PROVO — A new name — Ghanwoloku — will be roaming the defensive secondary this fall for BYU.
But he’s not a new player on the Cougar roster.
Cornerback Dayan Ghanwoloku, formerly known as Dayan Lake, has changed his last name as a tribute to his uncle, who passed away last year. Ghanwoloku is the name that will grace the back of his jersey during the 2017 season.
“The announcers struggle with saying ‘Lake,’” Ghanwoloku said. “That’s the only thing I worry about is that the announcers are going to be (mispronouncing his name) like the other Polynesian names. Hopefully, they figure it out.”
Ghanwoloku, who was born in Liberia, left the civil war-plagued African nation when he was 5 years old.
“My dad put together money to bring me and my sister to the United States,” he said. “We lived in New York with my uncle before we came to Utah.”
Ghanwoloku starred at Northridge High School before signing with BYU.
As a freshman, Ghanwoloku started eight games for the Cougars, recording 48 tackles, two tackles-for-loss, three interceptions (he returned one for a touchdown), four pass breakups, one quarterback hurry, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
During the spring, Ghanwoloku is hoping to lock down a starting cornerback spot this season, and he’s looking to improve.
“I feel like I struggled with speed (last season),” he said. “I wasn’t slow but I wasn’t my fastest. I was 205 and I’ve dropped down to 190 now. I feel faster.”
THE SITAKE EFFECT: BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe said second-year coach Kalani Sitake has infused a newfound enthusiasm to the program.
“He’s brought a spark of life to some people that weren’t involved,” Holmoe said. “One of the things I see is, there’s a lot more people that weren’t really involved with BYU football that are now. We had a great program for many years. There’s a transition and you’re always nervous for transitions. He brings things to the table that are unique to his personality and his skills. It was a really good first year. He’s extraordinarily honest so I really know how he feels about things. We have good discussions about personnel and situations. He’s a humble guy. You know where he stands.”
Holmoe was asked about Sitake going to the Provo airport at 2 a.m. after the BYU basketball team upset top-ranked Gonzaga.
“He’s a better man than me. I was out of town. I think it’s great,” Holmoe said. “This is college life. It’s good P.R., but don’t think that he’s just looking for P.R. He doesn’t need publicity. He does it because he likes BYU and the student-athletes and the ROC. To see him at the airport, he was in his environment. He loves that stuff.”
GETTING STRONGER: BYU assistant head coach Ed Lamb said one of Sitake’s goals is for the players to spend a lot of time in the weight room.
“We’ll be stronger than we were a year ago,” Lamb said. “That’s just a simple equation. We put more time in the weight room. … Time and time again, coach Sitake is really leaning towards giving the guys a full weight room session four, five or six days a week in the weight room. We’ve seen that pay dividends.”