Analysis: Cougars’ offense in 2025 looks solid, but is there enough star power?

Standout receiver Chase Roberts didn’t participate in BYU’s recently completed spring football camp due to a shoulder injury, but every once in a while during the 11-on-11 portions of practices and scrimmages unquestioned starting quarterback Jake Retzlaff had all of the offense’s other weapons at his disposal.

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Starting left guard Weylin Lapuaho and presumed starting right tackle Andrew Gentry, the transfer from Michigan, also missed all of the contact parts of practices and scrimmages, but when the other solid offensive linemen were in there, Retzlaff and offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick liked what they saw.

“There have been a few times where we have most of our best players in the huddle, on the field, together, and when those moments have happened — it has been eight, 10 snaps here or there — a few practices where we have been mostly healthy, and we looked good,” Roderick said.

“We had a huddle the other day with (receivers) Parker Kingston and Keelan Marion and JoJo Phillips and (tight end) Carsen Ryan. A really solid O line was in there, with Jake at quarterback and LJ (Martin) in the backfield, and we were moving the ball pretty well and I thought, ‘OK, we get a couple more pieces in here and keep developing, we will be all right.‘”

Roderick said those moments “keep you going, keep you believing,” but the rest of spring camp was mostly filled with watching some of the younger players “take their lumps, have some ups and downs,” and slowly develop, which is what spring camp is all about.

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“You see them have a bad play, and then learn from it,” Roderick said. “Being able to put a bad play behind you and play the next play (is important). … But there have been a couple stretches there when we had some good players in that huddle and you can tell we have a chance to be very good on offense.”

Roderick said Roberts — who led the team with 52 catches for 854 yards before suffering the injury in the 36-14 Alamo Bowl win over Colorado — “is almost fully ready to go” and will be a big part of the player-run-practices when they reconvene in May. Offensive line coach TJ Woods said Lapuaho (elbow) and Gentry (foot) were also close to being able to participate in March and will be back at it in May.

So this offense should be ready to roll in preseason training camp in August, barring any more setbacks. Roderick said the program will “never turn away a player we think can make a difference,” but for now they are not actively looking in the transfer portal for immediate offensive help.

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“We really like our team right now,” he said, speaking from an offensive perspective. “We are not going to be desperate to go find somebody. There is no position of need where we have to have somebody right now. … If we don’t add anybody, I think we will be just fine.”

Retzlaff got about half of the meaningful reps in spring camp — reserves McCae Hillstead and Treyson Bourguet, who are vying to become the senior’s backup, split the other half — and said the pieces are in place to hit the ground running when the Cougars’ open head coach Kalani Sitake’s 10th season at home on Aug. 30 against Portland State.

That’s true, Retzlaff added, even though it may appear to some that BYU could use another experienced receiver or tight end with news that Darius Lassiter has turned his attention to the NFL draft at the end of the month.

“I am really confident in what we have in this (offense). We are a really good football team, and already have a really deep wide receiver room. I mean, you pick your poison.”

BYU QB Jake Retzlaff

“I am really confident in what we have in this (offense). We are a really good football team, and already have a really deep wide receiver room. I mean, you pick your poison,” Retzlaff said. “Those (returning receivers) are all good football players. They have developed into really good players over this offseason. … So it is going to be great to roll with whoever is in that room.

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“Obviously you need depth, right? Guys get banged up throughout the year. But I think we got some pretty good receivers.”

Sitake echoed those sentiments when he spoke to reporters via Zoom after the final day of spring practices and before the annual alumni game, saying that the offense more than held its own against a BYU defense that is expected to be among the best in the Big 12 in 2025.

“We ended it with a little bit of live work with the threes, and got some good situational work in there with the ones and the twos,” Sitake said. “It was a good back and forth day, like all spring has been. I can’t say that one side won more than the other; I think it has been pretty even.”

Retzlaff, Roberts and Ryan — the transfer from Utah — and kickoff returner extraordinaire Marion have the potential to be stars, and running back LJ Martin could put up big numbers if he can stay healthy and the offensive line continues its upward trajectory, but there is nobody on this offense that is going to strike fear into the hearts of opposing defenses.

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The Cougars will have to get the job done like they did last year — with execution, togetherness and a little help from their special teams — to generate points and move the chains.

“We just gotta stay humble, keep working hard, and just stay hungry,” Sitake said.

Noted Roderick: “We are never going to feel like we’ve arrived, and we are never going to stop trying to get better, but I like our depth in those (offensive) positions. At tight end we are a little young, a little bit (inexperienced), but I like those guys, too. I am really confident about this team. We will keep our eyes open, and if there is a player that can help us, then we are always open to that.”

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There is certainly room for continued improvement, after Roderick’s offense in 2024 made significant strides from what it did in 2023, the year starting QB Kedon Slovis was injured in Game 8, BYU’s running game faltered and its offensive line was beaten up in its inaugural season in the Big 12.

In 2024, the offense helped BYU go 11-2 and tie for first place in the regular season race by averaging 31.2 points per game, which was 40th in the country. The Cougars ranked 59th in total offense (392.3 yards per game).

They were below average in third-down conversion percentage (37.3%), although it should be noted that they made up for that on fourth down, in several cases. They were also subpar in completion percentage (57.3%), ranking them 107th in the country in that category.

Roderick has challenged Retzlaff to get that percentage up to 70%, while also throwing at least 30 touchdown passes in 2025.

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Without further ado, here’s the Deseret News’ sixth-annual post-spring stab at what the two-deep offense chart will look like when preseason training camp concludes in August and BYU turns its attention to its third season in the league with expectations much higher than they’ve been the previous two seasons.

Our annual guesses at the defensive depth chart and specialists two-deep will be published later this week.

Who will be the backup QB?

Last year, we wrote that Retzlaff and Baylor/South Florida transfer Gerry Bohanon were locked in a tight race to be the starting quarterback, but gave the edge to Retzlaff based on his superior knowledge of the offense. Turns out we were right, although BYU never officially announced it until Retzlaff jogged onto the field before the opener against Southern Illinois.

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This is Retzlaff’s team in 2025 — coaches didn’t even bother to try to say anything else, as in past years when they said the competition was wide open in spring when everybody knew it was going to be Zach Wilson in 2020 and Jaren Hall in 2021 and 2022.

“For me, it is about taking more of that leadership role upon myself, knowing that 11 guys are going to look to me as a leader, because I am the starting quarterback. It comes with the territory,” Retzlaff said last week. “It has been fun to embrace it. … I have always been a leader on every team I have been on my whole life, and that comes with obviously a lot of responsibility.

“The hardest part is you are the standard. I can’t just tell somebody to go watch extra film, or go hit extra workouts when I am not doing something like that,” he continued. “How much I care about this team is at an all-time high because I am so involved in it because I am trying to bring up everybody on this team because I know the potential we have.”

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As for Retzlaff’s potential, Roderick has made it clear: He wants more completions (70%), more touchdown passes (30) and fewer than 10 interceptions.

“We made some good progress this spring, for sure. Some of it is just finding ways to generate some easy completions, but also having an identity of being a team that throws the ball down the field. So we are balancing those things out,” Roderick said. “And then I just think Jake has made improvements with his fundamentals, his footwork, and the basics.

“And I also think the game is slowing down for him. He’s played a lot of football now. He’s seeing the defense really well.”

You will notice that we don’t use the word “or” on our projected two-deep charts, which makes it tricky because the backup QB race has yet to be decided. Will it be Utah State transfer McCae Hillstead or Western Michigan transfer Treyson Bourguet?

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We went with Hillstead, if only because he has played slightly better in the media-viewing portions of spring camp, and he appears to be a better runner. Bourguet might have a slightly stronger arm.

“They are both improving. Both of them are better players now than they were last season. And I think we could win a game with either one of them,” Roderick said on March 28. “I don’t know which one of them that would be yet. It has been close. They have both had more good days than bad, and I think they are both good players.”

BYU will add a fourth quarterback, Bountiful High’s Emerson Geilman, in the fall. Geilman was recently named Utah High School Male Athlete of the Year by the Utah Sports Commission.

RB LJ Martin continues to prove he’s the man

A year ago, we posted the opinion that BYU not getting a big running back out of the portal “was a mistake” and predicted that then-rising sophomore LJ Martin was too fragile to last an entire season and that there wasn’t enough depth behind him if he got injured again.

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That was almost true, as Martin was less than 100% when the season began with a shoulder issue and then sustained a sprained ankle a few games into the season. However, guys such as the recently graduated Hinckley Ropati, Enoch Nawahine, Sione I. Moa and Pokaiaua Haunga proved us wrong, filling in admirably until Martin got back.

The LJ stands for “Little John” because his father is also named John, but suffice it to say the 6-foot-2, 220-pounder is anything but, and his numbers have been big enough: He ended up leading the Cougars in rushing for the second-straight season in 2024, posting 718 yards on 137 carries.

Who is RB2?

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We went with sophomore Sione Moa, who was really coming on last year until suffering a serious injury during the blowout of Kansas State. Roderick said Moa and redshirt freshman Pokaiaua Haunga are both in the running to be RB2, with senior Enoch Nawahine also expected to see some action. Freshman Cale Breslin, from Las Vegas, could also work his way into the mix.

“Sione Moa and Pokai are both very good players. Those guys have had a great spring, and Pokai is one of the most dynamic guys on this team, and Sione, I mean, he looks like a fullback body type,” Roderick said. “But that guy can dunk a basketball any way you want. He is ambidextrous. He throws with both hands. He is a really good receiver, a good blocker. He is a fantastic athlete as well.

“So those three guys have really taken the lead. And then Enoch Nawahine has really stepped up for us and played in some games last year, too. So we know we can still count on him.”

Retzlaff has also been impressed, telling BYUtv that depth and athleticism make this group of running backs special.

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“I can confidently say our running backs room is the top running backs room in the country,” he said.

Is this returning receiving corps ready to roll again?

There’s not a Puka Nacua in this group of BYU receivers, nobody who looks like a sure-fire NFL draft pick. Roberts, the 6-foot-4, 210-pound senior from Highland and American Fork High, has a shot to play at the next level if he can stay healthy and continue to build on a standout junior season in which he made some spectacular catches but finished with only four touchdown grabs.

There is a Nacua, however, as younger brother Tei appears poised to step into a backup role as one of the Super Six that also includes Roberts, senior Keelan Marion, sophomore JoJo Phillips, junior Parker Kingston and sophomore Cody Hagen, who, like Roberts, was forced to sit out of spring workouts with an injury.

There’s quite a drop-off after these six guys, as receivers coach/passing game coordinator Fesi Sitake said the past two months. Whether that proves to be a weakness remains to be seen.

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Throw tight end Ryan into this mix, and the Cougars seemingly have the pass-catchers in place to help Retzlaff reach his stated goal of making it to the Heisman ceremony in mid-December.

We went with senior Ethan Erickson as Ryan’s primary backup on our two-deep chart, although a case could be made for redshirt freshman Noah Moeaki or even a walk-on such as Nason Coleman or Anthony Olsen, or even true freshman Tucker Kelleher, an early enrollee.

“Keelan Marion has stepped up. I feel like he can take a big step in that role. He is a fast, athletic guy and we can get him out on those jet sweeps and those deep balls. I feel like he gets separation and gets those yards after the catch,” said Ryan, who noted that BYU’s receiving talent compares favorably to what he played with at UCLA and Utah. “JoJo Phillips is having a good spring, too.

“Parker Kingston, we need to get him the ball a lot. He is such an athletic guy, as we saw last year.”

TJ Woods has some holes to fill on offensive line

Stellar contributors Caleb Etienne, Connor Pay and Brayden Keim are trying to make it in the NFL now, but BYU coaches believe the offensive line they will roll out in 2025 can be even better than the 2024 group.

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That seems unlikely on the surface, but we will trust their knowledge and the fact that two of the expected starters are from fellow Power Four schools: Gentry and Colorado’s Isaiah Jatta, who performed well in relief last year when Keim went down.

Asked last week which position is in the best shape on the offense, Roderick first brought up the O line.

“We got some really good players, there,” he said.

Senior Weylin Lapuaho can probably be Sharpied in at left guard, since he’s started there the past two seasons. Jatta and Gentry will be the starting tackles, unless Gentry can’t recover from a lisfranc injury — those can be gnarly — and Austin Leausa starts out in the right tackle spot, which he played last year in the bowl game.

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Converted defensive lineman Bruce Mitchell looks locked in at center, while the right guard spot is tricky to call. We went with junior Sonny Makasini there, although Southern Utah transfer Kyle Sfarcioc got a lot of reps with the first team at that spot in the media viewing windows.

“Seeing the newcomers that are here, this was an easy transition for them,” Kalani Sitake said. “It almost feels like they have been here the entire time. They fit our program and our culture and the way we operate.”

Mapping out an offensive line two-deep, especially when there is no spring game from which to go off, is another precarious proposition. Based on what second-year OL coach TJ Woods and Roderick have said, look for true freshman Andrew Williams, local product Joe Brown (returning from ACL injury), returned missionary Ethan Thomason and maybe even redshirt freshman Trevor Pay to dot the two-deep when everything becomes more concrete in late August.

BYU’s projected 2025 offensive depth chart

Starter; backup

• QB 12 Jake Retzlaff (Sr.); 3 McCae Hillstead (So.)

• RB 4 LJ Martin (Jr.); 17 Pokaiaua Haunga (R-Fr.)

• RB 30 Sione Moa (So); 21 Enoch Nawahine (Sr.)

• WR 2 Chase Roberts (Sr.); 11 Parker Kingston (Jr.)

• WR 1 Keelan Marion (Sr.); 18 Cody Hagen (So.)

• WR 13 JoJo Phillips (So.); 0 Tei Nacua (Fr.)

• TE 20 Carsen Ryan (Sr.); 87 Ethan Erickson (Sr.)

• LT 71 Isaiah Jatta (Sr.); 68 Andrew Williams (Fr.)

• LG 61 Weylin Lapuaho (Sr.); 72 Joe Brown (Fr.)

• C 63 Bruce Mitchell (Jr.); 67 Trevor Pay (Fr.)

• RG 51 Sonny Makasini (Jr.); 64 Kyle Sfarcioc (Jr.)

• RT 75 Andrew Gentry (Jr.); 55 Austin Leausa (Jr.)

Other offensive linemen: 78 Ethan Thomason (Fr.), 73 Weston Jones (So.), 74 Trevin Ostler (Jr.), 77 Jake Griffin (So.), 79 Kaden Chidester (So.), 66 Sione Hingano (Fr.), 70 Ikinasio Tupou (Fr.)