BYU does not have one special teams vacancy. It has a chain of them.
Will Ferrin is gone at kicker. Sam Vander Haar is gone at punter and holder. Garrison Grimes is gone at long snapper. Parker Kingston is no longer on the roster after handling much of the return work. Justin Ena, BYU’s new special teams coordinator, has to replace the operation around the kick as well as the foot that finishes it.
The first public answers arrived this week. Deseret News reported that redshirt senior Matthias Dunn is the presumed placekicker, freshman Brody Laga could handle kickoffs, redshirt junior Fuller Shurtz is currently set at punter and sophomore Cannon DeVries leads the punt-return competition.
That sounds tidy. It is also almost entirely untested on a college Saturday.
The encouraging part is that BYU has a named option in each major job two weeks before the Utah Tech opener. The concern is that a depth chart cannot prove the timing between snapper, holder and kicker or show how a new returner will make decisions with 11 opponents closing the space.
Special teams is BYU’s quiet opening-day test because all four handoffs have to work at once.
The kicker competition may produce two jobs
Dunn has waited longer than anyone else in the specialist group. BYU’s official roster lists him as a 6-foot, 200-pound redshirt senior from Heber City. Deseret News reported that he made a 54-yard field goal during BYU’s first camp scrimmage.
That is the cleanest current evidence in the competition. It is not the same as a game-winning attempt with a live rush and a stadium waiting on the result.
Laga gives Ena another option rather than a duplicate. The official roster lists the left-footed freshman from Herriman at 5-foot-11 and 170 pounds. According to Deseret News, his camp kickoffs have carried into the end zone with hang times between 4.3 and 4.4 seconds. Ena also said BYU could use Dunn on field goals and Laga on kickoffs.
Splitting the work makes sense if each player owns a clear strength. A kickoff specialist can chase distance and hang time without asking the placekicker to add another high-volume job. Dunn can spend more of his week on field-goal timing and accuracy.
It also creates another weekly decision. If Laga handles kickoffs, BYU must use an active roster place for a freshman specialist. If Dunn handles both, the Cougars reduce the game-day specialist count but increase his workload. The first two weeks should tell Ena whether the extra leg creates enough field-position value to justify the split.
The right comparison is not whether Dunn immediately becomes Ferrin. BYU needs a stable operation from manageable range and kickoffs that do not hand opponents easy returns. Reliability comes before replacement mythology.
Punter is settled on paper, not by sample size
Shurtz has the clearest public position in the group. Ena told Deseret News that he is “locked in” at punter for now.
His college sample is one punt. Shurtz appeared against TCU last season and hit it 41 yards. That is useful because it is an actual game rep, but one swing cannot establish consistency, placement or performance when BYU punts near midfield.
Freshman Cole Shulman is the reported backup. His presence matters even if Shurtz keeps the job. A punter competition needs enough live pressure to reveal the difference between a long ball in an individual period and a controlled kick with protection, coverage and field position attached.
BYU has enjoyed years of continuity at the position through Ryan Rehkow and Vander Haar. The new standard should be less glamorous: avoid the short punt that gives away a possession, keep returnable balls away from the middle of the field and give the coverage unit enough hang time to arrive under control.
That last part joins the punter to the rest of the roster. A 48-yard punt with a 20-yard return is worse than a 42-yard punt caught near the sideline. Gross distance will be the easy number to see. Net field position will show whether Shurtz and the coverage team are working together.
DeVries has the return lead, but not exclusive ownership
Ena identified DeVries as the current leader to return punts. Tiger Bachmeier and freshman receiver Legend Glasker remain possibilities, while those three and freshman running back Devaughn Eka are among the kickoff-return options reported by Deseret News.
That is a real competition with a clear favorite, not a finished order.
DeVries has returned punts in college, which gives him an experience edge over the freshmen. His first job is still the boring one: decide early, secure the ball and keep a routine punt from becoming a turnover. Explosiveness matters after possession is safe.
Glasker and Eka are more interesting because they can earn offensive touches without waiting for a full route or backfield package. Our first-scrimmage receiver analysis showed why Glasker is already pushing into the wideout discussion. A return role would give BYU another way to use his open-field ability. Eka scored during the same scrimmage and could provide a more direct kickoff style.
Neither freshman should get the job because August imagination is fun. Returners must track the ball, understand when not to bring a kickoff out and protect possession through contact. Those choices are harder to celebrate than a long return and much easier to trust.
Four jobs create one operation
The specialist map looks more complete when the jobs are placed beside each other.
| Job | Current public answer | What remains unproven |
|---|---|---|
| Placekicker | Matthias Dunn leads; made a reported 54-yarder in camp | College-game accuracy and full operation under pressure |
| Kickoff specialist | Brody Laga is a split-duty option | Whether BYU uses a separate kickoff roster spot each week |
| Punter | Fuller Shurtz is currently set; one 41-yard college punt | Repeatable hang time, placement and net field position |
| Punt returner | Cannon DeVries leads a group that includes Tiger Bachmeier and Legend Glasker | Decision-making and ball security across a full game |
The table leaves out the least visible part. BYU also needs a new snapper and holder after Grimes and Vander Haar. Those jobs decide whether Dunn ever gets a clean chance to show his leg.
A field goal is a timed sequence. The snap has to reach a consistent spot, the holder has to place and rotate the ball, and the kicker has to trust that work enough to keep his approach unchanged. A strong leg cannot rescue a bad operation every week.
That is why the final camp scrimmage matters more for special teams than another isolated kicking clip. BYU needs to run the whole unit with a live rush, change field position before punts and force returners to make decisions under traffic. The staff does not need to publish every result. It needs enough internal evidence to know which combinations stay calm when the rep gets messy.
Utah Tech should be an evaluation, not an emergency
BYU opens Sept. 5 against Utah Tech at LaVell Edwards Stadium. The 2026 schedule gets much harder after that, so the opener is the best place to establish procedure before one special teams mistake can swing a Big 12 possession.
The first checklist is simple. Does Dunn own the placekicking job? Does Laga’s kickoff leg earn separate use? Can Shurtz turn a one-punt résumé into predictable field position? Does DeVries handle every routine catch before BYU asks for a return spark?
Fans will notice the first long field goal or return. The staff should care just as much about clean snaps, punts away from danger and kickoffs that end without drama.
BYU has names for its four biggest openings. Now Ena has to make them look like one unit.
Sources and further reading
- Deseret News, Aug. 21: Justin Ena details BYU’s current kicker, punter and return candidates
- KSL Sports, Aug. 17: current video overview of BYU’s 2026 special teams unit
- Official BYU Athletics 2026 football roster data
- BYU Athletics, Aug. 21: camp timeline and confirmation of the final scrimmage
- BYU Sport Nuts: football hub, football roster, Utah Tech watch guide and fall-camp pressure map
