BYU Football Spring Camp Mailbag at the Midway Point

The BYU football program has reached the midway point of Spring camp. With half of Spring camp down and another half to go, we asked our readers for some of their top questions for Spring camp. There were enough questions to split this into two parts - the second edition will be published tomorrow.

First, a brief but important disclaimer: BYU is generous to give some time to the media to view portions of practice. That's becoming less and less common in college football as fans are asked to give more and more of their hard-earned cash to support the program. Allowing some level of access to fans is a cool thing that BYU does. With that being said, it's only a small portion of practice. We will provide the best answers we can based on what we've seen and heard, but it's still very early and plenty of things can change between now and Fall camp.

Second, we want to be completely respectful of that privilege to view practice, so we won't discuss injuries. Unless, of course, those injuries have been talked about in the general media sessions.

Without further ado, it's time for the Spring camp mailbag.

After those two, there is a next tier of transfers that could very well be starters by Fall camp. Offensive line transfers Andrew Gentry and Kyle Sfarcioc are candidates to start right away.

Whether he starts or not, SUU transfer Anisi Purcell will play a big role for the BYU defense. Purcell is up to 300 pounds and playing interior defensive line. There have been three or four times where Purcell has created havoc either by pressuring the quarterback or forcing a fumble. Purcell has a way of being disruptive along the defensive line.

Texas transfer Tausili Akana has consistently getting reps with at least the second team and at times with the first team. It seems like a safe bet that Akana will play a role in 2025.

There's not a lot of opportunities for true freshmen to play right away, but a guy like Hunter Clegg is a candidate to get some snaps. More on Clegg in a moment.

And under-the-radar name to watch is Pierson Watson. There is not an obvious plath to playing time for Watson because BYU is so deep at linebacker, but Watson was getting some second-team reps earlier this week.

In a room full of talented defensive ends, Hunter Clegg looks the part. He is all of 245 pounds as a true freshman. BYU, especially on defense, has shown that they will play true freshmen. As of today, Clegg seems like a player that could play a role similar to Viliami Po'uha last year and register 50-75 snaps. Po'uha returned home from his mission in January of 2024 and eventually got some playing time as a reserve.

Once Clegg is back into football shape, he is going to be a very good player.

1. Sione Moa - RB
2. Joe Brown - OL
3. Orion Maile-Kaufusi - DE
4. Cody Hagen - WR
5. Noah Moeaki - TE
6. Tre Alexander - CB
7. Ephraim Asiata - DE
8. Viliami Po'uha - DE
9. Tommy Prassas - S
10. Jonathan Kabeya - CB
11. Faletau Satuala - S
12. Ace Kaufusi - LB
13. Jojo Phillips - WR
14. Miles Hall - LB
15. Siale Esera - LB
16. McCae Hillstead - QB
17. Tausili Akana - DE
18. Tei Nacua - WR

After that group that are the safest bets to be in the two-deep, there are others that would get serious consideration and could be safe bets by the end of Fall camp:

1. Pokaiaua Haunga - RB
2. Hunter Clegg - DE
3. Pierson Watson - LB
4. Ethan Thomason - OL
5. Dom McKenzie - WR
6. LaMason Waller - WR
7. Kini Fonohema - DE
8. Marcus McKenzie - CB
9. Jake Griffin - OL

To answer the second part of that question, both Treyson Bourguet and McCae Hillstead have looked more comfortable than they did during Fall camp. Hillstead, in particular, has flashed his big-play potential. Last week, Hillstead called his own number on a read option and beat the defense to the sideline. He showed off his track speed from high school and outran the defense for a 70-yard touchdown run.

Hillstead also throws a really nice ball. There is a real chance he could be BYU's starting quarterback in 2026.

There are some really, really talented players in that room that are still getting up to speed and could push him for time. Names like Tausili Akana, Ephraim Asiata, Hunter Clegg, and Kini Fonohema come to mind. Maile-Kaufusi has his work cut out for him to maintain the spot that he has today.

Second, there are some returning players that are going to be really tough to beat out. Logan Lutui seems like a safe bet to start given he is the most experienced defensive end on the roster. Then there's Viliami Po'uha who got some important reps in 2024 and showed well. Po'uha is a candidate to start.

So is he a starter? Maybe, maybe not. Will he be in the two-deep? I like his chances.

Maile-Kaufusi is only a redshirt freshman and he had a pair of tackles for loss earlier this week. Jay Hill doesn't hand out first-team reps as charity, so obviously he is doing something to earn those reps. We have seem glimpses of his talent during media availability.

When healthy, Esera is one of the most gifted players on the defense. He has the size of a defensive end, but he is quick enough to stay at linebacker.

He is big, he is fast, and he is a natural playmaker. BYU returns three studs at linebacker in Jack Kelly, Isaiah Glasker, and Harrison Taggart, but Siale Esera might be too talented to keep on the sideline for too long.

In Kalani Sitake's own words, BYU still has a "long ways to go" before they get to the 105 roster limit. There are 123 players listed on the Spring roster, and there will be a few more true freshman that join the program for Fall camp. Roster cuts could potentially be delayed until the end of Fall camp.

After Carsen Ryan, Noah Moeaki and Hunter Erickson are probably the two candidates to get the most playing time.

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