Spring beginnings paying early dividends for BYU freshman Legend Glasker

PROVO — The early returns on BYU football's first five days of training camp are in, and the secret is leaking out.

The Cougars aren't hiding it, either: Legend Glasker is ready to play.

At the risk of preseason hyperbole, the freshman wide receiver out of Lehi High School has been a consistent standout through the first week of BYU's preseason, showing off a unique speed, athleticism and synchronicity with quarterback Bear Bachmeier that isn't common for first-year players in Division I football.

The coaching staff isn't close to finalizing a depth chart for the 2026 season. But wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator Fesi Sitake admitted the freshman will be around after starring in the first five practices of training camp.

"He's going to see the field plenty this year," Sitake said Monday after practice. "Obviously, it's too early to make him a bona vide starter. But he's clearly got all the starting material. He's so talented.

"I haven't seen a freshman come in and just pick up the playbook and make the amount of explosive plays that he's made ... He's very dynamic as a receiver, and I can't wait to see what he does when the bullets are live."

After returning Bachmeier at quarterback and reigning Big 12 offensive player of the year LJ Martin at tailback, BYU is in the unenviable position of replacing its top-three pass catchers from a year ago — and four of the top six.

Beyond Martin, who caught 36 passes for 255 yards in 13 games, the Cougars' top returning receiver is Jojo Phillips, who hauled in 14 catches for 161 yards as a redshirt sophomore.

Oregon transfer Kyler Kasper, who appeared in 23 games since 2022 for the Ducks but caught just six passes for 77 yards while struggling with injuries, is another experienced target.

But that leaves plenty of openings for players like Glasker, the 6-foot-2, 175-pound former two-time all-state selection who totaled 1,457 yards and 20 receiving touchdowns in his final two seasons at Lehi.

"I like those guys; they're playing good football out here. They're a good group," offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick said. "People haven't seen them do it on game day yet, but I'm really confident in those guys and I like what they're doing so far."

The Cougars also have tight ends in abundance, led by USC transfer Walker Lyons and Oregon's Roger Saleapaga II to go with returning senior Keayen Nead and former American Fork standouts Noah Moeaki and Will Zundel.

Saleapaga, the Orem High alum and younger brother of former BYU offensive lineman Keanu Saleapaga (2017-20), played in 26 games the past two seasons for the Ducks, including catching a touchdown pass in the College Football Playoff last year against Indiana.

Lyons, the older brother of four-star quarterback commit Ryder Lyons, played in 23 games the past two seasons at USC after serving a full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Norway. That included starting three of 11 games as a true freshman in 2024 for the former four-star recruit and No. 2-rated tight end prospect in the country by ESPN.

"This is the best tight end group we've had since I've been here, as a group," Roderick said. "Roger and Walker are two of our best players, and they will play in the game together a lot. Those guys are a big part of what we're doing."

But Glasker's position as a true freshman in Roderick's offense is a unique. And a name like Legend sets a bar for his achievement.

"He's not just a talented kid," Sitake said of Glasker, who picked BYU over Kansas State, Utah, Cal, Colorado State and Utah State. "He's going to be the last one off the practice field a lot of the time. During the summer, he was constantly working. he's a great kid, he's humble; when you do all those things right, that's the outlier situations where you see a kid come in and play right away. I'm fired up for him."

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