The 2021 BYU Cougars football team represented

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

in the

2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 152nd season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision. The ...

. The Cougars were led by sixth-year head coach

Kalani Sitake Kelaokalani Fifita "Kalani" Sitake (born October 10, 1975) is a Tongan–American American football, football coach and former player. He has been the head football coach at Brigham Young University (BYU) since 2015, and is the first Demographic ...

and played their home games at

LaVell Edwards Stadium LaVell Edwards Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium in the Western United States, on the campus of Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. Primarily used for college football, it is the home field of the BYU Cougars, a member of the Big ...

. This was the eleventh year BYU competed as an NCAA Division I FBS independent. The Cougars finished with 10 wins for the second year in a row.

Before the season

Departures to NFL

Quarterback

Zach Wilson Zachary Kapono Wilson (born August 3, 1999) is an American professional football quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the BYU Cougars and was selected second overall by the Ne ...

, offensive lineman Brady Christensen, and wide receiver Dax Milne all opted to forego their senior seasons and leave early for the NFL Draft. Wilson became the highest draft pick in program history when he was selected second overall by the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

. Christensen was selected in the third round by the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

, while Milne and two seniors, nose tackle Khyiris Tonga and defensive back

Chris Wilcox Chris Ray Wilcox (born September 3, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. He has also played in the NBA with the Los Angeles Clippers, Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons. High ...

, were each selected in the seventh round by the

Washington Football Team The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

, and

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

, respectively. Seven other players signed undrafted free agent contracts with NFL teams. The five players selected marked the most in program history since 2002.

Coaching changes

On January 4, 2021 it was announced that

Jeff Grimes Jeff Grimes (born September 23, 1968) is an American football coach, and the offensive coordinator for the Wisconsin Badgers. He was previously the offensive coordinator at the University of Kansas (2024), Baylor University (2021 to 2023) and Bri ...

had accepted a job with

Baylor University Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...

as the offensive coordinator. Offensive line coach Eric Mateos followed Grimes to Baylor. Aaron Roderick, previously serving as the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach under Grimes, was promoted to offensive coordinator for the Cougars. Wide receivers coach Fesi Sitake was then promoted to passing game coordinator. Both Roderick and Sitake will retain their roles as position coaches for the quarterbacks and wide receivers, respectively. On February 4, 2021 it was announced that Kevin Clune had accepted a job as the linebackers coach for the Cougars. With the new hire

Ed Lamb Claude Edward Lamb III (born March 4, 1974) is an American college football coach and former player. In December 2022, he was named as the head football coach at the University of Northern Colorado. Lamb served as the head football coach at Sout ...

shifted to coach the safeties on the defensive side of the ball, Preston Hadley to the defensive ends/Hybrids and Ilaisa Tuiaki to interior defensive line. On February 5, 2021 it was announced that Darrell Funk had accepted a job as the offensive line coach for the Cougars.

2021 recruits

2020 returned missionaries

2021 other additions

2021 departures

Schedule

Rankings

NuSkin BYU Sports Network

The NuSkin BYU Sports Network is owned and operated by

BYU Radio BYU Radio (stylized as BYUradio) is a podcast network and former talk radio station run by Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. BYUradio's podcasts can be listened to on all podcasting platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTub ...

and features the talents of

Greg Wrubell Greg Wrubell is a sports broadcaster based out of Cedar Hills, Utah. He is a commentator for college sports, including football, men's basketball, baseball, and women's soccer for Brigham Young University's (BYU) Sports Network and was the tele ...

(play-by-play)
Riley Nelson
(analyst)
Mitchell Juergens
(reporter/sideline analyst), an
Jason Shepherd
(host) for the third consecutive year, wit
Ben Bagley
subbing in for Jason Shepherd when he has women's soccer or men's basketball broadcasts. The network is in charge of producing and broadcasting all BYU Football pre and post game shows as well as coaches shows and live broadcasts. :Affiliates *

– Flagship Station Nationwide (Dish Network 980, Sirius XM 143, KBYU 89.1 FM HD 2
TuneIn
radio, and byuradio.org) * KSL 102.7 FM and 1160 AM – (Salt Lake City / Provo, Utah an
ksl.com
* KSNA – Blackfoot / Idaho Falls / Pocatello / Rexburg, Idaho (games) * KSPZ – Blackfoot / Idaho Falls / Pocatello / Rexburg, Idaho (coaches' shows) * KMXD – Monroe / Manti, Utah * KSVC – Richfield / Manti, Utah * KDXU – St. George, Utah

Personnel

Coaching staff

Roster

Depth chart

Game summaries

Vegas Kickoff: Arizona

Sources: ''Uniform combination: royal helmets, royal jersey, royal pants w/ white accents'' ----

No. 21 Utah

Sources: ''Uniform combination: white helmets, royal jersey w/ white stripes, white pants w/ royal accents'' ----

No. 19 Arizona State

Sources: ''Uniform combination: white helmets, white jersey w/ royal stripes, white pants w/ royal accents'' ----

USF

Sources: ''Uniform combination: white helmets, navy jersey w/ white stripes, white pants w/ navy accents'' ----

Utah State

Sources: ''Uniform combination: white helmets, white jersey w/ royal stripes, royal pants w/ white accents'' ----

Boise State

Sources: ''Uniform combination: navy helmets, navy jersey w/ white stripes, navy pants w/ white accents'' ----

Baylor

Sources: ''Uniform combination: navy helmets, white jersey w/ navy stripes, navy pants w/ white accents'' ----

Washington State

Sources: ''Uniform combination: white helmets, white jersey w/ navy stripes, white pants w/ navy accents'' ----

Virginia

Sources: ''Uniform combination: royal helmets, royal jersey w/ white stripes, white pants w/ royal accents'' ----

Senior Day: Idaho State

Sources: ''Uniform combination: navy helmets, navy jersey w/ white stripes, white pants w/ navy accents'' ----

Georgia Southern

Sources: ''Uniform combination: royal helmets, white jersey w/ royal stripes, white pants w/ royal accents'' ----

USC

Sources: ''Uniform combination: royal helmets, white jersey w/ royal stripes, royal pants w/ white accents'' ----

Independence Bowl: UAB

Sources: ''Uniform combination: navy helmets, navy jersey w/ white stripes, white pants w/ navy accents'' ----

References

{{BYU Cougars football navbox BYU BYU Cougars football seasons

BYU Cougars football The BYU Cougars football team is the college football program representing Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. The Cougars began collegiate football competition in 1922, and have won 23 conference championships and one College football ...