BYU football: Can deep and talented group of receivers carry the offense in 2024?

Whether or not there is an NFL-caliber receiver on the BYU football roster this year remains to be seen. There’s no Puka Nacua among this group , but there might be a Dax Milne-type who could go in the later rounds next April and stick with a pro team.

As 2024 preseason training camp wraps up soon, it is clear that BYU receivers coach and passing game coordinator Fesi Sitake has an embarrassment of riches on his hands . He’s got a bunch of above-average pass-catchers this season, but no superstars.

In a way, the cousin of head coach Kalani Sitake has a dilemma to figure out: Which guys should get the most reps?

“We have a lot of playmakers, man,” Fesi Sitake said last week. “I have been happy with them. We still have a lot of things we need to clean up.”

Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick said toward the end of last week that 90% or more of the offense had been installed, so offensive coaches such as Sitake can concentrate on defining the depth charts for the positions they coach.

For Sitake, that’s easier said than done.

He has said for months now that there are six receivers who all deserve to be starters: senior Darius Lassiter ; redshirt juniors Chase Roberts, Keelan Marion and Kody Epps; redshirt sophomore Parker Kingston; and redshirt freshman JoJo Phllips.

Redshirt senior Keanu Hill would also be in that mix, but he’s moved to tight end and will probably be the starter in that position for the opener Aug. 31 against Southern Illinois.

“We have six solid receivers, for sure,” said Kingston, who will also be a punt and kick returner, along with Marion. “We are going to need all six, like we did last year. We had people go down.

“Fesi said there has never been a year when he has made it through with all the receivers. We have a solid room, we are deep, and very experienced. I think we have a very solid room this year.”

More help is on the way, too. Freshmen Cody Hagen, Tei Nacua and Ty West, a walk-on from St. George’s Crimson Cliffs High School, have made nice plays in camp.

A former four-star recruit. Hagen recently returned from a mission to San Bernardino, California, for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where he learned and spoke Mandarin Chinese. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound speedster, Utah’s Gatorade Player of the Year in 2021, will be hard to keep off the field if he keeps making plays like he has the first three weeks.

“He is really good. He is a smart guy. It is unbelievable how fast he has picked up our offense,” Roderick said of Hagen. “I mean, he knows the offense like a veteran player already. He can run, and he’s doing a good job. He has a bright future.”

Roderick also had a lot of praise for Phillips, who started to emerge at the end of last season and caught a touchdown pass against Iowa State.

“JoJo is going to play a lot,” Roderick said. “He’s a good player.”

Fesi Sitake said there is “a big gap” between the experienced guys and the newcomers, but one the newcomers are closing with each passing day as they learn the playbook and get more accustomed to the speed and physicality of college football.

“There are a lot of young, talented guys in our group. This is a hard offense (to learn), so I think it is just a matter of spending a little bit more time with them to get them up to speed,” Fesi Sitake said. “But all in all, man, I love the energy. These guys are playing hard.”

Sitake said that Hagen and Nacua — Puka’s youngest brother — haven’t gotten a lot of reps, but have been “busting their butts” and made themselves available for every opportunity.

“It is a cliche, but we tell them: Don’t count your reps. Make your reps count,” Sitake said. “So when you get those little opportunities, make a play.”

Roderick said it is not out of the question that eight or more receivers could see significant time and get into double digits in receptions in 2024.

“There is room for as many good players as can help us win,” Roderick said. “There have been years where we can rotate eight guys. There have been years where we could rotate four. … We will play as many guys (as are ready).

“If guys prove that they can do something well to help us win games, we will put them in the game and let them do what they do well.”

Epps, who had 21 catches for 259 yards last year, said the Cougars’ first year in the Big 12 last year taught them that you can never have enough playmakers.

“I think everybody in our room is going to be in the mix this season. You play in the Big 12, you play in a conference like this, man, your seconds and your thirds are going to have to step up and play,” he said. “I think everybody in our room is going to step up and will definitely have to play.”

With Hill off to the tight ends room, Sitake was asked which receiver is the loudest in the room.

“Oh, that’s a good (question),” he said. “Keelan Marion, yeah. He might have been the loudest with Keanu still in there, but it is a good loud, though.”