{"id":20597,"date":"2022-07-20T21:48:37","date_gmt":"2022-07-20T21:48:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/byu-football-what-big-12-folks-said-about-cougars-joining-in-2023\/"},"modified":"2022-07-20T21:48:37","modified_gmt":"2022-07-20T21:48:37","slug":"byu-football-what-big-12-folks-said-about-cougars-joining-in-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/byu-football-what-big-12-folks-said-about-cougars-joining-in-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"BYU football: What Big 12 folks said about Cougars’ joining in 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"
ARLINGTON, Texas \u2014 With some seismic shifts in the college sports landscape looming and topics such as NIL and the transfer portal still burning throughout the country, BYU’s entry into the Big 12 next year obviously wasn’t a huge talking point at the Big 12 football media days last week at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat program has been through a little bit of an awkward change, from being in the Mountain West and the WAC and then independent, and now finding a home here in the Big 12. I am excited for BYU.\u201d \u2014 Texas coach Steve Sarkisian<\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
But over the course of two days and dozens of interviews, there were opportunities here and there for reporters to ask league officials, players, coaches and national observers familiar with the Cougars football program for their takes on what BYU brings to the table, and how it will fare when the 2023 season rolls around.<\/p>\n
Most notably, former Cougars quarterback Steve Sarkisian, who is set to begin his second season as Texas’ head football coach, told the Deseret News that although the Longhorns are leaving the league at some point within the next three years for the SEC, he is \u201cexcited\u201d for his former school.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat program has been through a little bit of an awkward change, from being in the Mountain West and the WAC and then independent, and now finding a home here in the Big 12,\u201d Sarkisian said. \u201cI am excited for BYU.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sarkisian, 48, was BYU’s starting quarterback in 1995 and 1996 and led the Cougars to a Cotton Bowl victory over current Big 12 member Kansas State.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know a lot of those people still at that university,\u201d he said. \u201cCoach Kalani Sitake and I were teammates at BYU. So I am pumped for those guys. I know they have a big year ahead of them this year and I am sure they are looking forward to the future in the Big 12.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sarkisian said he hasn’t talked to Sitake specifically about BYU’s preparations for the Big 12, but he keeps an eye on the program and knows the former BYU fullback will have it ready to compete in the Power Five ranks.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, us as coaches, we don’t talk about moves before they happen. You guys love to talk about moving. We kinda focus on what we are doing right now. We are in the Big 12, and we gotta try to win a Big 12 championship,\u201d he said, alluding to speculation the previous day that Texas and Oklahoma might be able to negotiate an exit before the league’s media rights deal expires in 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cKalani has got his own schedule that he is trying to do now. And then probably next year (reporters) will ask me about moving to the Big 12 when it is actually pertinent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Later, in a chance meeting away from microphones and cameras, Sarkisian said he caught glimpses of last March’s BYU football alumni game in which Max Hall threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Bryan Kehl, saying he probably wouldn’t be interested in playing until his coaching days are done.<\/p>\n
He mentioned that one of the game’s other quarterbacks, Kevin Feterik, was his immediate successor in Provo and looked good that night at LaVell Edwards Stadium.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can’t throw it deep anymore like he did,\u201d Sarkisian said, rubbing his right shoulder.<\/p>\n
Sarkisian said he also keeps in touch with BYU offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Aaron Roderick, who was a receiver for the Cougars from 1996-98.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat BYU offense is fun to watch,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Houston, Cincinnati and UCF will also join the Big 12 on July 1, 2023, and to a man existing Big 12 coaches said the additions will bolster the league.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe decision (outgoing commissioner) Bob (Bowlsby) made a year ago to move is pretty powerful right now,\u201d Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said. \u201cI think where we are today as a conference, we are probably in a lot better shape than we were a year ago. \u2026 I think (the move) positioned us in a great spot moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
As was reported last week, Bowlsby said the conference \u201cadded the four best schools we could have added\u201d and said it would have happened sooner but he \u201cdidn’t have enough votes\u201d among member schools in 2016 to expand.<\/p>\n
\u201cBYU is one of the few schools that truly has a worldwide reach,\u201d Bowlsby said.<\/p>\n
Here’s what other coaches, players and media members had to say about BYU coming aboard:<\/p>\n
Kirk Bohls, Austin (Texas) American-Statesman columnist<\/h3>\n
Bohls said BYU’s football program has been ready to compete favorably in the Big 12 for \u201cyears,\u201d but he’s not sure in the other marquee sport, men’s basketball.<\/p>\n
\u201cBYU is well respected. I wouldn’t call BYU a national powerhouse. But they have always been there as one of college football’s constant, good, solid, top-25 teams. They have always been solid and respected and competitive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bohls said \u201cother forces at work\u201d kept BYU from being invited \u201cinto the Big 12 or the Pac-12 or whatever,\u201d but it wasn’t for lack of evidence that the Cougars would add value.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo me it was a no-brainer for the Big 12 to go after them,\u201d Bohls said. \u201cI mean, they have got not just a national following, but a global following. I have always liked BYU. They belong.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 2023 Big 12 football schedule will be released in October, Bohls believes. Does he think the Cougars could get a home game against Texas and Sarkisian in 2024?<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s possible,\u201d he said. \u201cI keep hearing that Texas and Oklahoma will (remain) there at least two years. But I think with all this (movement) with the Pac-12, if the Big 12 adds (some Pac-12 schools), everything could be sped up a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Baylor linebacker Dillon Doyle<\/h3>\n
A fifth-year senior who started his career at Iowa, the versatile linebacker scored two offensive touchdowns \u2014 one rushing, one receiving \u2014 in the Bears’ 38-24 win over BYU last October in Waco, Texas.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really admire the BYU program,\u201d Doyle said. \u201cThey came in, their fans were fantastic. They did an awesome job traveling to Texas, and I think part of that was because they are coming into the Big 12. So I am super excited to get out to Utah this year and play them.\u201d<\/p>\n
BYU hosts Baylor in Week 2 (Sept. 10), after the Cougars travel to South Florida on Sept. 3 and the Bears host FCS school Albany that day at McLane Stadium. Baylor offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes and offensive line coach Eric Mateos will make triumphant returns to Provo, after coaching there previously.<\/p>\n
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