It’s a club.
Parker Kingston recognizes his role as a BYU football player initiated him into a network of business folks and former players that will do him a solid down the line.
It’s already paying dividends as he pursues his passion with golf.
The other day, he ran into Utah Jazz CEO Danny Ainge at Riverside Country Club in Provo. All of a sudden, Ainge came up to Kingston and chatted.
Playing in a two-man scramble, Kingston teamed with teammate Chase Roberts against former Cougar and New Orleans Saints quarterback Taysom Hill, who, Kingston said, “hit the crap” out of the ball. Kingston, a 5-handicap golfer, plays from the tips and hits it a ton, but Hill was driving it past him into the horizon.
“It was just crazy. It was ridiculous,” said Kingston.
Kingston said his networking as a player at BYU “is like nothing you’ll find anywhere else.”
As an example, he pointed to one of his best friends, former Cougar receiver Kody Epps, who transferred to Western Kentucky and then retired from football. Kingston said Epps then moved back to Utah County because of the connections he made while at BYU. Epps caught passes with current Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young at Mater Dei High in Los Angeles.
“I love Kody. We golf all the time and he’s one of my best friends. He came back here because the connections you make here are unique. He has a great fan base here. I guess you could say everybody loves him here, so he knew he could come here and pick up where he left off as a person.”
This networking aspect of BYU has been emphasized in recruiting the past few years, evidenced on Tuesday as one of the reasons Folsom High five-star quarterback Ryder Lyons committed to head coach Kalani Sitake. In the 24 hours before Lyons announced his commitment, he had calls from, at minimum, three BYU legends: Ainge, Hill and Steve Young.
“You come to BYU, your connections will be forever,” said Kingston, who wants to take over kickoff return duties from All-American Keelan Marion, who transferred to Miami.
Speaking to the media after BYU football media day at Cedar Hills Golf Course in northern Utah County, Kingston named two goals — to return both kickoffs and punts and become a scratch golfer this year. His lowest round of the year was 5 under par at Glen Eagle near his home in Layton.
“It’s going to hurt not to have Keelan, but we have other players. I’m going to step into a bigger role this year.”
Kingston, an all-state 100-meter sprinter at Roy High, made national news for his dramatic punt return for a touchdown against Kansas State in LaVell Edwards Stadium last year.
As a freshman, he was also known for getting crushed and fumbling on a play against Kansas on the road.
“I’ve gotten faster, I’ve gotten bigger and definitely I’m stronger. I feel really good this year,” said Kingston. “And I hope I don’t get blasted,” he added, laughing.
Kingston believes BYU’s offense will be better this year.
“We had a PRP (player-run practice) the other day and everything ran smooth. It’s only up from there.”
It is not too early to appreciate the chemistry between players.
Kingston said the receiver room has talent. He likes what he’s seen in JoJo Phillips and Cody Hagen, and he’s impressed with newcomers Reggie Frischknecht (Weber State) and Stanford transfer four-star Tiger Bachmeier. “Tiger has great hands, he’s strong and he runs great routes. Having him and his brother (Bear) is awesome.”
While Kingston lays claim to being the best golfer on BYU’s football team, his receiver coach, Fesi Sitake, is the best golfer on the staff. Kingston likes what he’s learned from Sitake as a receiver.
“He knows his stuff. He teaches us the fundamentals and more depth in understanding coverages, reading defenses and picking certain keys and running off defenders.” Kingston, who played quarterback in high school, understands how to read a defense, but in college it is more complicated. “To be able to pick up some of those crazy tendencies at this level is important and Fesi teaches that.”
Kingston is anxious for BYU’s third season in the Big 12 and says there is a lot of work to be done.
It’s made easier when he feels the support he gets from, well, The Club.
