Andrew Gentry played the first quarter at Colorado State believing he had suffered a mild ankle sprain. Nine days later, BYU’s starting right tackle was off the TCU depth chart and recovering from surgery.
That is a real loss, even for an offensive line that has spent September bullying people.
Gentry started all 14 games in 2025 and each of the first three this season. BYU’s official game notes identify him as a co-captain. His own update says the injury was more significant than he first thought, but he hopes to return near the end of the season. Until BYU says otherwise, this should not be flattened into either a one-game absence or a season-ending injury.
The immediate choice is much clearer. Official notes list redshirt freshman Siosiua Latu-Finau or true freshman Bott Mulitalo at right tackle against TCU. Both are 6-foot-5 and 310 pounds. Neither has started a college game.
BYU did not lose its whole offensive line. It lost the veteran on the right edge, and Fort Worth gets the first chance to find out how expensive that is.
The depth chart replaces 17 starts with zero
Gentry’s value is easiest to see without inventing a blocking grade. The official record supplies enough.
He started 14 games at right tackle last season as BYU averaged 31.4 points and 178.1 rushing yards per game. The line allowed 16 sacks, 13th fewest nationally according to his official roster page. He then started the first three games of 2026 while BYU rushed for 788 yards and reached 3-0.
The new depth chart keeps four established starters together and changes the fifth spot.
| Offensive line spot | TCU depth-chart first name | 2026 starts |
|---|---|---|
| Left tackle | Paki Finau | 3 |
| Left guard | Sonny Makasini | 3 |
| Center | Bruce Mitchell | 3 |
| Right guard | Kyle Sfarcioc | 2 |
| Right tackle | Siosiua Latu-Finau or Bott Mulitalo | 0 |
Latu-Finau has appeared in two games this season. Mulitalo has appeared in all three. BYU’s game notes list no starts for either player.
That is why the replacement conversation should stay sober. The Cougars have two prospects they like, not two proven versions of Gentry waiting in storage. September reserve snaps are useful. They are not the same assignment as opening a Big 12 road game and protecting Bear Bachmeier when the stadium knows a pass is coming.
BYU has two reasonable choices, not an obvious one
Latu-Finau is listed first, with the word “or” separating him from Mulitalo. That could mean he takes the first snap. It does not promise he takes every snap.
KSL Sports reported that Mulitalo was Gentry’s primary backup through fall camp and the first three games. BYU On SI reported 46 offensive snaps for Latu-Finau and 40 for Mulitalo. The exact count differs slightly from another syndicated report, but the useful fact is stable: both freshmen have already played, and neither has carried a full competitive workload.
The profiles create a fair rotation question.
Latu-Finau had a redshirt year to learn the system and has worked at left tackle as well. Mulitalo arrived as a highly rated true freshman and has already earned reserve work at right tackle. One offers another year in BYU’s room. The other may be the more natural direct replacement at the position.
The staff does not need to settle the argument for October by Saturday’s first drive. It needs the right answer for each series. If one player handles TCU’s speed and communicates cleanly with Sfarcioc, BYU can leave him there. If the edge keeps leaking, a rotation is better than protecting a preseason pecking order.
The hidden cost is what Aaron Roderick must spend
A young tackle does not have to lose a one-on-one rep to change an offense.
BYU can help the right edge with a tight end, a running back chip or protection sliding that direction. Every answer carries a price. Keeping a tight end attached removes him from the route immediately. Asking a back to scan before releasing slows the checkdown. Sliding protection right can leave the opposite tackle with less help. Calling quick throws can reduce the time a rush has to arrive, but it also narrows the field.
That trade is especially relevant because BYU’s early offense has been good at keeping all of its choices available. The Cougars have converted 19 of 31 third downs and produced 67 first downs. The early success-rate analysis found that BYU’s best trait is not one explosive player; it is the repeated ability to reach a down where run and pass both make sense.
A protection problem attacks that freedom. One false start or edge pressure can turn second-and-5 into a down where TCU knows the menu.
The easiest protection remains a productive run game. LJ Martin has 384 rushing yards, and BYU has 788 as a team. If Martin and Bachmeier keep TCU from widening its front and sprinting at the new tackle, the right edge gets to play football rather than survive an obvious passing drill.
That does not mean BYU should hide the replacement by running away from him all night. A right tackle still has to cut off pursuit, handle movement and avoid becoming the reason every run points left. The offense works because the formation has no permanent weak side. Keeping that balance is the assignment.
TCU will test the communication before the strength
The lazy expectation is that TCU will put its best rusher over the new tackle and repeat the matchup. The better test is movement.
A first-time starter can win the block in front of him and still miss the pressure that arrives after a defensive end loops inside or a linebacker threatens the gap. The tackle and right guard have to pass bodies cleanly. The center must identify the pressure. Bachmeier has to know when the protection has no answer left.
That makes Sfarcioc’s expected return useful. He missed the Colorado State game, and Deseret News reported he is set to return after the bye. A veteran right guard beside the new tackle gives BYU a better communication pair than two changes on the same side.
It also gives Saturday a simple early checklist:
- Who takes the first snap at right tackle?
- Does BYU rotate after a series, or only after a mistake?
- How often does a tight end align next to the new tackle on clear passing downs?
- Can BYU run its normal dropback game without moving Bachmeier’s launch point?
- Does the right side avoid the false starts and holding calls that have already stalled otherwise productive drives?
The final question is the one that can turn a manageable transition into a weekly problem. BYU has committed 15 penalties over its past two games. The TCU-UCF receipt showed how quickly penalties and turnovers can waste useful yardage. A freshman tackle does not need to be flawless. He does need to avoid making every hard snap harder before it begins.
This is a depth test for the next nine games
TCU is the first exam, not the whole course.
After the early bye, BYU is scheduled to play nine straight regular-season games. Iowa State and Notre Dame follow TCU. There is no gentle week reserved for a new right tackle to settle in.
That makes Gentry’s hope of a late-season return important but impossible to schedule around. His post gives BYU a target, not a medical timetable. The offense has to build a functioning right side now and treat any later return as help when it is actually available.
There is a human part here too. Gentry returned for a senior season, earned a leadership role and started the year on an offensive line with national ambitions. Surgery after three games is rotten timing. His public response was hopeful and grounded in his faith. It deserves to be reported without turning it into a recovery forecast he did not make.
For BYU, the practical question is smaller than replacing a captain and bigger than winning one matchup. Can Latu-Finau or Mulitalo preserve the shape of the offense?
If the Cougars still run either direction, keep the tight end in the route and let Bachmeier work through normal reads, the depth is doing its job. If every third down needs extra protection and half the call sheet disappears, Gentry’s absence will show up long before a sack reaches the box score.
BYU plays TCU Saturday at 5 p.m. Mountain on ESPN. The permanent TCU game center, watch guide and football schedule carry the current access details. The right-tackle answer will arrive on the first offensive series.
Sources and further reading
- BYU Athletics: TCU game week and the official TCU game notes for the updated offensive-line depth chart, player sizes, appearances, starts, leadership council and game details.
- BYU Athletics: Andrew Gentry roster profile for his 2025 starts, right-tackle role, team rushing average, sacks allowed and 2026 roster facts.
- KSL Sports: Gentry shares injury update for Gentry’s account of the Colorado State injury, his hoped-for late-season return and the Latu-Finau/Mulitalo replacement pairing.
- Deseret News: BYU’s depth will be tested at TCU for the surgery report, Sitake’s depth comments, Sfarcioc’s expected return and the post-bye schedule context.
- BYU On SI: Gentry injury update for the reported reserve snap counts and each replacement’s developmental context.
