Kalani Sitake’s Wednesday update at BYU’s annual football photo day touched on a lot more than the program’s bigger-picture conversations about resources and his working relationship with athletic director Brian Santiago. After the seventh practice of preseason camp, the Cougars’ coach also gave a look at the injury picture, the state of a young receiving group and what he sees as the biggest difference between this year’s team and last season’s version.
For Sitake, it starts under center.
“Well, I think (the difference) starts with the quarterback. He knows the offense a lot more now than he did last year,” Sitake said.
“But that doesn’t take away from what everybody’s done. Our goal is to keep developing our team, keep developing the young talent.”
That development is especially important at receiver, where BYU is leaning on a group that doesn’t have much experience in the two-deep. The Cougars open Sept. 5 against Utah Tech at 6 p.m. MDT on ESPN+, and Sitake made it clear those younger pass-catchers will be expected to be ready.
“So we have to lean on our receivers that maybe haven’t been main starters throughout the season,” he said. “Some of them will be new (and get) more reps than they’ve seen before.
But the quality of reps and the quality of talent is there. It’s our job in the next few weeks to get them ready by Game 1 and make sure that they can do it for 12 games to earn more (reps).”
That lines up with what offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick and passing game coordinator/receivers coach Fesi Sitake said last week: this group has a chance to become a strength. Kalani Sitake backed that up Wednesday.
“Yeah, the receivers are doing a great job,” he said. “I think when you lose guys that have been mainstays on the field, especially Chase Roberts, you’re looking for the new guys to step up, and so far (from) what we have seen in camp and in our practices, we’re gonna be fine.”
Sitake’s biggest camp takeaway wasn’t tied to a depth chart battle or a schematic wrinkle. He pointed instead to the way the team is carrying itself.
“They relish every moment that they get to be together, and get to be on the field and play this game,” he said. “I’ve just been really impressed with the brotherhood and the connection that they have to each other. They’re excited about the connection that they have to the fans, and for me and the other coaches, it’s been really cool.”
On the injury front, Sitake offered an update on running back Jovesa Damuni, who suffered a serious knee injury in spring camp. He said Damuni is “getting closer” to returning to practice, “but we have to be really careful with him.”
Damuni, a redshirt sophomore from Ridgeline High in the Cache Valley, is expected to play at some point this season, though Sitake did not have a timeline.
“That we don’t know yet,” he said.
There was better news on Stanford transfer offensive lineman Zak Yamauchi, a 6-foot-4, 325-pounder from Las Vegas. Sitake said Yamauchi, who is projected as a backup guard in the two-deep, “has been going full-go” in 11-on-11 work and has bounced back from the undisclosed injury that had held him out.
Defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga also addressed a couple of sidelined defenders earlier in the week. On safety Faletau Satuala, who injured his foot in June and has not practiced yet this month, Poppinga said, “I think we’re right on schedule (for his return) and I think he will be back sooner than everybody thinks.”
Outside linebacker Nusi Taumoepeau, who had Achilles tendon surgery in February and missed spring ball, said he was cleared the week before camp opened and is close to being fully recovered. The sophomore from Saratoga Springs transferred to BYU from Stanford at the same time the Bachmeier brothers did last year.
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Kalani Sitake Finally Addressed The BYU Questions Fans Couldnt Ignore
Kalani Sitake stepped in front of the questions everyone around BYU football had been circling, and he did it with the sort of calm deflection coaches often use when the noise starts to grow. During a recent media session, Sitake addressed the speculation about his relationship with athletic director Brian Santiago, but he kept steering the conversation back to the players and the season ahead. He also voiced support for the recent hiring of Marc Hill as deputy athletic director, a reminder that the programs off-field structure is still taking shape.
Sitake has not hidden the reality that building the program comes with constraints, and he revisited that theme while stressing his commitment to moving BYU forward. For him, the bigger message was less about administrative chatter and more about the leadership inside the locker room and the staffs responsibility to keep improving the program. The remaining question is whether those external concerns fade once the season gets rolling, or whether they continue to hover around a team trying to keep its attention where Sitake wants it. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Receivers Are Creating Camp Buzz Around One Intriguing Freshman
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Among the names getting noticed is freshman Legend Glasker, who has flashed the kind of playmaking ability that tends to turn heads early in camp. His emergence adds another layer of intrigue to a position group that already looks capable, even if the timing with the offense and the broader continuity issues up front and on special teams still need time to settle in. [Read more 🡒]
BYU May Have Found The Receiver Boost Fans Have Been Waiting For
Kyler Kasper arrives at BYU with the kind of background that makes his addition feel more like a calculated bet than a simple depth move. The former Oregon receiver transferred in after a stretch in which foot injuries slowed his development and kept him off the field, but the Cougars are clearly intrigued enough to give him a real look in the receiver mix. He is expected to compete for a starting role, and his move came alongside teammate Roger Saleapaga, another portal addition heading to Provo.
For BYU, the appeal goes beyond just adding another name to the room. Kasper pointed to the programs medical and coaching staffs, including Kalani Sitake, as major reasons he landed there, which says plenty about how the Cougars are selling their pitch to incoming transfers. The next question is whether that confidence turns into production once he gets fully settled, because this is the kind of roster move that could matter a lot if the receiver group takes the step BYU is hoping for. [Read more 🡒]