BYU’s 2026 season opener may hinge on how fast its new special teams units learn

BYU’s biggest question mark heading into the 2026 season is less about its ability to execute on offense or defense and more about special teams, according to a preview from Yahoo Sports published on Aug. 21. The Cougars are replacing multiple key special-teams players, including kicker Will Ferrin and punter Sam Vander Haar, and that turnover raises a practical concern: will the new group make the impact plays that BYU has relied on in recent years?

Special teams is the one phase of football where a single swing can change field position, flip momentum, or turn a routine possession into points. BYU’s recent identity, at least as the preview describes it, includes game-influencing plays such as field goals, punt and kickoff returns for touchdowns, and blocked kicks. The article frames those moments as a reason a case can be made that BYU has won “a half-dozen or so games” over the past three seasons due to special-teams production.

Replacing players at kicker and punter matters because those jobs carry both technical precision and in-game rhythm. Kickers are judged not only on whether they make attempts, but also on how reliably they convert under pressure and how quickly the unit adapts to changing game situations. Punters similarly affect the rest of the football phase, including how often BYU can pin opponents deep and how well the coverage group manages distance and lanes.

The preview’s core issue is inexperience, which is not the same thing as low talent, but it is often the difference between a unit that looks composed in July and one that performs cleanly in September. Even strong prospects need time to settle into the speed of live game action, adjust to snap and hold timing, and build chemistry with coverage and return groups. For BYU, the coaching focus in the early part of the season will likely be minimizing self-inflicted errors while the replacements earn trust in pressure moments.

BYU’s task in 2026 is therefore twofold. First, it must keep special teams from becoming a liability, whether that means avoiding blocked kicks, muffed returns, or missed opportunities in the kicking game. Second, it must determine whether it can sustain the kind of “big play” profile the preview associates with the program’s past three seasons. The combination of both goals is difficult when roles change quickly, even for teams with strong overall recruiting and development.

What to watch next is how the replacements perform once the Cougars start living in live-game consequences. Coaches typically measure early progress by steadiness: clean execution on kickoffs and punts, controlled returns, and reliable kicking under varying wind and distance. If BYU’s new special teams units are able to preserve field position advantages and generate points through special-teams plays, the 2026 question mark could quietly shrink. If not, special teams could become the swing factor that explains more close games than the program would like.