When the BYU Football Media Golf Classic was held a year ago at Cedar Hills Golf Club, word was already leaking out that the Cougars were going to be picked low in their second season in the Big 12.
The theme that day as players and coaches met with reporters after a golf scramble was that the Cougars would start the campaign with a chip on their shoulder, and prove everybody wrong. They absolutely did that, finishing 11-2 and winning the Alamo Bowl.
Fast forward to Mondayโs annual event in Northern Utah County. What is motivating BYU this season, a season in which the Cougars will likely be picked to finish much higher than 13th, as they were last year?What is motivating us, honestly, is kind of that bad taste of knowing we went 11-2, and the fanbase seemed to be thrilled with that. But for us, it wasnโt good enough,โ safety Tanner Wall said. โWe want to go and make a run at the Big 12 championship. We want to be a championship team. We know we have the talent and the scheme and the coaches to do that. So really it is just a matter of executing.All the factors are there. It is our job now to really go make that happen. We know what we are capable of and we donโt want to come up short again.โ
Along with Wall, receiver and return specialist Parker Kingston, offensive lineman Andrew Gentry and receiver Chase Roberts played some golf and spoke to the media after a lunch catered by Costa Vida.
โThe fact that we came up short last year, despite going 11-2, means we are not satisfied,โ Kingston said, after proclaiming himself the best golfer on the team. โThat is not good enough for us. We want to be in the Big 12 championship game. We want to be in the College Football Playoff. Any way we can to get back there is what we are going to do.โKingston confirmed that he will return punts and kickoffs last year, after kick returner supreme Keelan Marion transferred to Miami.
Receivers coach Fesi Sitake, who, like Kingston, carries a 2-ish handicap and is the best golfer on the coaching staff, won one of the long drive contests with a 340-yard blast on the 10th hole, said heโs confident the Cougars will be able to replace Marion without a hitch.
โIt is really the culture that motivates us,โ Sitake said. โIt is special, how close these guys are to each other. We know how close we were (to the CFP) and the things that let us down. We let certain things get to our head. This is a great year to be able to flip the script on that. These guys love each other, and knowing how close we were are enough things to drive us this year.โ
As for the long drive, Sitake had an explanation for that, too.
โPeople donโt know the trick,โ he joked. โYou gotta pick the stick up and put it somewhere you donโt think someone is going to do it. โฆ Once in a while you find one. Glad it stayed in the fairway.โ
