Opening Statement

“We are excited to be here at Big 12 Media Day. From being in Dallas last year to Las Vegas this year, I’ve been really impressed with how the Big 12 does it. It’s first-class all the way. Myself, our BYU personnel, and our players have enjoyed the hospitality. I’ve just been really impressed with the Big 12 leadership. Specifically, Commissioner Brett Yormark has done an amazing job. I love the addition of new teams to the Big 12, and I’ve already gotten to know many of the athletic directors and head coaches in the conference. I’ve been really impressed with all of them. These are great coaches, great programs and I am looking forward to being on the field and enjoying our partnership in the conference together.

In terms of our players, I’m excited to get to know more about our team. We’ve done some really cool things that I think will be beneficial for our program and our team, and I think it will show this fall. I just want to share my appreciation for all of our people involved with BYU, what we stand for, our culture, and our program but more specifically, our players. We brought five of them with us: defensive end Tyler Batty, defensive back Jakob Robinson, wide receivers Chase Roberts and Darius Lassiter, and offensive lineman Connor Pay. Hopefully, you guys get to know them and see the excitement on their faces in anticipation of the season. We’re looking forward to it. We’re anxious for it. The season can’t get here fast enough.”

On the quarterback battle

“We’ve been through quarterback battles before and competition at every position. We knew we needed to get better at a lot of different positions and play our best. So, I can’t tell you there’s a deadline other than when we know, we will know, and when the player takes it. We have a good number of guys who can play. We have four quarterbacks who have played college football. You mentioned Gerry Bohanon and Jake Retzlaff, but there’s also Treyson Bourguet and McCae Hillstead. All four have played college football and started games, and that gives me a lot of confidence, knowing that a lot can happen in college football. Last year, we had an injury at the quarterback position and had to learn from that. So, we are much deeper at the quarterback position, but we’ve done that with other positions as well.”

On Utah joining the Big 12

“Before I was a head coach and before I was a player for the legendary LaVell Edwards, I was a BYU fan. It just made sense that the BYU-Utah game was always on the schedule. I remember when BYU was playing Utah in the WAC and then the Mountain West. Then we went through some realignment in the conferences and BYU tried to continue to play that game when we were in the Independent era. Now that we’re in the Big 12, it makes sense that they’re in the same conference and also on our schedule. So, we’re looking forward to that game. Looking forward to getting up to Salt Lake City and playing them. We have other games before that one, but we’re excited that one’s on the schedule.”

On helping players from different backgrounds adjust to the team

“It’s all about family. It doesn’t really matter about your background. I think people are naturally ingrained with the importance of loving families, about good and wholesome things. At BYU, we just happen to be a faith-based institution. We represent The Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints and one of the lessons we’ve learned from following the Savior is that we love one another. We are playing a violent game, but there’s some crazy and awesome lessons to learn in it about following the Savior, following God and His plan. You can learn those lessons when we interact with each other, and you can do it in the game of football. It doesn’t really matter the religion, but I do appreciate being at this institution of Brigham Young University where we can express our religion. We have different religions on our team as well and they can live their religion freely and be able to express themselves. I think that’s why I’m just honored to be a part of a university that allows that to happen.”

On the adjustment to the second year in the conference

“I can tell you the learning process from year one to year two naturally happens. Our guys now know what to expect. Last year was a lot of uncharted territory. There were a lot of new things that we weren’t sure how guys were going to respond to certain things in a difficult environment. I can tell you that through all that, the one thing we can definitely count on: our fan base is amazing. They do a great job. We can lean on that to be a huge benefit for us, but on the field we need to be more consistent and that’s what we’re going to slowly try to gain.”

On lessons learned in the first year in the Big-12

“Sometimes the experience itself is the key. Going from year one, I compare it to being a father for the first time. Before we had kids we had all these opinions on how you should raise your children. When we had our own child I realized we didn’t know anything. We just had to go through that experience. It’s hard for everyone to get ready for that. You just have to go through it. The first year in the conference was a learning experience not just for our players on the team, but also for our fans. The one thing that stood out was that our fans definitely belong and we as a team belong on the field too. We just need to be more consistent in our game.”

On the defense (ESPN U)

“It helps having Jay Hill as our defensive coordinator. He established our defense last year. We had some growing pains but also saw some cool things too. I trust Jay’s leadership. He’s coached and played in this system. We were together at Utah for 10 years. We speak the same language. I like what we’ve done with adding new talent and developing existing talent. In year two with this defense, our guys feel a lot more comfortable with it. Spring ball was a huge indicator to me that our guys are going to take a next step with it this season.”

On the transfer portal (ESPN U)

“We have to use the portal, but it’s about fit. For guys to develop into what we want them to be, it can’t be just about football. It’s also about ‘What is this young man going to do when he’s here? Is he willing to live our style? Is he willing to promote the mission of our team?’ If he can do that, I think he will find a lot of success. We’ve had guys that have done this. Puka Nacua had a lot of success after he came from Washington and is doing great things right now in the NFL.”

On the additions of Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah (ESPN U)

“I’m excited. Adding the four schools makes sense, geographically, for us. It’s always good to have your rival there. When we went through the Independent era, we couldn’t schedule that every year, so it’s good to see Utah on the schedule this year. It’s good to have the conference so strong. What we need to do is create more parity so that at the end of the season in November, we have a chance to play for something more.”

On evaluating the 2023 season (ESPN U)

“The first season there was so much uncharted territory for everyone, fans, the university and our football program. Now that we’ve been through it, the learning process has already taken place. Our guys know what to expect, they know what to compare it to. Last year, they were feeling their way through it. Last season we had some cool flashes that showed us we can compete. I would be kind of nervous if we were just completely overwhelmed. That didn’t happen last year. We know we’re able to compete. Even though the last two games didn’t go our way, we finished strong. Now the question for me, as head coach, is ‘how can we perform with more consistency and get more wins?’

On increasing the physicality of play (ESPN U)

“It starts in the trenches. We’ve had to revamp what we’re doing with the offensive and defensive lines. Our new offensive line coach, TJ Woods has been at Wisconsin and some different places where he’s done some good things. He’s doing great things for us too. We’ve done some other things to improve too, in terms of bringing in and developing guys. There’s not just one answer. There’s a bunch of variables that go into it.”

On the run game in 2024 (ESPN U)

“We get Hinckley Ropati back from injury. He has tons of experience for us. LJ Martin is a guy who can run for us and so is Miles Davis. I think those guys will the main ball carriers for us.”

On the quarterback position (ESPN U)

“We have a good group of young men in that position room who have played college football. We have Gerry Bohanon who took Baylor to a Big 12 Championship. We have Jake Retzlaff who played for us the last four games of last season when Kedon Slovis got hurt. We have Treyson Bourguet who played at Western Michigan and McCae Hillstead who started games at Utah State. It helps to have guys who have been through games. Now we need to get them competing and see who the best one’s going to be. We will play the best guy.”

On offensive lineman Connor Pay (ESPN U)

“He’s been through a lot, different coaches, different schemes and different styles but you can always count on his toughness and leadership. I really appreciate Connor. I wish he had another year after this year.”

2024 Big 12 Media Day Quotes