Darius Lassiter is down to the last half of his last stand. When he takes the field in the second half of No. 17 BYU’s battle against No. 23 Colorado in Saturday’s Alamo Bowl, it will most likely mark the beginning of the end to the second half of his college career.
Lassiter’s fight in the final minutes of the Houston game on Nov. 30 will keep him out of Saturday’s game (5:30 p.m., ABC) for the first two quarters. His loss is significant as he and teammate Chase Roberts generate most of BYU’s receiving yards (1,522) and touchdowns (eight).
“Things happen. I can’t dwell on something that happened three weeks ago,” said Lassiter, who pledges to make up for his suspension by making big plays in the second half. “I’ve got a whole bunch left, because in the second half, I’m not coming out of the game.”
Lassiter has come a long way since his days playing at Butler Community College and Eastern Michigan.
Since arriving in Provo in 2023, the 6-foot-2, 210-pound senior has 72 receptions for 1,044 yards and eight touchdowns, including a dramatic game winner against Oklahoma State.
“It’s been a blessing, just knowing where I was two years ago in a spot where I wasn’t too happy,” Lassiter said. “My ultimate goal was to be able to shed a light on my talents, but at the end of the day, I got something bigger here. I grew a family. I have brothers and friendships that will last a lifetime.”
Lassiter shared the spotlight and a majority of Jake Retzlaff’s passes with Roberts. The junior from American Fork caught 51 passes for 843 yards and four touchdowns during the regular season.
“I love his mentality. He has always kept me accountable especially when I’m lacking in whatever it is, film or whatever, Darius is always the one to say, ‘Hey, let’s go, step up,’” Roberts said. “It’s nice to have someone that you are competing with, especially when we are both on the field at the same time and during practices and wanting to make plays and be the guy. (Darius) has been such a great role model for me and an asset for this team.”
A big part of Kalani Sitake’s job as head coach is determining which kids, whether they come from high school or the transfer portal, will be a good fit for his program. With Lassiter, he hit a home run.
“If you could be around him, you would see his positivity and how infectious his smile is,” Sitake said. “There is a reason why he was voted as one of our co-captains. The team respects him. He’s been amazing for us.”
Relegated to cheerleader in the first half, Lassiter will be licking his chops for the third quarter against Colorado.
“I think it’s going to come down to the whole group making plays. We just have to make plays and make it easier for Jake,” Lassiter said. “(Colorado) has a lot of good talent on defense and we have a lot of good talent on offense. We have been making plays all year. It’s not going to change now just because of the opponent we are playing.”
This week’s ruling by the NCAA to allow an additional year of eligibility to former junior college transfers opens the door for Lassiter to consider returning to BYU next fall.
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.