A third of BYU’s spring 2021 football practices are in the books, the same number – five sessions – that the Cougars got last year before the pandemic hit and ended it all.
Coach Kalani Sitake provided an update on Monday night on how the camp is going via Zoom, and he may be a little more optimistic than usual. Minutes after Sitake’s breakup, the Nacua brothers – Samson from Utah and Puka from Washington – announced on Instagram that they are transferring to BYU.
So there was a reason for that spark in Sitake’s eyes.
“I am very excited about what I have seen from the team now and we will continue to build on that,” said Sitake. “Last year, we finished after practice number 5, so now we are going to try to make the next 10 worthwhile and get a good boost by going off-season and going to autumn camp.”
Having two Pac-12 receivers in the fold will help; Samson Nacua will be immediately eligible for undergraduate transfer, while Puka Nacua will have to stay one year, unless the NCAA soon allows one-time transfers without penalty, as expected.
Asked if BYU was looking to add more players before the start of the 2021 season on September 4 against Arizona in Las Vegas, Sitake gave his usual answer – that recruitment never ends.
“I am always looking to improve our team and make it better,” he said. “There are a lot of guys that fit our program and we will continue to work with that. As long as the (transfer) portal is one thing, we have to check it out and make sure it is suitable for what we have here at BYU and we want to be committed to what we do. “
Returning to an update on the Cougars, Sitake said that some players are injured – nothing special – and are playing more and more real football, as he promised last month.
“We got a lot of 11 to 11 football and we continue to work on that,” he said. “I think we are going to increase even more as we go, especially working towards the end of the elastic ball. At the moment, we are still in the installation phase, trying to put as much as we can in there before we play and before we go to work live. “
Sitake said he still hopes that the cougars will be able to have a spring game; From now on, the numbers needed, especially the line’s attackers, are good.
Regarding the improvement, the coach said that there is “a lot of space for that” and it has been happening. He is more concerned with developing depth, considering that the Cougars have a very difficult schedule this season.
“We want to make sure we have more than 11 holders in attack and 11 holders in defense and also do a good job with special teams, so we have to focus on that,” he said. “I see great development from our players, and you can see the guys who made some sacrifices to get their bodies right and make sure they get bigger and stronger.”
Of course, BYU has four quality candidates to be the starting quarterback and replace Zach Wilson, and Sitake said the competition is as fierce as expected.
Candidates “all have a high sense of confidence,” said Sitake. “That’s because they worked so hard. Now we have this big competition going on and you’re seeing the best of it every day.
Their job is to make it very difficult for us, coaches, with regards to who to choose, and so far they are doing a good job at it ”.
Sitake said the quarterback competition is inspiring other position players as they compete for their respective places on the field.
The quarterbacks with the most gaming experience, Baylor Romney and Jaren Hall, spoke to reporters last week. Monday, it was the turn of freshman Jacob Conover.
Serving as a QB Girl Scout last fall “it was amazing, I enjoyed every moment,” said Conover, “but now it’s time to shine and just rock and roll”.
Conover, a former four-star recruit whose mission in Paraguay to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was interrupted by the pandemic, called it a “super healthy competition, although everyone wants to be the guy”.
Conover said it took a while to get rid of the rust from the mission, but he’s getting there.
“Yes, a ‘missionary body’ is a real thing,” he said, “and it takes about eight months to a year to finally feel 100 percent. I thought I felt good when I returned, but there are some minor injuries here and there, just normal things from the mission, but now I feel like my body is 100 percent. I never felt in better shape than now. It has been a nice difference to see. “
Equipment director Mick Hill retires
BYU announced Monday night that Mick Hill, the school’s former equipment operations director, is retiring after 39 seasons with the football program.
Only nine football programs in the country recorded more wins in Hill’s four-decade race than BYU, which had 334. Hill was paralyzed by 482 games, “perhaps more BYU football games than anyone else in the program’s history “said the BYU statement.
“It will be very difficult to say goodbye to Mick,” said Sitake. “He was here when I was a player… It only serves to show the type of people that are around our players and the impact that they have on our lives. (…) We are very grateful for your decades of service. We are going to miss him. “