The legend of Bear Bachmeier began when he was just 2. Without glancing down, he dribbled a basketball as spectators cleared an area, stunned. In the gymnasium, he outshone children three times his age with his passion and skills. A wise man never ignores another wise man’s wisdom, and when you are the first freshman to start for BYU history, you certainly shouldn’t. And Bear hasn’t either. Besides being athletic, he has been hailed as one of the most mature athletes by head coach Kalani Sitake, offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick, and the rest of the staff, which is exactly why he got the starting job.

The spotlight only grows brighter. Enter Tanner Mangum, the former BYU QB who started as a true freshman himself back in 2015. He joined BYUtv Sports Nation to offer advice to the 18-year-old Bear Bachmeier, and it came wrapped in equal parts wisdom and experience. “It’s so I can’t believe it’s already been 10 years. So I guess [the] first piece of advice is to not take advice from people who haven’t been there in a decade. Things have changed. Things are a lot different. And I’m pumped for Bear. I think it’s an incredible opportunity for him. He seems like he has a great head on his shoulders, super smart, obviously very talented. Has the trust of his coaches and his teammates. And now all he has to do is just go out and be himself, which I think is something that really stands out with him.”

That last point carried real weight. Mangum pointed to Bachmeier’s identity and composure, noting that even his jersey number was a statement. “Even the fact that he’s wearing number 47 is really cool because it just shows that he has a strong sense of who he is and his identity and his family. And I think that’s really cool. And so I’m excited for him to just go out and be himself because that’s all you can do. You don’t have to try to be the quarterback that you’re replacing. You just have to go in there and bring your own identity, your own skill set, your own strengths. And I’m excited to see him go out there and show everyone what he’s capable of.” Coming from someone who lived that very moment in Provo, the message is clear: pressure can’t break you if you lean into who you already are. And this new QB1 coming from a sports-oriented military family was raised with a ball in one hand and a book in the other.

BYU opens against Portland State, a game they are heavily favored. On paper, the Cougars have more talent at every position, but that doesn’t make Bachmeier’s first start any less important. Sports Illustrated framed his three objectives perfectly: “make the layups,” “show glimpses of the high upside,” and “protect the football.” The first is deceptively simple—take the easy completions. BYU’s offense under OC Roderick is designed with high-percentage throws that move the chains. Bear has been sharp throughout camp, flashing a high completion percentage, and now the mandate is to carry that same rhythm into live action. Nothing rattles any freshman more than overthinking the basics.

The second objective may sound like a highlight-reel demand, but it’s really about timing. Bachmeier was recruited by nearly every major program in the country for a reason. His arm talent, anticipation, and mobility were enough to make bluebloods circle his name. Fall camp already offered flashes of that next-level potential, and now it’s about sprinkling that into the game plan. The Cougs don’t need him to uncork 60-yard bombs every possession, but they do need to see the spark that separates him from being merely steady to being special.

And finally, the ball security test. Freshmen often stumble here, forcing throws or panicking under pressure. Yet Bachmeier has quietly turned that into a strength. In the camp competition, he threw the fewest interceptions of the three quarterbacks battling for the job. Protecting the football while still pushing the ball downfield is where you make your money as a true freshman. Moving the chains, sustaining drives, and controlling tempo will matter more than gaudy stat lines. “There are a lot of stories out there about Bear growing up and all the amazing things he did,” older brother Hank Bachmeier said. “And all of them are true.”

Kalani Sitake calls camp a prizefight as he turns to Bear Bachmeier

Three and a half weeks of prep time isn’t just about drawing up plays and running walkthroughs—it’s about hardening the edges of a football team. For BYU, that meant putting their bodies on the line through a physical camp designed to sharpen every blade before the opener. Head coach Kalani Sitake didn’t sugarcoat it when asked how he viewed the grind: “I thought we were really physical. I mean, we wanted to play football, and we were in the quarterback competition, so we needed to see those guys in stressful situations, leading the offense and going against a really difficult defense. And we need to work on the fundamentals.”

And I don’t know how you get better at tackling unless you go and tackle. And I don’t know how you get better at being physical unless you spar it out. I compared it to sparring for a prizefighter. We had to spar and we had to scrimmage quite a bit. So, we had a lot of live sessions, and the unfortunate part is that sometimes you have live sessions, and guys get banged up. But I think that was the price we had to pay to get our team ready to roll.” That kind of camp leaves scars, but it also breeds toughness. Sitake knows the price of admission to compete deep into a season, especially with a true freshman quarterback like Bear Bachmeier set to lead.

Against a defense like Portland State’s, BYU isn’t looking for fireworks as much as a clean, crisp opening performance. And for Bachmeier, the mandate will be simple.