Bear Bachmeier
Bear Bachmeier, BYU's No. 47, on Murrieta Valley, a Stanford signing undone by a coaching change, a 3,000-yard freshman year and the 28-24 win over Notre Dame.
Murrieta Valley and a House Full of Quarterbacks
Michael "Bear" Bachmeier grew up in Murrieta, California, one of five children of April and Michael Bachmeier. Three of his four siblings played college sports. His brother Hank was a quarterback at Boise State, Louisiana Tech and Wake Forest, his brother Tiger played two years at Stanford before transferring to BYU, and his sister Ella ran track at the University of Redlands. Bear was a Boise State fan as a boy because Hank played there from 2019 until September 2022, and, as he told the Deseret News, partly because he had set the blue field as his home in the NCAA video game. He was raised Catholic, and his late grandfather was a diehard Notre Dame fan, a detail that would come back around in October 2026.
At Murrieta Valley High School, playing for coach George Wilson, he threw for 6,810 yards and 59 touchdowns and ran for 1,724 yards and 33 more scores. His sophomore year alone brought 2,853 passing yards, 26 touchdown passes, 644 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns, and by then the scholarship offers included BYU, Georgia, Arkansas, Boise State, Colorado, Miami, Oregon, Notre Dame, Utah and Texas A&M. He lettered four times in football and once each in baseball and basketball, made first team All-Southwestern in baseball in 2024, and was named first team All-Big West Upper and All-Inland Empire three years running from 2022 to 2024 and all-CIF Southern Section in 2022 and 2023. On3 and Rivals rated him a four-star recruit and ESPN had him as high as the No. 11 quarterback in the class; CBS Sports, for its part, described him as a three-star prospect. He also plays guitar.
A Stanford Signing Undone by Troy Taylor's Firing
Bachmeier signed with Stanford in the 2025 class and enrolled early enough to take part in spring practice that year. Notre Dame had recruited him before he chose the Cardinal. Then Stanford fired head coach Troy Taylor, and Bachmeier entered the transfer portal. On May 3, 2025, he told ESPN's Pete Thamel that he was committing to BYU. Tiger made the same move from Stanford to Provo, so the brothers arrived together.
The No. 47 Jersey and the Portland State Opener
The BYU job opened faster than anyone had planned. Jake Retzlaff, the returning starter, left the school in July 2025, and the quarterback room went into fall camp with Bachmeier, McCae Hillstead and Treyson Bourguet competing for the start. On August 19, 2025, offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick announced that the freshman had won it, news ESPN reported first. When BYU opened against Portland State on August 30, he became the first true freshman to start a season opener in the program's history. He wears No. 47.
The debut season produced the most rushing touchdowns by a BYU freshman quarterback and seven Big 12 Rookie of the Week awards, according to BYU Magazine.
Pop-Tarts Bowl Comeback Against Georgia Tech
The season ended on December 27, 2025. BYU trailed Georgia Tech by 11 at halftime of the Pop-Tarts Bowl and won 25-21. Bachmeier completed 27 of 38 passes for 325 yards and a touchdown and was named the bowl's most valuable player. The yardage pushed him past 3,000 passing yards for the season, which made him the second true freshman and the 15th quarterback in BYU history to reach that mark.
Hospital Visits and a Flag Football Team in Provo
Bachmeier is a Catholic at a university run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and he has called the transition "great". His major is Business Management. BYU Magazine's profile of his life away from the field covers visits to fans in hospital, a stint coaching a women's intramural flag football team, and an evening at a Provo retirement community where he played guitar and sang alongside Tiger, whose given name is James. Hank now plays for the Alpine Rams in AFL Europe.
A 109-Yard Rushing Day Against Iowa State
By October 2026, in his sophomore year, the offense was running through him. On October 9, with running back LJ Martin unavailable, BYU beat Iowa State 24-10 to go 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the Big 12. Bachmeier went 22 of 30 for a season-high 329 yards and two touchdowns, including scoring throws of 63 and 75 yards, the longer one to Legend Glasker, and ran for a career-best 109 yards, his first 100-yard rushing game. It was his fourth 300-yard passing game as a college player.
No. 2 Notre Dame at LaVell Edwards Stadium
On October 17, 2026, No. 8 BYU hosted No. 2 Notre Dame in the first top-10 matchup ever played at LaVell Edwards Stadium and won 28-24, the program's first victory over an Associated Press top-two team since it beat No. 1 Miami in 1990. Bachmeier had a hand in all four touchdowns. He ran for two on 13 carries for 45 yards. He caught a third from 15 yards out on a trick play, a lateral to Kyler Kasper who threw the ball back to his quarterback. And with 1:47 left he threw the go-ahead score to Walker Lyons, finishing 23 of 36 for 224 yards with one interception.
Afterward he explained the balance he tries to keep in his game: "I know I wear the No. 47 and I like to run the ball, but at the end of the day, I'm a quarterback and I want to be a point guard." He also said why this opponent meant something extra: "Out of high school, Notre Dame disrespected me and my family pretty badly, and I wasn't going to lose to those guys." Head coach Kalani Sitake kept his own verdict short: "He's just so tough man, and he's resilient and he's a great leader."
The Big 12 said afterward that the final play should have been reviewed to see whether time remained on the clock. BYU rose to No. 2 in the AP poll, and the Deseret News wrote that Bachmeier had "inched closer into the Heisman Trophy race by outplaying Notre Dame QB CJ Carr". Stewart Mandel of The Athletic, quoted in the same column, put it plainly: "I sorely underestimated Bear Bachmeier and the Cougars."
Sources
- Bear Bachmeier - Football 2026 - BYU Athletics - Official Athletics Website - BYU Cougars
- Days of 47: BYU to start true freshman Bear Bachmeier in season opener | KSL.com
- Stanford Quarterback Transfer Bear Bachmeier Commits to BYU Football
- BYU turns to freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier following Jake Retzlaff departure - CBS Sports
- Cougars come back to win Pop-Tarts Bowl 25-21 over Georgia Tech - BYU Athletics - Official Athletics Website - BYU Cougars
- Bear Bachmeier's Life Off the Field
- Bear Bachmeier powers No. 8 BYU past Iowa State, 24-10 | KSL.com
- No. 8 BYU makes statement with upset win over No. 2 Notre Dame | KSL.com
- The day national perception of BYU football changed forever - Deseret News
- Which team did Bear Bachmeier cheer for growing up? - Deseret News
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