BYU has never started a season with a freshman quarterback leading the offense.
That may change this year as BYU should go all-in on Bear Bachmeier, in my view, as he begins his first season of college football.
After the surprising transfer of starting quarterback Jake Retzlaff, BYU entered this summer with a three-man competition at the game's most important position. Both McCae Hillstead and Treyson Bourget brought previous D1 experience with them and a year in Aaron Roderick's system.
Highly-touted freshman Bear Bachmeier committed to BYU just over three months ago in May 2025. He originally committing to Stanford coming out of high school and spent the summer practicing with the team, only to hit the transfer portal after the Cardinal parted ways with their head coach.
After giving equal reps to Bachmeier, Hillstead, and Bourget in the ongoing quarterback competition, offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick recently said that the freshman Bachmeier is receiving the most reps with the starters with Hillstead closely behind him. Bourget is no longer getting reps with the first team. While Bear hasn't been named the team's starting quarterback, Roderick tipped his cards that it may happen sooner than later, a decision I fully support. Here's why BYU should go with Bachmeier as the first Day 1 freshman starting in program history.
Reason No. 1 - Bachmeier's pedigree and upside
While high school recruiting profiles aren't always completely accurate, they generally provide a sound framework when assessing talent. Bear Bachmeier was a high three-star recruit with an 88 overall rating from 247 Sports. He was ranked as the No. 34 quarterback prospect in the class of 2025.
Beyond the ratings, Bachmeier held offers from Alabama, Georgia, Notre Dame, Michigan, Oregon, and a host of other big-time programs. These programs know how to evaluate talent.
McCae Hillstead, on the other hand, was more lightly recruited. The redshirt sophomore was a three-star recruit with an 85 rating, but only held offers from Utah State, Nevada, Washington State, and Florida Atlantic, per his 247 Sports profile.
Bear Bachmeier appears to have a higher ceiling than Hillstead, and the best way for BYU coaches to see just how high that ceiling goes is to play the freshman early.
Reason No. 2 - Bachmeier's ideal size
When it comes to playing quarterback, size matters.
Despite being just 18 years old, Bear Bachmeier already stands 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds. McCae Hillstead, on the other hand, measures in at 5-foot-10 and 195 pounds. Few things can disrupt an offense like losing its starting quarterback part way through the season due to injury. Bachmeier has the type of frame that is more likely to hold up to the rigors of Power Four football.
While we can only speculate how Bear's body will hold up at the college level, we know Hillstead had difficulty staying healthy during his 2023 freshman season at Utah State. That year he appeared in eight games but dealt with a concussion and an ankle injury throughout the season.
While shorter, slighter quarterbacks can have successful college careers, it tends to be less risky to roll with a guy with Bear Bachmeier's size.
Reason No. 3 - Long-term succession planning
In college football if two players like Bachmeier and Hillstead are essentially equal, most coaches go with the younger player. In this case the nod goes to the freshman Bachmeier over the redshirt sophomore Hillstead.
If Bear Bachmeier proves to be a capable quarterback as a freshman, he could make the "sophomore leap" next year after a full season leading the offense. Then in Bachmeier's 2027 junior season BYU will likely have five-star quarterback Ryder Lyons returning from something of an abbreviated mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Come 2027, BYU could continue rolling with Bear Bachmeier as a junior if he's playing at an extremely high level while Ryder Lyons adjusts to post-mission life and learns the offense as a freshman. Then in 2028 the coaching staff will have some tough decisions to make, assuming Bachmeier isn't NFL-bound at that point.
Now, it's almost foolish to speculate that far into the future in today's transfer portal era, but the Bachmeier-to-Lyons succession plan could be ideal for BYU.
Reason No. 4 - BYU's ideal early-season schedule
While it's never easy to break in a new quarterback, especially a freshman, BYU's schedule seems to have lined up as well as could be hoped for. The first three nonconference games of BYU's schedule shouldn't present significant defensive challenges in Portland State, Stanford, and East Carolina.
BYU's next three games versus Big 12 foes Colorado, West Virginia, and Arizona are against teams that aren't expected to have stout defenses this year. Bear Bachmeier could have six almost perfect games to gain on-the-job experience right out of the gate as a college quarterback.
BYU has two talented quarterbacks in Bear Bachmeier and McCae Hillstead.
In the end, it's time for BYU to start the first freshman Day 1 quarterback in program history.