BYU’s first depth chart of 2026 settled one long-running camp question and reopened another. The five-man offensive line that kept appearing in August is now official for Utah Tech week. The secondary, meanwhile, did not land where the final open practice pointed.
The Cougars’ game notes list Cannon DeVries at nickel, Evan Johnson at one outside corner and Therrian Alexander III at the other. Jayven Williams is Alexander’s backup. Six days earlier, an independent practice report had Johnson working at nickel while Williams and Alexander played outside.
That is the best new information in the document. BYU did more than move names between columns. The official chart keeps Johnson outside and gives DeVries, a sophomore who has also played running back and returns punts, the first listing at one of the defense’s most demanding communication spots.
The chart is still a game-week document, not a snap guarantee. Several positions use an “or,” and BYU can change personnel with the formation. It does, however, replace the last round of camp projections with the staff’s first public order before Saturday’s 6 p.m. Mountain opener on ESPN+.
The offensive line made it through camp intact
Paki Finau, Sonny Makasini, Bruce Mitchell, Kyle Sfarcioc and Andrew Gentry are the listed five from left tackle to right tackle. That matches the combination reported as the most consistent first group during BYU’s final open practice.
| Position | First listing | Next listing |
|---|---|---|
| Left tackle | Paki Finau | Siosiua Lati-Finau |
| Left guard | Sonny Makasini | Trevin Ostler |
| Center | Bruce Mitchell | Trevor Pay |
| Right guard | Kyle Sfarcioc | Joe Brown or Zak Yamauchi |
| Right tackle | Andrew Gentry | Bott Mulitalo |
The confirmation is valuable because continuity was the whole point of the late-camp clue. Bear Bachmeier does not need a ceremonial starting-five announcement. He needs the same center setting protections and the same tackles hearing calls beside them when the offense moves from camp installation to Utah Tech preparation.
The second line also records where BYU placed its developmental options. Freshman Bott Mulitalo is behind Gentry after receiving some first-team work at right tackle last week. Trevor Pay sits behind Mitchell at center. The right-guard backup remains the least settled spot on paper, with Brown and Yamauchi joined by an “or.”
Our final-camp roster receipt treated the reported five as the closest public evidence available at the time. Monday’s notes turn that evidence into an official Week 1 listing without pretending the line is fixed for 12 games.
Legend Glasker got two jobs, not one
True freshman Legend Glasker is the first listing at one receiver position, ahead of Tiger Bachmeier and Terrance Saryon. He is also the first kick-return option, joined by an “or” with Johnson before DeVries appears third.
The Daily Herald independently identified Glasker’s receiver listing as one of the notable new faces on the chart. That starting label fits the camp evidence: Glasker kept appearing with the first group and repeatedly drew praise for his ability to stretch the field. It still does not tell us how many targets he will get against Utah Tech.
The return listing adds a different question. Receiver snaps ask Glasker to execute within the offense. Kick returns put the ball in his hands in open grass and expose him to full-speed special-teams contact. BYU may use both roles, choose one, or rotate based on the game. The chart says he is trusted enough to prepare for each.
Kyler Kasper and Jojo Phillips hold the other two first receiver listings. Reggie Frischknecht follows Kasper, while Tei Nacua and Jaron Pula follow Phillips. That order gives BYU three large first options: Kasper is listed at 6-foot-6, Phillips at 6-foot-5 and Glasker at 6-foot-1. Size is easy to print. Saturday will show whether the group separates, blocks and finishes routes well enough to keep the order.
Nickel is the actual surprise
Johnson’s place at outside corner is not a demotion. He is a returning senior and one of eight captains on BYU’s new 20-player leadership council. The surprise is that DeVries, not Johnson, occupies the nickel column after the alignment reporters saw last Tuesday.
| Secondary spot | First listing | Next listing |
|---|---|---|
| Strong safety | Raider Damuni | Tommy Prassas |
| Free safety | Faletau Satuala | Kennan Pula |
| Nickel | Cannon DeVries | Tommy Prassas |
| Cornerback | Evan Johnson | Kevin Doe |
| Cornerback | Therrian Alexander III | Jayven Williams |
DeVries’ listing lets BYU preserve Johnson’s experience outside while putting a versatile athlete in the slot. It also pushes Williams, a Mississippi State transfer with 13 games of 2025 experience in BYU’s official roster record, to the second line behind Alexander.
That is a sharper competition result than the practice alignment suggested. It should not be stretched into a claim that Williams lost a permanent role or that DeVries will play every nickel snap. Prassas is listed behind DeVries and also behind Damuni at strong safety. BYU has overlap built into the document before accounting for heavy fronts, dime packages or opponent-specific substitutions.
The Saturday test is communication. Nickel defenders deal with motion, crossing routes and run fits from traffic. Utah Tech opened with a 54-0 loss at Montana State, but the matchup still gives DeVries a live chance to make checks and tackle in space before the schedule gets much less forgiving.
The tight ends share the top line
Walker Lyons and Roger Saleapaga II are co-starters at tight end. That is the clearest public endorsement yet of BYU’s two-transfer answer at the position.
The “or” between them does not mean the offense must choose one. BYU can open with both tight ends, use one based on formation or rotate them through the same assignment. The chart confirms that neither transfer arrived merely as depth. It does not provide a target split.
Keayen Nead and Noah Moeaki follow them. The four-name group gives BYU enough size to change formations without substituting an extra lineman, but the personnel possibilities only become useful if Lyons and Saleapaga can handle the blocking work that keeps play action believable. Our earlier Walker Lyons role analysis remains the fuller guide to that pairing.
Dunn leads the kicker line
Matthias Dunn is listed first at placekicker, ahead of freshman Brody Laga. That follows last week’s open period, when independent reporting recorded Dunn making three attempts from at least 45 yards and Laga making both of his kicks.
Dunn’s first listing and co-captain vote now point in the same direction. This is the strongest public evidence that he will take the opening field goal and extra point, but the document does not promise every kick. A poor start or a different kickoff plan could still create work for Laga.
Fuller Shurtz is first at punter, with Cole Shulman behind him. Ty Smith leads the long-snapper group, followed by Rayden Heintz or Berkley Alfrey. The chart finally supplies names for the operation that our special-teams reset could not completely fill earlier in camp.
What Saturday can verify
The depth chart did its job. It confirmed the same offensive line that finished camp together, put Glasker’s rise on paper, kept both transfer tight ends on the first line and identified Dunn as the first kicker.
The secondary is where the paper created a new question. DeVries at nickel, Johnson outside and Williams on the second line is a different shape from the one reporters saw in the final open practice. That does not make either document wrong. Practice tested one answer; game week begins with another.
Watch the first third down, not only the first snap. BYU could open in a base front that keeps the nickel off the field. The first obvious passing situation should show whether DeVries owns the job, whether Johnson slides inside or whether the defense treats the chart as a starting point rather than a boundary.
BYU hosts Utah Tech on Saturday, Sept. 5, at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. Mountain on ESPN+. The football hub has the current game card, and the 2026 schedule keeps every date, network and result in one place.
Sources and further reading
- BYU Athletics, Aug. 31: Utah Tech game-week hub for the official kickoff, broadcast and game-notes link.
- BYU football game notes for Utah Tech, page 8, for the complete official depth chart.
- Daily Herald, Aug. 31: BYU begins Utah Tech game week for independent confirmation of Glasker, Uluave, Kasper and the Lyons-Saleapaga listings, plus Kalani Sitake’s game-week context.
- BYU Cougars On SI, Aug. 25: final open-practice observations for the prior offensive-line, nickel and kicking evidence used in the comparison.
- Official BYU Athletics 2026 football roster data for current identities, positions and listed measurements.
