Some coaches believe in automatically giving a starter his job back when he returns from an injury.
BYU football coach Kalani Sitake apparently does not subscribe to that philosophy.
“You don’t just become a starter by appointment only and then you are anointed the starter and then that is it for the rest of your life. That’s now how it works.” — BYU coach Kalani Sitake
Sitake said in his weekly press briefing Monday that veteran Kedon Slovis won’t necessarily be the Cougars’ starting quarterback this Saturday against Iowa State (8:15 p.m., ESPN), even if Slovis is cleared by the medical staff to return to action.
Junior college transfer Jake Retzlaff made the start in the 37-7 loss to West Virginia last Saturday because Slovis is battling elbow and shoulder pain in his right arm.
“Everybody that is coming off injury, they just don’t jump into a starting role (again),” Sitake said. “You have to earn the right to get that back. So competition still continues.”
Retzlaff played reasonably well, given the final score. He displayed some escapability and mobility that Slovis has not shown in eight starts, running for 46 yards on seven carries. He lost 22 yards on three sacks in what was one of the worst showings for an offensive line in the Sitake era.
Slovis has battled various ailments for several weeks, but was particularly ineffective in the 35-6 loss to Texas in which he was picked off twice and lost a fumble while being sacked. Sitake said after the West Virginia game that it became apparent early in the week before the game that Retzlaff was 100% and Slovis wasn’t and that the Riverside (California) City College transfer gave them the best chance to win.
“You don’t just become a starter by appointment only and then you are anointed the starter and then that is it for the rest of your life. That’s now how it works,” Sitake said Monday.
As an example, Sitake mentioned the case of freshman running back LJ Martin, who returned to full-time practicing last week after missing the Texas game (despite going through warmups) with an undisclosed injury. Aidan Robbins got the start against the Mountaineers and ran for 37 yards and a touchdown in another dreadful game for BYU’s rushing attack.
“Until we see the competition, who earns it, that doesn’t get settled by just the training room clearing you,” Sitake said. “We want to play the best guy. So if he is cleared, then let’s see how far he is cleared. Is he cleared just to be on the field as a player? Or can he throw the ball and make the plays that we need our quarterback to make?”
Asked if there will be a point this week when coaches make a starting quarterback decision and go with it, Sitake said it usually happens “around Tuesday” during a normal week, but could extend to Thursday if there is a health issue involved.
“There comes a point where you can kinda see who is going to give us the best chance (to win) and who is going to make the throws that we are asking them to do,” he said. “And that’s what it comes down to.”
Retzlaff was without one of his top receivers — Darius Lassiter — against WVU, and another top-five receiver — Kody Epps — got his bell rung and left the game early. Sitake said Lassiter was injured against Texas but did not give an update on the Eastern Michigan transfer’s status for Saturday.
Sitake said Epps “is looking pretty positive in the testing” and has a “chance” to play vs. the Cyclones (4-2, 5-4), who are also a win away from bowl eligibility.
“Probably find out more (on Epps) on Wednesday or Thursday, for sure,” Sitake said.
The coach didn’t give an update on four key defensive and/or special teams players who missed the WVU game: defensive linemen Caden Haws, John Henry Daley and John Nelson and gunner Marcus McKenzie.
Receiver Parker Kingston and defenders Tyler Batty and AJ Vongphachanh also addressed the media on Monday.
Kingston, who led the Cougars with 57 receiving yards but made a critical mistake, a fumble, late in the first half that essentially cost BYU points, said it was “cool” watching Retzlaff do his thing.
“It was great to be able to watch him do what he does, to be able to watch him use his legs, extend the plays, scramble, throw the ball on the run,” Kingston said. “He is a great player and it was great to watch him do what he loves to do.”
As for trying to recover from back-to-back blowout losses on the road, Sitake said he believes the right pieces are still in place to get bowl eligible, despite having ISU, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State to finish out the season.
“This conference isn’t going to make it easy for you. They are not just going to hand you wins — especially on the road. That just doesn’t happen,” Sitake said. “So we need to find a way to protect home, like we have done all year, and then we can do that and figure out how to play better on the road when that time comes.”
The Big 12 announced Monday that the kickoff time and television plans for the Oklahoma at BYU game on Nov. 18 won’t be announced until Saturday or Sunday.
