Three Things We Learned From Kalani Sitake To Open BYU Camp
Jul 31, 2025, 12:15 AM | Updated: Aug 1, 2025, 9:59 am
PROVO, Utah – BYU football head coach Kalani Sitake is entering his 10th season.
It’s hard to believe, but the former BYU captain in LaVell’s final season, 25 years ago, is settling in nicely as BYU’s headman.
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Fresh off an 11-2 season a year ago, Sitake received a “long-term” contract extension that puts him in place to try and take BYU football to new heights.
The 2025 edition of Sitake’s program has the makings to be another good football team as fall camp opened up on Wednesday with temperatures in the low 90s as the team competed on the Zions Bank Practice Fields at the Student Athlete Building.
“Balancing out” reps in the quarterback battle
During the media observation portion of practice on Wednesday, Treyson Bourguet and Bear Bachmeier were the quarterbacks with the first team offensive line.
KSL Sports asked Sitake if that meant Bourguet and Bachmeier were the top two quarterbacks. Sitake quickly noted that all three were getting first-team reps on the opening day.
“I think everybody got rotation. You guys only saw part of it. We did a lot of team stuff today, and everybody was able to rotate with the first line.”
In a follow-up, Sitake was asked if he would give equal first-team reps in camp to true freshman Bachmeier as Bourguet and Hillstead.
The veteran coach emphasized the importance of balancing out the snaps with the quarterbacks. He even tossed in a mention of walk-on true freshman Emerson Geilman from Bountiful High.
“Yeah, I thought we balanced it out really, even with Emerson (Geilman) in there,” said Sitake. “We balanced it out and gave everybody reps. You still have to put them on a pitch count. Just because you have a competition, you can’t expect the quarterbacks to just throw their arms out trying to win the spot. So it’s all within reason with the right timing, using our sports scientists and seeing them gauging their fitness and also the status of their arms, will be key.”
Planning on two scrimmages during fall camp
Sitake was asked how many times his team will scrimmage during fall camp practices.
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“We’re scheduled for two right now. We may come up with more,” Sitake said. “For me, it’s something that I want to be able to look at where we are as a team. Then maybe have some hybrid scrimmages, where maybe some of the guys go live and the others that we feel like are proven don’t have to.
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Sitake continued, “But LJ Martin still needs to break tackles, and I don’t know how to get ready for a season other than sparring.”
Impressions of Michigan offensive line transfer Andrew Gentry
A notable new face competing during day one of fall camp practice was Michigan offensive line transfer Andrew Gentry.
The 6-foot-8, 315-pound prospect missed all of spring ball in March due to an injury suffered last year with the Maize and Blue. On Wednesday, Gentry was taking first-team snaps at right tackle and looking to be a key piece of BYU’s offensive front this fall.
“He’s a stud. He’s a great leader and an amazing talent. So it’s good to have him here playing for us,” Sitake said of Gentry. “It’s nice seeing a guy that big, that can move like that. He has a lot of strength and ability. So it’s going to be fun to see him, playing for us at tackle.”
Sitake went on to say that he believes nine players in BYU’s offensive line unit could be starters.
“I think TJ Woods has got a lot of weapons. He’s done a great job prepping the O-line. They’ve done a great job with the leadership that’s around them. It just helps that we have a lot of guys that have experience, but guys that are capable of being starters if their number is called.”
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU athletics in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
