BYU is Stockpiling Talent in the Wide Receiver Room

Casey Lundquist | Jun 22, 2024

Oct 14, 2023; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; Brigham Young Cougars wide receiver Darius Lassiter (5) runs with the ball against the TCU Horned Frogs during the game at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

On Friday, four-star wide receiver LaMason Waller committed to BYU. Waller, a native of Hesperia, California, picked the Cougars over a long list of programs, including the likes of Alabama, Washington, Arkansas, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oregon, Penn State, Utah, Texas A&M, and West Virginia among many others. Waller has one of the more impressive offer sheets in the country.

With Waller in the fold, the future of the wide receiver room at BYU looks incredibly bright. The Cougars are stockpiling talent at that position in a way that hasn't been done since at least the 1990's. At minimum, Fesi Sitake deserves the title of BYU's most proven recruiter. You can make the argument that he is BYU's best recruiter on the staff.

The Present

On paper, the wide receivers will be a strength of the BYU roster in 2024. Arguably the deepest room from top to bottom, BYU returns a core group of veteran players in Chase Roberts, Darius Lassiter, and Kody Epps. Those three have combined for just under 2,500 yards and 22 touchdowns over their last two seasons.

They have all had moments of dominance at BYU, although injuries have been the barrier between their actual production and their potential.

Darius Lassiter was BYU's best wide receiver in October. He was making big plays downfield until an injury kept him off the field for most of November. When BYU's offense was almost completely stagnant against Texas, Lassiter was catching 50/50 balls and keeping BYU in the game.

In 2022, Kody Epps had an impressive run of games against Utah State, Notre Dame, and Arkansas before he suffered a season-ending collarbone injury. Epps was limited by a hamstring injury early in 2023 that lingered throughout the season. He really didn't come on until he was healthy in November. Against Oklahoma, Epps had 6 receptions for 90 yards.

Nov 18, 2023; Provo, Utah, USA; Brigham Young Cougars wide receiver Kody Epps (0) reacts to a play against the Oklahoma Sooners in the third quarter at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports / Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

Chase Roberts is a candidate to breakout and have a 1,000 yard season in 2024. Roberts has flashed moments of brilliance in a BYU uniform. He had 6 receptions for 131 yards against Cincinnati last year. He finished as BYU's leading receiver with 573 yards.

Behind those three veterans, BYU has three younger wide receivers in Jojo Phillips, Keelan Marion, and Parker Kingston that will be in the rotation. Marion had 216 receiving yards last year and his best game was in Jake Retzlaff's first start at West Virginia. It was clear that Marion and Retzlaff had developed some chemistry running with the second team offense in practice. Marion also made an impact in the kick return game. He had a kickoff return for a touchdown against West Virginia that was called back by a holding penalty away from the play.

Oct 21, 2023; Provo, Utah, USA; Brigham Young Cougars wide receiver Keelan Marion (17) returns a kick against the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the first half at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports / Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

Jojo Phillips will be one of the more exciting stories to follow in 2024. He will be a fixture in the rotation after seeing limited reps as a true freshman. Phillips is BYU's tallest wide receiver at 6'5 and he will be used to take shots downfield. Phillips was a coveted recruit coming out of high school - a common theme among BYU's young wide receivers.

Kingston brings speed to the room. He is still developing as a wide receiver since he played quarterback in high school, but he flashed his speed as a punt returner.

The Future

Two returned missionaries, Cody Hagen and Dominique McKenzie, will be on the roster in 2024. Those two will bring a new level of speed to the wide receivers that is not currently in the room: elite speed. Hagen and McKenzie are two of the fastest players to ever come out of the state of Utah. In high school, Hagen ran a 10.52 100M and Dominique ran a 10.60. Coach Sitake confirmed that Dom will play wide receiver. When he signed with BYU, he was announced as a WR/DB on signing day.

Some prospects are fast, but they struggle to bring their track speed onto the football field. That wasn’t the case for Cody Hagen and Dom McKenzie. Their production matched their physical capabilities in high school. They were two of the most productive receivers in the country.

Dominique, ranked fourth in the country in receiving yards as a junior with over 1,700 receiving yards. Dominique chose BYU over competing offers from the likes of Oregon, Arizona, Pitt, and Virginia among others.

Cody Hagen is one of the best wide receiver prospects to ever come out of the state of Utah and the best wide receiver prospect since Puka Nacua. As a senior, Hagen racked up 1,805 receiving yards. That ranked fifth in the country. He had back-to-back 1,100 yard seasons at Corner Canyon. Hagen had over 1,100 yards receiving in 2020 as a junior.

Then there's newest BYU commit LaMason Waller. Of all the recruits on this list, none of them had the opportunities in high school that Waller had. Waller had over 40 offers, but his relationship with Fesi Sitake made the difference. When the dust settles on the star rankings in this class, Waller could be the highest-rated wide receiver to sign with BYU since Ross Apo. There could be an opportunity for Waller to be in the rotation as a true freshman in 2025.

Of all those names, we still haven't talked about Tei Nacua. Nacua signed with BYU back in December. Tei is the younger brother of Kai, Samson, and Puka Nacua. Tei is newer to the game of football than his brothers were coming out of high school, but he is still a Nacua. Tei picked BYU over competing offers from Utah, Washington State, San Diego State, Utah State, and Hawaii. Tei will be on the roster in 2025.

The Past

BYU's recruiting efforts at wide receiver have also been aided by their development of NFL wide receivers. NFL standout wide receiver Puka Nacua has become a household name. Puka was a star at BYU before he became a record-setting receiver for the LA Rams in 2023. Dax Milne, who came to BYU as a PWO, just concluded his third season in the NFL. Sitake can be credited for the development of both Nacua and Milne.