In 2022, a successful year for BYU will be marked by Big 12 preparation just as much as wins and losses.
Tom Holmoe and Kalani Sitake at BYU football media day in Provo on Wednesday, June 22, 2022.• It took just one question for Kalani Sitake to pull out the canned answer he has been using for months. It’s the one he deploys every time he is asked about the program’s preparations for the Big 12.
And just a couple of tables down from Sitake, BYU’s athletics director Tom Holmoe was holding court with a scrum of people, talking about the feeling of change in the air — and what it would take for BYU to be prepared for the Big 12. “But I don’t think of it that way. Maybe I’m supposed to, and maybe we will as a team when it gets to the first game. But I’m not sure.”
On the athletic administration side, Holmoe has added new financial and communication directors. Dallan Moody and David Almodova respectively will report directly to Holmoe, a clear sign of how important fundraising and an increased national blueprint will be. On Friday, the school announced the hirings of Patrick Hickman as the director of recruiting, Jan Jorgensen as a defensive analyst, Christiana Roberts as executive assistant to the head coach and Anna Lamb as the football office manager.
There will be questions this season about the football team, sure. Will Jaren Hall take the next step and become an NFL quarterback? Will BYU handle its toughest independent schedule yet and make a push for a New Year’s Six bowl game? Will the defense markedly improve?