BYU receivers coach Fesi Sitake and special teams coach Kelly Poppinga admitted to being surprised when star receiver and kick returner Keelan Marion entered the transfer portal on April 18 — a couple weeks after spring camp ended — and eventually landed at Miami.
Marion’s good friend, fellow receiver, and fellow kick return specialist Parker Kingston? Not so much.
“I kinda saw it coming,” Kingston said Monday at the BYU Football Media Golf Classic. “I mean, I was really close to Keelan, so he told me a lot of stuff. I am going to miss him. I love Kee. He was one of my closest friends on the team. It is hard to see him go, but he is going to do great things at Miami.”
Obviously, with a lot of money in his pockets.
Sitake, Poppinga and Kingston all acknowledged that the First Team All-American return specialist left looking for a better name, image and likeness (NIL) deal and “probably” got it, in Kingston’s words.
“We are going to miss him, but no concerns about the production lost.”
— BYU coach Kalani Sitake on Keelan Marion
“Yeah, it was a surprise. A couple days before it happened, we had talked, and he sounded good (about being here),” Poppinga said. “And then the next thing you know, he was in the portal. That’s just kinda how it goes in this day and age. But yeah, I hope he does well and I hope he found what he was looking for.”
Asked if NIL was the primary reason Marion left Provo after he returned two kickoffs for touchdowns in 2024 for the 11-2 Cougars — against Wyoming and Utah — Poppinga nodded affirmatively.
“Yeah, I think there was that. I don’t know everything that was happening on offense at the time. There could have been something there. I don’t know,” Poppinga said. “I would say primarily, yeah, they came in with a big money offer and something that we couldn’t do at that time, and yeah, he ends up leaving.”
Actually, Marion’s departure might hurt BYU’s special teams more than it hurts the Cougars’ receiving corps. The Atlanta native who transferred to BYU from UConn caught 24 passes for 346 yards and a touchdown in 2024. He also rushed 21 times for 96 yards and two TDs.
Sitake said Marion left “on good terms” and that there are no hard feelings from BYU’s end.
“It did come as a surprise. I will say that. But, it is not a surprise, at the same time, that guys are leaving in this era,” Sitake said. “I wish him the best. But yeah, we are ready to roll without him.”
The Cougars signed two receivers from the portal/junior college ranks to replace the versatile Marion — Tiger Bachmeier of Stanford and Reggie Frischknecht of Snow College.
“Yeah, we can absolutely (overcome Marion’s sudden departure). Keelan is a really good player. I think he did great things for us,” Sitake said. “But we have plenty of guys who can step up for us. I have no doubt in my mind that we will be able to fill in what we lost.
“So (Marion) is a loss, but we have had losses every year, whether they leave to the NFL or whether they hit the portal,” Sitake continued. “We are going to miss him, but no concerns about the production lost.”
Poppinga said Kingston is the primary candidate to replace Marion as the kick returner, after the Roy High product returned two punts for touchdowns in 2024 — against Kansas State and Colorado.
“I feel really good about Parker back there,” Poppinga said. “We have some other guys, too. Dom McKenzie and Cody Hagen are some other guys that may be back there, and I feel really good about them. … We are as deep as we have ever been at receiver, which gives me a ton of hope that we are going to be really good at returner.”
