BYU Cougars College Football Pregame Quote, 10/31/2022

I’m excited for this week and this new game. I’m excited to get up to Boise and play this game. They have a very good team. [Head coach Andy] Avalos has done a great job. They’re on a win streak right now and we’re on a slump, so something has to give this weekend. I feel good about our team and our guys’ focus. This is a rivalry game, and we don’t know what the future holds for it. I have a lot of respect for their coaching staff and their team. They have an identity on offense. Andy [Avalos] has done a great job with the defense. They’re one of the top defenses in the country. This is not an easy game. I know a lot of the players on that roster. I have tons of respect for their fan base and the energy they provide for their team. It’s a unique and fun atmosphere.

On injuries to Kody Epps and Chris Brooks:

Kody Epps’ injury is season-ending, unfortunately. We were hoping after getting information back and meeting with the doctors that it wouldn’t be. He’s in high spirits. I’ve spoken with him. He’s excited to keep his role as a leader on this team and to keep working with us. I’m excited about his energy and approach to the injury, but not excited that we don’t get his production on the field. Chris’s injury is not season-ending. It’s a day-to-day, week-to-week thing.

On defensive injuries:

It’s towards the end of the year. We’ve played 10 weeks straight. We knew we were going to have to test our depth, but I hate that we’ve had to test it as often as we have this year. That’s the game though. Nobody is going to feel sorry for us. We have some young guys that can step up, make plays and give us some production.

On the spirits of the team:

I’ve had plenty of discussions with the players during the last few days. I feel that there is still strong leadership on this team. There’s a sense of positivity and optimism. They know this week we have a rivalry game. This is a great time for this game. We know we haven’t been performing at our best and getting the results we or our fans want, so there is definite disappointment. Our attitude isn’t to bypass the disappointment. You can be disappointed, but you have to keep working. Our focus is to keep working, try to be as positive as we can and fix some things and improve. Hopefully we get that done and get the results we’re looking for. That doesn’t come with pouting. You have to get to work. You have to put in all of the hard work and sacrifice time to get that done.

On Gunner Romney’s injury and considering a medical redshirt for him:

We want to see as many guys as we can play another year if they’re not given a full year. We’ll always visit the opportunity to get guys more years to play, if we can. It’s been unfortunate. He hasn’t played even close to the number of games we hoped for. Hopefully we get him this week. That’s the hope I have every week for him and some others.

On his focus right now:

I’m focused on getting our guys to play to their potential. That’s on me and our coaches. I’m focused on allowing our leadership to continue to form. We have some really great young men in this program. When you’re going through some adversity, that’s a great opportunity for us to push guys into leadership roles and force them to be in a position where they have no choice but to lead. I’ve mentioned before that we’re in a position of fight or flight, and I have a bunch of fighters here. That keeps me feeling really good about our program and where we’re at. Obviously, we want to get more wins. We have great young men in this program and I’m going to lean on them to lead.