2024 BYU Cougars football team explained

Year:	2024
Team:	BYU Cougars
Sport:	football
Conference:	Big 12 Conference
Short Conf:	Big 12
Coachrank:	18
Aprank:	17
Cfprank:	18
Record:	10–2
Conf Record:	7–2
Head Coach:	Kalani Sitake
Hc Year:	9th
Off Coach:	Aaron Roderick
Oc Year:	4th
Off Scheme:	Multiple
Def Coach:	Jay Hill
Dc Year:	2nd
Def Scheme:	Multiple
Stadium:	LaVell Edwards Stadium

The 2024 BYU Cougars football team represents Brigham Young University (BYU) as a member of the Big 12 Conference during the 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cougars are led by ninth-year head coach Kalani Sitake and play their home games at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

Offseason

Coaching changes

On November 28, 2023, it was announced that offensive line coach Darrell Funk and tight ends coach Steve Clark would not be retained.^[1] On December 21, 2023, TJ Woods was announced as the new offensive line coach and run game coordinator,^[2] followed on January 12, 2024 by Kevin M. Gilbride being announced as the new tight ends coach.^[3]

2024 recruits

Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Hometown	Notes
Therrian Alexander III			165		^[4]
Ephraim Asiata			210		^[5]
Siosefa Brown			210		Mission prior to enrolling^[6]
Kinilau Fonohema			210		^[7]
Dallin Johnson			290		^[8]
Jonathan Kabeya			170		^[9]
Brody Laga			250		Mission prior to enrolling^[10]
Matthias Leach			175		^[11]
Blake Lowe			205		Mission prior to enrolling^[12]
Noah Lugo			185		^[13]
Tei Nacua			180		^[14]
Jett Nelson			210		Mission prior to enrolling^[15]
Tommy Prassas			190		^[16]
Adney Reid			225		Mission prior to enrolling^[17]
Cannon Skidmore			200		^[18]
Carson Su'esu'e			215		Mission prior to enrolling^[19]
Ryner Swanson			235		^[20]
Devoux Tuataga			245		Mission prior to enrolling^[21]
Ikinasio Tupou			290		^[22]
Enoch Watson			202		Mission prior to enrolling^[23]
Faletau Satuala			200		^[24]
Prince Zombo			190		^[25]
David Clifford			285		^[26]
Jackson Nelson			270		^[27]
Iosefa Letuli			230		^[28]
Tyler West			165		^[29]

2023 returned missionaries

Joe Brown			285		^[30]
Viliami Po'uha			260		^[31]
Nathan Hoke			225		^[32]
Dallin Havea			230		^[33]
Sione Hingano			285		^[34]
Noah Moeaki			225		^[35]
Cody Hagen			180		^[36]
Jarinn Kalama			200		^[37]
Dominique McKenzie			165		^[38]
Jovesa Damuni			180		^[39]
Sione I Moa			220		^[40]
Will Zundel			235		^[41]
Payton VanSteenkiste			200		^[42]
Orion Maile-Kaufusi			235		^[43]
Weston Covey			185		^[44]
Trevor Pay			285		^[45]
Carson Tujague			235		^[46]
Rowan Reay			188		^[47]
Charles Miska			200		^[48]

2023 other additions

Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school
			215		Transfer from Western Michigan University^[49]
			226		Transfer from University of South Florida^[50]
Marque Collins			170		Transfer from Weber State University^[51]
			235		Transfer from Weber State University^[52]
Luke To'omalatai			305		Transfer from Long Beach City College^[53]
Sani Tuala			260		Transfer from Citrus College^[54]
Sam Vander Haar			218		Transfer from University of Pittsburgh^[55]
John Taumoepeau			290		Transfer from Snow College^[56]
Austin Leausa			310		Transfer from Southern Utah University^[57]
Choe Bryant-Strother			235		Transfer from University of California Los Angeles^[58]
McCae Hillstead			190		Transfer from Utah State University^[59]
Isaiah Jatta			320		Transfer from University of Colorado^[60]
Marquis Taliulu			220		Transfer from University of California^[61]
Pokaiaua Haunga			200		Previously Signed in 2023^[62]

2023 departures

Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Reason
Jacob Boren			180		Graduation
Jackson Cravens			305		Graduation
Ian Fitzgerald			305		Graduation
Kamden Garrett			181		Graduation
Eddie Heckard			190		Graduation
Atunaisa Mahe			315		Graduation
Paul Maile			300		Graduation
Simi Moala			310		Graduation
Malik Moore			195		Graduation
			215		Graduation
Deion Smith			200		Graduation
			225		Graduation
AJ Vongphachanh			235		Graduation
Talmage Gunther			190		Graduation
Ammon Hannemann			211		Graduation
Caden Haws			305		Graduation
Ben Bywater			235		Graduation
Caleb Christensen			187		Graduation
Chaz Ah You			220		Graduation
Ben Ward			290		Graduation
Hobbs Nyberg			195		Graduation
			255		NFL Draft
			255		NFL Draft
			305		NFL Draft
			240		NFL Draft
Fisher Jackson			230		Transfer
Austin Riggs			230		Transfer
Michael Daley			255		Transfer
John Henry Daley			225		Transfer
Dom Henry			175		Transfer
Quenton Rice			195		Transfer
Kade Moore			185		Transfer
Nick Billoups			203		Transfer
Naseri Danielson			195		Transfer
Ryder Burton			200		Transfer
Devin Downing			190		Transfer
Jake Hill			190		Transfer
Zion Allen			160		Transfer
Nukuluve Helu			215
Jordan Kapisi			190
Kason Krebs			210
Joseph Paulo			330
Cade Fennegan			190
Peter Falaniko			315
Bentley Redden			225
Ty Burke			175
Wyatt Dawe			295
Dylan Flowers			180
Tyler Little			295

Schedule

^[63]

Game summaries

vs No. 10 (FCS) Southern Illinois

See also: 2024 Southern Illinois Salukis football team.

Statistics	SIU	BYU
First downs	12	27
Total yards	231	527
Rushing yards	123	179
Passing yards	108	348
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	13-26	20-30
Time of possession	20:46	39:14

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Southern Illinois	Passing	DJ Williams	10/20, 98 yards, 1 INT
Rushing	DJ Williams	15 carries, 121 yards, 2 TD
Receiving	Keontez Lewis	2 receptions, 49 yards
BYU	Passing	Jake Retzlaff	20/30, 348 yards, 3 TD
Rushing	LJ Martin	13 carries, 67 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	Chase Roberts	7 receptions, 108 yards,

at SMU

See also: 2024 SMU Mustangs football team.

Statistics	BYU	SMU
First downs	16	18
Total yards	336	261
Rushing yards	134	117
Passing yards	202	144
Turnovers	3	3
Time of possession	30:53	29:07

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
BYU	Passing	Jake Retzlaff	15/28, 202 yards, 1TD, 2INT
Rushing	Miles Davis	3 carries, 37 yards
Receiving	Darius Lassiter	2 receptions, 62 yards
SMU	Passing		15/32, 140 yards, 1 INT
Rushing		14 carries, 75 yards
Receiving	Key'Shawn Smith	4 receptions, 46 yards

at Wyoming

See also: 2024 Wyoming Cowboys football team.

Statistics	BYU	WYO
First downs	23	12
Total yards	458	217
Rushing yards	140	77
Passing yards	318	140
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	25-39-1	14-32-1
Time of possession	33:07	26:53

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
BYU	Passing	Jake Retzlaff	22/36, 291 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing	Jake Retzlaff	6 carries, 62 yards
Receiving	Chase Roberts	6 receptions, 129 yards
Wyoming	Passing		14/32, 140 yards, 1 INT
Rushing	Evan Svoboda	9 carries, 31 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	Tyler King	3 receptions, 52 yards

vs No. 13 Kansas State

See also: 2024 Kansas State Wildcats football team.

Statistics	KSU	BYU
First downs	17	14
Total yards	367	241
Rushing yards	228	92
Passing yards	139	149
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	16-29-2	15-21
Time of possession	33:03	26:57

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kansas State	Passing	Avery Johnson	15/28, 130 yards, 2 INT
Rushing	DJ Giddens	19 carries, 93 yards
Receiving	Jayce Brown	4 receptions, 51 yards
BYU	Passing	Jake Retzlaff	15/21, 149 yards, 2 TD
Rushing	Sione Moa	15 carries, 76 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	Chase Roberts	2 receptions, 47 yards, 1 TD

at Baylor

See also: 2024 Baylor Bears football team.

Statistics	BYU	BAY
First downs	20	21
Total yards	367	387
Rushing yards	151	63
Passing yards	216	324
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	17-32-2	27-48-2
Time of possession	31:04	28:56

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
BYU	Passing	Jake Retzlaff	17/31, 216 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing	Jake Retzlaff	6 carries, 53 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	Darius Lassiter	8 receptions, 120 yards, 1 TD
Baylor	Passing		27/48, 324 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
Rushing		13 carries, 31 yards
Receiving	Josh Cameron	7 receptions, 125 yards, 2 TD

vs Arizona

See also: 2024 Arizona Wildcats football team.

Statistics	ARIZ	BYU
First downs	25	22
Total yards	389	398
Rushing yards	114	147
Passing yards	275	251
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	26-52-3	19-33
Time of possession	32:39	27:21

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Arizona	Passing	Noah Fifita	26/52, 275 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT
Rushing	Kedrick Reescano	9 carries, 48 yards
Receiving	Tetairoa McMillan	5 receptions, 78 yards
BYU	Passing	Jake Retzlaff	18/32, 218 yards, 2 TD
Rushing	Hinckley Ropati	9 carries, 65 yards
Receiving	Darius Lassiter	5 receptions, 86 yards

vs Oklahoma State

See also: 2024 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team.

Statistics	OKST	BYU
First downs	22	25
Total yards	421	473
Rushing yards	269	255
Passing yards	152	218
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	18-29-2	13-28-3
Time of possession	31:43	28:17

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Oklahoma State	Passing		11/19, 85 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing		16 carries, 107 yards, 2 TD
Receiving		5 receptions, 43 yards, 1TD
BYU	Passing	Jake Retzlaff	13/26, 218 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing	LJ Martin	20 carries, 120 yards, 2 TD
Receiving	Darius Lassiter	6 receptions, 129 yards, 1 TD

at UCF

See also: 2024 UCF Knights football team.

Statistics	BYU	UCF
First downs	29	18
Total yards	490	379
Rushing yards	252	181
Passing yards	228	198
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	16-24	14-27-2
Time of possession	40:28	19:32

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
BYU	Passing	Jake Retzlaff	16/24, 228 yards, 2 TD
Rushing	LJ Martin	15 carries, 101 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	Chase Roberts	2 receptions, 75 yards, 1 TD
UCF	Passing		6/10, 102 yards, 1 TD
Rushing		16 carries, 127 yards, 2 TD
Receiving	Jacoby Jones	6 receptions, 116 yards, 1 TD

at Utah (Holy War)

See also: 2024 Utah Utes football team, Holy War (BYU–Utah) and Beehive Boot.

Statistics	BYU	UTAH
First downs	20	15
Total yards	339	259
Rushing yards	120	147
Passing yards	219	112
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	15–33–0	12–22–2
Time of possession	29:50	30:10

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
BYU	Passing	Jake Retzlaff	15/33, 219 yards
Rushing	LJ Martin	11 carries, 68 yards
Receiving	Chase Roberts	6 receptions, 91 yards
Utah	Passing	Brandon Rose	12/21, 112 yards, 2 TD, INT
Rushing	Micah Bernard	17 carries, 78 yards
Receiving	Dorian Singer	5 receptions, 76 yards

vs Kansas

See also: 2024 Kansas Jayhawks football team.

Statistics	KU	BYU
First downs	13	22
Total yards	242	354
Rushing yards	73	162
Passing yards	169	192
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	12–19–1	18–29–1
Time of possession	28:57	31:03

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kansas	Passing	Jalon Daniels	12/19, 169 yards, INT
Rushing	Devin Neal	14 carries, 52 yards, 2 TD
Receiving	Luke Grimm	4 receptions, 77 yards
BYU	Passing	Jake Retzlaff	18/28, 192 yards, TD, INT
Rushing	LJ Martin	15 carries, 76 yards
Receiving	Chase Roberts	5 receptions, 71 yards

at No. 21 Arizona State

See also: 2024 Arizona State Sun Devils football team.

Statistics	BYU	ASU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
BYU	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Arizona State	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

vs Houston

See also: 2024 Houston Cougars football team.

Statistics	HOU	BYU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Houston	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
BYU	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

Personnel

Coaching staff

Kalani Sitake	Head coach
Jay Hill	Associate head coach/defensive coordinator/safeties coach
Kelly Poppinga	Special teams coordinator/defensive ends coach
Aaron Roderick	Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach
TJ Woods	Offensive line coach
Fesi Sitake	Passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach
Justin Ena	Linebackers coach
Kevin Gilbride	Tight ends coach
Jernaro Gilford	Cornerbacks coach
Harvey Unga	Running backs coach
Sione Po'uha	Defensive tackles coach

Depth Chart

Notes and References

1. Web site: BYU Football Moving On From Two Offensive Assistants . November 27, 2023 .
2. Web site: BYU HIRES TJ WOODS AS OFFENSIVE LINE COACH AND RUN GAME COORDINATOR.
3. Web site: BYU ANNOUNCES HIRING OF NFL COACHING VETERAN KEVIN M. GILBRIDE AS TIGHT ENDS COACH.
4. Web site: Therrian Alexander. . 2023-12-21 .
5. Web site: Ephraim Asiata. . 2023-12-21 .
6. Web site: Siosefa Brown. . 2023-12-21 .
7. Web site: Kini Fonohema. . 2023-12-21 .
8. Web site: Dallin Johnson. . 2023-12-21 .
9. Web site: Jonathan Kabeya. . 2023-12-21 .
10. Web site: Brody Laga. . 2023-12-21 .
11. Web site: Matthias Leach. . 2023-12-21 .
12. Web site: Blake Lowe. . 2023-12-21 .
13. Web site: Noah Lugo. . 2023-12-21 .
14. Web site: Tei Nacua. . 2023-12-21 .
15. Web site: Jett Nelson. . 2023-12-21 .
16. Web site: Tommy Prassas. . 2023-12-21 .
17. Web site: Adney Reid. . 2023-12-21 .
18. Web site: Cannon Skidmore. . 2023-12-21 .
19. Web site: Carson Su'Esu'e. . 2023-12-21 .
20. Web site: Ryner Swanson. . 2023-12-21 .
21. Web site: Devoux Tuataga. . 2023-12-21 .
22. Web site: Ikinasio Tupou. . 2023-12-21 .
23. Web site: Enoch Watson. . 2023-12-21 .
24. Web site: Faletau Satuala. . 2023-12-21 .
25. Web site: Prince Zombo. . 2024-02-07 .
26. Web site: David Clifford. . 2024-07-15 .
27. Web site: Jackson Nelson. . 2024-07-15 .
28. Web site: Iosefa Letuli. . 2024-07-15 .
29. Web site: Ty West. . 2024-07-15 .
30. Web site: Joe Brown. BYU Cougars. 2023-12-21.
31. Web site: Viliami Po'uha. BYU Cougars. 2023-12-21.
32. Web site: Nathan Hoke. BYU Cougars. 2023-12-21.
33. Web site: Dallin Havea. BYU Cougars. 2023-12-21.
34. Web site: Sione Hingano. BYU Cougars. 2023-12-21.
35. Web site: Noah Moeaki. BYU Cougars. 2023-12-21.
36. Web site: Cody Hagen. BYU Cougars. 2023-12-21.
37. Web site: Jarinn Kalama. BYU Cougars. 2023-12-21.
38. Web site: Dominique McKenzie. BYU Cougars. 2023-12-21.
39. Web site: Jovesa Damuni. BYU Cougars. 2023-12-21.
40. Web site: Sione I Moa. BYU Cougars. 2023-12-21.
41. Web site: Will Zundel. BYU Cougars. 2023-12-21.
42. Web site: Payton VanSteenkiste. BYU Cougars. 2023-12-21.
43. Web site: Orion Maile-Kaufusi. BYU Cougars. 2023-12-21.
44. Web site: Weston Covey. BYU Cougars. 2023-12-21.
45. Web site: Trevor Pay. BYU Cougars. 2024-07-15.
46. Web site: Carson Tujague. BYU Cougars. 2024-07-15.
47. Web site: Rowan Reay. BYU Cougars. 2024-07-15.
48. Web site: Charles Miska. BYU Cougars. 2024-07-15.
49. Web site: Treyson Bourguet. BYU Cougars.
50. Web site: Gerry Bohanon. BYU Cougars.
51. Web site: Marque Collins. BYU Cougars.
52. Web site: Jack Kelly. BYU Cougars.
53. Web site: Luke To'omalatai. BYU Cougars.
54. Web site: Sani Tuala. BYU Cougars.
55. Web site: Sam Vander Haar. BYU Cougars.
56. Web site: John Taumoepeau. BYU Cougars.
57. Web site: Austin Leausa. BYU Cougars.
58. Web site: Choe Bryant-Strother. BYU Cougars.
59. Web site: McCae Hillstead. BYU Cougars.
60. Web site: Isaiah Jatta. BYU Cougars.
61. Web site: Marquis Montgomery. BYU Cougars.
62. Web site: Pokaiaua Haunga – 2023 BYU Football Recruiting Class. . 2022-12-21 .
63. Web site: 2024 BYU Football Schedule. fbschedules.com. December 17, 2023.