The BYU Cougars will kick off the 2026 season in 75 days against Utah Tech. As we count down the days until kickoff, today we will profile the player who wears No. 75 - redshirt senior tackle Andrew Gentry.
Andrew Gentry's background
At 6-foot-8 and 315 pounds, Andrew Gentry is a big human being. When he came out of high school in the class of 2020, he was also one of the biggest recruits in the nation.
He played his high school football in Colorado and was the No. 2 prospect in the state and a Top 150 national recruit. Needless to say, he had plenty of options coming out of high school. While BYU was the first school to offer him in 2017, he was later flooded with offers from the biggest names in college football - Georgia, Oregon, Ohio State, Alabama, and Notre Dame, just to name a few.
Gentry took an official visit to BYU in 2019 but didn't commit to Kalani Sitake's program.
He initially committed to Virginia with then-coach Bronco Mendenhall and decided to serve a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Interestingly, he was called to the Utah Orem Spanish speaking mission, right in BYU's backyard. While serving as a missionary, Mendenhall decided to leave Virginia and that opened up Gentry's recruiting, while still wearing a suit and tie every day.
You can read what happened next in this great article by Dick Harmon at the Deseret News, but it involved Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh hustling to Orem, meeting with Elder Gentry, and signing him to the Wolverines.
BREAKING -- #Michigan has landed a major commitment from Littleton (Colo.) Columbine offensive tackle Andrew Gentry, a former four-star prospect who signed with Virginia as part of the 2020 class. He returns from his church mission this coming spring: https://t.co/cLlBXeoTov pic.twitter.com/XN3ndJN9QL
— Blair Angulo (@BlairAngulo) December 8, 2021
After redshirting in 2022 and appearing in three games for Michigan, Gentry then played in all 15 games in the Wolverines 2023 national championship season. In 2024 he appeared in eight games in an injury-plagued season, then transferred to BYU last year.
Andrew Gentry's past and present with BYU
Gentry's decision to transfer to BYU last year was one of the keys to BYU's outstanding 12-2 campaign. He started all 14 games at right tackle last season and was a stellar performer. He kept true freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier upright and protected while opening holes for running back LJ Martin, last year's Big 12 offensive player of the year.
Andrew Gentry was selected as a Big 12 Honorable Mention Offensive Newcomer of the Year for his play in 2025.
He has also emerged as a leader on this BYU football team. He was named a team co-captain last year. Given his age, experience, and national champion resume, there are few more polished and prepared linemen in the Big 12. He could have an absolutely dominant season this year and compete for All-Big 12 honors.
Beyond that, Gentry will us 2026 as his final audition for NFL scouts. He has the size and talent to play at the next level, and BYU is known for producing NFL-quality offenisve linemen. He could very well be the next in line of BYU offensive linemen who dominate in Provo, then take their talents to the NFL.
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