The following quotes are selected from BYU's Monday media availability prior to the regular season's final game against San Diego State on Nov. 30 at San Diego County Credit Union Stadium.
Watch the full media session here.
Head Coach Kalani Sitake
On balancing Thanksgiving with practicing
We’re just going to win the game. That’s what we’ll focus on, doing everything we can to win the game. The only thing that will be changing is practice a little bit. It’ll be earlier on Thursday so the players can get out to their families. We know where all our guys are at, whether they’ll be at coaches’ or teammates’ home. They’ll be taken care of that day and I expect them to eat a lot and to probably not participate in Black Friday shopping. Other than that we have to prep and work hard. I’m looking forward to today’s meetings and practices because I think there are a lot of things we can improve on, and I’m looking forward on getting that done today.
On the third-string players’ performance in the second half
If you saw me during the game, I did a lot of vocalizing how I felt about it. I expect those guys to perform well. Some of the guys did and some didn’t, but just because the game wasn’t under control, doesn’t mean that we go easy on them. We have to coach them hard, spend time with them and expect them to play at their best, which I don’t think they did. A good number of them did though, while others didn’t and that cost us some points. Those are valuable lessons for them to learn.
An example would be Jackson McChesney against Idaho State. There were a lot of things that he did that weren’t correct. Coach Stewart could tell you more about it, but we were talking earlier, whether it was the track of his run, how he took the hand-off or where his eyes were at. Not everything was what we were hoping for from practice. He didn’t do some good things, but in order for us to get him to work on it, the experience of him going through that and having some film, was good for Coach Stewart to work on. Then boom, away he goes against UMass. I’m expecting him to keep progressing and to play better when we get to San Diego State this weekend. That’s how I expect all those guys to perform. We would have liked to keep the shutout in the second half, but it’s football. The stuff that matters to me the most is the win, the rest is trying to get the team ready for future opportunities and chances for them to be on the field. Some of them, you’re just going to have to grind your teeth and just correct them, others you’re going to praise them for what they do and try to be consistent. I give McChesney as an example because I think you saw a lot of growth from him in one week. Imagine what they others can do if the progress how he did.
On how valuable it was to have their reserves face the UMass first-strings
The fact that they kept their guys and they kept throwing and doing their regular offense. That’s stuff that is really valuable for us guys to go through. You can’t simulate that in practice. Now that it’s out there and it’s on film, we’re going to making some corrections. All of the guys were watching film on the flight home, so they saw it for themselves, but it’s a really good opportunity for us to get better, make our depth better and get them game-ready.
On San Diego State’s defense
Rocky Long is a great coach. He’s coordinated some good defenses and been the head coach of some great defenses, so he has tons of experience. I look at the coaching staff and they have a lot of experience on that staff. Some of the staff have been head coaches and they’ve been a lot of different places, so experience-wise, you can tell they’re well-coached and that they’re tough. They take the same personality that Rocky Long has. We expect their best shot. I say it every week, we just have to make sure they get ours too. It’ll be a fun opportunity for us to empty our tanks and just worry about this game so we finish it the right way.
On the biggest growth this season
I see growth everywhere. I see a sense of urgency from the seniors and the leadership. I see a team that cares about each other and loves each other. I see the underclassmen caring about how the seniors feel and wanting to give them great memories. The culture has been going well for a long time, but they’re starting to really thrive now. When you go through tough times, that’s when you really lean on that. The coaches are really growing, but it’s not anything that I’ve done, it’s just things that happen here at BYU. If you organize it with the right people around it, things will continue to grow and become a strength for a team.
Defensive Back D’Angelo Mandell
On what Kalani Sitake mean to him
The fact that I left and he allowed me to come back, shows how much he believes. Usually when a player leaves, you just let them be, but Coach gave me another chance to come back and play. I’m grateful for him and all he’s done for me.
On his biggest growth this season
I would say I’ve grown the most mentally. I got tested a lot early in the season, especially from the coaches. There were some things they wanted to see from me that I thought I was doing, but at the time I wasn’t. I’ve seen it pay off now. Being stronger mentally has helped me a lot.
On playing on Thanksgiving week
No it’s not hard. There’s no school so we can just focus on football. I think it’s nice actually. If you’re away from home, coaches normally invite you to Thanksgiving first and then friends will reach out.
On playing in hometown of San Diego
It’s going to be fun. I’m excited to see my friends and family at home. I’m going to try a little extra harder because I get to be home in front of the crowd.
Defensive Lineman JJ Nwigwe
On what Kalani Sitake means to him
First and foremost he’s just a great man, great guy in general inside the game of football, outside the game. He really cares about you as a person first, being able to have a coach like that makes you want to buy in and keep him here as long as he can. He is BYU football, when you think of BYU football. He’s a great guy to have around, great coach. You can see all of our guys believe that too.
On his interactions with Kalani
The meeting I had with him in his office about switching over to defense and getting my redshirt. He’s always been a great guy. He’ll always come up to you and ask you how you’re doing, how your family is doing. You can see all the old guys who used to play here come in and out, he talks to them and asks them how they’re doing. He always says if you need anything to hit him up. He’s definitely a person where, in the future, I know I can call him and he’ll pick up the phone and have a conversation with me.
On his interception against UMass
First, I want to give credit to my teammates, all their receivers were locked up. Khyiris Tonga got great pressure on the quarterback. I think the quarterback was trying to throw it a receiver or just throw it away, but the ball came straight at me. I originally just tried to bat it down at first, then it bounced around and I was able to secure the catch. It was really exciting, it was fun to see my teammates on the sideline cheering for me.
On the defense playing against a strong San Diego State team
Being a defensive lineman we take a lot of pressure on ourselves. We want to shut down all the holes and make sure that they don’t have any room to run. We put that burden on our shoulders first, but we know the people behind us, our linebackers and defensive backs will help us.
Quarterback Zach Wilson
On the vibe this week of the team
I think we play better when we’re viewed as an underdog or when the game is evenly sided. I guess the vibe this week is to have the energy and that this team is good. I think our guys will be ready to go.
On facing one of the best defenses in the country
They do a great job of shutting down the run, so I think that that is an area where we have to do well. In the pass game, we’re going to have to be great, but I think the difference will be whether or not we can establish the run game and get it going against them.
On what makes Kalani popular with the players
Just the way he treats everybody. Some coaches you’d be scared if they ask you to talk to them in their office, but it’s not like that with him. Some coaches you walk by them and they have a heavy demeanor like they’re hard to talk to. He texts me multiple times over the weekend telling me to enjoy it with my family. I know right after this, I could walk into his office and he’d talk to me. I think that’s the most intriguing part, that you could talk to him about anything. He loves every single player and person on this team, he cares about every single person. Players want to spend time with him and they know that he has your back.
On the win streak and getting another win
Everyone talks about it, that college football is crazy. Even though we’ve had some tough losses we’ve had some good, positive wins. We’ve been able to capitalize on those. We knew that this half of the season we would really have to dial up and get rid of bad mistakes. We’ve really been focusing on consistency as a team.