BYU football’s annual Media Day always has a mixture of good information, standard “coach-speak” and cautious optimism. This year — thanks in large part to Cougar junior quarterback Tanner Mangum — it also had an excellent discussion on the serious topic of mental health.
But intertwined with all of the standard football questions and discussions about recruiting, the BYU players and coaches also have a chance to slip in some humor.
Here’s a look back at a few of the funnier moments from Friday’s Cougar Media Day:
Forget football … time to talk golf
During the “State of the Program” show that started Media Day, BYU head coach Kalani Sitake, assistant head coach Ed Lamb and defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki were asked which one is the best on the links.
“I’ll probably cheat the most,” Sitake said. “But I definitely can’t play with these guys. It’s good to just hang out. I make them laugh with my golf game.”
Tuiaki jumped in to point out where he has the edge on the other two coaches.
“I’m the only one who hasn’t broken a club,” Tuiaki said. “I think the question is who has the most control.”
Lamb was later asked about how he broke his 60-degree wedge.
“I think it was compromised,” Lamb said with a grin. “I just did a light tap on the ground, a light frustration tap. There must have been something wrong with it.”
What was the final verdict? The best golfer on the BYU coaching staff is on the offensive side of the ball: offensive coordinator Ty Detmer.
“Dude, that guy is so good at everything,” Tuiaki said. “He’s the best one on the staff at golf.”
Former Cougar quarterback Robbie Bosco also talked about the best golf tip he ever received from late Hall-of-Fame head coach LaVell Edwards.
“His best tip was when he stood behind the hole with his feet at an angle,” Bosco said. “If you could just get it inside his feet, it was going in the hole. That was probably the best thing I ever saw from that guy. We had a great time. We did play a lot of golf together and we had many car rides to go to courses. It was really cool to be with him so much.”
A little perspective
The BYU players and coaches have spent much of the last two weeks working at youth camps in Provo, which meant a lot of time in the sun.
Detmer talked about how one of the responsibilities for the Cougar players was being the coaches of 7-on-7 teams of high school athletes.
“Butch Pau’u told his quarterback where to throw it, but he threw it somewhere else and it got picked,” Detmer said. “Butch was like, ‘No, I told you to throw it over there!’ I was like, ‘See, Butch? Now you know how it feels, right?’ He was like, ‘You’re right, Coach. I’ve got a whole new respect for you guys.’ That was kind of fun.”
BYU senior wide receiver Jonah Trinnaman said he enjoyed being the coach during camp but realized the outcome for his two teams wasn’t just because he was calling the plays.
“Everyone got a team and then we would just split up and play games,” Trinnaman said. “My first week, I won it all. That was kind of fun. I was the offensive coordinator, so I was calling some good stuff. But the second week I didn’t do as well. We went 1-and-6 or 1-and-7. I had a quarterback from Arizona that first week who was really good.”
Refusing to answer
During the “State of the Program,” host Dave McCann asked Sitake, “who is your favorite linebacker?”
After a moment’s thought, Sitake answered, “My favorite linebacker is their coach, Steve Kaufusi.”
Then he let McCann know what he thought of the way the question was worded.
“C’mon, man,” Sitake said with a laugh. “What kind of question is that? You’re trying to get me in trouble.”
His safest answer might have been Rob Morris (who played with Sitake at BYU in 1998-99) or Shay Muirbrook (who played with Sitake in 1994), since they are considered two of the top linebackers in Cougar history.