Kalani Sitake gives injury update, gently chides those who said BYU ‘too conservative’ vs. Baylor

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Kalani Sitake gives injury update, gently chides those who said BYU ‘too conservative’ vs. Baylor

BYU head coach Kalani Sitake looks on from the sidelines during the Cougars' victory over the Baylor Bears Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Waco, Texas. | BYU Photo

Jay Drew · Deseret News

Mon, Sep 30, 2024 ·

7 min read

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For more than 20 minutes during the lunch hour Monday, BYU football coach Kalani Sitake gave an opening statement and answered reporters' questions about the No. 17-ranked Cougars ' 5-0 start, their injury situation, the successful fake punt in the 34-28 win over Baylor , whether a BYU player would ever quit on his team for NIL reasons, and more.

But when it was time to say goodbye via Zoom and turn his attention to Monday's practice and the bye week in front of his team, Sitake decided he wanted to get something off his chest.

"Just another thing to add, just to talk about it," he said, prefacing what was coming next.

Then he gently chided "people" who said, or wrote, that BYU got too conservative in the second halves of the recent wins over Wyoming , Kansas State and Baylor, particularly on offense.

"There is this thought that we are not being aggressive in the second half when we have a lead. It is not true," he said. "As we go through stuff, we are not a conservative team. We have been very aggressive. So in terms of conservative, maybe we should have been a little bit more in this game, to be honest with you."

Sitake referenced the fake punt on fourth-and-10 on BYU's first possession of the second half that Sam Vander Haar ran 22 yards for a first down that resulted in a field goal to give the Cougars a 34-21 lead . He mentioned the first Baylor interception, which came on third-and-9, and the second interception, which came on third-and-2, as examples of BYU coaches being aggressive and having it backfire.

"If anything, we have had leads before and have held onto them (against) Southern Illinois, Wyoming, Kansas State. So when people are talking about our program, and talking about our mindset, we are an aggressive team. We like to find ways to make big plays. That's what we are going to do," he said. "And in terms of being conservative, I would like to be conservative. Maybe that would have worked out a little bit more in this game, if we would have done that."

Sitake reminded reporters that he has always been aggressive, particularly on fourth down , and will continue to coach like that.

"We are an intense team. We want to be aggressive. But we are going to do what is best for the team in terms of trying to win," he said. "… So, appreciate you guys. But just as you look at the grand scope of things, we know what we are doing. We are working really hard on it. Just want everybody to see the whole entire game as they go through it, and critiquing us, which, we don't mind feedback. That works for us, too. But make sure that it is all on the up-and-up."

So there's that.

Now it is time to work on fundamentals and technique, for some assistant coaches to hit the recruiting trail — Sitake said he will be in Provo all week, conducting practices — and to start scouting Arizona (3-1, 1-0), which hosts Texas Tech this week.

Monday, the Big 12 announced that the BYU-Arizona game on Oct. 12 will kick off at 2 p.m. MDT and be televised by Fox.

"I still want us to play better. I like the way the team has moved from Week 1 to Week 5. I think we have improved every week," Sitake said "I would like to see us play our best ball when we take on Arizona after the bye week. But with this bye week, we are going to work really hard. It is still practice. Some guys will get healed up because we are not playing a game. But this is an opportunity for us to get better, so we will get back to work and practice just like we would do a regular week."

What is BYU's injury situation?

Sitake said nobody sustained a season-ending injury against Baylor, but several guys were nicked up and will be out for awhile. Most notably, center Connor Pay left with a lower left leg injury and was on crutches cheering on his teammates in the second half.

Sitake said Pay is "highly doubtful" for the Arizona game, and that freshman Sonny Makasini filled in admirably and will be in the mix to assume that role for the Wildcats. He said Austin Leausa and Bruce Mitchell are also capable of playing right guard — Makasini's former position.

Sophomore running back LJ Martin, senior running back Hinckley Ropati and freshman RB Sione I. Moa didn't play against Baylor — Martin and Moa didn't even make the trip — but all three will be available a week from Saturday.

"We should be full strength at running back by the time we get to the game against Arizona," Sitake said.

Starting linebacker Harrison Taggart also left the Baylor game — Aisea "Ice" Moa and Siale Esera replaced him — but is anticipated to be back next week for Arizona.

More from Monday's presser:

Sitake said special teams coordinator Kelly Poppinga called the fake punt that Vander Haar, a former Australian Rules Football player, executed to perfection. "Great job. So it was a planned fake. Yup, and great scheme, executed perfectly. K Pop does a great job as a coach. I love having him on the staff," Sitake said.
Last week, UNLV starting quarterback Matthew Sluka announced he was quitting after leading the Rebels to a 3-0 start, claiming "commitments" that were not fulfilled. His agent later said that it was because of an unpaid $100,000 NIL deal.

Are there fears that a similar situation could unfold at BYU?

"No," Sitake said. "We don't recruit with NIL as being the focus. So that's not going to be a problem for us."