100 Facts About the BYU Football Roster

BYU kicks off its season against USF in 100 days

BYU kicks off its 2022 season against USF in 100 days. In celebration of today's offseason milestone, here are 100 facts about the 2022 BYU football roster.

100 Facts About the 2022 BYU Football Roster

1. Freshman Micah Harper (no. 1) is set to return to the BYU defense this fall; Harper suffered an injury during Spring camp last season that kept him out for the entire 2021 season
2. Sophomore linebacker Ben Bywater changed his number from no. 33 to no. 2 this season
3. Starting quarterback Jaren Hall (no. 3) has thrown for 3,003 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions in 17 games played for the Cougars
4. BYU has added four P5 transfers this offseason: Christopher Brooks, Houston Heimuli, Gabe Jeudy-Lally, and Kingsley Suamataia
5. Junior tight end Dallin Holker changed his number from no. 32 to no. 5 this season
6. Senior running back Lopini Katoa has racked up 6 receiving touchdowns and 19 rushing touchdowns during his BYU career
7. In his first three seasons at BYU, running back Jackson McChesney has averaged 7.9 yards per carry on 50 attempts (394 total yards)
8. Of the 118 players on the BYU Spring roster, 8 are from Arizona
9. BYU has lost nine players to the transfer portal since the end of last season; three of those players have landed on FBS rosters
10. The average height of BYU's wide receivers is 6'1.5
11. Senior cornerback Kaleb Hayes, a former Oregon State transfer, had 11 PBUs last season
12. Vanderbilt transfer Gabe Jeudy-Lally racked up 50 total tackles for the Commodores last season
13. Junior linebacker Jackson Kaufusi changed his number from no. 38 to no. 13 this season
14. 14 players on the roster have a single-digit number: Kody Epps, Jakob Robinson, Micah Harper, Keanu Hill, Christopher Brooks, Ben Bywater, Chaz Ah You, Jaren Hall, Caleb Christensen, Lopini Katoa, Dallin Holker, D'Angelo Mandell, Hinckley Ropati, and George Udo
15. 15 scholarship signees from the 2020 class will return from their missions this year - that is more than number of scholarships available on the 2022 roster; some of those players will be asked to grayshirt this season (see video at the top of this article)
16. 16 seniors were listed on BYU's Spring roster
17. Freshman quarterback Jacob Conover (no. 17) threw 10 passes last season; he was 5/10 for 45 yards
18. BYU wide receiver Keanu Hill had 18 receptions last season; he averaged 19.1 yards per reception
19. Of the 49 freshman on the roster, 19 are offensive or defensive lineman; 10 freshman are listed along the defensive line
20. Junior wide receiver Brayden Cosper changed his number from no. 85 to no. 20 this season
21. The players on BYU's Spring roster came from 21 different states
22. There were more defensive lineman (22) on the roster than any other position group
23. BYU punt returner Hobbs Nyberg (no. 23) has averaged 8.45 yards per punt return over the last two seasons
24. BYU punter Ryan Rehkow (no. 24) has averaged 47.16 yards per punt over the last two years
25. Freshman defensive back Talan Alfrey (no. 25) is set to return to the BYU defense this fall; Alfrey suffered an injury prior to Fall camp last season that kept him out for the entire 2021 season
26. Redshirt freshman defensive back Ethan Slade changed his number from no. 35 to no. 26 this season
27. Of the 22 starters in the 2021 opener against Arizona, 6 of the 22 (27%) started all 13 games for the Cougars
28. BYU's defense backs are expected to add some reinforcements before fall camp; the Cougars signed four play-first defensive backs as part of the 2022 class
29. BYU DB Shamon Willis (formerly no. 29) announced his plans to move on from football and focus on his career
30. Freshman defensive back Quenton Rice (no. 30) is the son of former BYU great defensive back Rodney Rice
31. BYU linebacker Max Tooley (no. 31) has racked up 162 tackles in 41 games at BYU
32. 30 sophomores were listed on the Spring roster
33. Junior tight end Dallin Holker has caught 33 passes in his BYU career for an average of 13.2 yards per catch
34. Josh Wilson (no. 34) is the younger brother of former BYU quarterback Zach Wilson; Josh will be joined by his younger brother Micah who signed with the Cougars as part of the 2022 class
35. Senior wide receiver Gunner Romney has averaged 35 receptions per season over the last three seasons
36. 36% of the players on the roster are from neither Utah nor California
37. BYU safety Malik Moore has intercepted five passes in his BYU career
38. 38 players on BYU's 2021 roster used a redshirt season last year; 36 of the 38 were freshman
39. Of the 118 players on BYU's Spring roster, 39 (33%) were upperclassman
40. True freshman linebacker Michael Daley is home from his mission and he participated in Spring camp; Daley led the state of Utah in sacks as a senior at Lone Peak High School
41. Junior linebacker Keenan Pili (no. 41) totaled 31 tackles in just 3 games played last season before suffering a season-ending injury
42. The average height of BYU's defensive backs is 6"1
43. In his first season at BYU, Washington transfer Puka Nacua tracked up 43 receptions for 805 yards and 6 touchdowns
44. Cal transfer running back Christopher Brooks has run for 1,734 yards and 14 touchdowns in his career
45. Pepe Tanuvasa (no. 45) has played in 25 games for the Cougars over the last two seasons; he has tallied 66 total tackles and 4 sacks
46. The only running back on BYU's roster listed under 200 pounds is Austin Bell; Bell weighed in at 195
47. No player wore the number 47 during Spring ball
48. BYU defensive lineman Lorenzo Fauatea has appeared in 34 games and tallied 42 tackles
49. Linebacker Payton Wilgar (no. 49) has totaled 168 total tackles including 16.5 tackles for loss during his BYU career
50. 49 freshman were listed on the Spring roster; more freshman are set to join the program before Fall camp
51. Senior defensive lineman Alden Tofa (no. 51) has appeared in 35 games over the course of his career
52. Senior offensive lineman played in 12 games for BYU last season and started 9 games
53. Sophomore defensive back Jakob Robinson appeared in 12 games last season after transferring from Utah State; Robinson intercepted three passes in 2021 including two interceptions against Georgia Southern
54. Placekicker Jake Oldroyd has attempted 54 field goal attempts in four season with the Cougars; he has make 76% of his field goals
55. Puka Nacua's longest reception of the 2021 season was 55 yards against South Florida
56. Freshman defensive lineman Logan Fano (no. 56) was a standout during Spring camp prior to suffering a season-ending knee injury
57. Senior defender Chaz Ah You has tallied 81 tackles, 1 sack, 2 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, and 5 PBUs during his BYU career
58. Freshman defensive lineman Aisea "Ice" Moa (no. 58) was a four-star recruit coming out of Weber High School
59. Redshirt freshman offensive lineman Burke Parker changed his number from no. 50 to no. 59 this season
60. Of the 118 players on BYU's Spring roster, 60 are from Utah
61. Cade Fennegan (no. 11) transferred to BYU from Boise State; Fennegan prepped at Woodrow Wilson High School where he was the winningest quarterback in school history
62. Junior defensive tackle Atunaisa Mahe has tallied 48 tackles and 3.5 sacks during his BYU career
63. D'Angelo Mandell (no. 5) has appeared in 47 games for the Cougars and tallied 72 tackles
64. Isaiah Herron (no. 11) has appeared in 34 games for the Cougars and tallied 48 tackles
65. Seven specialists are listed on BYU's roster: Ryan Rehkow, Justen Smith, Jake Oldroyd, Dalton Riggs, Austin Riggs, Britton Hogan, and Cash Peterman
66. Freshman offensive lineman (no. 66) signed with Utah State out of high school before coming to BYU after his mission
67. Freshman offensive lineman Brock Gunderson (no. 67) signed with BYU as part of the 2019 class; Gunderson held eight competing FBS offers
68. Only four players on BYU's Spring roster are from Idaho: Morgan Pyper, Hayden Livingston, Dalton Riggs, and Austin Riggs
69. Seth Willis (no. 69) appeared in 12 games for BYU last season primarily on special teams
70. Sophomore offensive lineman Connor Pay (no. 70) appeared in all 13 games for BYU last season and started 10 games
71. Blake Freeland (no. 71) started all 13 games at left tackle for BYU last season; the junior from Herriman, Utah is attracting NFL interest
72. No player wore the number 72 during Spring ball
73. 26 players played in all 13 games for BYU
74. Sophomore Campbell Barrington (no. 74) was named to a Freshman All-American by Maxwell Football Club after playing in eight games for the Cougars last season
75. Sam Dawe (no. 75) is a transfer from Idaho State
76. Harris LaChance (no. 76) missed most of the 2021 season due to injury, but he started four games for the Cougars' offensive line
77. Head coach Kalani Sitake has coached 77 games for the Cougars, going 48-29 in those games
78. Oregon transfer and former five-star recruit Kingsley Suamataia (no. 78) played with the first-team offense throughout the Spring; Suamataia is expected to start for the Cougars along the offensive line 
79. Junior defensive lineman Alema Pilimai (no. 99) has appeared in just one game since moving from tight end to defensive end
80. BYU returns 80% of its offensive production this season, that ranks 28th in the country
81. No player wore the number 81 during Spring ball
82. BYU offensive lineman Kingsley Suamataia held 33 scholarship offers coming out of Orem High School
83. Sophomore tight end Isaac Rex (no. 83) has caught 15 touchdowns over the last two seasons
84. Deep snapper Austin Riggs (no. 84) appeared in 12 games last season
85. The average weight on the offensive line was 301 pounds during the Spring
86. The average weight on the defensive line was 273 pounds during the Spring
87. Wide receiver Maguire Anderson (no. 87) is the only player from Florida on the roster
88. Freshman wide receiver Terrence Fall (no. 88) is the only international player on the roster; Fall was an foreign exchange student in California when he was identified by BYU's staff on the recruiting trail
89. Wide receiver Kade Moore (no. 89) was a member of the scout team last season
90. BYU listed 20 offensive lineman on the Spring roster
91. Senior defensive lineman Earl Tuioti-Mariner (no. 91) has appeared in 42 games
92. Tyler Batty (no. 92) has racked up 7.5 sacks in 16 games played
93. 13 newcomers were listed on the Spring roster with more to signees to be added before Fall camp
94. BYU wide receiver Chase Roberts (no. 27) is listed at 6'4 - he is expected to play a role in BYU's offense this season
95. Caden Haws (no. 95) is the only player from Arkansas on the roster
96. Of the 118 players on BYU's Spring roster, 16 are from California
97. BYU's defense returns 97% of its production in 2022 - that is the most in the country by a wide margin (Florida State ranks second in returning defensive production at 90%)
98. Defensive lineman Gabe Summers (no. 98) has 47 tackles in 25 career games
99. Ammon Hannemann (no. 22) is the younger brother of former BYU defensive backs Micah Hannemann and Jakob Hannemann
100. This BYU roster takes on USF in 100 days