Kalani Sitake’s staff has a massive undertaking on its hands this spring.
It has to cut its roster down to 105 players by the first week of the season, which means spring camp is the last audition for some depth chart guys to make the team.
How close is Sitake?
“Nowhere near 105,” he said. “We are going to carry more guys in spring and keep working at it. Some guys are limited and still handling the [past] season. But in the end, we are going to have to get down to it.”
And who Sitake decides to cut, and who he wants to keep, will be critical — because BYU has a history of turning former walk-ons into stars.
Tyler Allgeier, now an NFL running back, was once a walk-on and might not have made the 105-man roster as a freshman if the roster limit existed back then. Current starting safety Tanner Wall falls into that category, too.
“I’ve definitely thought about that. If I was in that boat five years ago, would my story have been different? I don’t know,” Wall told me. “But I think we are going to have to evaluate talent in recruiting in a more precise way. You don’t get as many gambles anymore. You have to be more sure of these guys you are bringing in. I know internally we are doing a lot of work to really work on how precise we can be.”
Sitake doesn’t want to cut the next Wall or Allgeier. This spring will go a long way to determining that.
The Big Thing
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) BYU Quarterbacks Treyson Bourguet (10) Jake Retzlaff (12) and McRae Hillstead, during the Cougars spring practice, on Thursday, Feb 27, 2025.
There are only three quarterbacks left on BYU’s roster after the first round of cuts.
Jake Retzlaff is the starter. McCae Hillstead and Treyson Bourguet will battle to be the backup. One more quarterback will join the group in the summer, but it will be Bourguet and Hillstead as the two main options.
So it might be a good time to visit Bourguet’s story.
Most people know Hillstead, the former Utah State quarterback who was frustrated the Aggies didn’t let him compete for the starting job last year.
But Bourguet’s journey is even more unique. He too left a starting job at Western Michigan and decided to walk on to BYU.
The Cougars didn’t have a scholarship for him last spring and couldn’t even guarantee him a role. But he left the security to take a gamble.
“When I entered the portal, I had my mind set on BYU. Without even talking to [offensive coordinator] A-Rod, or Kalani, I knew where I wanted to go. It was just a matter of getting there,” he told me. “I missed the opportunity out of high school [to go to BYU] with COVID and extra eligibility of guys coming back. I knew where I wanted to be.”
What makes it even more distinctive is Bourguet doesn’t have strong ties to BYU. None of his family went there. He isn’t a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He’s from Arizona and most of his family played at Arizona State. His brother, Trenton, was a backup quarterback last year and is now on staff. His other brother is a receiver at ASU.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) BYU QB, Treyson Bourguet (10), at spring practice, on Thursday, Feb 27, 2025.
So why did he want to come to BYU, and only BYU, without a scholarship? Other schools offered him when he went into the portal.
“Just the environment, the community, the religion aspect. I myself am not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But I am Lutheran. I am Christian. A lot of the morals, beliefs are similar,” he said. “I knew this was a place I could be the best person that I want to be.”
His family is an hour flight away, too, and comes often.
But the risk has paid off. Now he’s in the heat of a backup quarterback battle with Hillstead. Bourguet was quietly one of the standouts of spring camp last year. Receivers thought he threw one of the more catchable balls on the team and were surprised how well he commanded the offense.
He was put on scholarship after the summer.
With only three guys in the room, he’s getting more reps than he did last year. His plan is to outlast everyone else. It is something his brother did at ASU over six years.
“He was in a quarterback room that changed every year,” he said of Trenton Bourguet. “Multiple guys went in and out [at ASU]. I think he’s played with 30 or 40 quarterbacks in his six years. He’s always the common denominator in that room, competing. Started as a walk on there. I take his story and use it as motivation here. I just needed an opportunity.”
Bourguet has two years of eligibility left. Even with six quarterbacks cut after 2024, he’s still on the roster.
His unlikely plan is already working.
Fourth down
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Brigham Young Cougars guard Egor Demin (3) drives to the hoop, as Kansas Jayhawks forward KJ Adams Jr. (24) and Kansas Jayhawks guard AJ Storr (2) defend, in Big 12 basketball action between the Brigham Young Cougars and the Kansas Jayhawks, at the Marriott Center, in Provo, on Tuesday, Feb 18, 2025.
1. Egor finishes
I asked BYU basketball coach Kevin Young why Egor Demin’s been more fluid attacking the basket recently. It’s changed the dynamic of BYU’s offense. With the way teams are defending the three-point line against the Cougars, Demin finishing around the rim helps BYU be less one-dimensional than it was last year.
Young pointed to Demin playing off two feet now, under control. But he’s also gained 16 pounds. It will pay dividends in March.
2. Five seed possibility
BYU has won seven straight games. And after taking down No. 10 Iowa State, it could be looking at a five-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Star receiver Chase Roberts is sitting out this spring with a shoulder injury. It gives JoJo Phillips more time to take a leading role in spring. BYU needs him to have a big year, along with Keelan Marion, Parker Kingston and probably Cody Hagen.
Former Utah tight end Carsen Ryan is the key to BYU’s effort to add a pass-catching tight end this year. Sitake told me Ryan already knows the offense and will be a big part of the passing game. Sitake rarely makes those proclamations.