Athlon Sports recognizes 13 Cougars with preseason honors

Led by Athlon Sports All-America selections LJ Martin, Bruce Mitchell, Faletau Satuala and Cade Uluave, 13 BYU football players have been named to the Athlon Sports 2026 Preseason All-Big 12 Team.

Author Brett Pyne
Athlon Sports recognizes 13 Cougars with preseason honorsAthlon Sports recognizes 13 Cougars with preseason honors

PROVO, Utah — Led by preseason All-America selections LJ Martin, Bruce Mitchell, Faletau Satuala and Cade Uluave, 13 BYU football players have been named to the Athlon Sports 2026 Preseason All-Big 12 Team. The four national honorees headline a strong contingent of Cougars recognized in the publication's annual College Football Preview Magazine. 

Martin, a senior running back and the reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, was joined by senior center Bruce Mitchell on the Athlon Sports 2026 All-America Third Team. Meanwhile, Faletau, a junior safety, and Uluave, a senior linebacker, were named to the Athlon Sports 2026 All-America Fourth Team. Faletau is coming off a strong sophomore season that saw him earn second-team All-America recognition from the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA). Uluave transferred to BYU this season after receiving first-team All-ACC honors last season at Cal. 

The All-American foursome is joined by senior cornerback Evan Johnson, whose five interceptions tied for the most picks in the Big 12 last year, on the magazine's 2026 All-Big 12 First Team. 

In addition to the five first-team honorees, eight other Cougars received Athlon Sports All-Big 12 recognition on the second, third and fourth teams. Overall, seven defensive and six offensive players from BYU garnered All-Big 12 honors from Athlon.

Athlon Sports 2026 All-America Team

Athlon Sports 2026 All-Big 12 Team

BYU's preseason Big 12 selections have proven on the field they are poised for a strong season in 2026. Martin, Mitchell, Faletau and Uluave enter the 2026 season with outstanding resumes (see below) along with a strong contingent of experienced players expecting to make the Cougars contenders again this year. 

Among the other honorees, Isaiah Glasker was an All-Big 12 Third Team linebacker last season, while Evan Johnson, Keanu Tanuvasa and Bodie Schoonover received All-Big 12 honorable mention. In his true freshman campaign last year starting at quarterback, Bear Bachmeier earned 2025 Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors and was a semifinalist for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award. 

BYU is coming off a 2025 season that saw the team reach the 12-win mark for the fifth time in school history and first time since 2001 (2025, 2001, 1996, 1984, 1980).  BYU finished the year with its second-straight bowl victory over a ranked opponent, defeating Georgia Tech of the ACC. BYU's two-year run with 23 wins in 2024-25 has only been bested by Cougar squads in 1983-84 (24 wins) and 1984-85 (24 wins), a stretch when BYU won the 1984 national championship.

The Cougars' five wins last season against teams with nine wins or more set a new program best and their seven wins against teams with winning records overall marked the second-most in school history, trailing only the eight wins recorded in 1980. BYU's FBS opponents had a record of 102-64 for a winning percentage of .614. Ten wins against Power 4 opponents also set a new record at BYU, topping 2024's nine victories. 

Martin All-American Athlon1440

LJ Martin
Senior
Running Back
6-2, 225
El Paso, Texas

Martin is coming off a 2025 campaign that saw him earn Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year honors while helping BYU achieve a 12-2 record and advance to the Big 12 Championship game for the first time in the program's three years in the league. 

The first-team All-Big 12 ball carrier was also a semifinalist last year for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award (best player from state of Texas) and received Pro Football Network All-America Second Team honors. 

Martin’s 1,305 rushing yards last season ranked No. 11 nationally and his average of 100.38 yards per game ranked No. 12. Martin was also No. 13 nationally with 120.0 all-purpose yards per game.

Martin's 1,305 yards were the seventh-most in school history for a single season. His campaign marked the 18th 1,000-yard rushing season in BYU history, making him the 12th different player to eclipse the milestone.

Mitchell All-American Athlon1440

Bruce Mitchell
Senior
Center
6-4, 305
Kamas, Utah

Mitchell was a Rimington Trophy candidate last year in his first year as the full-time starter. 

He also received All-Big 12 honors from Pro Football Focus and Pro Football Network for his strong play leading BYU's offensive front. 

Mitchell was part of making it possible for BYU's offense to averaged 31.4 points per game and ranked in the top 25 in 10 offensive statistics last season.

Last year the Cougarss posted strong results in offensive time of possession (No. 9), rushing first downs (No. 12), sacks allowed (No. 12), rushing touchdowns (No. 13), rushing plays of 10+ yards (No. 18), total plays of 10+ yards (No. 19), first downs (No. 19), total offensive plays (No. 22), points scored (No. 23) and fewest interceptions (No. 23). 

Satuala All-American Athlon1440

Faletau Satuala
Junior
Safety
6-4, 215
Bountiful, Utah

Satuala emerged as a star during his sophomore season in 2025, leading BYU with 84 total tackles en route to earning second-team All-America from the FWAA.

He received 2025 All-Big 12 Third Team honors and was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week and Lott Trophy Player of the Week for his play in helping BYU defeat Iowa State in Ames to improve to 8-0 on the season.

Among his 84 total tackles, he recorded 47 solo takedowns and  had one sack. He forced two fumbles and made three interceptions, including a turning-point 65-yard pick-six at Iowa State to lead the Cougars to victory.

His play was part of BYU allowing only 19.1 points per game (No. 19 nationally) with a pass efficiency defense of 116.97 (No. 25 nationally), while helping the BYU defense overall earn nine different top-25 statistical rankings, including five top-10 ratings—No. 6 in red zone scoring conversion defense (70.4%) and red zone touchdown conversion defense (40.74%); No. 9 in total interceptions (17); and No. 10 in both defensive touchdowns (3) and fewest opponent long-scrimmage plays of 40+ yards (7). 

 
Uluave All-American Athlon1440

Cade Uluave
Senior
Linebacker
6-1, 235
South Jordan, Utah

In addition his preseason honors from Athlon, Uluave is also a 2026 Lott IMPACT Trophy candidate in his first year at BYU after transferring from Cal.

A 2025 All-ACC First-Team performer, Uluave played in 34 games for the Bears over three seasons, starting 26 games.

He led Cal with 100 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and five quarterback hurries last year while amassing 237 career tackles, 21.5 TFL, six sacks, three interceptions and two forced fumbles in three seasons at Cal.

In addition to earning first-team all-conference honors in 2025, Uluave received All-ACC honorable mention in 2024 and was a first-team Freshman All-American selection (The Athletic, FWAA, College Football News) in 2023, when he was also named the Pac-12 Defensive Freshman of the Year, Super West Sports Defensive Freshman of the Year and a Phil Steele All-Pac-12 Third Team honoree.