Standing at nearly 6-foot-9 and weighing more than 320 pounds, Caleb Etienne is impossible to miss on the football field.
BYU's starting left tackle towers over most opponents and all of his own teammates, with the possible exception of the Cougars' starting right tackle, 6-9 senior Brayden Keim.
Etienne and Keim, who was injured in the 22-21 win over Utah, are the type of guys you want to get off the bus first — as physically imposing as anybody on the 2024 team.
But on the night of Oct. 18, 2024, the big man was reduced to tears. The Cougars had just pulled out an improbable 38-35 win over his former team, Oklahoma State, to improve to 7-0, and Etienne joyfully belted out the school song as his teammates reminded him that he had just defeated the school, and coach, that didn't want him after the 2022 season.
"That was a really good feeling, that night," Etienne said a few weeks later. "That's a game I will never forget. That was sweet."
Sweet redemption, as it were.
Back in Wichita, Kansas, Etienne's fiancée, Sataizha Buckner-White, and their 3-year-old son, Caleb Jr., watched the scene unfold on television and shed a few tears themselves.
"I was (holding back tears) myself," Buckner-White told the Deseret News last week. "I was very excited for him, because I know what it meant for him to beat them, and I know how controversial it was when he left Oklahoma State. I know how important it was to him to prove himself, get that redemption. So I totally understood why he cried that night."
BYU receiver Darius Lassiter made the game-winning touchdown catch in the final seconds against OSU, but in the postgame news conference, one of the more stoic players on the team also fought to hold back tears when he was asked what the win meant to Etienne — one of the more popular players on the team.
"We wanted to get that dub for him," Lassiter said.
More redemption for Etienne came on Dec. 5, when the All-Big 12 honors came out and he was not only named a first team offensive tackle, but also honorable mention Big 12 offensive lineman of the year.
"It felt good," Etienne said. "I have just been working hard and trying to get better each and every week. I had some moments last year when I wasn't at my best. I am still trying to work on being the athlete and the person I can really be on the field as a player.
"It has been a long journey and a long process to get where I am at right now, just to keep elevating my game each and every day, but I am not finished," he concluded.
BYU offensive lineman Caleb Etienne looks to pass block during a practice, Aug. 6, 2024, in Provo. | Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo
Etienne credited "the people around me," such as head coach Kalani Sitake, offensive line coach TJ Woods, and his teammates — even those on BYU's defense such as Tyler Batty and Isaiah Bagnah — for helping him make major strides in 2024 after he was benched in 2023.
"We just compete against each other, and coaches help me adjust and improve. They help me play better," he said. "With my technique and stuff, everybody on this team has helped me in some type of way be a better player."
A year ago, after the Cougars lost 40-34 in double overtime to OSU and trudged off the field in a driving rain storm in Stillwater, Etienne's future didn't look nearly as bright as it does now. He started at left tackle in that game because starter Kingsley Suamataia was dinged up, and played reasonably well for a guy who had been benched earlier in the season.
Etienne started the 2023 campaign as BYU's starting right tackle , but was ineffective and was benched by then-OL coach Darrell Funk, before eventually being moved to guard. He saw some success there, but was still playing behind Paul Maile and Weylin Lapuaho, filling in when those starting guards were injured.
"A lot of people were questioning whether I should even come back (to BYU)," Etienne said. "My confidence was pretty low. But my teammates rallied behind me and I came back more determined than ever, and coach Woods has most definitely been a big part of my improvement. So my hat is off to him."
According to Pro Football Focus, Etienne wasn't just subpar in 2023 — he was statistically the lowest-ranked BYU offensive lineman since PFF started tracking it in 2013. His run blocking graded out at 44.5 (on a scale of 100). His pass blocking was a bit better, with a grade of 65.
"He was pretty discouraged, and it was hard on him," said Buckner-White, who met Etienne when they were both attending Butler (Kansas) Community College and lived with him at Oklahoma State when Caleb Jr. was born before returning to Kansas so her mother could help her raise their son while Etienne was in Provo.
"But Caleb has a good head on his shoulders. He's determined," Buckner-White said. "I would describe him as a big kid. He is very funny. He loves to joke a lot. He is very nice and approachable to anyone. He is very friendly and outgoing. He is very humble. That's one thing I like about him, especially. I feel like he is very selfless, and he thinks about others."
But last summer, it was time to focus on himself, his approach and his body, if he wanted to realize a lifelong dream of playing in the NFL. The 2024 season would be his last shot, and he was determined to make the most of it.
In August, after it became apparent that he had won the starting left tackle job, had shed about 20 pounds and had spent the summer working out under the tutelage of Woods and BYU strength and conditioning director Ryan Phillis and his staff, Etienne called his performance in 2023 "not satisfactory" and promised a new and improved version of himself in 2024.
"Caleb is a lot of fun to be around, and his improvement has been impressive. Those guys love each other and have a lot of fun together. We focus on peer teaching quite a bit and those guys do a great job at it."
And he has delivered, Woods said last month.
"He is doing a good job. He has really minimized his missed assignments and those types of things," Woods said. "Refining the technique and just being consistent with that has really been his area of growth and the thing that he is really looking to improve on week in and week out, and I think he has done a good job with that, too. He is still a work in progress, just like all of us."
Sitake said the play of Keim and Etienne is a big reason why BYU got off to a 9-0 start and was clicking on all cylinders on offense before Keim went down and was replaced by Colorado transfer Isaiah Jatta. Then Jatta was injured against Arizona State and Lapuaho moved over to right tackle against Houston.
Etienne has remained healthy and started all 12 games at left tackle.
"Caleb is a lot of fun to be around, and his improvement has been impressive," Sitake said. "Those guys love each other and have a lot of fun together. We focus on peer teaching quite a bit and those guys do a great job at it."
Moving Etienne to left tackle was a stroke of genius for the BYU coaching staff. It is the spot where he started all 13 games for OSU in 2022, and where he thrives.
His next goal is to become the fourth-straight BYU left tackle to make an NFL roster , following in the footsteps of Brady Christensen , Blake Freeland and Suamataia.
Does he have what it takes?
"Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, he does," Woods said. "He is still growing, just like a lot of our guys. He's got all the potential in the world. … It is hard to come out here on this practice field and look at those guys and not ask questions about them, I can tell you that. Brayden, Caleb, Connor (Pay) and Weylin (Lapuaho), they all have a shot."
The Draft Network lists Etienne as a Day 3 prospect (Round 3-7) and says he could be drafted by a team "looking to redshirt him and develop his game over time" before pushing him into a starting role.
"Caleb Etienne has all the tools to be successful," the website reported. "Improving his physicality, leverage and footwork will go a long way into turning himself into a starting NFL tackle."
Etienne said in mid-November that he's been contacted by several agents, but hadn't decided on one.
"They will let me know stuff here and there, share some stuff that (scouts say) I need to work on," Etienne said. "It is pretty interesting and good to know. I am close to reaching my dream. I just gotta keep working hard and showing my talent, and everything I have done to get better."
In this tale of redemption, he said, there are more chapters to write.
"I'm just thankful for the chance, the opportunity, that BYU has given me," Etienne said. "At Oklahoma State, it was a different culture over there. Coming here, you have guys who are more bought-in than any other place I have ever been. It is something that I am happy to be a part of.
Oklahoma State offensive lineman Caleb Etienne (76) warms up prior to a game Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021, in Stillwater, Okla. The Oklahoma State transfer has thrived during his second season at BYU. | Brody Schmidt, Associated Press
"I am glad I made this choice and am now a part of this place, this team, this school and community," he continued. "I am a part of it, and it has changed me a lot. I know it is going to help me in the long run."
Buckner-White said she can't wait for the day when their family can live together full time, a day that will come after Etienne learns his NFL destination in April. For now, she's living with her mother and Caleb Jr. in Kansas and preparing to start her own career as a respiratory therapist, having recently graduated in that field in the Wichita area.
"It's been hard on us, living apart, but we were able to go to Provo and spend most of the summer there," she said. "The long-distance thing has been difficult, but I feel like Caleb makes it easy. He is such a good guy, I don't have much to worry about."
Etienne tries to FaceTime with his son and fiancée every night, and the little guy loves to brag about his dad at day care, Buckner-White said.
"He is so proud of his dad," she said. "That is probably his favorite person. That's all he talks about. At day care, the teacher tells me, 'He was talking about his dad again, he was talking about football.'"
The plan now is to get married in 2026, "when everything calms down in our lives a bit," Buckner-White said. They will meet up again at the bowl game in San Antonio, and reflect on "quite the journey" that has taken Etienne from his childhood home in New Orleans to Kansas, Stillwater and now Provo.
"It has been amazing and crazy, but with Caleb, he never shows he is bothered by it. I am really proud of how he carried himself and shook off the negativity," Buckner-White said. "I know he saw a lot of the comments and what everybody was saying. But through that all he remained humble and still kept a positive approach. He had that chip on his shoulder, which made him work harder to prove his critics wrong. I feel like he's been very inspirational to a lot of people."
BYU offensive lineman Caleb Etienne (76) blocks Arizona State defensive lineman Clayton Smith during game, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Tempe, Ariz. | Ross D. Franklin, Associated Press
