Kalani Sitake Reveals When He Plans To Name BYU Football’s Starting QB

PROVO, Utah – The BYU football quarterback battle should be finalized by tomorrow, according to head coach Kalani Sitake.

BYU officially wrapped up Camp Kalani practices on Tuesday, setting the stage for BYU to transition into preparations for the season opener against Arizona in Las Vegas. But the question remains, who’s going to be the guy that replaces Zach Wilson as BYU’s starting QB?

#BYU head coach Kalani Sitake: "We'll have a majority of our depth chart figured out tomorrow, including the quarterback."#BYUFootball #GoCougs

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) August 24, 2021

Sitake addressed media reporters via Zoom on Tuesday to discuss that question.

“Good end of camp. You can tell the guys are just ready to get moving on to Arizona now. So [the end of camp] comes at the right time. …Guys are just ready to play somebody else,” Sitake said in an opening statement. “So we’re gonna move on to Arizona prep. We’ll have a majority of our depth chart figured out tomorrow, including the quarterback.”

Kalani Sitake gives a timeline on the QB depth chart

KSL Sports followed up on that comment asking Sitake who will be the number one QB for his team against the Wildcats.

“Today’s the last day of camp. So we’re gonna go through meetings, go through our time to talk to our players, notify them what the situation is, at a lot of different positions, and quarterback will be one of them,” said Sitake. “Obviously, we’ll talk to the players first and then be ready to have that announced to the rest of you guys tomorrow.”

BYU football has three options

Throughout Camp Kalani, I’ve believed that Jaren Hall would be BYU’s starting quarterback. Hall, who dazzled in two abbreviated starts back in 2019, has the potential to be a breakthrough star in college football this season. He has a lively arm, and he’s the best dual-threat athlete in BYU’s QB room.

Hall last appeared on the field in a game for BYU against Utah State two seasons ago. He was on pace for a 400 passing, 100 rushing yard performance against the rival Aggies before being sidelined due to concussion protocols.

Sitake and offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick have both spoke glowingly about the talent in their QB room this entire calendar year since Zach Wilson declared for the NFL. BYU’s coaches believe they can win with any of these three quarterbacks, including smooth operator Baylor Romney and freshman gunslinger Jacob Conover.

Sitake said the three signal-callers were making the decision difficult on the BYU football coaches earlier in camp. But ultimately, a decision has to be made, and Sitake felt the end of camp was the perfect time to determine his team’s number one signal-caller.

“We just knew that this was going to be the last practice in camp, and it came to a point where maybe a little bit before the last scrimmage was to kind of know that this is kind of the deadline. I know I’ve been asked about that before, but we decided to make this a deadline. Give the guys the opportunity to finish up camp and then communicate with them who the starter will be.”

The deadline coincides with what Roderick told reporters after the second scrimmage. He said, “Wednesday at the latest” they would have a decision on their QB1. That time is here.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.

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