No. 12 BYU will continue to be thin at wide receiver for Saturdays' game against No. 25 Oregon as Puka Nacua, the program's fastest and most explosive deep threat, has been ruled out with a sprained right ankle.
Nacua traveled with the team to Oregon, and sources told ESPN earlier Saturday that Nacua would be a game-time decision. He did not warm up with the team prior to the game at Autzen Stadium.
BYU's other injured star receiver, Gunner Romney, will miss his third consecutive game with an undisclosed injury.
Nacua injured his ankle in BYU's opener against South Florida and missed the Cougars' victory against Baylor last week.
He is regarded as one of the program's toughest players, but BYU is balancing the need for him to play immediately against the long-term risk of aggravating the injury and losing him for an extended stretch. Looming in the next month on BYU's schedule are games with Notre Dame and Arkansas after hosting Wyoming and Utah State the next two weeks.
His explosion was evident in the opener against South Florida, as he burst for a 75-yard touchdown run on the game's first play as BYU cruised to a 50-21 victory. Nacua had 98 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns before suffering his ankle injury.
Romney has been a linchpin of the BYU offense for the past four seasons, starting 25 career games. Romney, who has 1,900 receiving yards and 10 total career touchdowns, did not travel with the team to Eugene.
The absence of those two receivers, who accounted for 60% of BYU's receiving yards in 2021, left quarterback Jaren Hall finding new targets last week. Redshirt freshman Chase Roberts finished with a career-high 122 receiving yards in the double-overtime win over Baylor.
