BYU to start true freshman Bear Bachmeier in season opener

PROVO (KSL.com) — BYU football is looking to do something it has never done before in 2025.

The Cougars have whittled the starting quarterback competition down to one, and true freshman Bear Bachmeier will get the nod Aug. 30 in the season opener against Portland State, a source confirmed to KSL.com.

The decision which was first reported by ESPN makes the former four-star recruit by the 247Sports composite ranking the first true freshman to start a season opener in BYU football history. Bachmeier earned the starting job after a three-man competition with a pair of backups and Division I transfers from a year ago in McCae Hillstead and Treyson Bourguet.

Bachmeier enrolled early at Stanford to compete for the starting job with the Cardinal, but transferred alongside older brother Tiger after the Cardinal dismissed former head coach Troy Taylor amid an investigation alleging gender bias and cultural concerns within the program.

He then transferred to BYU and began chasing the starting quarterback spot after Jake Retzlaff left school in July following a now-dismissed lawsuit that resulted in a violation of the school’s honor code.

But what the three-time All-Inland Empire honoree from Murrieta, California, lacks in collegiate experience, he makes up for in upside. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound signal caller totaled 6,810 yards and 59 touchdowns during his storied career at Murrieta Valley High School, including 1,724 yards and 33 touchdowns on the ground.

The younger brother of former Boise State, Louisiana Tech and Wake Forest starter Hank Bachmeier also had interest from Alabama, Arkansas and Boise State, among others, prior to ultimately signing with Stanford.

Bachmeier will land as a Division I transfer within the BYU program, but his .8933 rating by 247Sports out of high school would’ve put him just outside BYU’s top-25 recruits since 247Sports first started tracking recruits in 2000.