PROVO, Utah – Preparations for the 2018 football season continued Monday morning as the BYU football team started the fourth week of spring practices.
The players and coaches conducted their 10th practice session of the spring on Monday. Following practice, BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said he is pleased with the progress the team is making and the way the players are working and connecting with the coaches. The team will continue to practice the next two weeks before concluding spring with the annual public spring scrimmage on April 7.
The following quotes are from Monday’s post-practice media availability.
BYU head coach Kalani Sitake
On today’s practice
One more practice done and I feel good about it. Obviously, nothing is perfect, but we have some good film to build on and some guys are stepping up and making some plays. I’m really pleased with the progress we are making right now in spring ball. We are trying to finish off the last two weeks strong.
On who’s stepped up
The guys who have made position changes have done a really good job adapting to their new spots. Dayan (Ghanwoloku) has done a great job at safety. We’ve asked some guys to move, like (Austin) Kafentzis to safety as well, and he’s done a good job. We also asked Zayne (Anderson) to move to flash and he’s doing a great job, a lot further along than we thought he would be. A lot of the guys are stepping up. I think everyone is getting better and it’s what we hope for — if they weren’t, then I would be concerned. I’m really happy with the way the guys are going and happy with the way their coaches are demanding a lot from them.
On Austin Kafentzis being safety
We thought he could be on the field a lot more and in the safety position, there are some opportunities for him to run with the twos. We thought it would be good for him to get some reps and I think he is a great athlete. He can play a lot of different positions and I think he is comfortable. He did some great things in the scrimmage for not being a safety very long. The goal is to get the best 11 on the field. We are trying to get the best guys that give us the best chance of winning. He’s done a great job there and the coaches are really excited about this move.
On thoughts from looking at film
I think we have a chance to be really good. I’m not making promises. It will take hard work and effort over the next little bit of play. I’m really pleased with the way the guys are working and the way they are connecting with our coaches. I’m really excited about the path we are on right now, but we still have a long way to go.
Tight end Matt Bushman
On defensive switches
Austin Kafentzis is an athlete and he has switched around a lot positions. He’s just an athletic guy. I know his dad played in the NFL for a couple years at safety, so hopefully he can get a couple of tips. He’s just an awesome athlete, so I think that he will step up and do well. I know they are switching around corners and safety, like Dayan (Ghanwoloku). He’s also a great athlete and he’s making plays. It stinks losing (guys) on the offensive side but I know that they are going to do great on defense.
On tight ends in the new offense
Coach Grimes said we are going to go with what we do best. If may involve two tight ends, which is what we started out with before we started to get banged up. But if the wide receivers step up and are make plays, catching the ball and playing well, then we might just go to one tight end and three receivers. We will just have to see. Obviously, we want our tight ends to stay in as much as we can. When we have two tight ends in, we have to make plays and do a good job blocking. We will go with whatever works best throughout the season.
Offensive lineman Tristen Hoge
On first few weeks of spring ball
I feel like it’s gone really well with the coaching adjustments. I feel like myself and my team have been acclimating really well to the new coaches and the new scheme. I’m really proud of how far we’ve come. We’ve still got a long way to go, but that being said — we’re making strides. I’m proud of everyone.
On biggest strides
Overall, knowing my assignment within the offense and everything that I have to do. Learning a new system – that’s challenging enough – but I feel like I’ve gotten the hang of it, knowing where I’m supposed to go. We’re learning new things each and every day. With all of these new adjustments, I feel like I have made strides in doing it. I’ve seen my team doing it so much as well. I’m really proud of where we’re going.
On Coach Pugh and Coach Grimes
I don’t think there is any extra pressure. I think it’s great to know that we have both Coach Pugh and Coach Grimes who have that double-team. There’s no shortage of knowledge. We’re getting coached up by Coach Pugh and Coach Grimes all the time. It’s great to have two people in our corner at all times. I feel like we make so many strides that way. I joke that they’re like father and son. You see them on the sideline standing next to each other saying like, ‘Hey, that was a good one, Dad.’ That’s what I say anyway. There are little tweaks that Coach Pugh has taken and built on. You can definitely tell that he played and coached under Coach Grimes. You can see the similarities.