BYU Cougars Offensive Players To Watch vs. Texas Longhorns

The BYU Cougars might not look like much offensively in the stat book, but they could present problems for the Texas Longhorns on Saturday.

The Texas Longhorns are coming off of a tough win over the Houston Cougars last week, in which they lost their starting quarterback Quinn Ewers for multiple weeks. 

However, with a new week, comes a new opportunity. And that opportunity is the BYU Cougars, who come to Austin sitting at 5-2 in their first Big 12 season. 

On paper, the Longhorns should have the advantage on Saturday, even without Ewers in the lineup. 

That said, the Cougars do some things well on the offensive side of the ball and can be more dangerous than their stats suggest if given the chance. 

Here are a few playmakers for the Cougars on the offensive side of the ball.

QB Kedon Slovis

Kedon Slovis was looking for a career revitalization coming to Provo, UT. and he was off to a good start.

In his first offseason with the Cougars, he has already been named the clear-cut starter and built team chemistry through BYU's player-run practice sessions and even taking his teammates out golfing or playing 3-on-3 pick-up basketball against them, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.

Between stops at USC and Pittsburgh in his first four seasons, Slovis has completed 65.9 percent of his 1,268 pass attempts for 9,973 yards and 68 touchdowns to 33 interceptions. He is looking to find that spark he had with the Trojans in his career-best freshman season in which he threw for 3,502 yards and 30 touchdowns.

The 2023 season, however, has been up and down for Slovis, with the fifth-year player completing a career-low passing percentage, but with more touchdown passes through seven games than he had all of last season. 

We will see which Slovis shows up on Saturday in Austin.

Brigham Young Cougars quarterback Kedon Slovis (10) passes the ball against the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the first quarter at LaVell Edwards Stadium / Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

RB LJ Martin

The Cougars' leading rusher by a considerable margin, Martin has 96 carries for 438 yards and four touchdowns through seven games and averaging 4.6 yards per carry.

However, the Cougars have had some serious issues rushing the ball this season, ranking 124th in the nation out of 130 teams in rushing offense. 

Martin has the ability to break the big one if given the chance, and will be a focal point of the Texas defense on Saturday.

WR Chase Roberts

Despite being the Cougars' No. 6 receiver from a season ago, Chase Roberts is emerging as one of Slovis' go-to targets, leading the team in receptions and yards this season.

Last season, Roberts hauled in 22 passes for 357 yards and three touchdowns, but has added weight while maintaining the quick-burst abilities that made him a top-10 high school player in Utah.

In 2023, he has 29 catches for 430 yards and four touchdowns, while his teammate on the other side of the field, Darius Lassiter also has four touchdowns on 23 catches to go along with 272 yards.

It is a potentially dangerous combo for the Horns, if they are not careful.

They don't necessarily hold a candle to Texas' depth and skill with Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell, Jordan Whittington, Isaiah Neyor and Ja'Tavion Sanders, but they are a reliable bunch that will make Slovis' life easier in his first season at BYU.