Media daze: BYU football introduces itself to Big 12 media

New BYU quarterback Kedon Slovis got most of the first two lines of the chorus to the Cougar fight song right. BYU defensive lineman Tyler Batty expressed his love and appreciation of his wife Alaina. Cougar head coach Kalani Sitake explained how the mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (which owns BYU) impacts football — as well as pitching the idea of giving coaches ice cream during a game. These were just a few of the moments that Cougar players and coaches experienced at their first Big 12 football media days, the first day of which was held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Wednesday. Since this is the first time many area reporters have had to talk to Sitake and the BYU players, it was their chance to get to know more about the Cougars. Here are some of the questions Sitake fielded from Big 12 media during his main Q&A session and how he responded: 1. Do you think that joining the Big 12 opens up new doors for you in recruiting? Sitake: “It’s already been that way since the announcement of us joining the conference. I think it maybe gets a little bit of curiosity for people who never thought about BYU as a destination to play. They look into it and they start to find out that BYU aligns with what they are aligned with. “We’re a faith-based institution, affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and a lot of people don’t know much the church or about our mission. Our football program is right in alignment with the mission of our church and that’s proclaiming our belief in Jesus Christ as our Savior. There are a lot of people who fall in line with that, whether they’re members of the church or not. “It’s just opened the doors and widened our net a little bit in recruiting. Anytime that you can increase your net and get into more households and just be talked about, that will work out. I think it’s up to us to make sure that the product on the field matches what kids want to play in, that the culture that I run in our program matches what they want to be a part of.” 2. What are the benefits of having a quarterback in Slovis who has already competed in Power 5 leagues at USC and Pitt? Sitake: “I know a lot of attention goes to what he’s done on the football field, but the things I’ve been really impressed with are the stuff that he does off the field, the connection that he has to his teammates, to his coaches, to our fans. I think that’s going to help take him to another level of playing. “I want to make sure that we give him a comfortable pocket but I know that if it’s not too comfortable, he can find ways to extend the plays and hopefully find a success. There are a lot of things that he brings to the table with his leadership and experience that we’re going to lean on heavily.” 3. Is it fair to expect the Big 12 newcomers to compete for league titles in the first couple of seasons or will it take a few years? Sitake: “I’m looking at the last six teams who played for championships here in the last three years and there’s a lot of parity there, so I’m hoping that our team can add to that. Everyone wants to win. My goal is to get us to be able to perform at our best 12 times. If we do it the way that I hope, then I think that’ll earn us more opportunities to play on the field again.” 4. What do you think the biggest adjustment to playing in a Power 5 conference is going to be for your team? Sitake: “I’ve been through this before and so has our offensive coordinator and our defensive coordinator when we were at Utah. We went through that transition from being a Mountain West Conference team to the PAC 12. I’ve also seen other teams that have made the transition, like TCU. “There’s information and things that you could see that are out there that people that have who have done it before. What you try to do is do what they did well and then lean on their experiences. “I know we’re at BYU, so it’s a little bit different and unique. I need to find ways to turn that uniqueness into a strength for us and make sure that it’s a competitive advantage when we get on the field.” 5. Why is Provo so difficult to play in and how excited are you to bring that environment to the Big 12? Sitake: “I’m going to go back to the BYU fans. They’re amazing. I am one. There is the energy and the excitement that they bring to the games, and I think it’s a good experience for visiting teams as well. “They give visitors ice cream before the fourth quarter. I think everybody should do that but I think we should extend it also to the coaches on the sideline. That’d be cool. That could be innovative, having me eating ice cream going into the fourth quarter. “But it’s a different experience. The beauty from the fans the beauty of what you’re seeing in the landscape, the mountains and everything.”