5 freshmen who could make immediate impacts for the Cougars in 2026 season

“I loved the way the team worked, and we had some new faces come in … who are going to be great contributors to our team. … Even some true freshmen will play. They are good enough to play.”

BYU coach Kalani Sitake Other signees from that 2026 class that 247Sports ranked as the 18th best in the country, and second best in the Big 12, are also on church missions or will be serving shortly, most notably Olympus High three-star linebacker Adam Bywater, brother of former BYU standout linebacker Ben Bywater. However, a large number of those signees have already enrolled at BYU and participated in the recently completed 15 spring football practices. The only player in that group who has yet to join the team is , a 6-foot-4, 170-pound cornerback from Fort Worth, Texas. One of the signs that this truly is an is that several of the prospects who signed last December could end up playing right away, Sitake and coordinators Kelly Poppinga and Aaron Roderick said when camp wrapped up on April 2. “I loved the way the team worked, and we had some new faces come in … who are going to be great contributors to our team,” Sitake said. “… Even some true freshmen will play. They are good enough to play.” A lot of the newcomers the head coach was talking about come from the transfer portal. Guys such as , USC tight end , Oregon tight end and Cal linebacker have been profiled by the Deseret News in recent weeks and surely will make their marks this fall, along with returning stars , , Sione Moa, and . Returned missionaries such as linebacker/defensive end Adney Reid, quarterback Enoch Watson and receiver Jett Nelson could also see the field, although generally it takes players a bit of time before they are back to full strength and fitness after missionary service. Then there are the true freshmen. Up to a half-dozen, maybe more, could log playing time this fall, and not because the . As Sitake said, these new, young guys are good. Going off what coaches said about them in spring camp, and what was observed by media members, the list of true freshmen who could play right away includes offensive lineman Bott Mulitalo, linebacker Braxton Lindsey, receiver Legend Glasker, running back Devaughn Eka and athletes Kennan Pula and Jaron Pula, twin brothers. “What’s been different this year is having all the high school kids that are already with us now,” Sitake said. “Every one of them has been enrolled with us early, and got here in January, except for Antonio Johnson. He’s joining us in June. So we got a jump start on it, and that’s huge for them and their development. “There is a huge upside to them. There is no ceiling, so we got to push it, and see how far we can get these guys to improve physically, mentally, spiritually and in all aspects of their life,” Sitake concluded. Here’s a closer look at five of the freshmen BYU fans could get to know better this fall: