfer Paki Finau (6-5, 310.) All three players come to Provo with notable experience and will compete immediately for playing time, according to Roderick.

“You can never have too many good linemen,” Roderick said. “Last season we were fortunate. We didn’t get as beat up as we have in other years, and so we ended up rotating seven or eight guys last year on a regular basis. But that’s just one position where you can never be too deep, and especially at offensive tackle. So we’re trying to find as many good players we can that can play offensive tackle.”

No one knows exactly how each incoming player will pan out, and that includes Cougar coaches themselves, although the key additions made appear to have the potential to enhance BYU’s overall production this coming season, and perhaps substantially.