PROVO, Utah – BYU head football coach Kalani Sitake and select players addressed the media on Monday in preparation for Saturday's game at Liberty.
Watch and read interviews from Coach Sitake, offensive lineman Blake Freeland, defensive back Gabe Jeudy-Lally and wide receiver Chase Roberts.
Head coach Kalani Sitake (Video)
On moving-on from the loss to Arkansas and preparing to face Liberty
“Back to a new week. Obviously, I’m disappointed with the result last weekend. I had the opportunity to review the loss to Arkansas, and now I’m getting ready for this week’s game against a difficult team. Liberty is very well-coached. [Liberty head coach] Hugh Freeze is a great coach. They’ve dealt with some injuries, even at the quarterback position, but they’re 6-1 and their only loss is to a ranked Wake Forest team on a failed 2-point conversion. They have a high-powered offense with a really good running back. Whoever they have at quarterback, I’m sure they’re going to coach him well. They have very skilled receivers, and their defense is tough too. I’m looking forward to our team correcting some things from last week. We’re kind of in a funk right now and going through some adversity, but I think there’s going to be a lot of growth. There’s a lot of things we can learn. We need to keep a positive attitude about trying to get better but also have optimism that we will get through this. We’ll get through this by working hard today, getting back on it, holding each other accountable and everybody doing their part. That’s our focus this week.”
On defensive creativity
“I think there’s a place for all of it. You have to have an identity and foundation to work from. When you’re going against high-speed offenses, like Arkansas, they do that so they can get you in a non-creative mode. It keeps you pretty basic, but their offense has to be pretty basic too. They’re going to go fast, so they probably won’t run a lot of shifts and motions. That’s the game now. Teams are going no-huddle but also doing some freeze calls where they try to get you in a look and then trying to get their right call to that. Defense is a reactive squad. Your unit has to be able to react to what the offense is giving you, what they’re showing.”
On feeling pressure as head coach
“I feel pressure on everything. That’s this job. The expectations of our fans are high, and I don’t have a problem with that. When your defense is giving up that many points and that many yards, there has to be accountability. There has to be pressure on everybody. That’s my job as head coach.”
On players’ injury status
“Payton Wilgar is not out for the year. He’s doubtful for this weekend. We’re hoping he can go but that will probably show itself in the next couple of days. If he’s not ready to practice, then it’s going to be hard for me to allow him to play. We’re hoping to get [running backs] Lopini Katoa and Miles Davis back this week.”
On the offense
“The key is to put points on the board. I’ve told [offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick, wide receivers coach Fesi Sitake] and the staff, ‘Find a way to get points on the board. I really don’t care how it comes, but don’t force something that’s not there.’ I think if we execute at a high-level and put guys in the best position to make plays, then we score points. I liked the fact we got [wide receiver] Puka Nacua the ball a lot more last week. We ran the ball with him too. That’s creativity and innovation to find ways to get points on the board.”
On facing adversity
“You grow the most through adversity, so I’m looking forward to that growth. We’ve been through some adversity before and we’ve bounced back. BYU football will bounce-back to what our identity is and what we can hang our hat on. We know what’s coming up in the near future, so we have to get ourselves ready in a lot of areas.”
Offensive lineman Blake Freeland (Video)
On how the offensive line did against the Arkansas blitz
“Going into the game, we knew Arkansas was a good team. I thought we did some good things but there were also some things we can improve on. Looking back on it, all we can do is look at the things we didn’t do as well as we should have and learn from our mistakes.”
On the feeling within the team right now after a couple of losses
“It’s tough losing, especially two games in a row. But we have a long season ahead of us and I think now is a really important time for everyone to buy in and have faith in one another and what we’re doing. I think we have a good culture with players who are able to lock in, trust the process, and go out and compete every day in practice.”
On what needs to change for the team after these last couple of weeks
“I don’t know if there’s one thing, but it all goes back to the little things and the fundamentals. We just need to lock in and get back on track.”
On the liberty defensive front and how they have been successful this season
“It will be a good challenge for us. I’m excited to go up against them and it should be a good battle. They have a lot of good athletes at defensive line and linebacker. But we know what we’re supposed to do, we know how to block and pick up schemes. Our coaches always have good game plans, and I think if we just do what we’re coached to do and what we know how to do, we will be fine.”
Defensive back Gabe Jeudy-Lally (Video)
On how outside noise affects the program
We try to block out the outside noise here. We understand that at this moment in time, we have to improve as a defense. Everybody needs to do their 1/11th. Everyone has their own opinions [on the outside], but all that matters is what we believe on the inside.”
On the defensive struggles the last couple of weeks
“It’s been tough, but honestly, if you watched the last few games, we haven’t capitalized on a couple of key opportunities. Once those things come into fruition and we get off the field, everybody’s happy. There’s just little things that we need to practice. We need to capitalize on opportunities off the field. Once we do, I think the defense will start to improve and everyone will see that we’re back on track.”
On preparing for different quarterbacks at Liberty
“It’s difficult, but at the end of the day, they’re going to run many of the same pass and run concepts. The only thing that usually makes a difference is if the quarterback is a bit more mobile and can get out of the pocket. We’re going to focus on the overall scheme and then whoever comes out there, we’ll adjust accordingly.”
On accountability between teammates
“We have to be able to look inside ourselves and ask if we put in 100% best effort, best technique and best assignment at all times. We have to be able to call each other out and realize that regardless of the call, we need to play the right technique and proper footwork. We need to be able to talk with ourselves and know that at the end of the day we all know it comes from a place of love. If we’re able to foster a culture where the players are able to take accountability and talk to each other, it works out way better. We pride ourselves on that here, loving and learning. Tough love happens for your teammates and then we learn from that better.”
On BYU’s frequent defensive substitutions
“I think it comes to our advantage. A lot of teams we play go really fast, and I’d rather have a fresh body out there than somebody that’s tired and becomes a liability on defense. At the end of the day, we are here to do our 1/11th. If we can get somebody out there that’s able to give their 100% for their 1/11th, then it works out.”
On motivation for the remaining five games of the season
“Personally, what I remind myself is that I get the opportunity to play football every Saturday. Not a lot of people in this country get to play, especially on a national stage. I just want to capitalize on each opportunity we get on Saturdays. As a team, if we can take it week by week and go 1-0 each week, then we’ll love how we finish out at the end of the season. And I think that’s how the majority of players are looking at the situation.”
Wide receiver Chase Roberts (Video)
On what the offense took away from the Arkansas game
“Obviously we want to look at the good things we did and continue to improve on those. But we also want to look at the things we didn’t do well. Fesi Sitake does a great job at keeping us positive while critiquing the little things and helping us move on to the next game.”
On what he feels like he learns from a loss and builds off
“Losses happen. It is college football. Arkansas is a great team, and so was Notre Dame and every team we’ve played this year. It’s a great opportunity to play those types of teams, and win or lose, we are able to learn something each game. I feel like we’re confident going into the rest of the season with our schedule and believe we can win every game.”
On how they get excited to face a team like Liberty
“I’ve never been more excited to play. We’re playing college football for a living and it’s amazing. We never take any moment for granted and want to go out there and do the best we can every game. That’s what we did against Arkansas and what we’ve done every game.”
On what challenges Liberty presents as the team gets ready for this week
“They might not be a huge name team, but they win football games. They have speed and strength, but I think as long as we do our job, we can go out and take it to them. It’s just going to come down to the simple things of toughness and making those little plays.