After one of the biggest offseason quarterback battles in BYU football's history, the team has officially named freshman Bear Bachmeier the starting quarterback.
Bachmeier has a lot of things that make him unique. He and his brothers have animal-themed names, he is the first true freshman quarterback to start a season opener in BYU history and he is also the first Asian-American quarterback to start at BYU.
But at first glance, there is one thing that everybody notices about Bachmeier: The No. 47 on his jersey.
So why does Bachmeier have such a unique jersey number for a quarterback?
Bachmeier did not start out playing quarterback like his older brother, Hank, who played four seasons at Boise State under center.
"I used to play running back when I was younger," Bachmeier said after practice on July 30. "I continued to play middle linebacker up until eighth grade, so, I don't know. I like the number.
"It kind of brings you back to your primitive nature when you're playing," Bachmeier added about the number that would not typically be worn by the quarterback, but instead a fullback.
But when looking at Bachmeier's physical style of play, the number makes more sense. As the No. 11 ranked quarterback in the class of 2025, Bachmeier ran for 33 touchdowns in his high school career.
In Bachmeier's junior season at Murrieta Valley (Calif.) High School in 2023, he had a clip go viral for trucking a defender, before scoring a touchdown.
2025 QB Bear Bachmeier is visiting BYU. He held offers from Georgia, Oregon, Colorado, Alabama, Notre Dame, and Miami among others.
— Casey Lundquist (@casey_lundquist) May 2, 2025
Bachmeier is a dual-threat QB that can do this ⬇️
pic.twitter.com/5HcJ6Xzvyj
This clip even caught the eye of former NFL MVP and a quarterback who was no stranger to trucking defenders in his playing days, Cam Newton.
"Was that the quarterback?" Newton asked when he initially reacted to the video on his TikTok account, "and was his number 47?
"You think he about to sit up here and throw it like Josh Allen? H*ll nah, he got bad intentions," Newton added.
In recent memory, the most famous FBS quarterback with a unique number — numbers outside 1-19 — was Michigan's Devin Gardner, who wore No. 98 for the Wolverines. His best season came as a junior in 2013, when he threw for 21 touchdowns and ran for 11 more. Other than that lone season, his numbers didn't jump off the page, but he made himself a college football legend for the two seasons that he rocked No. 98.
Bachmeier was announced the starting quarterback on Tuesday morning, and has already sent a buzz around the college football landscape because of his unique name and number.
Bear Bachmeier rocking No. 47 as a QB is objectively unhinged. But as a "let football players wear whatever number they want" maximalist, this is the price I'm willing to pay for free will. pic.twitter.com/UDUq9zgo6D
— NFL Fashion Advice (@fashion_nfl) August 19, 2025
Bachmeier transferred to BYU after spring practice at Stanford with his older wide receiver brother, Tiger. Together, they have become fan favorites in Provo.
Whether or not his freshman season is a success, he has already etched his name into the hearts of football lovers everywhere.