BYU Cougars College Football Pregame Quote, 08/29/2022

Game week is here and we are really excited about it. I’m looking forward to getting the team ready, polishing things up for this week and making sure that we’re ready for this trip. We’re heading out a couple days early, like we normally do when we go out east, we have an opportunity to practice a couple times out there in that environment, and we’re looking forward to the matchup.

We’re expecting a really good, well-coached team from South Florida. We don’t know a lot about them because even though they have a lot of returning production, they’ve also added some transfers from the portal. So, there are some new bodies there, specifically with their quarterback Bohannan. He is someone that we’re familiar with, he has a lot of ability, athleticism and ability to control the ball.

There is a lot of unknown still. We don’t know much about what they do on offense or on defense with the new coordinators that they have. So, we will have to be ready for everything and we’re preparing that way. That happens sometimes in season openers like last year against Arizona. We didn’t know a whole lot going into that game and I think this is very similar.

We have an idea, but they could do a lot of different things. Once the game starts, we will do our best with the schemes and strategies and then let the boys play and settle it on the field. I know our guys are looking forward to the matchup, it’s going be a lot of fun.

Sitake on the impact of the sports scientists that have been added to the staff:

Two men specifically, that they are talking about or Coleby Clawson and Skyler Mayne Those two additions to our staff have been huge. They have the background to connect the strength room with the training room and then also using data and research to help get our guys in the optimal position for success. Looking at that I think it’s been good for them. We’ve talked about being healthy.

I like having them on our team, having them combine working with sports medicine and working with the strength room. I think it’s a really good system that we have in place right now and I’m just really thankful that they’re here. We now have a better understanding of where we could push guys and how we could push them. Everything we do is very deliberate and how we approach the game and we’ll see how it works this weekend going into Saturday.

On finally getting back to game week:

You guys have been waiting for this moment too. Right? Fans are feeling that way, so you can imagine how the players and the coaches are feeling. We’re excited for football to be back here, it was cool to watch week zero last week, preseason NFL games and high school football games are going on. We’re right at the beginning of it and I like the next few months. I’m excited for it and the guys are especially excited.

It doesn’t matter who it is a fans, media, staff, faculty, everybody’s excited about football, so definitely the players in the coaches are too.