BYU football coach Kalani Sitake is still clinging to the hope that starting quarterback Jaren Hall can participate in the New Mexico Bowl on Saturday, saying the fifth-year junior “has not been eliminated from contention to play.”
“If there is a chance he can play (he will). He wants to. If you guys know anything about him and his competitiveness, he wants to get on the field and play.” — BYU coach Kalani Sitake on Jaren Hall
However, Sitake acknowledged in his weekly Monday press briefing that Hall has not been practicing as much as coaches would like and is “still banged up” with a right ankle sprain sustained in the 35-26 win over Stanford on Nov. 26.
Hall “is still in the mix,” Sitake said. “… If there is a chance he can play (he will). He wants to. If you guys know anything about him and his competitiveness, he wants to get on the field and play.
“But it is our responsibility to keep him safe knowing that he has the intention to play at the next level, and make sure he does it the right way,” Sitake continued. “And when you are given time, more than just a week, given more time, you get more of an honest assessment of all that.”
Kickoff is at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at University Stadium in Albuquerque; The 7-5 Cougars’ 40th bowl game in program history will be televised nationally by ABC.
As the Deseret News has reported, Boise State transfer Cade Fennegan will be the likely starter if Hall can’t go. Sitake said Monday that walk-on Nick Billoups and dual-threat QB Sol-Jay Maiava-Peters are also getting reps in pre-bowl practices.
“Those guys, they got a role. That’s our mindset. They have practiced really well so far and so going into this game this week, obviously we want to get Jaren ready to roll, but if he is unable to go, I trust those guys,” Sitake said.
The Cougars will also be shorthanded at running back; Sitake confirmed that senior Lopini Katoa “is not ready” to play due to an undisclosed injury suffered in the 52-26 win over Utah Tech. Katoa had 75 carries for 333 yards and two touchdowns this season, while also catching 10 passes for 80 yards.
He finishes his BYU career with 381 carries for 1,800 yards and 21 touchdowns. He caught 86 passes for 803 yards and six scores.
Sitake said the good news is that Cal graduate-transfer Chris Brooks, junior college transfer Hinckley Ropati and Miles Davis are healthy and available to play.
Defensively, the Cougars will be without the three linebackers who were starters for that unit when the season began: Keenan Pili, Max Tooley and Payton Wilgar. Pili hit the transfer portal over the weekend, while Tooley and Wilgar were injured in Game 7. Tooley has already had season-ending shoulder surgery, while Wilgar’s injury has never been disclosed and Sitake said Monday the fifth-year junior has been ruled out of the bowl game.
Sitake also updated BYU’s coaching situation on Monday, saying that newly hired defensive coordinator Jay Hill and newly hired special teams coordinator Kelly Poppinga won’t accompany the team on its charter flight to New Mexico on Wednesday and will stay in Provo and coordinate the Cougars’ recruiting efforts from there as the football early signing period approaches (Dec. 21).
Hill and Poppinga will join the team “later for the game” in Albuquerque, Sitake said.
BYU is losing safeties coach and former defensive ends coach Preston Hadley to Northern Colorado and new Bears head coach Ed Lamb, the former BYU assistant head coach and special teams coach, although it is unlikely Hadley would have been retained by Sitake and Hill. Hadley will be UNC’s new defensive coordinator, according to ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg.
Sitake said he, cornerbacks coach Jernaro Gilford and graduate assistants and analysts such as Jan Jorgensen, Gavin Fowler and Vince Feula have been preparing the defense for SMU’s high-flying attack. The Mustangs will be without leading receiver Rashee Rice, who is entering the NFL draft.
“You know, we are excited,” Sitake said. “I think these guys are excited to implement our game plan and see how our call sheet works against SMU’s offense.”
Monday marked the beginning of Finals Week for BYU, but Sitake said the Cougars will adjust and draw upon years of experience in pre-Christmas bowl games to ensure tests get taken, even if some take place in Albuquerque.
“We have had some extra time to prep for SMU,” he said. “Really like the matchup. It is going to be difficult, but we are expecting to play at our best this Saturday.”
Whether that means they will have their best quarterback remains to be seen.
New Mexico Bowl on the air
BYU (7-5) vs. SMU (7-5)
Dec. 17, 5:30 p.m. MST
University Stadium, Albuquerque, New Mexico
TV: ABC
Radio: KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM/1160 AM