Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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36 OCT. 10, 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: BYU Three Things To Know About BYU 1. The 'What If' Leg Of Bear Bachmeier's Recruiting Journey In the summer of 2023, after Notre Dame's pursuit of quarterback prospect Deuce Knight in the 2025 cycle started to feel like it was on a hamster wheel, the Irish coaching staff extended an offer to current BYU sophomore quarterback Bear Bachmeier. Bachmeier's grandfather, the late William Lawrence Henry Jr., was a lifelong Notre Dame fan, and Bachmeier received the scholarship offer from Irish quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli while visiting his grandmother's house. Stanford had been the front-runner up until that point, and the mutual interest between the Irish and the California prospect started to grow quickly, but Knight committed to Notre Dame a couple of months later. Roughly 13 months later, in October 2024, Knight would flip his commitment to Auburn. And that's where he'd spend his freshman year as a backup. He has since moved on to Ole Miss, where he's also a backup. The Irish ended up flipping Blake Hebert out of Clemson's class late in the cycle to get a quarterback in the 2025 class. Bachmeier signed with Stanford, where brother Tiger was a wide receiver. The two then transferred to BYU after Stanford head coach Troy Taylor was fired in March 2025. Bear, whose name on his birth certificate is Michael, also plays guitar and writes songs with Tiger. 2. All In The Family Beyond The Bachmeiers The Bachmeiers are one of six sets of brothers on the 2026 BYU roster. The others are Brigham and Jake Alexander, Siosiua and Kelepi Latu-Finau, Jaron and Kennan Pula, Nusi and Daniel Taumoepeau, and Enoch and Pierson Watson. Additionally, there are 13 players with fathers who also played football at BYU: safety Raider Damuni (safety Jack Damuni, 1993-94), offensive lineman Jeff Lewis (tight end Chad Lewis, 1993-96), tight end Walker Lyons (defensive back Tim Lyons, 1996-97), tight end Noah Moeaki (linebacker John Moeaki, 1994), offensive lineman Trevor Pay (offensive lineman Garry Pay, 1986, 89-92), running back Logan Payne (kicker/punter Matt Payne, 2000-04), defensive end Adney Reid (tight end Gabe Reid, 1999- 2002), safety Preston Rex (tight end Byron Rex, 1986, 89-92), safety Lance Reynolds Jr. (offensive line- man Lance Reynolds, 2001-05), wide receiver Trey Roberts (defensive back Kyle Roberts, 1987, 90-93), long snapper Ty Smith (safety Tyson Smith, 1999-2000), linebacker Gage Tanner (linebacker Mike Tan- ner, 2000-03) and wide receiver Asher Young (quarterback Mike Young, 1982, 84-87). Finally, on the family front, 22 BYU players are married. 3. Being A Team On A Mission Carries a Double Meaning A total of 64 current BYU players have taken a Mormon mission, typically two years in length. That usually entails spending time in one of 29 different countries on six of the seven continents, with 15 different languages spoken. Notre Dame has one player on its current roster who has served a Latter-day Saint mission, and that's Kahanu Kia, who was in the 2021 recruiting class with sixth-year defensive tackle Jason Onye. Kia played for the Irish under Brian Kelly in 2021, then missed the 2022 and 2023 seasons before rejoining the Irish roster in 2024. Former safety Chris Badger, who began his career at ND and finished it at BYU, is the only other known Notre Dame player to take a mission during his college career. Under the NCAA's new age-based eligibility rules, time spent on an official religious mission may be excluded from a player's five-year eligibility period, provided the player does not participate in orga- nized competition during that service. — Eric Hansen son with 9 catches for 116 yards and 2 touchdowns before BYU's off week. "We can do a little bit of everything," Kasper said of the BYU offense. "You can't really contain us in the box, be- cause we're going to beat you outside of it. We've got playmakers everywhere." Naturally, the expectations for BYU are rising with Bachmeier establishing connections with his new wide receiver targets. "Our receivers are getting better and better every week," Glasker said. "There's so much more the country hasn't seen in our offense. It should be pretty exciting." Bachmeier's ability (or perceived in- ability) to throw passes traveling at least 20 yards downfield became the biggest knock on him following his freshman season. So much so that multiple team- mates mentioned that perception — and how it was wrong — without being prompted in interviews earlier this year. According to Pro Football Focus, Bachmeier completed just 13 of 43 pass attempts (30.2 percent) of 20-plus yards last season. Bachmeier started this sea- son 3 of 6 (50.0 percent) on those deep attempts. Knowing when to throw deep can go a long way in helping Bachmeier improve. "He's really comfortable back there," fifth-year center Bruce Mitchell said. "He knows the checks. He knows the calls. Sometimes last year you'd hear LJ behind me telling him what to do occasionally. That has not been the case this season. Bear stepped up as a leader. He's just really confident and calm in the huddle even in those stressful moments." Bachmeier's teammates elected him an offensive captain on BYU's 20-mem- ber Team Leadership Council. How he handles the matchup against Notre Dame's elite defense will be the biggest test of his leadership to date. "That's a huge indicator that he's tak- ing his place on the team," Sitake said, "and that guys have really turned to him as a leader and a guy that can speak his mind. Before you were just trying to get him ready for everything. "He's grown up really fast. I'm really proud of the things that he's been able to accomplish so far." ✦ Bear (left) and Tiger Bachmeier are one of six sets of brothers on the 2026 BYU roster. PHOTO COURTESY BYU ATHLETICS