Senior Day comes early for the BYU football team this year as there is still no farewell week and other factors associated with college football independence.
On Saturday, the number 17 Cougars will have a brief ceremony honoring last year’s players and giving them farewell gifts before receiving them at 1:30 p.m. at LaVell Edwards Stadium, Idaho State.
With Defensive Tackle Uriah Leiataua, Safety Jared Kapisi, and graduate transfer recipient Samson Nacua the only seniors on the BYU 2021 list, this could be the smallest group of Senior Day honors in program history.
Or maybe not.
BYU usually lists the 20 or so players who will be honored on Senior Day when they post their game notes for the upcoming competition, but Monday’s release did not include such a list. Instead, the notes say:
“BYU also has several COVID-19 year old juniors who could choose to be honored if they don’t seek an extra year granted by the NCAA.”
Although BYU played 12 games in the pandemic-altered season last year, the NCAA grants the Cougars an extra year of eligibility – just like teams like Utah that only played five games.
It is therefore unclear how many will choose to return. Twenty-one juniors are on the squad, including starters like defensive backs Keenan Ellis, D’Angelo Mandell, Malik Moore and Chaz Ah You, as well as defensive linemen Pepe Tanuvasa, Lorenzo Fauatea and Earl Tuioti-Mariner.
Offensive are the junior starters, offensive linemen James Empey, running back Lopini Katoa and receivers Neil Pau’u and Gunner Romney.
“It really hasn’t hit me yet. Maybe it just (because) we talk about it and I have to. Man it’s crazy It’s been a long drive – even here this year. There are a lot of emotions. … but it will be fun. It’s going to be exciting. “BYU recipient Samson Nacua in his final game at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday
Katoa, Pau’u and Romney have all said this will likely be their last season in Provo. Star running back Tyler Allgeier, who is listed as runner-up but is in his fourth season on the program, is slated to join the NFL draft in April as its population continues to grow.
BYU coach Kalani Sitake told Deseret News in his weekly press conference Monday that all juniors can return if they so choose.
“Everyone else except the three are of course welcome to come back,” said Sitake.
Leiataua, Kapisi and Nacua also appeared at the press conference held on Zoom, and Leiataua and Kapisi said they do not regret returning for their final year of eligibility, while Nacua said he was happy to leave Utah for BYU and being able to play in his hometown Provo his last year with his brother Puka.
“It really hasn’t hit me yet. Maybe it is right now (because) we’re talking about it and I have to, ”said Samson. “Man, it’s crazy. It’s been a long drive – even here this year. There are a lot of emotions. … but it will be fun. It will be exciting.”
Sitake said the COVID-19 annual bonus created a lot of uncertainty, but in the end he wants to please his players.
“There are some people who just finish up and want to get on with life and other people who are yet to find out,” he said. “A lot of guys are graduating this December and want to keep going. Then there are some who still decide what to do.
“For us, I think we will probably see them all goodbye, just in case. Then hopefully they’ll come back. But there will be more than just the three boys (seniors in the squad) who will be recognized. “
Sitake said he plans to meet with each player in question individually to discuss their future.
“We don’t want them suddenly to decide after week 11 that they are done and want to move on, and we never really gave them the right goodbye,” he said. “We’ll probably say goodbye to them just in case and then try to recruit them to come back.”
One selling point could be BYU’s 2022 schedule, which includes home games against Baylor and Arkansas, as well as street or neutral locations in South Florida, Oregon, Liberty, Stanford and Las Vegas (against Notre Dame).
On the other hand, the Cougars may want to use 2022 to develop players and give them gaming experience before joining the Big 12 in 2023.
As for what is likely the last extremely competitive game at LES this season, the 66-49 win over Virginia last Saturday, Sitake reiterated what he said after the game: forcing sales and making defensive adjustments in the second half won the game for the Cougars, now 7-2 before the three games in November (Idaho State, Georgia Southern on November 20 and USC on November 27).
Sitake said the Cougars hadn’t sustained any major injuries against the Cavaliers but could take some time to heal injured players like Gunner Romney and offensive linemen James Empey and Harris LaChance.
After offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick said in his Coordinators’ Corner program that Empey’s injury was serious and that “we will miss James,” Sitake was asked if the injury Empey sustained in their 21:19 win over Washington State a week ago have, be the end of the season.
“I’ve seen some comebacks and some guys get healthier than others so I don’t know,” said Sitake, mentioning Empey using one of these scooters to get around on a sound leg. “So he’s in that window that might have something later this year, or not at all. I don’t think we can say that it’s definitely done for the year. “
Sitake said while honoring the outgoing players, the focus will continue to be on the game against 1-7 Idaho State, an FCS team he believes are better than their record suggests. He said the Bengals gave Nevada and Weber State good games before they fade late.
“I think the most important thing in football is that we do our best and respect our opponents,” said Sitake. “We look forward to being in the field with them.”
The state of Idaho received $ 475,000 for playing at BYU in 2019, a 42-10 loss, and the paycheck for Saturday’s Big Sky program is expected to be north of that. Sitake said he was never in favor of scoring opponents and will not do so on Saturday even if the first College Football Playoffs leaderboard for the 2021 season is released on Tuesday evening.
“I think a lot of people know that our style isn’t about getting people scores,” said Sitake. “Make sure you win first and then respect what happens on the field. That’s every week. No matter if Virginia, Utah or Idaho State. In some weeks it works better than in others. “
With the Cougars idle next week, finishing a streak of 10 consecutive weeks of play, Sitake said he expects the boys to “empty the tank” this week before their long-awaited hiatus.
Speaking of CFP rankings coming into focus in November as the AP Top 25 rankings and the USA Today / Coaches Poll move into the background, BYU will almost certainly crack the top 25. But where?
The Cougars are No. 17 in the media survey and No. 20 in the coach survey. Last season they debuted at # 14 on the CFP first rankings on November 24th, which was disappointing for some as they stood 9-0.
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