PROVO — Former Southern Utah safety Miles Killebrew owes a lot to coach Ed Lamb.
Last spring, Killebrew was drafted in the fourth round of the NFL draft by the Detroit Lions. But he wasn’t the only Thunderbird to earn a spot on an NFL roster this year. Cornerback LeShaun Sims was taken in the fifth round and SUU defensive end James Cowser signed with the Oakland Raiders.
What role did Lamb play in Killebrew’s development?
“Shoot, he was my head coach for four-and-a-half years. He’s prepared me in numerous ways,” Killebrew told the Deseret News last month after the Lions defeated the Philadelphia Eagles. “He’s been there with me athletically and with school. He’s helped develop me as a man. It’s definitely something that I can look back and say that he’s helped me get to where I am today.”
Lamb, who left SUU last winter to join Kalani Sitake’s staff at BYU as assistant head coach, faces his former team Saturday (1 p.m., MST, BYUtv) when the Cougars host the Thunderbirds.
Lamb has established a reputation for developing NFL talent. It’s been gratifying for him to see his former players succeed at the next level. Another one, quarterback Brad Sorensen, was picked in the seventh round of the 2013 NFL draft.
“Those guys have done a lot for me. They were all un-recruited players except for SUU. We recruited them from a work-ethic standpoint, from a length and speed standpoint and told them from day one, ‘If you work, this is what can be available,’” Lamb said. “We say that to all the guys and they don’t all end up in the NFL. But to have a track record of success with those guys gives everyone they played with and coached them a source of pride. It gives us all a little bit of credibility and hope that we can get out there and find the next guy that maybe isn’t a five-star recruit but can become a five-star athlete.”
Lamb believes that recruiting approach “absolutely” applies at BYU, too.
“There are only four or five schools in the country where it doesn’t apply. Those schools get their pick in recruiting,” Lamb said. “They’ll get big, strong, fast football players. At BYU, if we’re going to recruit big, strong, fast guys, they probably have some development left in the game. If they’re really good football players, they’re probably an inch or two shorter or a few pounds lighter or a step slower than the guys the big schools are getting. We fully intend to beat the best teams in America and we have to do it with recruits that are overlooked by those teams. With the exception of a handful of guys every year that grow up BYU fans, we’re going to have a hard time competing to beat some of the schools that are at the top of the food chain in recruiting.”
During his eight seasons as SUU’s head coach, Lamb elevated the program in many ways.
Lamb took over a Thunderbird program stuck in a 19-game losing streak in 2008 and guided SUU to a conference championship in 2010. He was a two-time Eddie Robinson Award finalist for national coach of the year. The Thunderbirds advanced to the FCS playoffs for the first time in program history in 2013 and accomplished that feat again in 2015.
What was the most important thing Lamb taught Killebrew?
“To choose your words carefully. Words carry weight,” he said. “Words you say to your teammates, the words you say to the press, to family members, carry weight. Be very conscious of what you say.”
Killebrew supports Lamb’s move from SUU to BYU.
“I think it was well-deserved. He’s a very good coach,” Killebrew said. “He’s very good at what he does. That’s not something that’s too big for him. It’s definitely where he needs to be.”
EMAIL: jeffc@deseretnews.com