New beginnings at BYU with familiar faces

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There is a lot of newness to the first week of BYU’s fall camp — new players, new coaches and a new season to prepare for. Fortunately for the Cougars, there is a lot of familiarity, too.

When sophomore quarterback Bear Bachmeier breaks the huddle, he lines up behind senior center Bruce Mitchell. The tandem started every game together during last year’s 12-2 season.

Next to Mitchell is Andrew Gentry, another 14-game starter, and Kyle Sfarcioc, who started four games, including the Pop-Tarts Bowl, where Bachmeier stood in the pocket and threw for a season-high 325 yards. Sonny Makasini, who started twice and played in all 14 games, is there as well.

Glancing at his receivers, Bachmeier finds Jojo Phillips. A broken collar bone limited Phillips to six starts last season, but the 6-foot-5 junior showed a lot of promise with four receptions for 53 yards against Georgia Tech in the season finale.

Most importantly, standing next to Bachmeier is running back LJ Martin, the reigning Big 12 Player of the Year who rushed for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns last season. Behind Martin is a healthy Sione Moa who was sidelined for most of last season with a leg injury.

“Bear still needs to develop,” said BYU coach Kalani Sitake. “It’s just at a different level and now we can complement that with everything that’s going on around him.”

There are plenty of anchors on the defensive side of the ball as well, including defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa (14 starts); linebacker Isaiah Glasker (14 starts); defensive end Bodie Schoonover (10 starts); linebacker Siale Esera (10 starts); cornerback Evan Johnson (13 starts); cornerback Tre Alexander (12 starts); safety Faletau Satuala (seven starts); safety Raider Damuni (six starts); defensive tackle Villiami Po’uha (14 games); and defensive end Tausili Akana (13 games). Plus, a healthy Justin Kirkland (6-foot-3, 310 pounds) will bring strength and power to the defensive front after a limited junior year.

Even with so many returners, there is no shortage of newcomers, incoming transfers, returned missionaries and true freshmen. There is also a new special teams coach (Justin Ena), new defensive coordinator (Kelly Poppinga), new safeties coach (Demario Warren), and new cornerbacks coach (Lewis Walker), but the connection that comes with experience — starting with the head coach and permeating throughout his roster — is priceless.

“It’s just good. You can see the continuity that we had from last year is rolling over, the momentum in all three phases,” Sitake said.

“We’re way further ahead than we were last year. That’s a good sign. Even with the new guys who have come in, you can’t even tell that they are new anymore. The guys worked really hard in the summer and it’s paid off.”

Glasker, healthy and eager for his final year of NFL prep, agrees.

“I feel like we are a hard-working team,” he said. “I’ve seen over the offseason, dudes are taking that extra step. Hopefully we can show it on the field this season.”

Also happy to be healthy, Martin, who had shoulder surgery in December, contends that this group of Cougars is close.

“I think we are really motivated. I think we are really excited to be out here,” Martin said. “I think we are having a great time. We are really excited to play football again.”

Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.

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