Seven Takeaways from BYU's 2023 Fall Camp

The Cougars wrap up 2023 Fall camp on Tuesday

BYU wraps up Fall camp on Tuesday with a final scrimmage. On Wednesday, BYU will take the day off and float down the Provo river as a team. On Thursday, BYU will turn the page to game prep for Sam Houston State. In this article, we'll talk about our [x] takeaways from BYU's 2023 Fall camp.

1. Kedon Slovis is the most important player on BYU's roster

Credit: BYU Photo

BYU quarterback Kedon Slovis gives BYU the best chance to win games this Fall. When Slovis is good, he is really good. Good enough to continue pick up where Zach Wilson and Jaren Hall left off. 

Slovis is the most important player on BYU's 2023 roster. Slovis' performance and health could truly be the difference between a 4-8 season and a 8-4 season for the Cougars. First and foremost, BYU needs Slovis to stay healthy. The Cougars don't want to be in a position where they turn the offense over to Jake Retzlaff earlier than needed.

Second, BYU needs to help Slovis reach his potential. Aaron Roderick has a great track record with quarterbacks - there are reasons to believe that Roderick can help Slovis return to his USC form this season.

2. Aaron Roderick said BYU improved at every position on offense...and we believe him 

Last week, Aaron Roderick said BYU improved at every position on offense compared to 2022. Roderick gave the caveat that at quarterback it might be a wash since the Cougars lost Jaren Hall, but he feels that every other group was upgraded. 

It might be hard to believe at first, but we believe him. Let's talk about it.

The running backs have clearly added more depth, and in the opinion of this author, they have added more talent as well. Aidan Robbins has the potential to be as good or better than Chris Brooks was last year. Deion Smith and LJ Martin, two running backs that will play, gives the Cougars two more options that they didn't have a year ago. Meanwhile, the Cougars return Hinckley Ropati and Miles Davis who both played in critical moments last year. It's easy to make the case that BYU running backs are better in 2023 than they were in 2022.

The tight ends have a chance to be much better with a healthy Isaac Rex. Rex was clearly limited in 2022 while he had hardware in his ankle. The Cougars added four-star tight end Jackson Bowers and JUCO transfer Ray Paulo.

Did BYU really get better at wide receiver in 2023? Puka Nacua was one of the best wide receivers in BYU history. In the opinion of this author, BYU doesn't have another player on the roster that will be able to replicate Nacua's production. While they don't have the same star power, they do have more depth and the opportunity to be a better overall unit. Injuries were a major issue for the wide receivers that limited their production. The Cougars bring back three of the top four wide receivers in Keanu Hill, Chase Roberts, and Kody Epps. They also added immediate impact transfers Darius Lassiter and Keelan Marion. Top to bottom, there's a really strong argument that the wide receivers will be better in 2023, especially if they can stay healthy.

It will be a tall task to upgrade the offensive line. BYU started one NFL lineman at left tackle and a future NFL lineman at right tackle in 2022. Is it possible? Sure, but the Cougars will need newcomers Paul Maile and Caleb Etienne to play at a high level to exceed the production of the 2022 unit.

Time will tell whether BYU upgraded at every position on offense or not. But as of today, we believe Aaron Roderick.

3. The LJ Martin hype is valid

Credit: BYU Photo

LJ Martin was been one of the standouts of Fall camp. Aaron Roderick gave a glowing review of the true freshman running back last week. "LJ Martin is a standout in camp so far," Roderick said. "He's one of the best players on this team. He will play this year. He's a very good football player...I try not to get too excited about freshman sometimes. But he's already proven that he's going to be a player for us this season."

Last week, Alabama head coach Nick Saban was asked about the quarterback situation in Tuscaloosa. Saban said he wanted one of his quarterbacks to play well enough to force him to play them. We believe LJ Martin has shown well enough to force BYU to play him in 2023. He is fluid, athletic, physical, smart, and perhaps most importantly, his body is ready for FBS football.

When Martin signed with BYU, he was the highest-rated running back to sign with the Cougars since star ratings became relevant. It's early days but Martin is living up to his recruiting profile. We believe Martin will have a very productive career in Provo.

4. The progress on defense will come...but it might come slowly

Credit: BYU Photo

BYU will start anywhere from four to five newcomers on defense. The scheme alone will make BYU a better defense in 2023. When you add in a few upgrades via the transfer portal, it's reasonable to expect the Cougars to put out a much better defensive product this season. It will be more aggressive, it will be more create, and it will give opposing quarterbacks a lot to think about.

However, the progress won't always be up and to the right. The Cougars are going to give up points and yards against some of the vaunted offenses in the Big 12. That's ok.

The Cougars need to show incremental improvements versus last season. The key to long-term improvement on defense will be on the recruiting trail - BYU needs more depth and more high-level talent. The Cougars did as much as they could to upgrade the roster for this season, but it will take a few recruiting cycles to reach the ceiling of this Jay Hill defense.

5. BYU's depth on defense is fragile

The season-ending injury to Micah Harper highlighted the fragility of BYU's depth on defense, especially at some position groups. Outside of Malik Moore, BYU doesn't have an upperclassman at safety. The cornerbacks are largely unproven outside of the two-deep. BYU has a lot of talent in that group, but it lacks experience.

Along the defensive line, would BYU be able to handle an injury to starters like Tyler Batty, Jackson Cravens, or Isaiah Bagnah? That remains to be seen.

The linebackers look like the deepest position on defense. The Cougars' depth was solidified after the Spring with the additions of AJ Vongphachanh, Harrison Taggart, and Siale Esera among others.

6. A lot of new faces will play key roles for the Cougars 

Credit: BYU Photo

While projecting the depth chart for next season, the sheer number of transfers in the two-deep stands out. There's a reasonable scenario where half (or more) of BYU's 22 starters could be transfers this season. Keep in mind - that number excludes former transfers like Kingsley Suamatai who were on the roster last season.

Half sounds like a lot on the surface, and it is. Especially when you consider the history of transfers in college football. Starting as many as 11 transfers is a possibility today that didn't existent even a few years ago. So who could be the transfers in the starting lineup? And could there really be 11 transfers that become starters? As of this writing, there are eight transfers that have either been named starters already or are very, very likely to start in week one for BYU (according to the opinions of this author):

1. Kedon Slovis - QB
2. Isaiah Bagnah - DL
3. Caleb Etienne - OL
4. Aidan Robbins - RB
5. Eddie Heckard - DB
6. Jackson Cravens - DL
7. Paul Maile - OL
8. AJ Vongphachanh - LB

There's another group of eight transfers that could start for BYU against Sam Houston:

1. Kamden Garrett - DB
2. Ian Fitzgerald - OL
3. Deion Smith - RB
4. Harrison Taggart - LB
5. Jake Eichorn - OL
6. Keelan Marion - WR
7. Darius Lassiter - WR
8. Weylin Lapuaho - OL

There will be a lot of new faces in the starting lineup on September 2nd.

7. It's not time to panic about kicking

The kicking game was a concern coming into camp. The kickers have shown well throughout Fall camp. Boise State transfer Will Ferrin is expected to win the starting placekicking job. He will have to prove it in games, but it's not time to panic about the kicking game.

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