BYU superlatives a quarter of the way through the season

PROVO — It doesn’t seem real the 2026 season is already a quarter of the way done. With three games under the Cougars’ belt, let’s take a look at who has stood out so far.

Best offensive player

It’s tough to compare the two, but Bear Bachmeier has slightly been BYU’s best offensive player, edging out LJ Martin. Their impact on the game is obviously different, but Bachmeier has shown tremendous improvement from last season, especially with his deep ball accuracy.

Bachmeier has thrown for 662 yards, six touchdowns and just one interception, with another 64 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. His ability to make the deep ball pass — most notably with Legend Glasker — has helped the offense take another step forward.

There was no doubt the Cougars were limited at times on offense last season with Bachmeier coming in as a true freshman. Keeping him in a position to limit mistakes and play to his strengths as a runner was something BYU did well, but now it feels like sky’s the limit.

Surrounding Bachmeier with some strong receiving options out wide and at tight end can help him unlock elements in the passing game that felt hard to come by a season ago. Bachmeier is still young in his development and has a long way to go before becoming a finished product.

Best defensive player

Cade Uluave has been everything as advertised in his short time in Provo. The Cal transfer and Mountain Ridge product has been a nice replacement for Jack Kelly at linebacker. Uluave flies all over the field on defense and leads the team in solo tackles (10) and is tied for the lead in total tackles (14).

Uluave also was able to intercept a pass from Arizona’s Noah Fifita in the Cougars’ 28-17 win over the Wildcats. Uluave has helped anchor BYU’s defense, and it still feels like there’s much more potential for the unit to tap into.

BIG 12 FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK@LEGEND1GLASKER pic.twitter.com/7vgL5nPW2I

— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) September 21, 2026

Best freshman

Similar to Bachmeier last season, the Cougars have a freshman that is making an impact early and often. Glasker has amassed 270 yards and two receiving touchdowns, while also picking up 42 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

Glasker’s hot start has helped him earn two Big 12 freshman of the week honors, with his most recent one coming in BYU’s win over Colorado State. Glasker caught five passes for 131 yards, with an average of 26.2 yards per catch, which was good for the fourth most by a freshman in school history.

“Teams know about Legend now. He’s got freshman player of the week twice now, and so they’re going to notice that,” Kalani Sitake said.

The wide receiver out of Lehi High and cousin of linebacker Isaiah Glasker, has quickly built a strong connection with Bachmeier and become one of his go-to targets in the passing game.

“Sometimes we’re going to need Legend to make plays, and other times we’re going to need the other guys to do it,” Sitake said. “It’s a committee of receivers that we feel really good about, and there’s a bunch of guys that are in that group that we know are talented, and we’re going to need all of them to play.”

Biggest strength

The offensive line has been far and away the strongest unit the Cougars have on the team. It doesn’t seem to matter who is in, the offensive line has been able to keep Bachemeier protected and help establish a strong run game.

“Been really happy with the O-line,” Sitake said. “Our O-line did a great job blocking; they don’t get a lot of publicity for it.”

BYU has rushed for 788 yards, with 6.7 yards per attempt, so far this season, while the offensive line has only allowed two sacks. Against Colorado State, the Cougars rushed for 332 yards despite missing starting guard Kyle Sfarcioc.

“We actually sat out Kyle Sfarcioc that game and started Trevin Ostler because we felt good about the depth there,” Sitake said. “Then you saw Bott Multitalo play quite a bit, even early on. We got a lot of those guys valuable reps in the second half. I was just really pleased with what coach Woods and his staff is doing.”

Biggest surprise

One of the biggest questions that surrounded BYU over the offseason was what its receiver room would look like and who could make plays on offense outside of Martin. Through the first three games, it looks like all doubt has been put to rest with the emergence of Glasker and the reliability of Kyler Kasper and Walker Lyons.

Kasper hauled in a pair of touchdowns against Arizona, while Lyons has caught seven balls for 84 yards at the tight end position.

The running back depth behind Martin has also been quite a surprise, especially with Sione Moa suffering a season-ending injury in the Cougars’ opening game. Four different running backs have scored a touchdown this season, with Martin leading the way at three.

“There’s three guys that can do it and then probably more if we would’ve got a chance to see Logan Payne play,” Sitake said. “Preston Rex has done a great job. He’s got the seniority, and he understands the playbook a little bit more.”

Rex has scored two touchdowns on the ground while freshmen Journee Tonga and Devaughn Eka have each rushed for one score. Tonga currently sits behind Martin with the second most rushing yards on the team with 129.

“Journey and Devon, they’re just freshmen,” Sitake said. “They’re still trying to learn the game and trying to learn the playbook and that’s coming.”

There’s plenty of season left but through the first quarter of the season BYU has answered nearly every question many people had going into the season and yet it still feels like they have much more room to grow.