Jay has covered sports in Utah for more than 30 years and has been writing for the Deseret News since 2019.
It appears that BYU football coaches are getting closer and closer to starting a true freshman quarterback in a season opener for the first time in school history.
After Tuesday's practice at the Zions Bank Practice Fields behind the Student Athlete Building on campus, BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick basically acknowledged that what began two weeks ago as a three-man battle for the QB1 role has been trimmed to two.
The odd man out appears to be redshirt junior Treyson Bourguet, the transfer from Western Michigan.
The leader as the race hits the home stretch might have been considered a dark horse when the derby began -- freshman Bear Bachmeier.
Roderick said Bachmeier "took the majority" of the first-team reps on Tuesday, while Utah State transfer McCae Hillstead "got some as well."
Then he said the staff "can't keep going equal reps with three guys any more," which would seem to mean that Bourguet is probably going to begin the season as QB3.
"So each day (moving forward), you're going to see right now, McCae and Bear getting the majority of the reps with the ones and the twos, and that's where we're at right now," Roderick said.
"So each day (moving forward), you're going to see right now, McCae and Bear getting the majority of the reps with the ones and the twos, and that's where we're at right now."
-- BYU OC Aaron Roderick
Roderick repeated what he told reporters after the scrimmage Saturday -- that there is no deadline to make a decision, but the sooner the better for all involved. He also said they won't keep it a secret, like they did last year when Jake Retzlaff was not publicly given the nod over Gerry Bohanon until the Cougars lined up in the opener against Southern Illinois.
"Once it is clear, we will make the move. As soon as it is clear to us who it is, we'll make that statement," Roderick said.
The next day in which the media will be allowed to view the last 20-30 minutes of practice and conduct interviews with players and coaches is Friday. The Cougars will take Wednesday off from football practices for a team camping trip.
In Tuesday's media viewing portion of the fully-padded practice, Bachmeier accounted for the highlight of the half-hour, throwing a perfect strike to hit new tight end Carsen Ryan in stride, and over the outstretched arm of a defender. It was one of those pinpoint passes with a perfect touch that Zach Wilson and Jaren Hall used to throw and went for big yardage.
"He's making those throws," Roderick said. "He throws a lot of completions. That's one thing, he doesn't take sacks and he's very accurate. (Bachmeier) is throwing a lot of completions out here."
Multiple sources have told the Deseret News that the dilemma coaches face is this: Hillstead is the "safe" choice and knows the offense much better, allowing Roderick to open the playbook almost as much as he did last year with Retzlaff; Bachmeier is more of a high-risk, high-reward type of proposition right now, but that high reward might not come until next year when and if he has a full season under his belt.
Head coach Kalani Sitake also spoke to reporters Tuesday and said a thorough review of the film from Saturday's 100-plus play scrimmage showed that there were some positives from the offense, despite the acknowledgement last Saturday that the defense clearly won the day.
As for the starting quarterback situation, Sitake reiterated that Roderick will primarily make the decision, then get it approved by the head coach.
"Yeah, I think A Rod knows where he is going with everything, and the key is we settle it on the field. I don't control it. It is the players. If you want to win the spot, it is there for the taking. Our job is to put them in the position where they can win the spot, and that is in every position, including quarterback," Sitake said.
"And so I think we still have some more time to see who is going to be the best fit for running our offense for Game 1, and then we will go from there. But as soon as we figure it out we will let you guys know, and probably the sooner the better."
Bachmeier mishandled a snap and was forced to scramble during one play on Tuesday, but showed some nice poise in making something out of nothing.
"The film (from Saturday) was good," Sitake said. "We told the guys, 'It is never as good as you think, and never as bad as you think, too.' There were some really good things there, and the good part is I like the physical part of the game, and how our guys were able to tackle and block. Just the fundamental part of football. But we can build on that. Yesterday and today were really good practices for us."
Especially for the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Bachmeier, who wears No. 47 on the field, but just might be No. 1 on the quarterback depth chart at the end of the week.