For the better part of the past year, BYU receiver Jojo Phillips has had to listen to doubters far and wide chirp about what is perceived to be the Cougars’ biggest weakness entering the 2026 football season.
Saturday night at LaVell Edwards Stadium, the redshirt junior from Lancaster, California, and his teammates in BYU’s receivers room will finally get their chance to prove those doubters wrong, and they plan on doing just that.
“We try not to listen to all the doubters, but yes, obviously we heard a lot of it. Personally, I’ve heard it for (months). As a group, we’ve let that fuel us for the season. We’ve been thinking about it all offseason.”
— BYU receiver Jojo Phillips
Although the season-opener against Utah Tech (0-1) of the Football Championship Subdivision and Big Sky Conference probably won’t reveal much about the overall strengths and weaknesses of this year’s BYU team, it will provide a few clues about how the Cougars will replace departed pass-catchers Chase Roberts, Parker Kingston, Carsen Ryan and Cody Hagen.
Kickoff is at 6 p.m. MDT as the Trailblazers look to put together a better showing than in last week’s 54-0 home loss to Montana State and the Cougars look to get in a tuneup before next week’s huge showdown with Big 12 rival Arizona. The Wildcats host Northern Arizona Saturday night in Tucson.
Meanwhile, BYU receivers such as Phillips, Oregon transfer Kyler Kasper, freshman Legend Glasker, senior Tiger Bachmeier and sophomore Reggie Frischknecht will be out to show that fears that surfaced when Kingston was expelled from school and Hagen took a medical retirement are largely unfounded.
“We try not to listen to all the doubters, but yes, obviously we heard a lot of it,” Phillips said Tuesday. “Personally, I’ve heard it for (months). As a group, we’ve let that fuel us for the season. We’ve been thinking about it all offseason.”
Perhaps no BYU receiver is under the spotlight more than Phillips, who missed six games last year due to a fractured collarbone and never got the chance to really shine. He caught 14 passes for 161 yards, but is the second-leading returning pass-catcher for BYU behind running back LJ Martin (36 catches, 255 yards).
“It’s been a long summer practicing against each other and everything,” Phillips said. “But yeah, I am just ready to go out there and just show everybody what I can do, what our receiving room can do, and show fans what they are about to see for the next 12 weeks.”
Phillips clearly has developed a sense of urgency in 2026.
He said his “lifelong dream” has been to play in the NFL, but he hasn’t decided yet whether his fourth season in Provo will be his last. He has one more year of eligibility remaining beyond this season, if he wants it.
“After the season I will think about it and evaluate everything and see where I am at,” he said. “My goal is to go crazy so I can have a choice to do either one. … My thought process has been that it has to happen this year. I have to show out this year or I am not going to get to that goal. I have to do it this year.”
Head coach Kalani Sitake is also not concerned about the depth at receiver. Asked which position group has improved the most in preseason training camp, Sitake singled out the receivers and the specialists — the kickers and punters.
“A lot of the attention was on the receivers because we lost a lot of veterans there,” Sitake said. “But I think a lot of people realize that there’s some talent there. Everybody has improved quite a bit (such as) the new receivers that probably weren’t household names.”
In Monday’s weekly press briefing, quarterback Bear Bachmeier said the receivers “are going to be dangerous” and out to show they belong.
If Saturday’s game turns into a blowout, as expected, third- and fourth-stringers such as sophomore Tei Nacua, redshirt freshman Trey Roberts, and freshmen Jett Nelson and Terrance Saryon are in line to play.
At last check, BYU was a 51-point favorite.
“These guys are aware of the opportunities,” said receivers coach and passing game coordinator Fesi Sitake. “Early on in my time here, there were more close calls than not against FCS schools. And then recently we’ve been able to pull away and get guys in.
“But the message is that it is one play at a time, regardless of who we are playing,” he continued. “And then if that opportunity presents itself and guys are ready, they will get their opportunity to play.”
