Can BYU keep up with high-powered SMU offense?

DALLAS — Jojo Phillips isn't quite batting 1.000 in receptions-to-touchdowns, but BYU's redshirt freshman is finding a nose for the end zone.

The 6-foot-5 wide receiver hauled in his second touchdown pass of his career Saturday — on his second catch — in the Cougars' 41-13 win over Southern Illinois, when he caught two passes for 70 yards and a 57-yard score.

"I guess I just focus on it, and speak things into existence," Phillips told KSL.com of his uncanny touchdown-to-catch ratio. "I really spoke my first touchdown into existence, and I kind of did the same thing on the second one."

Phillips is one of three freshmen listed on the depth chart at wide receiver for the Cougars — returned missionary freshman Cody Hagen and true freshman Tei Nacua are the others — at a position that features an embarrassment of riches for BYU.

How rich? Consider this: Among Jake Retzlaff's 20 completions for 348 yards and three scores, the redshirt junior from Corona, California, hit 10 different pass catchers in the win over the FCS Salukis.

Only four of those receivers caught more than one pass: Phillips and Kody Epps with two each, Keelan Marion with three catches for 61 yards, and leading receiver Chase Roberts' seven receptions for 108 yards.

But in Phillips, the former high school basketball standout at Sierra Canyon High who played hoops with NBA draft pick Bronny James, the redshirt freshman has broken out as early as can be expected.

One year after playing in three games to preserve a redshirt season under the NCAA's recent four-game redshirt policy, Phillips is challenging Roberts for starters' minutes.

"We were very intentional about what we did last year with him," BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick said of Phillips, the converted basketball player whose given name is Josiah. "He wasn't ready early in the season, but we knew that his overall ability was right up there with our best players.

"What we tried to do was train him and bring him along in season, and then those last four games we just threw him out there and he did a good job. The stage wasn't too big for him, and then he had a big offseason. I expect him to keep improving and be a big part of our team."

Phillips' athleticism was never questioned, nor was his speed, but the 2022 California state champion who was recruited by Oregon, LSU, Oregon State, Colorado, Utah State and San Diego State, among others, had enough to learn during last season when he was still learning the game, let alone the playbook and the speed of play at the Division I level.

"It was good just being able to get into the game and feel the pace and physicality of the game — how everything was moving," Phillips said. "Coming into this season, it wasn't anything different to me. It was still football — no different than youth football or high school football; the game is just faster, and the people are bigger and stronger."

Phillips' emergence gives the Cougars (1-0) a new weapon even as they welcome back top receiver Darius Lassiter, who sat out the season opener under terms of an NCAA eligibility reinstatement, to face SMU on Friday night at Gerald J. Ford Stadium (5 p.m. MDT, ESPN2).

BYU will need every bit of the firepower, as well as explosive tailbacks LJ Martin and Hinckley Ropati leading the run game, against the Mustangs, who are 2-0 in their transition year in the ACC after wins over Nevada and FCS Houston Christian.

"Adding Darius back on will be good for us on offense," head coach Kalani Sitake said. "But we have a number of guys we can count on to help us make plays."

The Mustangs are 11.5-point favorites, according to FanDuel, behind an offense that could play as many as three quarterbacks but is most likely to feature a heavy dose of starter Preston Stone.

The 6-foot-1 junior signal caller from Dallas overcame a shaky start before throwing for 254 yards, a touchdown and an interception against the Wolfpack, then added two scores in a 59-7 blowout win over the Huskies.

SMU is coached by Rhett Lashlee, considered by many to be an offensive guru and a finalist for both the Paul "Bear" Bryant National Coach of the Year and Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year awards a year ago while leading the Mustangs to an 11-3 record and an 8-0 mark in their final season in the American Athletic Conference.

"They have an explosive team and are favored in this game, so this is an opportunity for our guys to get in there and figure out ways to improve and take-on a very impressive SMU team," said Sitake, who considers Lashlee a "close friend" since the two met in the week leading up to the 2022 New Mexico Bowl. "They have really good athletes. They have a few quarterbacks who can play. They're very active, very athletic and can throw the ball well too."

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