PROVO — D’Angelo Mandell, the cornerback who was known as D’Angelo Gunter when he signed with the Cougars in February of 2017, says returning to BYU after nearly a year away from the football program is still the best decision he has ever made.
That’s saying a lot, because the sophomore has already made plenty of difficult ones in his young life, including the decision to change his last name. More on that later.
After earning a starting spot for the season opener against Utah but getting benched a few games into the season, Mandell worked his way back into BYU’s starting lineup last week and made five tackles and forced a quarterback hurry in the 42-14 win over Utah State. He’s expected to get another start at corner on Saturday (5:30 p.m., ESPNU) when the 4-4 Cougars host 6-3 Liberty at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
“I am so happy to be back. This is my second year, and I have a lot more experience. I am just more used to everything now, how everything works.” — BYU cornerback D’Angelo Mandell
Redshirt freshman Isaiah Herron and fast-rising sophomore Shamon Willis, a transfer from Weber State, have rotated with Mandell at corner, while star utility player Dayan Ghanwoloku and converted safety Malik Moore have also seen time on the edges of the defense.
“My performance this season has been so-so,” Mandell said. “I have gotten better in certain aspects of the game — tackling, being more physical. But there are other things I still have to work on.”
But it beats literally working — which was what Mandell did for about 10 months until BYU defensive coaches Ed Lamb and Jernaro Gilford persuaded him to return prior to the 2018 season.
Why did he leave in the first place?
“To be honest, I just wasn’t ready to be here,” he said last year. “It was hard for me. I wasn’t ready to just take everything in.”
Mandell is not a member of the faith that owns and operates BYU, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and was not ready for “a whole different place, a whole different culture,” than he was part of in California.
So after leaving midway through fall camp in 2017, he worked as a shoe salesman, was a busboy at a sushi restaurant and did odd jobs such as bagging groceries and stocking shelves at a Sprouts store in the greater San Diego area. Suddenly, Provo didn’t seem so bad.
“Working so much, I just hated it,” he said. “Every second of the day I was like, ‘why am I doing this?’ I just knew it wasn’t for me.”
Back in San Diego, the one-time track and football standout at Del Norte High reconnected with his former prep football coach, Patrick Coleman, and the Mandell family that was so kind and generous to him from before.
So he made another tough choice, opting to change his last name to honor the Mandell family that took him in and rescued him from a troubled life with his biological parents. Mandell said Tuesday that he hasn’t spoken to his mother since his senior year in high school or to his father since 2017.
“That’s just life, that’s what happens,” he said with a no-big-deal shrug. “Sometimes, you just have to move on.”
Other times, you have to come back.
That’s what Mandell did, returning to BYU in June of 2018 after originally thinking Provo, intense college football practices and schoolwork weren’t for him. Now he’s “four or five semesters away” from a degree in human development and trying to improve enough to catch the eye of NFL scouts.
“I am so happy to be back,” he said. “This is my second year, and I have a lot more experience. I am just more used to everything now, how everything works.”
With a 6-foot-1 frame and excellent speed — Mandell says he’s probably the second-fastest player on the team, behind only safety Beau Tanner, who has reportedly posted a 4.3-second time in the 40 — the gifted athlete has the size and tools needed to make it to the next level, coaches say.
“Ever since I was little and I watched the Pro Bowl in Hawaii, I have said I wanted to play in the NFL,” he said.
Fellow cornerback Herron, who grew up north of Atlanta in Georgia but played high school football in Las Vegas, has had a front-row seat to Mandell’s return and development because they are roommates in Provo.
“Learning about his story and being around him, I have grown to respect him more as a man, to see where he came from, what he’s been through,” Herron said. “Even though we compete against each other, day in and day out, for playing time, it is all love between us. It has truly been a blessing in disguise.”
As for the cornerback position as a whole, defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki said Mandell, Herron and Willis have all been pleasant surprises because the Cougars haven’t been able to use two more experienced players, Chris Wilcox and Keenan Ellis. Wilcox suffered a knee injury against Boise State last year and is almost ready to return.
“We’re excited about a lot of young guys at corner, but it takes some time to develop them,” Tuiaki said.
Cougars on the air
Liberty (6-3) at BYU (4-4)
At LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo
Saturday, 5:30 p.m.
TV: ESPNU
Radio: KSL 1160 AM, 102.7 FM