‘One Of The Greatest Guys I’ve Ever Met’: BYU Players, Coaches React To Matt Bushman’s Injury
Sep 1, 2020, 11:11 PM | Updated: Sep 2, 2020, 11:46 pm
PROVO, Utah – BYU tight end Matt Bushman’s season-ending injury in practice has taken an emotional toll on a Cougar football program just days away from playing against the Navy Midshipmen in Annapolis.
The senior standout shared a positive message during a time that could be easy to focus on the negative. Bushman wrote on his personal Instagram Stories on Tuesday, “Thank you for the love and support everyone. Your messages have helped me during this time. I’ll be back in a few months!”
A leader both on and off the field according to his teammates and coaches, members of the BYU program shared their feelings on seeing their leader suffer a season-ending non-contact injury near the end of practice on Monday.
Kalani Sitake
Hours after BYU announced that Matt Bushman was out for the entire 2020 season, BYU head coach Kalani Sitake discussed his star tight end’s injury on his weekly coaches show (KSL NewsRadio, Tuesday, 9 p.m.). Sitake had this to say about Bushman’s injury.
“Yeah, that’s still hard thinking about it right now. You know, he’s given a lot to this program and I think we’re in this position as a team because of his leadership. So a lot of the things that he’s done for us, it was really hard for that moment for our team. We had a moment of prayer for him and, you know, I think the goal now is to play for him and to honor him.
“But his leadership will still carry on. It won’t be able to be on the field for us this year but I think we can rely on him being in support of our players and it gives a chance for the others to step up. You know, we have young guys that I think this is their moment to shine. And I think that the leadership that Matt has provided for our team, not just the offensive side but for the entire team, will carry on. But it’s just extremely disappointing.
“I know he and Emily were looking forward to this year, you know, even with the different schedule but I think he’s…yeah, I don’t know know if there are any words that could express how disappointed we are.”
Troy Warner
When asked how he deals with his emotions after seeing his teammate go down with an injury, Warner, a senior like Bushman was emotional discussing his teammate.
#BYU DB Troy Warner on Matt Bushman: "You know Matt Bushman is one of the greatest guys that I've ever met. One of the greatest players that I've ever played with and for him to go through what he's going through, I kind of feel him in a sense because I've had a major injury."
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) September 2, 2020
“You know, Matt Bushman is one of the greatest guy[s] that I’ve ever met. One of the greatest players that I’ve ever played with and for him to, you know, go through what he’s going through, I kind of feel him in a sense because I’ve had a major injury. But, for him to be a senior, for him to be going through this right now, it’s tough. You know, a lot of us seniors and a lot of us players, we’re just trying to do anything and everything we can to be there for him during this time. He’s in our prayers and he’s huge to this family and I know he’ll contribute any way that he can this year.”
Zayne Anderson
Like Warner, emotions ran high for Anderson seeing one of the team’s senior leaders go down in such an unexpected way.
“It really kind of puts pain in your stomach, you feel for them, you feel for his wife Emily, you just feel for everyone in the family. Because you see how hard these guys work and you go through it. I don’t think a lot of people know what it’s like to go down for the whole season or for an injury and when you go through it you feel the pain with them. So just seeing him down yesterday, you know it puts pain in your stomach and all last night I was thinking about it. It makes me sick and I hate seeing stuff like that, especially with our own guys.”
Tom Holmoe
Holmoe, BYU’s athletic director since 2005, spoke glowingly of Bushman’s leadership on his personal Twitter feed.
Lots of love Cougs! Matt was ready for a BIG year as a playmaker on the field, but might be missed more for his leadership in all areas. He may not be playing, but he’ll be right there with his teammates this season. https://t.co/AM3ghzQCtl
— Tom Holmoe (@TomHolmoe) September 2, 2020
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.
