Could an unexpected surgery be Cougars’ undoing at TCU?

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Well after most of their BYU football teammates had left the practice field Tuesday afternoon, offensive tackles Bott Mulitalo and Siosiua Latu-Finau continued to work out together, under the direction of a graduate assistant coach.

Why?

Because both of those freshmen — Mulitalo is a true freshman and Latu-Finau is a redshirt freshman — will be thrown into the fire on Saturday when No. 10 BYU (3-0, 1-0) travels to Fort Worth to take on Big 12 rival TCU (2-2, 0-1) at Amon G. Carter Stadium.

Kickoff is at 5 p.m. MDT and the game will be televised by ESPN.

BYU’s starting right tackle spot is suddenly open, after Michigan transfer and two-year starter Andrew Gentry sustained an injury in the first quarter of the Cougars’ 41-23 win over Colorado State that required surgery.

Offensive line coach TJ Woods said Tuesday that both guys will play Saturday against the Horned Frogs.

“They will rotate, and we feel good about both of them,” Woods said. “They have played well this year. Obviously they’re young, but if you’re good enough, you’re old enough. That’s how it works in our room, and we’re excited about both of them.”

Woods didn’t reveal who will get the starting nod, but Mulitalo has been the first player in at right tackle and Latu-Finau has been listed as Paki Finau’s backup at left tackle all season.

A Lone Peak High product, Mulitalo is 6-foot-5, 310 pounds, and was a four-star recruit (247sports.com) who had offers from dozens of Power Four programs. Latu-Finau was a three-star recruit out of Alameda High in the Bay Area of California in 2025 and appeared in three games last year.

Woods said both guys can play either tackle spot.

“When they are a young tackle, we cross train them anyways,” Woods said. “Our young guards do the same thing. You gotta be able to get in where you can. So both those guys are primed and ready to go.”

Gentry’s serious injury came as a surprise, seeing as how the senior played the entire first half against the Rams.

“I had no idea until after the game, that there was even something going on,” Woods said. “And to be honest, I don’t think he thought it was that severe at first. I think he thought it was just kind of something a little bit uncomfortable. … Obviously it is a testament to his toughness. He’s a tough joker.”

BYU’s offensive line had already been shuffled on Sept. 19, with redshirt senior Trevin Ostler stepping in for Kyle Sfarcioc at right guard. Woods said Sfarcioc was dinged up but will be back as the starter versus TCU, and that Ostler played well.

“Yeah, we’re fortunate. We’re deep. This is as deep as we’ve been, in my opinion. We are talented. I think you saw that (with Ostler’s play),” Woods said. “I think there’s (been) some scrutiny for playing those young guys.

“We’re super happy we did right now, because those guys are gonna be playing in key moments, and they’ve had a lot of reps where they’ve played well, and they can lean on that. And that’s gonna help their confidence.”

Obviously, the slew of injuries is not optimal for BYU’s offense, which is arguably getting its biggest test of the season this Saturday against TCU.

“This will be the best defensive line that we faced all year,” Woods said “They’re talented, they’re experienced. They’ve got a lot of guys returning. They’re well-coached, they’re very detailed. It’ll be a really good challenge for us.”

Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick said head coach Kalani Sitake’s philosophy of getting younger guys into games as soon as BYU has them under control is paying dividends.

“Tons of confidence in Siosiua and Bott. Those guys have both played a lot of snaps already this season, and it was nice to get those guys into those two games they played in,” Roderick said. “That Colorado State game, we had no drop-off at all when our second-team offensive line came in.

“We averaged 8 yards a carry when the ones were in and we averaged 8 yards a carry when the twos were in. … I’m excited for Bott and Siosiua to get their chance. They are super athletes and both are gonna be really good players for us.”

Center Bruce Mitchell also said the freshmen will be just fine.

“I’m not nervous. … Really the only thing that separates us older guys from them is experience, and some could get thrown into the fire this week,” Mitchell said. “I am excited to see what they can do if they get the opportunity. I think it speaks to what Kalani’s been doing the last couple weeks as well.

“We’re going into Game 4, and they’ve played significant snaps in two of the three games,” Mitchell continued. “When you put those young guys into a veteran group, that will help them. Game-plan-wise, nothing is going to change.”

Meanwhile, Mitchell is graded as the top center in college football by Pro Football Focus-College. His reaction to that accolade?

“Let’s go beat TCU.”

BEST OF THE BEST. pic.twitter.com/ayOFQ5BPiH

— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) September 23, 2026

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