PROVO, Utah – The BYU football team hosted more than 150 high school coaches on Thursday as part of its annual coaching clinic, concluding with spring practice in the afternoon.
Former Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo was the featured speaker during the clinic. Niumatalolo, along with other BYU staffers met with high school coaches to talk coaching philosophy, scheme and ideas. Participants in the clinic attended team meetings and finished the event watching BYU's practice at the indoor practice facility as the squad continues spring football ahead of the 2023 season.
Niumatalolo and BYU passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach Fesi Sitake, along with linebacker Isaiah Glasker also met with members of the media at the end of practice. Read select comments below.
Coach Ken Niumatalolo
"I was excited to be invited by Kalani and just be around these high school coaches. I have a great affinity for these high school coaches and I was influenced by my high school coach. Anytime you can give back like this it is all part of it and I am just excited about it."
On his message to coaches
"My message is always the same about creating a culture of victories in life. Football eventually ends so hopefully some of the things you learn in this game and from the team can help you later in life to be a better father, better husband and those types of messages."
On his relationship with Kalani Sitake
"The coaching world is a small circle. There are only so many guys that understand the decisions of a head coach. Our discussions are normally deep discussions. We are both from Laie (Hawaii), we are both of Polynesian descent and we have both been Division I head football coaches. It is a tough job and everybody sees the glitz and the glamour but they don't see the tough decisions that you have to make and the lonely decisions. I cherish those talks with him and I have learned a lot from our discussions. Those are talks that you save for head coaches, things that are hard to relate to someone else unless you are in that seat. You just try to help each other out."
Wide receivers coach Fesi Sitake
On the annual coaching clinic
“It’s a lot of fun. You get reminded about the purity of the game. There’s a lot of coaches out there who, whether or not they’re teaching in high school, are devoting a lot of time to these high school kids. It’s a good reminder that they are a big reason we’re able to project and develop these kids. In the state of Utah, these coaches have done a great job. It’s a good opportunity to connect with these coaches and build relationships. It’s a reminder that there are a lot of good coaches out there.”
On Ken Niumatalolo
“It was a great honor to hear from our keynote speaker, Coach Ken Niumatalolo. He talked about culture and some of the things he believes in. It brought a lot of confirmation about things we’re doing as well as some new ideas of things we could implement to build culture. He’s a great reminder that there are plenty of ways to be successful. That includes your personality. He’s a very calm, mild-mannered man. He’s not as fiery as some coaches out there, but he does have a switch and that’s an important balance. It was really awesome to learn today that you can be yourself and find a lot of success, you don’t have to adapt to what you see from coaches on TV.”
On quarterback Kedon Slovis
“Kedon has shown us how just because it’s your first year in a program, you can still handle yourself like a veteran. He’s been around a lot of different programs, offenses and personalities. Early on he’s been able to develop chemistry with the perimeter guys and develop his role as a leader. I’ve been very impressed with him and his leadership. You can see that he loves football. I love the way he carries himself on and off the field. I’ve been very impressed with him so far and he’s just going to keep getting better.”
“I can be very emotionally impulsive and fire-off. Then, when I see someone like Kedon, I see a player who can be positive and optimistic even after a mistake, like a dropped pass, that’s not his fault. That’s a good reminder for me as a coach that I can take notes from a 20-year-old kid. I’m grateful for his example, for how he carries himself. That rubs off on other players too. He exudes confidence and gives a lot of energy and positivity to our guys. We’re lucky to have him around.”
On keeping the team healthy during spring practices
“We’ve been very fortunate with our health so far in spring ball. It’s a fine line between coaching them off live work and keeping them healthy and I think we’ve balanced that well this spring. Our sports science is a big part of keeping them healthy right now. We have GPS trackers on our guys so we can see how much they’ve ran and how they’re performing at a certain point in practice. The science behind that is very advantageous. It helps us gauge how long practice should be and at what intensity level. We’re grateful to have those resources and the support staff to be able to detect those things. Between the strength and conditioning staff, the trainers and our nutritionists, we have a lot of confidence that these guys are going to be at a much higher level of health. Now, we can push the envelope a little bit with physicality. These guys will be hungrier for it too because they will feel right. I’m super excited to see them this fall. The guys are going to be ready and healthy."
Linebacker Isaiah Glasker
On what it was like having all the high school coaches at practice today
“It was exciting seeing all the high school coaches, and definitely had me reminiscing about my high school years. High school was a great time, being around my brothers all the time, so it was cool to remember that today.”
On stepping up with other players being out with injuries
“I’m getting there. Definitely new for me, but we are running a new defense and I’m working on things. Right now with some of the other players being out, we are just working on getting better as practices go on.”
On how his skill set fits in with the new coaching staff
“I think my skill set fits in nicely with the new coaching. Jay Hill was looking for linebackers who are tough and can attack the ball, who aren’t scared to tackle anyone, and I feel like with the guys we have right now, we are pretty set. I feel like practices have been pretty good and all the linebackers are getting the plays down, so we should be pretty good this year.”
On coach Jay Hill
“Coach Hill is very loving, but also likes strict discipline, which is a good thing for the team this year. I feel like the discipline from the coaching staff will help us be a good team.”