“I Believe BYU Football is One of His Instruments”

September 2025

For Chase Roberts, football isn’t about touchdowns, highlight reels, or 40-yard dash times. Though he’s known for making clutch plays with seemingly impossible grabs, Roberts insists that for him and his BYU football teammates, the game is about one thing: spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Roberts, the son of former BYU defensive back Kyle Roberts, grew up playing baseball, football, and basketball in Highland, Utah. But almost immediately after leading the American Fork Cavemen to a runner-up spot at the football state championship in his senior season, he submitted his papers and was called on a mission to Calgary, Canada, speaking Tagalog in that city’s large Filipino population.

“I served during the COVID pandemic,” he says, “and we saw a lot of cool miracles.”

After he came home, Roberts had surgery to repair a hip injury he’d had since before his mission. And when he finally took the field again as a redshirt freshman, it had been nearly two-and-a-half years since he’d been able to run or play football at all.

“I rehabbed my hip and tried to get back quicker and stronger,” he says. “I got some playing time on special teams and even got to make some plays that redshirt year.”

The next year, he had 22 receptions and became only the sixth freshman in BYU history to record more than 100 receiving yards in a single game. In 2023 he led the team with 42 receptions for 573 yards and five touchdowns and even made the No. 1 SportsCenter Top 10 highlight one week as he snatched a touchdown out of thin air with one hand.

Then this past fall Roberts was a team captain and started all 13 games, bringing in 52 receptions for 854 yards and four receiving touchdowns, including a 62-yarder against Central Florida.
For Roberts, it’s all been about bringing others to Christ. “He wants the gospel to be spread throughout the earth,” Roberts says, “and I believe BYU football is one of His instruments for doing that.”

While the fans saw the Cougars’ success on the field, Roberts and his teammates knew it resulted from the culture that coalesced behind the scenes.

“That’s why we won so many games and played so well,” he insists. “We bought into the culture and what Kalani [Sitake] says. We trust each other, we love each other, and we play for the guy next to us. We don’t care who makes the plays. We’re all stars, and there are no egos on the field.”
That selfless culture, Roberts knows, goes beyond the team, the coaches, or even the Athletics Department staff. He’s grateful for fans and donors whose support makes it possible for the team to spread their message to audiences across the country.

“It’s such a blessing to have that scholarship and just focus on football and school,” he says. “I have a lot of goals with my family and career, and that financial support has given me opportunities that I never would’ve had otherwise.”

Roberts, a business major, is already taking his first steps into that career. This summer, he’ll host a football retreat designed to help young players grow not only better at the game but also as disciples of Jesus Christ.

“I love football, but I wouldn’t love it as much if I couldn’t use it to glorify Him,” Roberts says. “We do things differently at BYU, and we want BYU football to be a light and a beacon to the world.”