It's been 26 years since Kevin Gilbride repped the Y at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Back then he was a confident three-sport high school star from Jacksonville, Florida, and his dad (Kevin) was head coach of the San Diego Chargers. Gilbride arrived with plans to play both football and baseball at BYU.
The Cougars quarterback room was already crowded with Kevin Feterik, Bret Engemann and Brandon Doman ahead of him on the depth chart, so Gilbride opted to redshirt in 1998. The closest he came to taking a real snap inside the stadium was the following year during the spring game.
Seeing a limited future, Gilbride took his dual-sport dream to Hawaii, where Timmy Chang had cornered the market at quarterback for the Warriors. As a result, Gilbride spent the rest of his college years in the outfield for the UH baseball team.
A lot has happened since then. BYU head coach Kalani Sitake brought Gilbride back to Provo in January as the Cougars' tight ends coach. Gilbride returns with 20 years of coaching experience, including 12 seasons in the NFL, and those 12 valuable months at BYU.
"Night and day," Gilbride told the "Y's Guys" podcast this week when comparing the differences between 1998 and 2024. "The character of people has always been high level here, but the people our players are around each day, whether it's the strength staff, academic staff, the sports science department, the nutrition, the locker room, the equipment — it's night and day — and we had it pretty good in 1998."
Night and day could also describe the production at the tight end position when compared to its past successes. The likes of Clay Brown, Gordon Hudson, Chad Lewis, Chris Smith , Jonny Harline, Dennis Pitta , Isaac Rex and many others built the reputation that Gilbride has been assigned to restore.
Rex finished his BYU run last year as the all-time touchdown leader among tight ends with 24. He passed Hudson's Hall of Fame numbers with a 26-yard catch against Iowa State, but his broken ankle at USC late in 2021 impacted his mobility and limited his production in 2022 and 2023.
While respecting BYU's illustrious past at the position, it's Gilbride's job to shape the future with a new crop of candidates capable of winning back the play-calling confidence from offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick.
"We have some guys who can stretch the field to make plays. We have some guys who can create separation to make plays," Gilbride said. "We have some guys who can be dominant in blocking, and we have some guys who are really getting there."
Keanu Hill, a 6-4, 235-pound converted receiver and grad-student , headlines a group that features a handful of guys of comparable size, including Ryner Swanson (Freshman), Jackson Bowers (RS-Freshman), Ray Paulo (senior) and Ethan Erickson (Junior).
"My view is as many tight ends as we can get on the field the better because it keeps the defense in check," Gilbride said. "The (defense) won't know what (we) are going to do because of our versatility at tight end. We can split those guys out at receiver, we can put their hands in the dirt, and we can have them in the backfield."
Whether BYU's tight end production returns to its traditional level hinges on the play of quarterbacks Jake Retzlaff and Gerry Bohanon , who are battling for the starting job .
Retzlaff, a junior, earned priceless experience last year but went 0-4 as the starter in BYU's last four games. Bohanon, a grad transfer, sat out 2023 at South Florida following shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum. While healthy and starting at Baylor in 2021, Bohanon led the Bears to the Big 12 championship.
"I think they are both practicing at a very high level right now. It's going to be a very challenging competition for both of them," Gilbride said. "But when push comes to shove, the best player is going to play and the fact that they are pushing each other the way they are, I think whoever that player ends up being is going to be pretty special."
Gilbride spent last year as an offensive analyst at UNC Charlotte, which followed his 12-year run in the NFL. A return to BYU also required a return to recruiting, something he hadn't done since working as the receivers coach at Temple in 2009.
"It's always hard. You are battling other schools who are quality institutions, but we have such a product at BYU and the culture that Coach Kalani continues to cultivate daily — we show that to recruits," Gilbride said. "We try to give them a picture of who we are and what we can bring to the table, and they make up their minds."
Sitake has often stated that BYU's church sponsorship and honor code are selling points for the football program, as opposed to obstacles. Gilbride agrees.
"We want every recruit to know this is who we are. It's a special place. Is it for you or not — you decide," he said. "We'll show you everything we can do for you in helping you develop and being part of a family culture and you decide whether you want to be a part of it or not."
The Cougars received two three-star commitments last week to play tight end, including Tucker Kelleher and Jackson Doman . Both will be part of BYU's 2025 recruiting class.
Gilbride brings back more than coaching experience to BYU, he is also the only coach on staff with a Super Bowl ring. His dad was the offensive coordinator for the Giants when New York beat Tom Brady and the Patriots 21-17 in 2012. Gilbride was the quality control coach and worked the game from the press box.
New York Giants tight end Jerrell Adams (89) listens to tight ends coach Kevin Gilbride during rookie camp, Friday, May 6, 2016, in, East Rutherford, N.J. Gilbride joined Kalani Sitake's staff at BYU in the offseason. | Julie Jacobson, Associated Press
His Super Bowl ring doesn't come out much.
"It's great and beautiful and I'm very proud of the accomplishment, but I'm also scared something is going to happen to the ring if I wear it around everywhere," he said. "I've worn it once and that was to a buddy's wedding because he requested it. I have had a couple of requests from the guys in the tight ends room."
When Gilbride leaves the locker room at LES and takes the field on Aug. 31, it will be a full-circle moment from where it all began to where it all begins again. He's no longer the hot shot from the Sunshine State, but instead, he's a journeyman, husband and father who hopes to stay in Provo for a lot longer this time around.
Summer workouts and fall camp, which opens July 30, are out in front of his calendaring. Fixating on opening night against Southern Illinois can wait.
"I'm not very eager (for Aug. 31) because there is a lot of work to be done," Gilbride said. "I don't want to rush anything. I want to make sure we are ready to go and there is a lot of execution that must be had before we are ready to go. Not eager, but excited? Yes!"
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts "Y's Guys" at ysguys.com and is the author of the children's book "C is for Cougar," available at deseretbook.com .
