When the BYU Football Media Golf Classic was held a year ago at Cedar Hills Golf Club, word was already leaking out that the Cougars were going to be picked low in their second season in the Big 12.
The theme that day as players and coaches met with reporters after a golf scramble was that the Cougars would start the campaign with a chip on their shoulder, and prove everybody wrong. They absolutely did that, finishing 11-2 and winning the Alamo Bowl.
Fast forward to Monday’s annual event in Northern Utah County. What is motivating BYU this season, a season in which the Cougars will likely be picked to finish much higher than 13th, as they were last year?
“What is motivating us, honestly, is kind of that bad taste of knowing we went 11-2, and the fanbase seemed to be thrilled with that. But for us, it wasn’t good enough,” safety Tanner Wall said. “We want to go and make a run at the Big 12 championship. We want to be a championship team. We know we have the talent and the scheme and the coaches to do that. So really it is just a matter of executing.
“All the factors are there. It is our job now to really go make that happen. We know what we are capable of and we don’t want to come up short again.”
Along with Wall, receiver and return specialist Parker Kingston, offensive lineman Andrew Gentry and receiver Chase Roberts played some golf and spoke to the media after a lunch catered by Costa Vida.
“The fact that we came up short last year, despite going 11-2, means we are not satisfied,” Kingston said, after proclaiming himself the best golfer on the team. “That is not good enough for us. We want to be in the Big 12 championship game. We want to be in the College Football Playoff. Any way we can to get back there is what we are going to do.”
Kingston confirmed that he will return punts and kickoffs last year, after kick returner supreme Keelan Marion transferred to Miami.
Receivers coach Fesi Sitake, who, like Kingston, carries a 2-ish handicap and is the best golfer on the coaching staff, won one of the long drive contests with a 340-yard blast on the 10th hole, said he’s confident the Cougars will be able to replace Marion without a hitch.
“It is really the culture that motivates us,” Sitake said. “It is special, how close these guys are to each other. We know how close we were (to the CFP) and the things that let us down. We let certain things get to our head. This is a great year to be able to flip the script on that. These guys love each other, and knowing how close we were are enough things to drive us this year.”
As for the long drive, Sitake had an explanation for that, too.
“People don’t know the trick,” he joked. “You gotta pick the stick up and put it somewhere you don’t think someone is going to do it. … Once in a while you find one. Glad it stayed in the fairway.”
Former BYU quarterback Jaren Hall won the long drive on No. 4.
Special teams coach Kelly Poppinga said the Cougars will be motivated this season to find more consistency and validate last year’s success with another double-digit win campaign.
“We are trying to build something that is long-lasting. You could say a dynasty, but it is not a dynasty until you actually win a championship. So I would say the thing that is really keeping a chip on our shoulder is those two losses, the Kansas game and the Arizona State game, and how those ended,” Poppinga said.
“Both those games we could have won, and really not playing well in the first half and then not finishing in the Kansas game where we played well enough defensively to win that game,” he continued. “Our offense probably wants a couple plays back here or there. But I just think consistency of finishing the season. You are 9-0 and you are right there and it got away.”
Poppinga said the team met last Friday and ran the stadium stairs and watched film of those two losses for motivation.
“That is the driving factor right now,” he said. “We need to finish when we are in those opportunities, especially on the road. Those are the hardest ones to finish. But those are the driving forces right now, those two losses, and making sure we finish games this year.”
How did the golf go?
The best score in Monday’s four-man scramble was shot by a team of former BYU stars — Blake Freeland, Jaren Hall, Baylor Romney and Connor Pay. They won Minky Couture blankets by firing a 17-under 54 at Cedar Hills.
Freeland, of the Indianapolis Colts, made the longest putt on No. 18 to win another prize.
Pay, the 2024 graduate, was closest to the golf bag in the No. 1 fairway and won free pizza for a year from Nico’s Pizza in Provo.
The winning media team was sponsored by Fairways Magazine and included Dick Harmon, Wesley Ruff, Randy Dodson and Mike Stansfield. They shot a 57.
Dodson won the closest-to-the-pin contest with a tight shot on No. 8.
Pickleballs went to the last-place team, a group of people affiliated with BYU’s Daily Universe: Kriss Boyle, Jeff Call, Sam Foster and Miles Romney.
As for head coach Kalani Sitake, his team of himself, defensive coordinator Jay Hill and administrators David Almodova and Casey Stauffer finished in the top 10 overall.
“Usually you can count on me to make a few putts, but I was horrible,” Kalani said. “We shot 62, and that was all because of Jay Hill. Casey Stauffer and David Almodova played well, too. Let’s just say I was the worst player probably on the course today. But I was kinda shocked because we had no wind and really good weather. I am used to a lot of wind and it being blistering cold. That threw me off a little bit.”