BYU’s first official lineup of Utah Tech week is not a depth chart. It is a 20-player leadership council, and the most revealing names belong to players who have barely had time to unpack.
The Cougars announced eight captains and 12 co-captains Monday after a player vote. Senior running back LJ Martin and senior defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa return as captains. Quarterback Bear Bachmeier, center Bruce Mitchell, tight end Roger Saleapaga II, linebacker Isaiah Glasker, cornerback Evan Johnson and linebacker Cade Uluave join them in the top group.
That is a large leadership structure, not 20 ceremonial game captains. BYU says four members will represent the team at each coin toss, while the full council meets regularly and handles work in the locker room and away from the field.
The difference is worth keeping straight. A council vote records trust. It does not settle every starting job.
BYU’s 2026 leadership council at a glance
| Council receipt | Official count | What the vote establishes |
|---|---|---|
| Captains | 8 | Four offensive and four defensive leaders |
| Co-captains | 12 | Five offense, six defense and one specialist |
| Seniors | 13 | Most of the group has older college experience |
| Juniors | 5 | A smaller middle class still has representation |
| Sophomores | 2 | Bachmeier and defensive end Hunter Clegg |
| Returning 2025 council members | 7 | Two repeat captains plus five promoted or returning members |
| First-time 2026 selections | 13 | Most of the council is new this season |
The seven holdovers are Martin, Tanuvasa, Bachmeier, Mitchell, Glasker, Raider Damuni and Andrew Gentry. Martin and Tanuvasa kept captain status. Bachmeier, Mitchell and Glasker moved from co-captain to captain, while Damuni and Gentry return as co-captains.
The arithmetic leaves 13 first-time selections. That makes this more than a seniority roll call.
BYU’s own class count confirms the older tilt: 13 seniors, five juniors and two sophomores. But the players did not simply work down the roster by age. They elevated a sophomore quarterback, chose a sophomore defensive end as a co-captain and gave major roles to three transfers before any of them played a game in a BYU uniform.
Three transfers earned trust before the opener
Saleapaga and Uluave were voted captains. Walker Lyons was selected as a co-captain.
The school identifies Saleapaga as an Oregon transfer, Uluave as a Cal transfer and Lyons as a USC transfer. All three arrived in a roster reset that asked new players to become useful quickly. Their selection says teammates have already accepted more than their résumé.
That is strongest with Saleapaga. BYU’s tight end room already includes Lyons, and the two-transfer pairing has drawn attention throughout camp. A player vote does not name the first tight end on Saturday’s opening snap. It does tell us Saleapaga established a voice immediately, despite joining an offense with returning leaders at quarterback, running back and center.
Uluave’s vote carries a similar message on defense. He enters a linebacker room with Glasker, who moved up from last year’s council, yet both are captains. The defense did not force a choice between an established BYU player and a transfer. Teammates chose both.
Lyons lands one level below them as an offensive co-captain. Our earlier tight end camp analysis focused on how BYU could use Lyons and Saleapaga together. Monday’s vote adds a different kind of evidence: both have gained standing in the room before the offense has shown its 2026 shape in a real game.
It would be a mistake to turn any of that into a snap-count prediction. Leadership votes measure relationships and habits that a box score cannot. They do not tell us whether BYU opens in one tight end or two.
Bachmeier’s promotion is bigger than the quarterback order
Nobody needed a council list to identify Bachmeier as BYU’s quarterback. His promotion from 2025 co-captain to one of four offensive captains is the new information.
Quarterbacks inherit visibility. Peer votes are not inherited.
BYU could have kept the offense’s formal leadership with seniors Martin and Mitchell, then filled the other two spots with older players. Instead, Bachmeier joined them. That gives him a different assignment in Year 2: the offense is asking him to carry part of the room, not merely get the ball from Mitchell and distribute it.
Senior backup Treyson Bourguet was also voted an offensive co-captain. That pairing is a useful correction to the way depth charts flatten quarterback rooms. Bachmeier can be the established starter while Bourguet remains important enough to earn a leadership place. The vote supports both facts without manufacturing a competition.
The same restraint applies to Matthias Dunn. He is the council’s only specialist, following a camp in which independent practice reporting recorded three late-session field-goal makes of at least 45 yards. Our final-camp roster receipt also noted that freshman Brody Laga made both of his observed attempts that day.
Dunn’s co-captain selection confirms trust in the senior kicker. It does not function as an official placekicker announcement. BYU can value Dunn’s leadership while still making a separate game-day decision.
The defense spread its vote across every level
The defensive captain group has one tackle, two linebackers and a corner: Tanuvasa, Glasker, Uluave and Johnson.
The co-captains extend through the unit. Bodie Schoonover and Clegg represent the edge group. Justin Kirkland joins Tanuvasa inside. Damuni and Faletau Satuala cover safety, while Therrian Alexander III adds another corner.
That distribution matters more than a forced claim that every leader will start. BYU has communication points at the line, linebacker level and secondary. Johnson’s captain vote is especially interesting after he took nickel work during the final open practice while Jayven Williams and Alexander lined up outside. The late-camp alignment showed one way to preserve three experienced corners. Monday showed which of those players teammates picked for the council: Johnson as captain and Alexander as co-captain.
Satuala’s selection also adds a useful boundary. Kalani Sitake said last week that the junior safety was ready to go against Utah Tech after working back from injury. A co-captain vote says teammates still see him as part of the unit’s leadership. It does not disclose his Saturday workload or erase the need to manage a returning player carefully.
What this list can and cannot tell us
The council gives BYU fans three sturdy conclusions before the official depth chart arrives.
First, Martin and Tanuvasa remain the roster’s continuity anchors. Second, Bachmeier, Mitchell and Glasker grew from supporting council roles into captain jobs. Third, newcomers did not wait for September to gain influence: Saleapaga and Uluave are captains, with Lyons among the co-captains.
The list does not name a full starting 22. Jojo Phillips is the only receiver on the council, but that does not place him above every other receiver in the rotation. Dunn is the only specialist, but BYU did not label him the starting kicker in this release. Johnson and Alexander both made the council without a public promise about the exact corner and nickel order.
That restraint makes the announcement more useful, not less. BYU has spent August with projections filling every gap left by a missing depth chart. This is finally a team-generated document. It answers a narrower question: whom did the players trust to speak and work for them?
Twenty names is a broad answer. The transfer votes and Bachmeier’s promotion keep it from being a bland one.
BYU opens against Utah Tech on Saturday, Sept. 5, at 6 p.m. Mountain at LaVell Edwards Stadium. ESPN+ will carry the game. The football schedule has the full season, while the football hub keeps the roster and game-week utilities together.
Sources and further reading
- BYU Athletics, Aug. 31: Football announces 2026 Team Leadership Council for the player-voted council, all 20 names, class count, repeat selections, transfer schools, council responsibilities and Utah Tech broadcast details.
- BYU Cougars On SI, Aug. 25: Defense shines in the final practice of fall camp for independent context on the observed Johnson nickel alignment and Dunn-Laga kicking period.
- Official BYU Athletics 2026 football roster data for current roster identities and listed positions.
- BYU Sport Nuts: football hub, roster, schedule, final-camp roster receipt and Walker Lyons role analysis.
