Kalani Sitake Reveals the Real Reason He Stayed at BYU: 1 on 1 with Kalani Sitake

Kalani Sitake is opening up about why he chose to stay at BYU.

After drawing interest from other major programs, including Penn State, Sitake wanted to know whether BYU was truly committed to making football a priority in the Big 12. His answer came through increased resources, better support for players, more opportunities to retain his coaching staff and a long-term commitment from the university.

John Kurtz sits down with Sitake to discuss what BYU had to prove, why he did not want the Cougars to simply be “invited to the party” and how the program is now positioning itself to become a lasting Big 12 contender.

Sitake also talks about BYU’s roster retention, Bear Bachmeier’s development, the transition from Jay Hill to Kelly Poppinga, the importance of the Notre Dame game and why the Cougars believe they have the pieces to compete for a Big 12 championship.

Did BYU finally go all-in on football?

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

What was like the moment where you knew what clicked for you? Like, okay, I'm I'm going to stay. I'm going to stay here.

SPEAKER_01 0:05

I felt like when we got into the conference, the Big 12, I think everybody just felt like, well, that's that's the big that's the big thing. We got into the conference. And so it's easy to just kick your feet up.

SPEAKER_00 0:15

Back here on Open for Business with Kalani Sataki, head coach of the BYU Cougars. Uh Coach Sataki, thank you so much for joining me. Great to be here. How has this uh whirlwind of a day been for you today?

SPEAKER_01 0:25

Oh, I love it. I mean, it just means the the season's right around the corner. And so um yeah, any chance I can be to be I can have to be here and uh um have the season that much closer is is it's like a dream. I I've always had a hard time between January to now. So now that we're we had soccer to entertain us during the during the during during the uh offseason, but uh yeah, I'm ready for football to start again.

SPEAKER_00 0:48

Okay, you're a World Cup guy?

SPEAKER_01 0:50

Uh I didn't used to be, and I I am uh just I I I got into it because I I'm yeah I appreciate the skill and the talent that they have. Um not good on on the flopping yet, so I don't I still don't understand the reasoning behind that, but you know, maybe I can understand. I don't like it in basketball, I don't like it in soccer.

SPEAKER_00 1:09

So did you play soccer at all growing up?

SPEAKER_01 1:11

Yeah, I played goalie until I realized that goalies had to run too, then I stopped.

SPEAKER_00 1:15

Yeah, I get that. I get that. I appreciate that. Hey, when you when you have a chance to look back at last year and like reflect on what you guys accomplished last year, or like dissecting film as you're going through this offseason, like what stands out to you? What are the big takeaways of what you feel like you guys accomplished last year?

SPEAKER_01 1:29

I I feel like there's some really cool things, and there's some things that we can admire and and and um and and you know continue to try to do, but there's some things that we can do better. And and uh I always like to look at myself first as a head coach. What could I do differently as a head coach to get our guys to perform better and and and to be in a better position? Um and so I'm working, we've been working on that quite a bit, and uh there's been a lot of lot of effort going into it since January to now. We've had a couple changes and some change in staff and and uh with our defense coordinator leaving, but but I knew that that would could be a possibility already. So uh there's there's not a lot of surprises that comes to us. And we're in a good spot now because we have great people working around us. And um, but I I have to always look at what I can do differently as a head coach and and apply it to this year. And that I think we've we got a good start on it.

SPEAKER_00 2:20

How different will things be without Jay? I mean, I know he did an awesome job for you guys over the last few years as as defensive coordinator.

SPEAKER_01 2:26

Well, I knew Jay had an opportunity. I mean, he Jay's a is a candidate to be a head coach somewhere, and and he's a he's a great one, you know. So uh I knew when he came to work with for me as a defense coordinator, I knew that this could be a possibility. Um, and so we were planning on it already. I already knew that I had something special in Kelly Papinga, and uh my goal is just to hang on to him until that opportunity came. And and so when we made the transition, it was very seamless. It was it was an easy, easy move, uh easy for me to turn turn the time over to him and and give him the the play calling ability. And and you know, we we still have some really good people that are working on the defensive side to help him, and he doesn't have to do it alone, but uh it's nice to have as many returning players that he has on defense to work with.

SPEAKER_00 3:09

Yeah. I mean, when Kyle leaves and then takes the Michigan job, like obviously I'm sure you knew a lot. Yeah, there were potentially a lot of changes that were gonna happen for you in Utah, and there's so much, you know, you guys overlap so much with that. Like, how wild of a time was that as you were watching all that unfold?

SPEAKER_01 3:25

Yeah, that I mean that was great for for uh it gave a lot of uh people opportunities, gave Morgan the opportunity to be the head coach at Utah. And so I knew I think everybody knew that was gonna happen. It was just a matter of when. And so now he got that opportunity. He's he's now the head coach, and I I I have a lot of love for him. I mean, I love that man. He he and I worked together for 10 years at Utah, and so uh I I wish him best of luck in everything except for one game. You know what I mean? But yeah, but the uh you know the opportunities, the the coaches, the the returning coaches, the this conference is difficult. So there's nothing that's gonna be easy here. Everything is difficult, everything's hard, everybody's got great players, and so the parody is crazy where all 16 teams have a chance to win it now, and that's why they stopped doing the the the predictions because nobody gets it right.

SPEAKER_00 4:12

We're not very good at that.

SPEAKER_01 4:13

I don't know if you notice that, but it's hard to be good at it when there's so much parody, you know, and then there's like a lot of a lot of teams that that you just never know could come out of nowhere. I mean, I I I believe Arizona State won it when they were picked to be at the very end. So this is it's one of those moments where I I think people realize that yeah, we gotta stop giving people ammunition for trying to prove us wrong. And um, so right now I don't know what people were thinking, but but anybody has a chance here, and everybody's undefeated right now.

SPEAKER_00 4:41

I take me back to the the week that you're being pursued by Penn State. Obviously, we know you've had a ton of success, and that's gonna breed that type of opportunity. But what was what was like the moment where you knew what clicked for you, like, okay, I'm I'm going to stay, I'm gonna stay here.

SPEAKER_01 4:55

I think the the goal was to see um what the commitment was for BYU. Um, you know, they if they wanted football to be a priority or not. And um that that was the uh you know, if if I'm gonna do something, I want I want to make sure that we can do it um 100%, you know, to to have success. And yeah, I felt like when we got into the conference, the Big 12, I think everybody just felt like, well, that's that's the big that's the big thing. We got into the conference, and so it's easy to just kick your feet up. And I don't want to just be invited to the party. I want to be like a a sustaining partner and and uh uh you know a feature of it, you know. So um the goal was to see when when all these other schools contacted me, it was to see what was actually out there, and now I got to see what was out there and had something to to kind of uh something to measure it against. It's like, okay, well, can can BYU do all these things and do they want me here for the long run? And that was the key, and then they they answered yes, but I I don't know if it was really that much of a of a difficult decision as as much as the if BYU could have done this a long time ago, it would have been easier on me. But um but I I I I am happy that they gave us more resources, opportunities for our players to be taken care of better, and um and and opportunities for me to retain my staff, and then they wanted me for the long run.

SPEAKER_00 6:16

Did it help too the way the season went, like playing Texas Tech a couple of times, who obviously is as well resourced as anybody in the league to be like, hey, like this is this is the standard we've got to be competing with?

SPEAKER_01 6:26

Yeah, I I well I know that uh Texas Tech has resources and things like that, but I don't want it that to over um shadow the fact that Joey McGuire is a really good coach and a good culture builder. And so they have a really cool thing going to bring in Transfer Portal guys and have them feel like they can they can already be part of a family that's that's that's unique and special. And so I I don't think we're gonna be able to to to copy that type of style and and expect the same success. We have to do it within the confines of what BYU is about, what our strengths and our and our and our um talents are. So that's that's what we're trying to build it on. And and and uh it helps that I I I have to say, like I'm a former player. I played for Lavelle, so I understand how he built it. Um now that we're in the Big 12 conferences, like do we want to be in the Big 12 and do we want to have a chance to win it? And and if we can show that, then then it's gotta be it's gotta show to the players too, uh, and not just to the coaches. And I I think the the big the big big part of our our our uh program is our fan base. It's been big time from the very beginning. It's been um it's always been uh in a power conference. Our fan base has always belonged in a power conference, and so no matter what the sport, but especially in football. So uh it's it's let's meet their expectations, and uh in order to do that, we we needed a little bit more.

SPEAKER_00 7:50

Well, another big thing this year, too, you get the opportunity to play Notre Dame. And you know, Brian was here earlier talking to me about how that that is a series that could continue beyond, too. Like what what kind of an opportunity is that for your program for the Big 12? I mean, in this day and age, it's huge.

SPEAKER_01 8:04

I I I asked uh when when Brian called me and said, hey, we have a chance to play Notre Dame, it was a it was a quick yes. There wasn't any hesitation. Uh and I'm I'm really thankful that Marcus and and and the administrators there want to play us. Uh and so just really looking forward to that matchup. But I mean that's a one out of out of 12 games. Yeah. You know, we have a nine-game uh schedule that's tough in our conference. Um then we have Arizona week two, you know, we have uh FCS opponent in Utah Tech, and we have Colorado State that that's our our our um G4 G5 opponent there. So uh nothing's easy. Um everything's gonna be difficult, but uh man, what a what a cool time to to be a head coach and to be at BYU. So I'm really honored to be there.

SPEAKER_00 8:48

Where do you feel like the personality of this team might be different from last year? Or just in general, where do you feel this team is a little different?

SPEAKER_01 8:55

Um I I think the seeing the leadership come through. I mean, we've had some great leadership from last year's team with Tanner Wall and Chase Roberts, those guys have been around for a long time. But it's good to see new leadership take place and and having young guys get an opportunity to do some really cool things. Having uh then having some some guys have been here, like Bruce Mitchell and and LJ Martin are here, you know. And it's good to see Bear in his second year. I mean, he's last year nobody knew who he was, and that he would be even our guy, and now going to this year. He knows our playbook. We can finally work with something that doesn't have to be so brand new, and uh we're just really excited about it.

SPEAKER_00 9:34

Well, and I mean it was like June that he showed up last year, right? So we actually got spring ball and the same system.

SPEAKER_01 9:39

I mean yeah, so this was our first uh you know spring spring semester with him, and uh he he's done amazing. I mean, you you saw him he's changed his body, he's he's bought into what we're asking him to do, and so it's gonna be a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_00 9:51

Yeah, you said you guys made him stop eating milkshakes.

SPEAKER_01 9:54

Yeah, I I I I took over the milkshake department for him.

SPEAKER_00 9:58

Uh what what about the defense? Where do you feel like the defense? I mean, you have so much returning on that side of the ball, but will it be do you feel like pretty similar to what it was last year?

SPEAKER_01 10:06

Yeah, I I I feel really excited about the the uh leadership with Kelly Papinga being there. And uh and and we have some good things for him to work on or work with. I mean, that like I said, the having all the that many returning starters, and not just the restart the starters, but we have a good number of guys that have played significant reps. So it's not like a they're just a bunch of new guys. There's a good uh 2D of guys that have actually played at BYU and and know what it's like to be in the game time situation. Then you add some really good players like like Cade Uluave to the mix, and yeah, it just it just makes it that much better. I mean, we we've added you know some a couple guys, Cade being one of them, and uh and added, you know, um when you're looking at that at DB, we had some DBs, we added some some bulk up front, get Justin Kirkland back. And so uh there's a lot of things that we can work with Keanu Tanabasa and Isaiah Glasker and Evan Johnson there.

SPEAKER_00 10:59

Yeah, well, hey, last question for you. I mean, speaking of that, a lot of guys that I'm sure were were hot commodities, people trying to come after them. Like, what was that process like of maintaining them? You guys did an excellent job of retention in the portal, which I know is not an easy thing to do. How were you able to do that?

SPEAKER_01 11:14

Yeah, we lost some guys on on our depth that were just looking for opportunities to be a starter. Yeah, and so we were happy with those guys for their opportunities. But um, I think we were able to keep our guys at home. And um, you know, I have to give a lot of credit to our fans and to the the the guys currently on the roster. Uh I think it's uh you know, to give us the credit as coaches is probably too much credit to give us uh the it's hard for these guys to turn down their teammates and turn down the family and the brotherhood that we've developed here. So um, you know, there's a lot of value that goes into that too. So the culture matters and having these guys be here and having these guys come back for another year. LJ could have gone to the NFL and he's come back to you know, being the the player of the year last year, now returning. I mean, that's that's something that I I'm really excited. I get to coach these wonderful young men.

SPEAKER_00 12:03

Kalani, I appreciate the time as always. I'll be rooting for you and looking forward to it, man.

SPEAKER_01 12:07

Thank you so much.