BYU Football Has 11 Players Playing In 2022 With Undergraduate Degrees
Aug 29, 2022, 1:36 AM
BYU football wide receiver Brayden Cosper (right) is one of 11 Cougars playing in 2022 with an undergraduate degree already completed. (Jaren Wilkey/BYU Photo)
(Jaren Wilkey/BYU Photo)
PROVO, Utah – We’ve reached game week for a new year of BYU football.
BYU enters the 2022 season with high hopes. They ranked in the preseason AP Top 25 poll for the first time since 2009. A big reason for that preseason ranking is the experience BYU returns this season.
Getting it done on and off the field!
3,052 student-athletes with undergraduate degrees playing college football this season 🏈📚🎓
See the full list of college graduates taking the field this fall: https://t.co/7ytFVnRkBt
— Football Foundation (@NFFNetwork) August 24, 2022
ESPN’s Bill Connelly ranks BYU as the team with the most returning production in college football this season. That returning production is evident by the number of players BYU has playing with undergraduate degrees already finalized in their collegiate careers.
11 players from BYU football with undergrad degrees already
On the 2022 roster, BYU football has 11 players that already have their undergraduate degrees. Those 11 players are running back Chris Brooks, wide receiver Brayden Cosper, defensive back Matt Criddle, cornerback Kaleb Hayes, fullback Houston Heimuli, running back Lopini Katoa, offensive lineman Harris LaChance, defensive lineman Earl Mariner, safety Malik Moore, and linebackers Morgan Pyper and Pepe Tanuvasa.
A total of 3,086 players in all levels of college football (FBS, FCS, Division II, Division III, and NAIA) are playing with undergrad degrees this year. That’s more than double the number of athletes that had their undergrad in 2019 (1,452).
The main reason for the significant spike is players that navigated the 2020 season amidst COVID-19. That year, student-athletes received a free year of eligibility.
Out of the 11 players from BYU with completed undergrad degrees, three still have eligibility remaining after this fall in Cosper, LaChance, and Pyper.
BYU football opens the 2022 season against the USF Bulls in Tampa, Florida. The game will occur at Raymond James Stadium on Saturday, September 3 at 2 p.m. (MT) on ESPNU and KSL NewsRadio.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
