SMU Coach Rhett Lashlee Calls BYU’s Kalani Sitake An ‘Ambassador’ Of College Football
Sep 3, 2024, 9:26 PM
SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee (left) gave high praise to BYU coach Kalani Sitake. (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images)
(Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images)
DALLAS — The competition should be intense when BYU and SMU meet this Friday night, as you would expect when two Power Four teams face-off between the lines.
But regardless of the outcome, the head coaches on each sideline respect one another.
BYU football head coach Kalani Sitake spoke fondly about his relationship with SMU coach Rhett Lashlee earlier in the week.
SMU’s Rhett Lashlee on his relationship with BYU football coach Kalani Sitake
During his press conference on Tuesday, Lashlee, a third-year head coach at SMU, did the same when asked about his relationship with Sitake.
“We didn’t know each other much other than knowing of each other until my first year here. I went to a coach’s classic in Pebble Beach around Memorial Day, and he was there. It was my first time going. We got to hang out and spend some time there—super nice guy,” Lashlee said. “Then we ended up playing him in the bowl game the first year and we spent a ton of time at the bowl, just at activities and whatnot.”
The two coaches first faced off in the 2022 New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque. Sitake’s BYU squad escaped with a 24-23 victory thanks to a goal-line stand tackle by cornerback Jakob Robinson.
Lashlee still remembers that moment.
“We went for two and didn’t get it. So he got to get this necklace for his wife that I didn’t get to get for mine,” Lashlee said jokingly.
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Still, Lashlee has no animosity towards Sitake.
“There’s not a better human being, coach, ambassador for our game in college football than Kalani,” Lashlee said. There’s no ego. I mean, he wants to win and compete for his team, but he does it with class and character. His teams always represent them that way. So, I have the utmost respect for him.”
Lashlee on the 2024 edition of BYU football
“You can already tell they’re much improved from a year ago. Really explosive on offense and can run and throw it. The quarterback (Jake Retzlaff) is playing great. And defensively, they’re big up front. They got a really good pass rusher off the edge (Tyler Batty). I think their linebackers are much improved from a year ago.”
Lashlee on BYU’s offense
“I think they’re confident in their quarterback. I think he had four starts a year ago. He played really well in the first game. I mean, like 20-of-30 for a lot of yards and a lot of explosive passes. They present a lot of problems because they’re big up front. They’ve got a good downhill running back, so they can run the football right at you and just sustain and control the game. But they like to take their shots on play-action stuff off of it. They’ve got two really good receivers. They have really good tight ends. So, they’re a problem offensively. I think you saw that as the game went on. They really opened up in the second half [against Southern Illinois].”
Thoughts on the BYU defense
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“They make you earn everything—new defensive coordinator from when we played them two years ago. If you look, they played well early last year. They had a rough patch. The schedule was tough. They had Oklahoma and Oklahoma State beat in the last two games last year and lost them late. But they were up big, especially in the Oklahoma State game.
“But what I saw the other night is that they don’t give up explosive plays. They’re big up front. So their size is a problem because it’s hard to move in the run game. I think they’ve got good juice off the edge to rush the passer though. So we’ll be tested at tackle when we do throw the football. And I think their linebackers are much improved. They just look faster, look a little more sudden than who they were playing with last year.
“There’s a structure on the back end. It’s similar to us in the way that they play their single-high stuff and have the ability to play two-high as well. I don’t want to call it ‘Bend, but don’t break.’ They just don’t give you a lot of explosive stuff. They keep it in front. They make you earn it. They don’t beat themselves. And they don’t turn people loose. Which, as an offense, causes you to execute extremely at a high level and be balanced. Otherwise, you’re going to struggle.”
BYU at SMU
Date: Friday, September 6, 2024
Kickoff: 5 p.m. (MDT)
TV: ESPN2
Radio: KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM)
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
