BYU football is a family affair

BYU football is a family affair

(Scott G. Winterton/Deseret News)


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PROVO — The initial gathering of the 10 new BYU football coaches was more like a summer family reunion in the mountains than their first official staff meeting.

Coming off the road after an intense several weeks of recruiting, which included offensive coordinator Ty Detmer flying to and from Hawaii in the same day, new head coach Kalani Sitake and his nine assistants finally had a chance to meet together last Saturday. No introductions were needed, not given the strong history many of them shared.

The staff includes eight former BYU players, several of whom were college teammates. In addition, several either coached together or were players under current BYU coaches. The only true newcomer is defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki, who grew up a diehard BYU fan while attending nearby Timpview High.

It's a family affair, for sure.

"My daughter commented how lucky I was to get to come to work every day with this," said offensive line coach Mike Empey.

Empey typifies the situation, having played at BYU at from 1987-1993, taking two years off to serve a church mission. He played with Detmer and defensive line coach Steve Kaufusi; coached with Kaufusi and assistant head coach Ed Lamb; and was on the staff when receivers coach Ben Cahoon, cornerbacks coach Jernaro Gilford and running backs coach Reno Mahe played at BYU.

So what's it all mean? These guys can speak of the BYU experience maybe better than any staff in school history. Over time, the authenticity could pay off in recruiting, which needs to be bolstered.

"Shoot, it's an easy sell for me because I played here," said Detmer, who was a Heisman-winning quarterback at BYU. "It was the greatest time of my life, a decision I would do all over again."

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If nothing else, this staff has a passion for BYU not often seen in a profession in which nomadic coaches crisscross the country in search of new loyalties. The love of these coaches for the school has also resonated with a fan base that desperately desires to enjoy a deep connection with the leaders of their football program.

This much was evident during Sitake's first public appearance before the faithful during halftime of last Saturday's BYU basketball game.

As thousands roared at his every word, Sitake fired up the Marriott Center crowd in a manner not normally associated with the head football coach. The former BYU fullback needed less than three minutes to win over an audience that has was somewhat disconnected from previous coach Bronco Mendenhall.

Vowing that his team will be prepared next season, Sitake called "Cougar Nation" the best fans in the world and took special notice of "the rowdy, rowdy ROC" student section. Referring to BYU as the Y., he repeated a school slogan of being loyal, strong and true while always representing the university.

"It's an honor to be home, thank you very much," Sitake said to the adoring fans after all of his assistants were introduced.

"It's an honor for us to be able coach such tremendous and excited, exceptional young men on this football team. They've been killing it in their workouts. As coaches we see a lot of great progress. We'll be ready and roaring to go this fall."

After tweeting some highlights of Sitake's speech, my Twitter timeline got bombarded with responses. Sticking out among was a comment from a longtime female BYU fan who wrote:

Sitake was "more motivating in 2 minutes than Bronco was in 10 years. He's a salesman."

For better or worse, Sitake is a stark contrast from the stoic Mendenhall, BYU's coach the last 11 years who took the Virginia job two months ago. At least for now, until BYU loses a game or two, love is flowing freely to and from the football office.

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