The BYU Cougars kick off the 2025 season in 49 days against Portland State. As we continue counting down the days until kickoff, today we will profile the player who wears No. 49 - freshman defensive end Boyd Sorensen - by providing three interesting, fun facts:
Fun fact No. 1 - He's a "sweet" player from Sugar-Salem
Sure, it's a terrible pun, but can I at least get a point for trying to be creative? Sorensen prepped at Sugar-Salem in Idaho and was a decorated high school athlete. According to his BYU player profile, he helped lead his team to two state titles and he was twice named first-team all-state. Now, despite his high school excellence, he was somehow considered a "zero star" recruit at 247 Sports and appears to have joined the Cougars as a walk-on.
Fun fact No. 2 - He served a mission to Chile
This is a fun fact I had to highlight because I also served a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Chile. Now, Boyd and I had different experiences as he served in the large, modern, bustling metropolis of Santiago while I served in the smaller Atacama desert region in the north. But if his mission experience was anything like mine, years later he will still be hungry for cheese empanadas, crave "completos" (toasted, somewhat gourmet hot dogs), and be able to spin a "trompo" (a top you spin using a small cord).
Fun fact No. 3 - He's coming off a post-mission grayshirt
According to a December 2024 post on X, Boyd expressed his gratitude for having an opportunity to go through a grayshirt opportunity upon returning from his mission.
Thankful for the opportunity to Grey Shirt last semester…Excited to be on the January Roster giving 💯 to @BYUfootball @CoachJayHill 💥👊🏻 pic.twitter.com/ssLuWOOGW9
— Boyd Sorensen (@boyd_sorensen) December 10, 2024
Sorensen will be joining a defensive end room that's full of high-profile recruits competing for reps, snaps, and positions on the depth chart. It's an uphill climb for less-heralded players like Boyd to carve out a regular role in seasons to come. But BYU's coaching staff is going to give opportunities to the guys who earn them, regardless of how many starts they had in their high school recruiting profiles, and players with similar backgrounds to Boyd Sorensen have excelled in Provo in the past.
Perhaps he can, too.