Freshman Bear Bachmeier exceeded every expectation in week one

I solemnly swear to avoid making "Bear" puns as much as possible. ...At least for this article.

Bear Bachmeier, the first-ever true freshman week one starter at quarterback in the history of the BYU football program, entered the year with a lot of wind to his back. Maybe it was the feeling of a change in the air. Maybe it was his high school tape. It could have been his offer sheet. Heck, we all might have been excited to see him take the field because his name is Bear and he wears the number 47 in the backfield.

Regardless of reason, Bachmeier had accepted a significant responsibility as the successor to Jake Retzlaff's 11-2 campaign in 2024, and expectation remained high to keep this team's momentum trending in a positive direction.

But freshmen are freshmen. Young players make mistakes. Inexperience can be deadly. All this is true, and we may see some or all of these concerns poke their heads out of the turf by the year's end. But by all indications, Bear is the real deal.

He looked every bit the part of a Big 12 title-contending quarterback, and I don't care that the opponent was Portland State.

His passes were on time and accurate. Patient in the pocket, stepping into his throws during an age of football where young players prefer to roll out rather than step up with their eyes locked in downfield. Sure, he only threw 11 passes thanks to the unstoppable force that is LJ Martin's and Sione Moa's legs (and only playing in the first half), but in what little we saw, there wasn't much to be anxious over.

Just take a listen to Portland State's head coach analyze Bachmeier's presence (slight language warning).

So what did we see on the field? What exactly did he show that has seemingly confirmed everything BYU fans suspected they'd see out of the talented freshman?

Well, first he did it through the air.

For a mobile quarterback, passing usually comes as something of a secondary skill. Keep the defense on its heels with the constant threat of an attack, and send a message through the air for a pressure release. But this pass was timely. It was accurate. It hit the target with some zip behind it.

Bear waited for the window, and hit it as it opened.

Understanding the offense is crucial for a starting quarterback. Here, Bear understood the proper order, timing, and delivery for Chase Roberts to waltz into the endzone untouched. It looked like a simple toss, but there's no such thing as a guaranteed score. Bachmeier threw an accurate ball here.

And, of course, he can cash in on the ground as well. Obviously. He's gathered a reputation for being a powerful runner more than a speedster, and that was apparent on many of his rushes during the game. Here, though, Bear showed a little shiftiness in his step. A little flutter in his feet. A touch of garnish in his gait.

Planting that right foot hard into the grass, he burned the defender meeting him at the line of scrimmage, and he was cleared for takeoff. Which he would do, of course.

On this final touchdown pass, though, I was a bit more concerned. Some accuracy questions still persist, and on his toss to tight end Carsen Ryan, a more talented defensive back might have come away with possession.

Whether it was good awareness that the defender had his head turned, saw the size advantage of his big receiver downfield, or simply saw a touchdown chance is impossible to know, but this ball was underthrown for a player heading to the goal line with no one behind him.

I think a Big 12 corner might have picked that pass off or at the very least deflected it. I don't want to nitpick, but finding the proper touch on passes like these will be the difference between success and failure during the Big 12 in-conference schedule.

Regardless, the good far outweighed the bad in Bear's first taste of action, and optimism is -- rightfully -- high about BYU's new QB1.

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