Roster construction in today’s college game is unlike any other time in history — and it never ends. The way Justin Anderson’s BYU teams were put together during his playing days over two decades ago might as well have been in the dark ages. Things have changed that much.
Conference expansions and contractions have reshaped the landscape, but the transfer portal and NIL are the real game changers — and it’s Anderson’s job as the Cougars director of player personnel to manage it.
“The evaluation process is pretty strenuous. You are trying to find guys every which way you can,” Anderson told the “Y’s Guys” livestream show this week. “I think it’s about communication, meeting with the coaches and understanding the players.”
“You have to be aware of what’s out there,” Anderson said. “It’s really a pro model now.”
One of the biggest challenges facing programs today is determining how much time to invest in high school kids as opposed to shopping the transfer portal for more experienced players.
“We spend a lot more time on our high school guys. That’s where we want to be if we can — with development and finding guys that culturally fit that can help sustain our success,” Anderson said. “Then you fill in the gaps with portal guys.”
In today’s quest for quick fixes and the constant juggling of missionaries, that is easier said than done.
“We are more heavy in high school, but the portal happens so fast. You have to be prepared with that as well,” he said. “You are doing a lot of that during the season.”
On any given day, Anderson watches video clips of up to 80 players.
“It could be a mixture of high school and or portal players and then there are the guys that we know about who are at other schools,” he said. “(We) put them on a board and if they happen to go into the portal we have to be ready to go get them and we are tracking those guys (too).”
BYU’s 12-win season in 2025 was the most for the program since Anderson’s squad also won 12 games — 24 years ago.
“I think what stands out the most is those kinds of teams have great cultures,” he said. “Kalani (Sitake) has done a really good job of building a strong culture — guys that believe in each other; they want to play for each other; they understand the schemes. (The staff) is very clear in what they are asking the guys to do. Great teams have great culture.”
Anderson and Doak Walker Award winner Luke Staley combined for 49 touchdowns at BYU. Staley had 48 of them and came within inches of claiming all 49.
Trailing UNLV early in the second quarter on Sept. 29, 2001, the Cougars drove inside the Rebels’ 10-yard line. Quarterback Brandon Doman handed the ball to Staley and watched him bulldoze his way forward.
Anderson, a 5-foot-11 receiver out of Orem High, was blocking down field. As Staley arrived at the goal line, a UNLV defender stripped the ball out of his hands and Anderson was in the right place at the right time and recovered it in the end zone for his one and only BYU touchdown.
“That’s great company to be in,” he laughed at the suggestion that he and Staley were quite the touchdown tag team. “The first time I saw (Staley), I had just come from Ricks College. It was spring ball and this dude comes walking by. I said, ‘Oh, who is that? Is that a linebacker?’ ‘No, that’s the running back?’ someone said. I thought, ‘Oh my gosh!’ He was a specimen and a phenomenal dude.”
The 2001 and 2025 teams shared a lot in common, including high-end performances and come-from-behind wins — and an Anderson.
“I grew up a BYU fan. My brother played here; my dad played here; my uncle went here. I love BYU. I played with Kalani. It’s awesome,” Anderson said. “Seeing what could potentially continue to happen with the guys we have in our program, if they will stay hungry and humble like Kalani tells them, this could be a pretty good stretch of football for BYU.”
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.