How Many Snaps Have BYU's Backups Played? 2024 Edition

-- Don't click on this. It's boring. I write this only for me. Ye are warned. 

There are a couple different ways to determine how deep a team is. Depth can be bolstered by talented backups, or experienced backups, but all too often fans or media conjure visions of grandiose depth based on hope more than numbers. For today's post I wanted to look at BYU's non-primary contributors -- I'd use the word secondary but then we'd get confused between defensive backs -- and see how many snaps they've played in their careers compared to the primary contributors at their position.

For example, say Chase Roberts has played 1,200 career snaps and his backup JoJo Phillips has played 120. Under this scenario you could say Phillips is 10% as experienced as the player he would replace in the event of injury of fatigue. The higher the percentage, the more experienced BYU's "next man up" is, or put another way, the lower the percentage, the greater the dropoff in experience between the starter and his replacement.

We'll evaluate how the backups percentages look, as well as take a shot at estimating their talent level. Let's get to it. Prior editions found here. 2021, 2022, 2023. 

QUARTERBACK
Starter: Jake Retzlaff, 266 FBS snaps

Backups: Gerry Bohanon (1,164, 438%), McCae Hillstead (295, 111%)

In terms of snaps played, the dropoff from presumed starter Retzlaff to Bohanon and Hillstead is ... actually an upgrade? There are funny numbers here at play of course. Retzlaff  technically has more than 266 snaps but they came at the FCS level. Also, even if he has fewer FBS snaps than Bohanon and Hillstead he is also the  only one with relevant snaps in the BYU offense. Shrug. At least if Retzlaff goes down (in the injured sense or the playing sense) we won't be turning to brand new players. 

Experience Grade (relative to the starter): Great, but partly great by math thanks to the starter having minimal snaps

Talent Grade (relative to the starter): About equivalent? Talent evaluation is mostly guess work right? That said, I think these three dudes are all the same and all average. My temperature doesn't really change if any of these three are behind center. 

RUNNING BACK

Starters: LJ Martin (314 snaps), Hinckley Ropati (100 snaps)

Backups: Miles Davis (185, 89%), Pokaiaua Haunga (0, 0%)

Believe it or not, Miles Davis has seen the field more often than the injured Ropati. He's never showcased elite talent but at least he should know how to line up as well as our starters. I'm kind of intrigued by this Haunga fellow? From 2010 to 2019 every BYU fan under the sun was obsessed with comparing any islander running back to Harvey Unga. Well, this islander running back actually has the word Unga in his last name so he automatically has a leg up on all the Paul Lasike's and Algernon Brown's of the world. Also, like Harvey Unga, he has solid receiving talent. He played more WR than RB in high school and is 4th all-time in the state of Utah record books for receptions in a game (16, vs Lone Peak). 

Experience Grade: Mixed. Good with Davis, bad with Haunga. 

Talent Grade: Concerning. I think there is a meaningful dropoff if Miles Davis is prominently featured. 

WIDE RECEIVERS

Starters: Darius Lassiter (887 snaps), Kody Epps (674), Chase Roberts (834)

Backups: Keelan Marion (1,018, 128%), Parker Kingston (163, 20%), JoJo Phillips (35, 4%), Cody Hagen (0, 0%)

Our first position of strength. Kind of. 

Outside of Keelan Marion the much ballyhooed wide receiver backups are pretty raw. Kingston is the longtooth of the group with 20% as much experience as our starters, but JoJo Phillips and Cody Hagen are basically zeroes. But the talent! Kingston and Hagen might be starters on some past BYU teams. 

Experience Grade: Mixed. Keelan Marion is experienced; the rest, not so much. 

Talent Grade: Really good! If we have to endure injuries somewhere, this is a group that could handle it. I'm all in on Hagen reaching at least the Gunner Romney and Chase Roberts levels. 

TIGHT ENDS/HYBRIDS

Starters: Keanu Hill (1,293 snaps), Mata'ava Ta'ase (830 snaps)

Backups: Ethan Erickson (125, 12%), Ryner Swanson (0, 0%), Mason Fakahua (65, 18%), Jackson Bowers (3, 0%)

I don't know what to make of this group. Keanu Hill didn't get bumped to tight end because the coaches finally realized four years too late that he's a Gronk clone. They bounced him because our WR room is stacked. He has over a thousand snaps, but last year he lined up inline once. BYU doesn't even use him in the slot - 71% of his snaps last year were from a wide alignment. Playing TE will be a huge adjustment for him this year. Meanwhile Ta'ase has caught one pass as a BYU Cougar. Elsewhere the two guys everyone is excited about are zeroes on the experience scale. Weird group. 

Experience Grade: Weak. 
Talent Grade: Hyped but unproven. 


OFFENSIVE LINE
Starters from left to right: Caleb Etienne (1,285 snaps), Weylin Lapuaho (1,270), Connor Pay (2,113), Sonny Makasini (4), Brayden Keim (852)

Backups: Isaiah Jatta (47, 4%), Bruce Mitchell (1, 0%), Jake Eichorn (300, 27%), Austin Leausa (1,088, 98%), Same Dawe (4, 0%)

The last few years we've had some nice depth at this position. In 2023 Simi Moa, lan Fitzgerald, and Brayden Keim were backups with decent snaps played. Same story in 2022 with Harris LaChance and Joe Tukuafu. This year? Yikes. If Austin Leausa ends up being the starter instead of Sonny Makasini (currently they're in the OR situation on the depth chart), that means 4 of our 5 backups will have played less than 5 FBS snaps. 

Experience Grade: Bad. Our backups have not played much. 

Talent Grade: Also bad. I'm not an offensive line guru but Connor Pay and Weylin Lapuaho at the very least get labeled as good to great players. Losing either of them for Jake Eichorn or Bruce Mitchell sounds disastrous. 

DEFENSIVE LINE

Starters: Tyler Batty (1,767 snaps), John Nelson (953), Blake Mangelson (637), Logan Lutui (646)

Backups: Bodie Schoonover (29, 2%), Joshua Singh (117, 15%), Luke Toomalatai (0, 0%), Isaiah Bagnah (1,265, 105%)

It has been shocking for me to come to grips with the fact that Tyler Batty is pretty awesome. I've unfairly thought of him as the shiniest of the turds along the defensive line. I apologize Tyler! Shiny turds do not get all-conference preseason accolades. They do not get rated as the 3rd best edge rusher in the conference by PFF grade (I don't love PFF grades but still, it's something!). Tyler Batty is a legit defensive lineman. The other three starters and four backups are fungible? Maybe I'm underselling John Nelson. 

Experience Grade: Not too bad. Bagnah and Singh have reps; Toomalatai and Schoonover do not. 

Talent Grade: Like I said above, apart from Batty I'm not sure if shuffling the names on this depth chart would change anything. 

LINEBACKER

Starters: Isaiah Glasker (30 snaps), Harrison Taggart (228), Jack Kelly (1,055)

Backups: Choe Bryant-Strother (518, 118%), Sione Moa (155, 35%), Ace Kaufusi (73, 17%)

Imagine if Jack Kelly fails to live up to his hype. That would wreck an already precarious linebacker group. The good news is that the backups have experience at least! And also I think Kelly will be as good as advertised. 

Experience Grade: Good. Strother and Moa each have over 150 snaps played. 

Talent Grade: Fine. I'd guess the backups here are about as good as our starters (except Kelly). 

CORNERS

Starters: Jakob Robinson (1,902 snaps), Marque Collins (1,603), Micah Harper (938)

Backups: Evan Johnson (24, 1%), Mory Bamba (117, 7%), Jonathan Kabeya (0, 0%)

Whoa nelly. Pray for health. 

Experience Grade: Bad. These backups have not seen the field. 

Talent Grade: Bad. Anytime Robinson or Collins are off the field we will be in getting picked on mode. 

SAFETY

Starters: Micah Harper (938 snaps), Tanner Wall (205 snaps)

Backups: Talan Alfrey (658, 115%), Tommy Prassas (0, 0%), Raider Damuni (112, 20%)

We finish with a strong position group. I don't even have Crew Wakley listed up above and he has 447 snaps to his name.

Experience Grade: Best on the team. Seasoned backups abound. 

Talent Grade: Concerning. I've seen Talan Alfrey play and I'm not encouraged when he's out there. Raider has not yet lived up to his BIFF title. 

SUMMARY

In a perfect world not a single injury befalls BYU. Or rather, in a perfect perfect world no injury befalls them in the same year the team is actually good. But if injuries must happen, the areas I'm ok with it happening would have to be QB, WR, and Safety. The areas I don't want to see them are CB and OL.