Bear Bachmeier was followed all day by reporters from media outlets across the country during Big 12 Media Days at The Star in Frisco, Texas, in July. Anywhere he went, there was a swarm of reporters elbowing for a chance to talk to BYU’s breakout star quarterback.
During breaks, Bachmeier and his teammates made the most of their freedom. Often, the small group of BYU players would break into fits of laughter or jostle each other. More often than not, Bachmeier was at the center, grinning and laughing along with his teammates, his friends.
However, the majority of Bachmeier’s day was spent feeding the swarm, which asked relentlessly about expectations.
Will he be even better than last year? How will he lead his team to a conference title? Will he be the piece that makes or breaks the entire season?
Perhaps it was the small jokes and laughs that kept the creeping doubt and weight of expectations from showing on the 19-year-old’s face.
During a lull in between interviews, Bachmeier started looking for entertainment. Soon enough, he and his teammates had lined up in an unusual formation. Instead of lining up at quarterback, Bachmeier moved to left guard. With his hair over his face and his chin thrust out, he looked ready to take down anyone or anything in his way.
With his 6-foot-2, 230-pound frame, Bachmeier doesn’t look out of place at left guard in any conventional formation. However, there is nothing conventional about the quarterback who wears No. 47.
Last August, Bachmeier became the first true freshman quarterback to start a season opener in BYU football history. He led the Cougars to a 12-2 record and an appearance in the Big 12 championship game. Throwing for more than 3,000 yards, rushing for over 500 and having fewer than 10 turnovers put Bachmeier in a unique category, one of only 19 Power 4 quarterbacks to accomplish that in the last 20 years.
He also holds the single-season record for rushing touchdowns with 11, surpassing BYU legends Steve Young and Taysom Hill.
In BYU’s 24-21 win over archrival Utah, Bachmeier cemented himself in BYU lore. He scored the game-winning touchdown, hurdling one defender and dragging another into the end zone with him, a performance that invoked Jason Bennetti’s famous line:
“There’s a bear on the loose in Provo!”
This season, Bachmeier has the weight of BYU football’s success on his shoulders. On top of that, the college football world has its eyes on the now-sophomore, waiting to see if he will rise to the Herculean challenge ahead of him — leading his team to the College Football Playoff for the first time.
Amid high expectations, Bachmeier’s head coach, Kalani Sitake, is hoping to help him continue to develop.
“I just want to keep that bottled up,” said Sitake. “He doesn’t need to change for anybody, he just needs to keep being himself.”
Bachmeier’s dedication to staying true to himself started in childhood. Growing up, he was shaped by the influences of his older siblings, something that has guided him on the path to becoming one of BYU’s most unconventional and authentic quarterbacks.
“I have three older siblings that mean the world to me and all I want to do is be like them,” Bachmeier said. “I blindly copied their work ethic and their confidence and their leadership.”
Building an unbreakable bond
Bachmeier’s childhood was typical for a young kid growing up in Southern California. He played football, basketball and baseball. In high school, he lettered in all three sports and finished his football career ranked among ESPN’s Top 15 high school quarterbacks.
Between sports, school and everyday life, he needed someone to turn to. Someone who he could tell anything and everything. That someone was his older sister Ella.
“We didn't have very much of a ‘talk about your feelings’ type of household,” said Ella Bachmeier. “So sometimes he and I [would have] those deep conversations where you start talking about, like, aliens and stuff like that.”
From UFOs to girls, Ella and Bear talked about it all. Soon, Ella moved off to college, an hour-and-a-half drive from their home. An athlete herself, Ella excelled in track and field at the University of Redlands. She earned multiple conference Track Athlete of the Week awards and was named the Division III West Region Field Athlete of the Year.
Even though she was busy training and winning races, she still made it a point to come back on the weekends to watch Bear play in his high school football games.
After Bear transferred to BYU from Stanford, Ella still made the effort to go to his games. No matter where he played or when, Ella made sure to be there for her closest brother and friend.
Now, Ella has graduated with her master’s degree in business administration and works as a social media manager for both her university and a recruiting firm. On top of that, she works as an assistant coach for her former team.
Ella’s social media experience earned her a spot at Big 12 Media Days, where she interviewed various coaches and athletes, including her brother.
One of Bear’s older brothers, Tiger, also transferred with him from Stanford to BYU. A wide receiver on the team, Tiger has caught passes from his younger brother.
Off the field, Bear and Tiger spend time playing guitar and singing, often visiting retirement homes on Sunday afternoons to play for residents. In July, the two put together a free concert for the community where they performed rock and country classics.
With Ella to confide in and Tiger to support him as a teammate on and off the field, Bear has never had a shortage of family members close by to rely on.
But his oldest brother Hank, who has experience playing football both in college and professionally, has been Bear’s example of handling the pressure that comes with being a talented quarterback.
Lessons from Hank
Hank Bachmeier started his college football career as a quarterback at Boise State. During his freshman year, he started eight games, throwing for more than 1,000 yards. However, he suffered a hip and shoulder injury that ended his season early.
In 2021, Hank had his breakout season. The sophomore threw for over 3,000 yards, 20 touchdowns and eight interceptions, ending the season with a 62.2% completion rate.
Later, he transferred to Louisiana Tech where he saw success. After one year there, Hank spent his final college season at Wake Forest.
Hank spent time in the UFL playing for the Orlando Storm but has taken his talents overseas, now playing for a professional team in Switzerland.
Despite his success at Boise State and elsewhere, Hank experienced the cost of not meeting high expectations.
“(Hank’s) experience was very rough,” Ella said. “He received death threats, which was really, really crazy. And it's hard to hear that when it's your own sibling.”
Bear saw what his older brother’s success could bring, but he also saw what it could cost. Hank’s experience helped prepare Bear for all the ups and downs of being a college quarterback.
“Bear’s always worked really hard for what he has,” she said. “He's also really humble and knows that at any moment, this could be stripped away from him.”
Unfazed by fame
After his phenomenal freshman year, when he led BYU to a 12-2 record and a conference championship game appearance, one would think that Bear Bachmeier would strut around Provo, boasting his newfound fame.
And in the close-knit BYU community, that would be easy to do. Around Provo, it's hard to walk into a grocery store without seeing a fellow BYU fan all decked out in their gear. And if Bear happens to be on his grocery run, everyone in the building is going to know about it.
But Bear doesn’t walk around and bask in college-town glory at the grocery store. Instead, he is there for much simpler reasons.
“He’s probably getting cereal,” Ella laughed. “He loves cereal.”
Even in the face of national reporters, broadcasters and radio hosts at Big 12 Media Days, Bear maintained his authenticity.
Where most players would shrug off yet another reporter asking him questions, Bear took the time to interview with BYU’s student publication and already knew it by name, something many campus celebrities wouldn’t know.
“Oh yeah,” he said. “The Daily Universe.”
He even expressed gratitude for being featured on the front cover of the publication’s magazine. Smiling, he said, “Oh awesome, thank you!”
“He’s just everything that you think he is,” said Sitake. “It’s real, it’s legitimate and genuine.”
Staying grounded
For Bear, staying grounded has never been about avoiding the spotlight but staying true to who he is underneath it.
After taking down Utah, thousands of fans rushed the field at LaVell Edwards Stadium, all of them aimed to celebrate with their new hometown hero. Instead of hurrying off the field surrounded by staff, Bear stayed.
However, he still battled the tide of royal blue, slowly making his way toward his family. After finally beating the torrent, Bear climbed up into the first row of the stands and immediately grabbed his nephew, Hank’s son.
Turning toward the crowd, he lifted his nephew in the air like Simba from “The Lion King.” The crowd roared with cheers and laughter. Gently, Uncle Bear handed his newly crowned nephew back to his brother.
Bear is not only an uncle but an older brother as well. Buck, as the family calls him, is one of the reasons Bear tries to be the best that he can every single day.
“I have a younger brother who I just want to be the best role model I can for him,” Bear said, “and just being that role model and being a good person for him to look up to.”
‘The brother that I know’
As Ella told stories about Bear, her eyes filled with tears.
“The guy you see walking around campus is the brother that I know,” said Ella.
After all of his interviews had finished and reporters had left, Bear wandered around The Star looking for his biggest supporter.
When he found her, he snuck up behind her and wrapped her in a tight hug. Surprised, Ella turned and looked up into the face of her brother who she had watched grow from a boy into a man.
Instinctually, he held Ella’s arms down with one arm and rubbed his fist into her hair with the other, a good old-fashioned noogie.
“She’s alright, I guess,” he said with a wry smile.
Ella rolled her eyes and laughed as she turned and tried to escape his hug. Letting her free, the two said their goodbyes to those nearby, turned and walked away, talking as they went.
“He’s one of the most caring people on this earth,” Ella said. “He cares so much about the people that are in his life and even if he doesn’t even know you, he has the best intentions for you.”
Where the world sees a rising star BYU quarterback entering his second year at the helm, his family sees the same guitar-strumming, joke-cracking and ever-smiling kid they have always known.
The Bear within.