Top performers from BYU’s 41-13 win over Southern Illinois

PROVO, UT – BYU opened the season with a convincing 41-13 win over Southern Illinois on Saturday night. Here are the best individual performances from Saturday night.

The main headline that started Saturday night was the BYU quarterback competition. Retzlaff answered the buzzer, throwing for a career-high 348 yards and 3 touchdowns. Retzlaff’s arm talent was at its best.

He made a series of throws that exemplified his unique arm talent:

Few quarterbacks in college football can make all of those throws in the same game.

It wasn’t perfect – it still has a few things to clean up. But Retzlaff showed why he was named the starting quarterback.

Chase Roberts was Jake Retzlaff’s primary target Saturday night. Roberts had a game-high 7 receptions for 108 yards. He had several touchdown receptions, including two contested catches on two fourth-down conversions on the first drive. Roberts also made a nice catch in the second innings. Roberts looks like the receiver who can become Retzlaff’s security blanket going forward.

Coming out of fall camp, the defensive ends were a question mark. Was there anyone across from Tyler Batty who could create a pass rush? BYU’s top passer on Saturday was defensive end Isaiah Bagnah. Bagnah had a sack and a quarterback pressure. He also had 1.5 tackles for loss. Bagnah was disruptive.

Heading into the season, Aaron Roderick said redshirt freshman Jojo Phillips will play a lot. On Saturday night, Phillips showed why. Phillips effortlessly got open deep down the field for a 57-yard score. BYU didn’t have a true deep threat last season. Phillips’ combination of size and speed makes him a prime candidate to be a deep threat for BYU’s offense in 2024. Phillips finished the night with 2 receptions for 70 yards and a touchdown.

LJ Martin’s health has been a major question mark throughout fall camp. After some speculation that he might miss the first few games of the season, Martin was healthy enough to play against Southern Illinois. Martin split reps with Hinckley Ropati Saturday night, but in limited reps, he showed why he’s BYU’s best running back.

Martin had 67 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown. He also caught a touchdown from Jake Retzlaff.

There is an extra level of speed, elusiveness and home run ability when Martin is in the backfield.

In Jack Kelly’s first game at BYU, he led BYU in total tackles. Kelly was always around the ball. He was credited with 5 total tackles, including 0.5 tackles for loss. He also rushed the quarterback. There was one play in particular where Kelly burst into the backfield and blew the game away.

John Nelson disrupted the interior defensive line. He had a sack and a TFL. He was credited with three total tackles.

Keelan Marion’s first reception of the season was a critical third-down conversion on the first drive of the game. He also had a long 52-yard reception on a deep strike from Jake Retzlaff. Marion did a good job of adjusting to the throw and went down with it despite the ref getting in the way. He finished with 3 receptions for 61 yards.