Numbers' game: Carsen Ryan hopes to make family's No. 20 proud with BYU football

PROVO — Growing up in Utah County, Carsen Ryan never thought he'd be the star high school football player who went away for a few years before coming back to BYU. He never thought he'd wind up at BYU at all, even.

But family and a special number led him back home.

The former Timpview High and American Fork standout has been arguably the breakout star of the Cougars' spring practice session, helping solidify himself atop a tight end group that has plenty of holes to fill on a team that finished in the top 15 nationally after the 2025 season.

Ryan's form has been all over BYU social media in a number of highlight plays, and each time, a familiar number flashes across the same screen: No. 20, the jersey he wore through high school that initially belonged to his mother Dani and has become a symbol for the family, which lives in Orem.

"It means so much," said Carsen Ryan, whose requests after he entered the transfer portal a second time following stints at Utah and UCLA included being able to wear the No. 20 jersey. "It's big in our family; my mom wore it, and all her sisters growing up. I started wearing it in high school, and it's something that unites us as family. All my siblings wear it now."

Dani Ryan first picked up the jersey as a freshman on her high school basketball team. The diehard Yankees fan wanted to wear No. 2 as an homage to "The Captain" Derek Jeter, but that was taken. So, instead, she picked the No. 20 jersey, and it became her number on the court and the softball diamond.

When she met her husband Chas, the couple were married on July 20 — sparking an instant love for a number that would transcend generations. Carsen's younger sister, Collins, also reps the number in softball, a center fielder with a pitcher's mindset.

Ask Collins who started her on the path to No. 20, and depending on the day, she'll say either her mother or Carsen, the former four-star recruit who played two seasons at UCLA and last year at Utah before transferring to BYU ahead of his senior season.

As if to solidify the numerical story, Carsen first received his No. 20 jersey at UCLA on a particularly hard day for Dani, whose father has been battling cancer. When Carsen sent a text to the family with a picture of the No. 20 and the words, "I got it," she said it came like a sign from heaven that everything would be alright.

Fitting, then, that Carsen's final college season would start at LaVell Edwards Stadium, where Dani, Chas and the entire Ryan clan — even Grandpa included — could watch him play. BYU was never much of an option for the Ryan's when Carsen was in high school — Chas grew up in Salt Lake City, and still considers himself a Utah fan.

But when the family visited Provo with their oldest son, they were immediately struck by the family atmosphere under head coach Kalani Sitake.

"Once we got to BYU … When we all went there, we all felt like it was so right," Dani recalled. "Carsen wanted to take it slow, and we accepted that. But I think with my dad going through cancer, being at BYU and feeling the family culture – what I love is they don't have to preach about it; they just are it."

Of course, it helps that the Cougars and offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick were a football-fit, Carsen stresses. After playing in 17 games over two seasons at UCLA with 287 yards and three touchdowns in more of a fullback role, then adding 10 receptions for 113 yards and a score in his lone season at Utah a year ago, the 6-foot-4, 250-pound tight end has felt an instant kinship with Roderick and BYU tight ends coach Kevin Gilbride.

"Carsen Ryan had an outstanding spring," Roderick said. "We knew he was a good player, and didn't realize how good he was, really. We knew that he'd been a good player, but I thought he played even better this spring than what I saw on film. I'm high on him."

Coming out of high school, BYU was loaded at tight end, which drew Carsen away from the Cougars. This past winter, that all changed and the Ryan family felt more drawn to the program.

Given enough chances, the Cougars eventually survived the numbers' game. Now Ryan hopes to live up to the legacy of his family number, this time in royal blue.

"I've been trying my best to show out and find my way onto this team," he said. "I've been slowly learning the playbook, and all my teammates have been a big help.

"There's a lot of excitement this year, not only for myself but for the team. We can only be as good as the offense is … I just hope to be a small part of something great that happens this year."

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