PROVO — This year's BYU football media day turned into a mix of nostalgia and football talk, in addition to the usual joking banter, for those on hand.
Part of that look back at the Cougars' football roots was to celebrate the life of BYU Hall of Fame coach LaVell Edwards, who died Dec. 29, 2016.
One of the biggest names returning to BYU's campus on Friday for the event was Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, a former Cougar player and graduate assistant under Edwards.
Reid said something that binds together those coaches who learned under Edwards' tutelage is the way he showed them how to coach in a positive way.
“It’s the intangible things that we learned, that you can be a good person and still coach. You don’t have to yell, scream and use profanity. You’re a teacher,” Reid said. “If you take the principles of the church, we’re here to be teachers. You can truly incorporate that into coaching and still have success doing it.
“I think that’s probably the thing that we’ve all taken with us in our different ventures.”
Reid mentioned that being a great teacher isn’t for everyone — it requires the ability to communicate well.
“Anybody can learn the schemes, given enough time, but everybody can’t be a great teacher,” the Chiefs coach said. “The ability to communicate and know people, have some people skills, is important.”
Edwards family, friends on hand
Several members of the Edwards family were at the BYU Broadcast Facility for the festivities, in addition to former players and coaches to talk about the Hall of Fame coach. The final hour of media day included a look back at the coaching life of Edwards during "The LaVell Edwards Coaching Tree" broadcast on BYUtv.
In addition to Reid, former Cougar assistant coach Brian Mitchell, now at Virginia Tech, joined the show in the studio, along with BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe and current BYU coach Kalani Sitake.
Others who've learned from Edwards — including Utah coach Kyle Whittingham, Washington State coach Mike Leach, former Baltimore Ravens coach Brian Billick, former Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren and longtime Cougar assistant Norm Chow — shared video tributes to Edwards.
Edwards’ wife, Patti Edwards, was touched by the show of support and admiration for her late husband.
“I thought it was a lovely tribute to a very good man,” Patti Edwards said. “It’s good to see them all back. It’s especially good to see Andy and Brian, and hear from Brian Billick. It was a nice day.”
Why No. 12?
Kendrick Morgan, the 9-year-old son of Daily Herald Social Media Editor Phillip Morgan, was the inspiration of one of the questions fielded Friday by Cougar quarterback Tanner Mangum.
When father Phillip asked his son the night before media day what he should ask the players, Kendrick wondered why BYU’s starting QB wears No. 12.
The answer: Mangum wore No. 11 in high school, but when he got to BYU, wide receiver Terenn Houk was already wearing that number on offense.
His NFL fandom gave him the perfect solution for a number change.
“It’s no secret I’m a big Tom Brady fan, big Patriots fan, so I figured I’ll go one up to 12 and try and play like Tom,” said Mangum, who shared a video on social media of him celebrating New England’s Super Bowl win in February with Mangum donning a Tom Brady jersey.
“People always ask me that, ‘Does it have to do with Tom Brady?’ Yeah, it kind of does. But I like it,” Mangum said.
He said he thought about switching after Houk graduated, but “after I wore 12, it stuck.”
Sitake signs off for the summer
Sitake, with his good-hearted nature, is always good for a few laughs every time he meets with the media.
After about a dozen questions during his session with the print media, there was a lull in the questioning.
The head coach asked, “Is that it? OK, no more questions for the rest of the year.”
He followed that with more light-hearted banter with the media members on hand as the session closed.
"The good thing about having media day in June is you guys will forget all about (the things discussed) when we get to August," Sitake quipped.
Don’t be shy … just ask for a picture
Mangum said one of the unique aspects of being the starting quarterback at BYU and living in Provo in a socially media driven world is learning how to interact with fans who are looking to get a picture of the Cougar QB.
“I often catch people trying to sneak pictures, like they’ll have their phone out, and I’m standing in line at a restaurant or something,” he said. “They’ll be at a table, trying to take a picture and I’ll just wave and then they get all embarrassed.”
Magnum said he’ll approach them and ask if they want a picture taken.
“I’d rather you ask than just try to sneak it,” he said.