The BYU Cougars will kick off the 2026 season in 48 days against Utah Tech. As we count down the days until kickoff, today we will profile the player who wears No. 48 - redshirt senior defensive end Bodie Schoonover.
Bodie Schoonover's background
It was a big deal for the BYU Cougars to sign Bodie Schoonover back in the class of 2020. As a high three-star prospect with an 88 rating from 247 sports, he was the highest rated recruit the Cougars signed that year. He prepped at American Fork High School so he was a local prospect back then and the No. 5 prospect in the state of Utah.
Schoonover committed fairly early to the Cougars, likely limiting the offers he received, but even then he still held a competing offer from UCLA. Back then, BYU hadn't received the "Big 12 bump" when it came to recruiting, and landing a near four-star athlete who was being recruited heavily by UCLA was a coup. BYU was happy to land the local product
Before beginning his college football career he served a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to South Africa, returning home in 2022.
Schoonover's past and present at BYU
In 2022 he did what most returned missionaries do and redshirted while playing limited action, appearing in one game as a linebacker and not recording any stats.
His 2023 campaign was noteworthy as he moved from linebacker to defensive end. That year he played in eight games with two tackles.
In Bodie's 2024 redshirt sophomore season he solidified his place on the two-deep lineup and played a key reserve role. He appeared in 13 games with four tackles
Last year was Schoonover's breakout campaign. He started 10 of 14 games in BYU's outstanding 12-2 season in which they appeared in the Big 12 championship game and won the Pop Tarts Bowl. Schoonover made his mark as a redshirt junior, racking up 38 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, and three sacks.
As we now look toward 2026, he's going to likely be a starter and one of the more impactful players on the defense. Outside of Jack Kelly's 10-sack season last year, most other BYU defenders have struggled to generate pressure off the edge in recent seasons. The Cougars are going to need Bodie Schoonover to be great this year. "Good" won't be good enough. They are going to need him to flirt with doublbe-digit sacks this year if the team is going to deliver on its goal of winning the conference and playing in the College Football Playoffs.
Bodie Schoonover has been preparing for this moment for the last four years. Don't be surprised when he takes his play to a new level this season.
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