BYU’s Bear Bachmeier and Aaron Roderick on backup QBs, benchmarks and other topics at preseason camp

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If predicted Big 12 title contender BYU handles Utah Tech of the Football Championship Subdivision as expected in four weeks, midway through the third quarter, head coach Kalani Sitake and offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick will send in a backup quarterback to relieve unquestioned starter Bear Bachmeier.

Will BYU’s QB2 be redshirt senior Treyson Bourguet or freshman returned missionary Enoch Watson?

Roderick told the Deseret News on Wednesday after the first preseason training camp practice that if the season started today, Bachmeier’s primary backup would be the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Bourguet, the fifth-year player from Tucson, Arizona, who played two years at Western Michigan before transferring to BYU in 2024.

“Treyson took all the reps with the twos today, and Enoch took the reps with the threes,” Roderick said. “If we played today, that’s what it would be, but we’re going to keep working through that. We will see how that goes.”

Roderick said as camp goes on, the 6-3, 215-pound Watson will get some reps with the twos as well, and Bourguet will get some reps running the offense’s third team.

“That will keep evolving,” he said. “They are both good players, but Treyson just has the advantage right now of time in the offense. But Enoch is very talented and has a huge upside. He joined us last fall (before the bowl game) and is doing really well.”

Bachmeier also spoke one-on-one with the Deseret News on Wednesday and expressed confidence in all four other QBs in the room. The fourth and fifth QBs in camp are freshman returned missionary Owen Geilman and sophomore John Sanders, a junior college transfer who threw for more than 2,000 yards at Antelope Valley College last fall.

“They are all awesome players and students of the game,” Bachmeier said. “Treyson is like an older brother to me. Enoch, Owen and John, I love all those guys. It’s been fun to be in the same room with them.”

Roderick confirmed that Sanders, who committed to BYU in mid-May, is on scholarship.

“We liked him out of (St. Francis High in La Canada, California),” Roderick said. “After spring ball, it just seemed like the right thing to do to get one more talented guy out here, and he had a really nice year last year.”

Bachmeier said all the quarterbacks have dined together and hung out together to bond and share common experiences. He said it is nice to have another Californian (Sanders) in the room to offset the two Arizona guys (Bourguet and Watson).

“They are all good dudes, which is cool,” he said.

Sitake spent a considerable amount of time at the recent BYU Football Media Golf Classic talking about the need for Bachmeier to slide more and run out of bounds more this year to avoid taking unnecessary hits, but he also said he feels good about the quarterbacks playing behind the sophomore star.

“I trust all the quarterbacks in that group because I trust who is coaching them, and we know that we don’t have to rely on them to win games for us,” Sitake said. “They are capable of doing that. We can rely on all the positions to help us win games.”

Roderick and Sitake on Bear’s progress

Roderick said Bachmeier “looked really sharp” in Wednesday’s practice, noting how the QB, who is listed at 6-2, 230 and still wearing the No. 47 jersey, went 10 for 12 in one particular drill, and one of the two incompletions was a drop.

“His decision-making was really good, too,” Roderick said.

Sitake noticed as well.

“His progress is what you would imagine,” Sitake said. “He’s a veteran now and he knows what he’s doing. He’s making corrections out there, and it is nice to see a guy who’s been here, and put in a lot of time. He’s had a busy offseason, a busy summer, and I am just really proud of how he utilized all the time.”

Roderick said the players had more time this summer with coaches, “the stuff that is allowed by the NCAA,” than they have ever had before.

“In the past, Kalani has really wanted to keep the team fresh and be excited about fall camp, so we haven’t done as much,” Roderick said. “We did a little more this year, and usually it was player-run. We got a lot of work in, yeah. … We still gotta keep working and go win the games, but considering it is Day 1, we are pretty far ahead of where we’ve been in the past.”

Roderick said he would like to see Bachmeier “take the next step in the passing game” the next few weeks of fall camp, and run less.

“Just work on getting us in the right plays, the right protections,” Roderick said. “He did a good job with that stuff last year. We need him to do even more of that this year.”

Bear slims down a little bit

Not only did Bachmeier return home to Murrieta Valley, California, three times since spring camp ended, he also floated down the Provo River a couple of times, served as a counselor in the Manning Passing Academy in Louisiana, represented BYU at the Big 12 football media days, and performed a free concert in American Fork with his brother Tiger and uncle Don.

He also dropped a little weight, after getting close to 240 pounds last season.

“I stepped on a scale today and I was 227,” he said.

Bachmeier said he mostly cut sweets and sugar out of his diet, “mitigated” his hankering for milkshakes, and will “only have a Hi-Chew here and there.”

Coming out of spring ball, Roderick said he would like to see Bachmeier complete 70% of his passes, have fewer than 10 interceptions, and throw for 30 touchdowns.

“Those (benchmarks) have been the years when we’ve been really great on offense,” Roderick said on April 2. “Zach (Wilson) did it. Jaren (Hall) did it.”

Wednesday, Roderick said they “aren’t harping on stats every day” in camp, but he does believe Bachmeier is capable of having a big year statistically.

“We want to throw as close to 70% completions as we can,” he said. “We think that’s possible for Bear. He’s a really accurate (passer) and he can do that. That is a winning stat.”

Bear confirmed that those numbers Roderick has mentioned are within reach in 2026.

“It just goes back to how much confidence and trust we have in each other. In my opinion, the most important relationship in all of sports is the coordinator-quarterback deal,” he said. “Just to know he’s got my back makes me go out and play free. That’s how you’re supposed to play the game.”

Hank Bachmeier playing professionally in Switzerland

At the Big 12 football media days, Bear fielded questions from his sister, Eleanor, who was working for The Associated Press in Frisco that week. A former University of Redlands heptathlete, Ella, as the Bachmeier brothers call her, is often referred to as the best athlete in the family of April and Michael Bachmeier.

The oldest brother, former Boise State, Louisiana Tech and Wake Forest quarterback Hank Bachmeier, played for the Orlando Storm of the UFL last spring and is now playing for a professional team in Switzerland, Bear said.

“He cheers for his little brothers from over there now,” Bear said. “He’s a BYU guy now, for sure.”

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