Four days after BYU shook up its athletic department head football coach Kalani Sitake met with reporters via Zoom to discuss this week’s season-opening game against Utah Tech.
Not surprisingly, Sitake was not interested in talking about the restructuring or the fact that football will act independently of the other 20 sports in the department and he will now report to BYU advancement vice president Keith Vorkink
“Yeah, my job is to be the head football coach at BYU and take care of these young men, and try to give the fans what they deserve,” he said in response to a question about reporting to someone other than the second-year athletic director from the Deseret News. “That’s what I’ll be focused on. I’m not going to really worry about that stuff right now, and just focus on the team.”
The coach is 84-45 in 10 seasons as BYU’s coach, including a 23-4 record the past two years.
Longtime Kentucky athletics official Marc Hill was hired on Aug. 10 to be Santiago’s deputy AD, but BYU has yet to announce Hill’s specific responsibilities. Sitake said at photo day that he had never met Hill before the hiring.
Meanwhile, Sitake and the Cougars appear to be laser-focused on the season, which will be the popular coach’s 11th in Provo.
Senior defensive lineman Justin Kirkland also addressed reporters Monday, along with quarterback Bear Bachmeier and running back LJ Martin, and said the noise surrounding the program has not been a distraction throughout fall camp, which wrapped up last Tuesday.
“I think the coaches and the players, just in general, do a very good job at separating kind of the off-the-field stuff with on-the-field stuff,” Kirkland said. “So while we were in fall camp and preparing for Utah Tech, it was all focused on Utah Tech and what we have in front of us. That’s really our focus as a team — is just preparing for this Saturday. Whatever happens off the field, it can kind of happen off the field.”
Two weeks ago, BYU special teams coordinator Justin Ena, a former Cougar and one of Sitake’s best friends in the coaching business, was asked by the Deseret News about the possibility of the “issues” hovering on the periphery of the program affecting the team.
His response was somewhat telling:
“There’s some noise out there, for sure, no doubt,” Ena said. “But these kids are very, very focused. They know that they have to be ready to go, whether in the weight room, in the classroom, or on the field. It doesn’t matter. They know the drill.
“They are just working to make sure they get the very best out of themselves,” Ena continued. “And then us coaches hold them accountable. And then our players hold us accountable, too, because we want to make sure that we’re locked in and that we’re not wasting a day with things that don’t matter to us.”
What else did Sitake say Monday?
While BYU was enjoying its last weekend without football until the Sept. 26 weekend, Utah Tech was getting routed 54-0 in “Week Zero” by reigning FCS champion Montana State in St. George. Sitake called the Trailblazers’ blowout loss a “tough draw” and said he expects to see an “improved and motivated team” at LES this Saturday (6 p.m. MDT, ESPN+).
He also spoke at length about his friendship with Utah Tech coach Lance Anderson, a former Stanford assistant. Anderson’s daughter once worked in BYU’s football offices, Sitake said.
Next year, there will be no Week Zero because the NCAA approved moving the entire regular-season calendar up by one week to provide a more uniform start to the season.
“I do like that schedule. I think it gives opportunities for two byes throughout the year, and I think that would be best for these guys,” Sitake said. “If you look at the system and playing these games, it takes its toll on you. So anytime we can have a break, or two of them throughout the season, I think it would benefit the players the most.”
