BYU football: Cougar offensive line to feature healthy position battles | News, Sports, Jobs

By Pune Media On Jul 25, 2025

BYU Offensive Line Coach TJ Woods has seven players within his group whom he feels good about, but wants to bump that number to at least couple of more in the coming weeks.

That’s his stated main goal as BYU football sets to open up its fall practice session in a little more than a week.

Indeed, Woods’ work with his group will go a long way in spearheading offensive success for the coming season and necessarily deserves prime focus throughout the fall camp session. Sure, the quarterback battle will receive an overabundance of attention, but who protects the quarterback shouldn’t be overlooked.

“It’s the most important unit on the football team,” Woods said of his group. “If one guy screws up, then all five can look bad and then even the rest of the offense. So it’s not only about developing talent, but the chemistry that is so important to have with any offensive line group.”

Leading the group of players who Woods feels good about entering fall camp are five players with at least some starting experience. That group is led by offensive guard Weylin Lapuaho (6-foot-4, 310 pound Sr.), who has the most experience, followed by fellow guard Sonny Makasini (6-4, 315 Jr.), Austin Leausa (6-5, 315 Jr.), who can play at either guard or tackle, center Bruce Mitchell (6-4, 305 Jr.) and offensive tackle Isaiah Jatta (6-6, 315 Sr.)

“Having five guys that have started here at BYU is important and a good thing to have,” Woods said. “Most of them don’t have a lot of starts, but they’ve all been in there and experienced it, and that’s a really big deal for an offensive lineman to have.”

Woods wasn’t specific regarding exactly which seven guys he has in mind of players he feels good about playing, but did mention SUU transfer Kyle Sfarcioc (6-4, 310 Jr.) as someone he feels comfortable with along with Kaden Chidester (6-8, 310 So.), who showed great strides during spring practices. He’s also been impressed with the progress of Andrew Williams (6-8, 295 Fr.), who transferred to BYU early upon high school graduation after signing as part of the 2024 class.

Perhaps the most intriguing name among Woods’ group is Michigan transfer Andrew Gentry (6-8, 315 Jr.), who has yet to practice with the Cougars after sitting out spring with injury.

“We’re obviously excited about what Andrew can bring to our group, but we didn’t get to see him in spring. So fall camp is going to be big for him,” Woods said. “It’s going to be big for a lot of guys as we figure out the best five to start out and we’re hoping to find at least eight and hopefully nine guys I feel that we can count on.”

Every position along BYU’s offensive front will feature healthy competition, according to Woods, with even the center position up for grabs.

“We’re comfortable with what Bruce is doing there, and he responded really well last season, but he’ll have some competition from both Sonny (Makasini) and Kyle (Sfarcioc) as we determine who is ultimately going to make up our best five to start,” Woods said. “Both Sonny and Kyle can play center, so Bruce will have to battle, which will be a good thing for him.”

Jatta, if healthy, is likely to start at either tackle position with the major battle shaping up between Chidester, Gentry, Leausa, Williams and Jake Griffin (6-5, 300 So.) for the other starting tackle spot.

“We’ve got ourselves in a position where we feel there’s going to be great competition at every position, and certainly at tackle,” Woods said. “Really that’s what makes every position better. The last thing you want is for guys to feel comfortable.”

The battle for the two starting guard positions will likely be between Lapuaho, Makasini, Leausa and Sfarcioc.

There’s certainly more players who could rise up during the fall practice session, with the media detailing any developments leading up to the start of the 2025 season. But for right now, Woods feels relatively optimistic regarding his group as he looks to field the best possible combination of talent and leadership to front the Cougar offense.

“It’s all about chemistry with the offensive line and replacing everything that our seniors brought with that last season is going to be the toughest thing to replace. It always is,” Woods said. “But we like our group and I’m excited to work with all of them in finding the best possible combination we can to put out there come the start of the season.”

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