Why former 4-star tight end recruit Roger Saleapaga left Oregon for BYU

Top college football players have various reasons for entering the transfer portal, most of them related to playing time, or lack thereof, and the desire to maximize their earnings in this day and age of revenue sharing and name, image and likeness opportunities.

But for new BYU tight end Roger Saleapaga, an Orem High product who was at Big Ten powerhouse Oregon the past two seasons, the decision was much more simple.

“I just wanted to get back home again,” the 6-foot-4, 245-pounder told the Deseret News after the Cougars’ third spring practice in March. “That’s the bottom line, really.”

The last time college football fans saw Saleapaga, he was catching a touchdown pass in the Ducks’ humbling 56-22 loss to Indiana in the Peach Bowl, otherwise known as the College Football Playoff semifinals on Jan. 9. But that highlight wasn’t really indicative of his time in Eugene; he caught only three passes for 26 yards in 2025 as UO’s third tight end.

Oregon tight end Roger Saleapaga (83) pulls in a touchdown pass against Indiana defensive back Devan Boykin (12) during the Peach Bowl college football playoff semifinal, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Atlanta. | Danny Karnik, Associated Press

Saleapaga, who was a four-star recruit out of Orem, according to Rivals.com, and a three-star recruit and the No. 32 tight end in the country, per 247Sports, appeared in 11 games his freshman season but did not record a reception.

Saleapaga has two seasons of eligibility remaining with a redshirt still available to use; he entered the transfer portal on Jan. 12, and almost immediately heard from BYU, which had recruited him heavily out of high school.

“I had a feeling that BYU was going to be the first school to call. … I ended up taking a visit, and almost instantly I said, ‘Yeah, I am coming back home.’”

new BYU tight end Roger Saleapaga

“I had a feeling that BYU was going to be the first school to call,” he said. “… I ended up taking a visit, and almost instantly I said, ‘Yeah, I am coming back home.’”

Saleapaga’s brother, Keanu, played on the offensive and defensive lines for BYU from 2017-21 after joining the Cougars out of La Mirada High in California. The entire Saleapaga family moved to Utah County during Keanu’s career, so Roger grew up in the area.

“I’ve pretty much known about BYU and been in and out of their facilities my whole life,” Saleapaga said.

During his freshman season at Oregon, Saleapaga converted to the faith that supports BYU, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He remains the only member of the church in his family.

“I’ve been in (the church) going on two years now,” he said. “I love it, yes sir.”

Roger said Keanu is a barber now and has specialized in cutting the hair of professional athletes and musicians.

“It has just been a blessing (to be at BYU) and everything I expected it to be,” he said. “It’s been fun to play with new guys and learn a new offense and just make new relationships.”

He was the third offensive player from a Big Ten school to transfer to BYU, joining USC tight end Walker Lyons and Oregon teammate Kyler Kasper, a 6-6 receiver who also turned a lot of heads in BYU camp.

Schools from the SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 contacted him when he was in the portal, but he quickly set his sights on BYU, and committed on Jan. 16, a mere four days after he entered the portal.

“I am blessed in that I had options,” he said. “I would say I had a good amount of (interest), even from the big boys, but BYU had my attention almost from the beginning.”

Saleapaga said he went into the situation with his eyes wide open, knowing that BYU was losing stud tight end Carsen Ryan to the NFL but gaining another potential star in USC’s Lyons.

“I know I still have to fight for a spot,” he said. “All the tight ends in the room are capable of playing and starting. Obviously, I wanted to put myself in a good position where I could compete for a starting spot. … Every day I come out here like I’m eighth string.”

Lyons is also a junior with a redshirt available. Ryan caught 45 passes for 620 yards and three touchdowns last fall.

Tight ends coach Kevin Gilbride said redshirt sophomore Noah Moeaki (two catches, 16 yards, one touchdown) and senior Keayen Nead also picked up valuable experience last year and have handled the increased competition “incredibly well and in an incredibly mature way.”

“I am blessed in that I had options. I would say I had a good amount of (interest), even from the big boys, but BYU had my attention almost from the beginning.”

BYU tight end Roger Saleapaga

There are now 10 tight ends on the spring roster, but few are as talented as Lyons and Saleapaga.

“Where they’re great is in their awesome approaches, which are very comparable to Carsen’s approach,” Gilbride said of Lyons and Saleapaga. “No. 1, they are bright, just like Carsen. They are football smart, and they dove right in and learned the playbook pretty quickly, which is somewhat unheard of. That’s not easy to do.

“So, it’s been great,” Gilbride continued. “They’re ahead of where I’ve seen other transfers coming in, other than Carsen. Carsen was right with there with them.”

Gilbride said redshirt freshman Jacob Nye will contribute “once his knee is fully healed,” along with redshirt sophomore Will Zundel, who was a solid contributor on special teams last year.

Snow College and New Mexico State transfer Ethan Wood, freshman Josh Davis, freshman returned missionary Matthew Fredrick and redshirt freshman Cole Clement, a converted receiver and solid route runner, are also in the mix.