Experience rising up in BYU spring camp as competition among newcomers emerges

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BYU’s spring football is just what one would expect from a Kalani Sitake team fresh off a bowl win with busloads of returning starters.

The atmosphere is upbeat, the weather’s been good and there’s a positive vibe.

Sitake is just how you’d imagine a coach would be after signing a hefty contract extension. In the post-Penn State courtship, he came out on top. This means he has leverage with current players and recruits. And the administration.

His theme: Be humble and hungry.

Laced with a noticeable bounty of confidence.

Jay Hill’s replacement, Kelly Poppinga, is running some of Bronco Mendenhall’s pursuit drills, seeking high effort and accountability out of defenders as they race to get in formations.

Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick is picking and choosing how to use new weapons like 6-foot-6 Oregon transfer receiver Kyler Kasper and two Ryan Carsen-type grown men tight ends, USC transfer Walker Lyons and Oregon transfer Roger Saleapaga II.

“I feel really good about the team,” Sitake told reporters earlier this week.

“Obviously we’ve got a long ways to go still, but it’s nice to have quarterbacks that kind of know what we’re doing already, and being able to see Bear (Bachmeier), just his command of the offense is really nice. I mean, it gives a lot more confidence going into the season.”

In just a few minutes of allowed exposure to a spring practice session, it’s tough to make detailed observations. But you can feel an atmosphere. Even with partial pads, you can see route trees, cuts, catches, defensive interventions and footwork. What you can’t see is the physicality of a full-bore hitting session, where strength and speed are applied football.

You can see how injured Sione Moa’s recovery looks sans hits, and it’s encouraging.

The newcomers, many of them freshmen, are intriguing. Guys like receivers Legend Glasker from Lehi, Terrance Saryon from Portland and Trey Roberts from American Fork.

You see and hear from veteran wideout JoJo Phillips, who is stretching his inner being to stand up, in the absence of Chase Roberts, and be a leader, using his voice to speak up to his group.

This team appears faster and more athletic, but those measurements are best verified by game action, with pads — which we did not see. And when it does come, some key starters will see few reps, if any, for safety reasons.

Sitake knows this season he’ll need to take his 12-win program from 2025 and make it better. He knows Texas Tech, the only team to beat his squad last year, is reloading from the portal, while he has strategically brought in transfer pieces. Otherwise, he’s staying put with every eligible returning starter minus Parker Kingston.

A big focus this spring will be how Poppinga will operate in place of Jay Hill because Hill’s presence on the staff (recruiting, scheme) was transitional for Sitake.

Poppinga’s older brother Brady, a former Mendenhall disciple and player for the Green Bay Packers, had interesting observations on ESPNTheFan 960 radio on March 10. Brady has always been an entertaining source for the media dating back to his playing days as a Cougar.

Said Brady, “What jumps out to me is you just have guys stacking years. You’ve got guys that maybe got their feet wet last year or entered the program last year. Now, all of a sudden you reset the installation, reset how comfortable you are with certain things, and now you have an offense geared toward you.

“That’s what Bear looks like right now — he’s just in the flow, which is fun to see. He’s getting more comfortable with his new additions at tight end and also on the edges there with Kyler Kasper.”

Confirming what other observers have noted, Brady has been impressed with Kasper.

“Kasper’s looked great. The big-time receiver from Oregon has been very good in the fade game. He’s also shown proficiency in route running in the short area.

“I also like how the receivers have been very adept at reacting to man versus zone — finding the dead spaces in zone, understanding leverage points in man, and running away from help instead of toward it.

“Those are little nuances I don’t know if we saw a lot of last year. But that makes sense because you had guys still learning and getting comfortable with the quarterback. That’s very much behind them now.”

Sitake said it is evident Bachmeier has spent a lot of time with receivers and his offensive line coach has eight to 10 players he will confidently rotate.

“We’re having great competition,” said Sitake, who, when prompted, said kicker Matthias Dunn is another Will Ferrin in the making.

Sitake declared that recovering Big 12 leading rusher LJ Martin is limited, but is working out and helping out. “He’s faster than he’s ever been.”

He is also “thankful” his staff redshirted Oklahoma State defensive tackle Justin Kirkland because he will occupy a significant space on the line with his size in a system that needs block eaters.

Right after practice, after meeting with the media, Sitake shuffled over to meet with a family of special visitors for a photo op, with players and coaches fulfilling other interview requests.

Yes, indeed. Except for missing troubled receiver Kingston due to legal issues, this spring, so far, can be labeled a sugar bowl, a Pop-Tarts hangover.

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