Tucson native, QB Treyson Bourguet ‘one of the best leaders’ at BYU

PROVO, Utah — It’s not common for a football program to name a backup quarterback one of the team captains, but BYU made an exception for Tucson native Treyson Bourguet.

The Salpointe Catholic High School graduate was named a co-captain in his last season at BYU, “because of his leadership and he makes my job a lot easier,” head coach Kalani Sitake said on “BYU Sports Nation” earlier this week.

“He’s going to be an amazing coach someday, but he still has a lot of football ahead of him,” Sitake said.

Bourguet hails from a football-obsessed family. His father, Toby, co-founded “Tucson Turf Elite,” a 7-on-7 organization, in 2007. Since Tucson Turf Elite began competition, the organization has won dozens of national championships and tournaments around the U.S.

Bourguet’s older brothers, Trenton and Coben, played at Arizona State. Trenton Bourguet was the backup quarterback to Washington Commanders quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels and current LSU starter Sam Leavitt. In his return to Tucson, the Marana High School product quarterbacked the Sun Devils in the 2022 Territorial Cup. Coben Bourguet, who prepped at Salpointe Catholic, played wide receiver at ASU.

Rylen Bourguet, Treyson’s younger sister, is playing flag football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers and has aspirations to play in the 2028 Olympics.

Treyson Bourguet passed for 3,987 yards and 57 touchdowns and went 28-5 as Salpointe Catholic’s starting quarterback. Bourguet’s first season as Salpointe Catholic’s starting quarterback was Bijan Robinson’s senior year with the Lancers. Salpointe’s only loss of the 2019 season was to Chandler in the Open Division semifinals.

Bourguet, who was once committed to the Kevin Sumlin regime at Arizona, signed with Western Michigan’s 2022 recruiting class, even though he was recruited by BYU. In two seasons at Western Michigan, Bourguet passed for 1,314 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions in 10 games.

Bourguet entered the transfer portal following the ‘23 season with hopes of reconnecting with BYU. Sitake said Bourguet “was confident that’s where he wants to be,” but the Cougars didn’t have a scholarship for Bourguet.

“He calls a few days later and says, ‘Hey, good news, I got accepted to BYU and I’ll be there next week,’” Sitake said. “We’re like, ‘We just got a new quarterback and we don’t know what this means.’ He testified why he needed to be at BYU and we felt strongly about that. He loves his faith and his faith in Christ. He prayed about it and who are we to stop him? He showed up and walked on and earned a scholarship and became one of the best leaders.”

Following the suspension and departure of BYU starting quarterback Jake Retzlaff, Bourguet contended for the starting quarterback job last season, but former Stanford transfer Bear Bachmeier was named the starter over Bourguet and Micah Hillstead. Bachmeier became the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year last season.

“In life, things don’t always go your way,” Bourguet said last year. “No matter what happens or what the situation is, you have to be prepared for your moment at all times. ... You always have to prepare like you’re the starter and continue to be the leader on the team and someone that your teammates look up to and just follow whenever your number is called.”

Bourguet, as much as he’d like to start for the Cougars, is indebted to the faith-based culture at BYU and how much the Cougars’ football program has shaped his life.

“Just looking back at where I was three years ago and where I’m at now, it’s a totally different person,” Bourguet said. “I feel like I’m living a totally different life and that doesn’t have anything to do with football. It’s about who I’m surrounded with, the community I’m in, what I prioritize in life. Football is just a game. Football can do so much for us, but it’s what we do with football that brings you real happiness.

“Football has brought me closer to Christ. BYU has brought me closer to Christ. I’m eternally grateful for people like Coach Kalani, people like Jake Retzlaff, people like Bear Bachmeier, people I can compete with day in and day out and understand that we’re trying to achieve the same goal and be disciples of Christ through the game of football.”

Bourguet is “one of the best leaders I’ve ever been around,” Sitake said.

It’s why he’s one of BYU’s 20 co-captains.

“He had an opportunity to go and start anywhere in the country,” Sitake said. “A lot of people wanted him, because they needed a starting quarterback. The same faith that brought him here, kept him here. Bear is better because Treyson is here — and our team is better. … He’s one of the best leaders and I think he’s going to be successful and maybe become a future donor someday.”

This Ain’t Tucson: 'CougarTails' are a game-day staple for BYU fans

Our "This Ain't Tucson" food series is back! 

For the last three-plus seasons, UA football beat writer Justin Spears has highlighted multiple restaurants and food spots that can only be found in the cities the Arizona Wildcats are playing in. 

From seafood and burritos in San Diego, to Skyline Chili in Cincinnati, to fried okra and catfish tails in Starkville, Mississippi, we've sampled a wide range of delicious food since the 2023 season.

The last time Arizona was in Provo was in 2024, when the Cougars thumped the Wildcats. 41-19. Before the 2024 game, the Star tried the renowned hot dog restaurant "J. Dawgs." 

For the first road trip of the 2025 season for Arizona's Big 12-opening matchup with the No. 15 BYU Cougars, we kept our food selection within the confines of LaVell Edwards Stadium. Our choice? The famous "CougarTail."

The rundown: Dean Wright, the former BYU managing director of dining services, clamored for the Cougars to have a concession item that was unique to BYU. 

Wright saw a taxidermied Cougar inside the Ernest L. Wilkinson Student Center and wanted to create a food item inspired by a Cougar's tail. 

In 2003, with the help of Wright's wife, the "CougarTail" — a 15-inch maple bar donut — was created. 

In 2004, the CougarTail was removed due to a lack of interest, but was re-added the following season. BYU's original fryers weren't large enough to mass-produce 15-inch bars, so the Cougars replaced them.   

Last season, BYU created the "Cougar Paw," a paw-shaped ice cream bar (think Dilly Bar from Dairy Queen) on a stick with vanilla ice cream and a chocolate shell. 

The final verdict: The Star couldn't tackle the CougarTail alone, so we brought in reinforcements: former KVOA News 4 sports director Jenna Fink, who is now a sports anchor for KUTV News in Salt Lake City, and Jordan Hamm from Sports360AZ, a weekly guest picker on The Wildcast Podcast.

Fink rated the CougarTail 8/10 and said, "Very good, but also very sweet so could only have like one bite." Hamm gave the CougarTail an 8.5 rating. We're in a similar boat. We'll give it an 8.1 rating. 

The big number

51: Years since Arizona won in Provo. The last time the Wildcats beat BYU in Provo was in 1975, when LaVell Edwards Stadium was Cougar Stadium — and Edwards was in his fourth season as head coach of the Cougars.

He said it

“Dry climate versus dry campus.” — Actor Glen Powell, on the Arizona-BYU game via ESPN’s “College GameDay.”