3 BYU wide receivers ready to step up and break out with Cody Hagen's retirement

Without warning, BYU football lost one of its core wide receivers with the announcement that Cody Hagen, a junior wide-out and former high school track champion in Utah, would be retiring from the game of football after struggling to rehabilitate and recover from a number of football-related injuries.

It's always gut-wrenching to see an athlete leave the game they love prematurely, and now BYU football finds itself down two route-runners with Cody Hagen and Parker Kingston both away from the program, though obviously for entirely unrelated reasons.

In the world of college football, the "next man up" mentality is what separates the good programs from the great ones. For Kalani Sitake and his team in Provo, Utah, the wide receiver room is more than equipped to handle Hagen's absence, though his top-end speed will be sorely missed in end-around jet sweep plays and as a potential downfield threat for sophomore quarterback Bear Bachmeier.

BYU football has Big 12 Championship aspirations in 2026, just one year after falling to Texas Tech in the title bout and consequently hitting their face on the door of the College Football Playoff.

So if it's "next man up" at BYU, who's ready to step in?

Who will be BYU football's Cody Hagen replacement?

Kyler Kasper, Senior (from Oregon)

It's taken a while for Kyler Kasper to get his career off the runway in college football, buried in the depth chart of an ever-potent receiver corps in Eugene.

This season with the Cougars, Kasper is ready to explode onto the scene and could serve as Bachmeier's primary target downfield. Standing with a 6'6" frame and surprising quickness, Kasper shocked onlookers during Spring practice, as Reggie Frischknecht recounted.

"We got a transfer, Kyler Kasper, from Oregon. Amazing player. He's still figuring out the playbook a little bit, but he's getting there, and I saw a ton of improvement during spring. And he's a big guy. When I first got here I was like 'Okay, this guy's big [for] jump balls like I was saying', but he moves [really well]!"

Tei Nacua, RS Sophomore

Tei Nacua is an obvious candidate to step up and shine in a bigger role. His last name should serve familiar if you know anything about the game of football, as his older brothers Kai, Samson, and Puka were stars in Provo before the latter became perhaps the best receiver in the entire NFL in his first two seasons.

Though he hasn't played much in his first years at BYU, he was a three-star prospect out of Timpview High School, and was named to the All-5A First Team as a senior. Nacua is every bit as talented as his namesake should lead you to believe, and could be huge as a replacement for Hagen.

Legend Glasker, Freshman

Yes, he's young, but Legend Glasker dropped jaws during Spring practice. A surprisingly popular pick for offensive MVP, Legend is a natural talent at his position. It will be very challenging for Aaron Roderick to keep him off the field in 2026, despite this being his first year of college football.

It typically takes freshmen a year or two to find their way through the increased physicality and speed of the college football game, but if anyone can overcome inexperience, it's Glasker, brother of the Coguars' potential All-American at linebacker, Isaiah.

Thrown into the fire in Hagen's absence, Glasker is a name to watch at receiver.

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