Kalani Sitake | BYU Football | Postgame | Southern Illinois | August 31, 2024

glad we got the win it was good to play football again and uh just excited to see these guys get on the field after um you know after the the off season and uh some of the adversity team's gone through I'm really proud of the way they played this game and um it wasn't perfect and it wasn't even our best but there are some moments that we had some really good things going and I think the uh the leadership The Experience showed up and was really proud of the team and the way we played uh in all three phases I thought it was really good I took care of the football uh there's some scary moments I I mean other than I think if we're evaluating it I I just don't know um how they how they do things in the review when they when the replay stuff but that's that's for the rest I I I'm biased when they're when I thought that was a fumble you know so I'm always getting and we were trying to get a timeout when there we thought it could have been reviewed just didn't work out so I probably need to get in a better position to get get timeouts I mean I ran out of breath for no reason because they didn't give it to me until after the play was done so but love the way the guys played um excited about what we can do as a team and and looking forward to the next matchup against SMU in Dallas um just want to give a lot of uh praise and and appreciation to all the fans that were here uh they're amazing and they brought a lot of energy um you know and we need them and so just hope hope they know that we appreciate them and love them and then uh Jay's doing great he was in the box and and uh was on the headset and you know we're we're going back and forth and different different calls and things like that but uh he's in great spirits and um and I'm glad that he's he's healing up and we'll be ready to have him join us uh on Monday you know so we'll be ready to roll so that that's kind of where we're at right now I mean I'll take any questions you guys have for me but really proud of the team and glad that we're one one and over right now looking at the defense colani you you guys had two sacks seven tackles for loss a takeaway and I mean this comes after last year where you have 11 sacks the entire season what can you say just about the the effort they had tonight and their ability to kind of keep Southern Illinois on their heels for four years yeah I mean so so the coaching me just wants to I I look at the missed opportunities that we had because there's a lot of them I mean I think we had opportunities to get some turnover and and to get more sacks and more uh disruptive plays um just I could I could think of the a couple a couple plays we'd like to have back where we guys but I I think when you look at that just sudden Illinois just made some I mean the QB just made some great runs and he can really get after it you know I was impressed with his his ability to run the ball and so um but I thought we tried to keep him crowd as much as possible it's just hard to to do that against a really good athlete and but for the most part I thought the uh the defense was able to hold their own and Jay's been getting these guys prepped he's been getting them ready for this and I think it's a good step on where for where we want to be as a defense overall so uh saw a lot of freshmen getting opportunities to play and make and and have an impact um that that helps out too but the the guys buying into it and having another just having another year in the system I think makes it a lot easier I mean that's that goes for the the entire team on the other side of the ball about first drive Jake was able to make two fourth down passes to keep the drive Al and get you guys on on the scoreboard um does that kind of to you encapsulate what his night was about like his PO and his make plays I mean I don't want to keep going for it on fourth down all the time but I don't mind doing it either especially when we're an efficient team you know that I think the one that we didn't get he knew that it was just an air on the throw so that's very fixable and then Jake can get that done but everything else I I want to be aggressive but I I we we have four downs for a reason so I don't mind using it um but I'd rather just get first downs early and get some chunk yardage and get some scores so um but yeah if we need to I mean there's there's a plan that we have in place I thought I thought A-Rod did a great job calling an offense and um you know I thought the defensive staff did a great job calling the defense and and K-pop that's that's the Special Teams I thought we we could have had um more opportunities there we we we didn't catch the the ball SEC we didn't catch it cleanly on on the kickoff return and on pump return which which really hurt opportunities to get some returns but um I know pop will get get that taken care of he's a really good coach and he's got these guys trained but um and then I think will missed the field goal and and you know I'm glad he was able to get get back and make a couple more but uh we there's a lot of room for improvement as overall as a team and we'll just we'll just get better but we we know that the fixes what the fix is and we'll work on it what won Jake redl the job and where did you think of his performance tonight yeah the competition was just I mean it was it was back and forth both those guys we feel good about uh I I think I said it to you guys during camp we feel really good about both of them and um you know when we when we put it out there Jake won the spot and the the the special thing about it is Gary was so supportive and um he's a special he's a special special human being I mean he's awesome and um and they have a great relationship so uh we needed both of them to compete like that cuz I thought it I thought it made them both better um then we went with what we felt was right and and uh what who earned it you know what I mean we we've been through competitions before and it's only one I only know one way and that's to play the guy that that deserves it which which is hard to do when when Gary did a lot of really good things too what did you say to the team uh to address the J Hill situation and did you were any of the coaches get a chance to go see him in the hospital no um Jay was Jay's Jay's a little bit difficult to work with when when that happens cuz he it was interesting I mean now that you guys all know what was going on he called me and just like I I got a phone call from him and and I'm used to talking to him every night so it's not a problem and so I said hey Jay what's up and he was like his wife Sarah she's like hey clani it's Sarah and I'm like oh is everything okay and she said yeah we're at the hospital and and uh you know Jay's Jay had had a heart attack and that was kind of hard for me to hear and I just all I cared about is he okay is my my friend okay and um so that was a huge scare I'm glad that that they were able to um get him get him on the right path to take care of him uh to to recovery uh but he didn't really care about that he just was all about the the game and so when I was Ching hey hey Jay just take care of yourself and he's like no we're gonna be fine and then immediately after we hung up the phone he was just kind of like I don't want anyone to know about it I don't want it to be a distraction to the team and I'm like okay well this is going to be really hard and he's he's no we'll have staff meeting that we'll just work through it and you can kind of just tell him that he was going to go to his son his son had a race the next morning anyway so he wasn't going to be there in meetings and he wanted to go see his son so I was going to he he was just kind of PL he already had detailed this out and planned it out while laying in the hospital and so I hung up the phone I like okay we'll see how it goes I hung up the phone and immediately he starts texting all the coaches as if there's nothing going on he's just like hey let's go need this I need this for this for tomorrow's meeting things like that and and I was just trying to do what he wished and that was keep it quiet and not try to be a distraction and then uh when we talked to the team about it and talked to the staff about it they were kind of just like well he was just texting me yeah he's just he wasn't he was just doing his own thing but anyways um long story short when when when it did happen and and when he was uh trying to recover he did did not want this to be a distraction or be about him didn't want any drama and of course whenever that's not what you want things like that it does happen we talked to the team we got him on FaceTime and and he was able to FaceTime with the team and and he was able to share with them how much he loved them and cared about him and I thought that was really cool it kind of gave the players just a good sense of just a relief you know and and I think people started to figure things out and and try to I think share his story what was going on and then he he he didn't want the attention but people love him and and how can you not when he he's such a good person and so um I I on behalf of him I just want to tell everybody thank you for for caring about him and praying for him but it worked and he's doing really good right now how nice was it to happen and be able to have that you you touched on it but it kind of puts a little different slant on the game after knowing what he'd been through yeah it's great to hear his voice and and he he'll have his voice because he didn't raise it very often to tonight and nor normally after the game he his voice cracks right now and he's lost half of it so uh I think I think maybe he'll be good in the Box for now I don't know but it's always he he's he's always been a great um he's always been great for me we worked together for a long time so he's a great friend and I'm just glad that he's doing good right now you said he had a headset was he talking to you as the DC tonight or was he talking to the players with the the communication we're we're talking with everyone and then yeah there in the Box they had the uh the communication we had Justin in on that one and so we were giving calls and and as a as a staff were giv calls and then Jay would kind of hear it out and we I mean it was it was all a group effort you know I I think when they made plays somebody else called it but I I called it we had a shut out Jake had eight big plays explosive plays tonight through the air was that the difference in what got him this job was the explosive playmaking ability oh Gary can do that too so I I I think I think uh I mean we know Jake's abilities and and um you know I'm going to keep saying this like I have to defend Jake cuz last year he was going through some tough times he got sick and he he wasn't able to really compete in the off season and so um and we saw him competing with with Keon for some time you know and and at least be on and get after get after ke in that part but but he I mean he the guy's he's just a tough kid works hard he has amazing work ethic and he's got great abilities and and I just I love the person that he is and he just happens to play great football phah PHS comes in and makes a play like that would you like to see him get more Targets in the game yeah I mean we have a lot of guys that can get targets I mean it was good JoJo's got all kinds of ability and and Parker I I think we had I mean Chase did some really good things I don't know exactly what his numbers were but we have a lot of good players that can they can get targets I think um if teams decide to play over the top of someone we have in enough that we can get to and so uh love having JoJo Cody Hagen got some reps in there too and um we got some you know Darius wasn't able to play in this game but he's going to play next week and I think I explained it before that was just uh when we applied for his waiver that's what happened and NCW said that he played one game in JC so or one play so he had to miss one game and it had to be the first game so it just worked out that way but Darius has had an amazing Camp I can't wait to get him on the field and that gives us another Target to go to all right all right guys thank you