Ranking the Five BYU Transfers That Will Have the Greatest Impact in 2023

BYU has already added 12 players from the transfer portal for the 2023 season. Today, we rank the five that we believe will have the greatest impact in 2023. 1.

Casey Lundquist | Jan 20, 2023

BYU has already added 12 players from the transfer portal for the 2023 season. Today, we rank the five that we believe will have the greatest impact in 2023.

1. Kedon Slovis - QB

Kedon Slovis won't be handed the starting job, but he will be the favorite to start for BYU at quarterback in 2023. Should he win the job, Slovis becomes one of the most important members of the team in 2023. If offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick can help Slovis return to his USC form, Slovis will be really good running BYU's offense.

2. Aidan Robbins - RB

Aidan Robbins ran for over 1,000 yards last season for UNLV. After entering the transfer portal, Robbins took visits to BYU and UCLA before committing to BYU and running backs coach Harvey Unga. Robbins will likely be the feature back in 2023 and play a very important role in BYU's offense.

As of this writing, Robbins is considered a four-star recruit by 247 Sports and tied for the highest-rated transfer running back in the transfer portal.

3. Eddie Heckard

Weber State transfer Eddie Heckard turned down the NFL and various P5 suitors when he signed with BYU. Heckard will immediately move into a starting role on a BYU defense that loses its top three cornerbacks from last season. By the end of next season, Heckard could prove to be one of the most important additions to the 2023 roster. His talent and experience will be invaluable for BYU as it plays in the Big 12 conference for the first time.

Heckard was an AP All-American last season and he has 30 pass breakups, 7 interceptions, 6 forced fumbes, and 4 sacks in his career to go along with over 200 tackles.

4. Paul Maile

BYU lost a lot of experience along the offensive line after the 2022 season. The addition of veteran OL and Utah transfer Paul Maile will go a long ways in helping BYU make up for the lost production.

Maile comes to BYU after playing over 1,000 snaps for the Utes and starting the last two years at center. In total, he appeared in 29 games over the course of his Utah career.

5. Isaiah Bagnah

Isaiah Bagnah played at Boise State for four seasons and appeared in 20 games before entering the transfer portal. Bagnah tallied six sacks in 2021 which was the second most on his team.

Bagnah fills an immediate need that the BYU defense has needed to fill for years: pass rushing. Statistically speaking, Bagnah becomes the most proven pass rusher on the roster. No BYU defender has tallied five or more sacks in a single season since Corbin Kaufusi in 2018. Bagnah's ability to pressure the quarterback makes him a candidate to play right away in Provo.

Just Missed the Cut

There are various impact transfers that narrowly missed the cut. DL Jackson Cravens, OL Ian Fitzgerald, and OL Weylin Lapuaho are all candidates to start for BYU in the trenches.

If BYU is going to play for a bowl game in its first season in the Big 12, it needs the majority of the names on this list to be major contributors in 2023.

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Published Jan 20, 2023

CASEY LUNDQUIST

Casey Lundquist is the publisher and lead editor of Cougs Daily. He has covered BYU athletics for the last four years. During that time, he has published over 2,000 stories that have reached more than three million people.