BYU head football coach Kalani Sitake shakes hands with Bolden Crosby after giving a devotional at the Marriott Center in Provo on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
When he was first approached about giving a BYU devotional, Kalani Sitake was unsure about it.
But one of his heroes soon helped get him fully on board and behind the mic.
“At first I was a little hesitant to (speak), and then they said, ‘Well, LaVell (Edwards) did it,’” Sitake told reporters Tuesday afternoon. “And I said, ‘OK, if you want me to do it, then just say LaVell did it and I’m going to do it.’ … That’s why I go to some of the events that are out there, because LaVell started it and it was a big part of it. I want to be and I want to do exactly like he did, and he did it the right way.”
Sitake addressed nearly 8,000 Marriott Center attendees Tuesday morning as the assigned speaker for BYU’s weekly campus devotional, where he shared a message of God’s love and plan for His children.
“I actually really enjoyed it,” Sitake said. “It was really cool for me to review things and think about what I wanted to say to the students. I’m just so relieved now that it’s over with, I was so nervous about it. I was so nervous, but I was excited for the opportunity.
“That was a lot of fun, though, and I appreciate all the students showing up, our entire team being there and our entire staff. That was really cool for me to have my family and the team there.”
Sitake joins Edwards as the only Cougar football coaches in program history to be tabbed as devotional speakers. Edwards spoke on two occasions — once as an active coach in 1976, and again in 2001 following his retirement.
He also famously spoke at General Conference in the middle of BYU’s 1984 national championship season.
Other notable BYU athletic…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/kalani-sitake-said-giving-byu-015815042.html
Author : Deseret News
Publish date : 2025-03-12 01:58:00
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