Big 12 football coaches and players who visited Provo last year raved about the place at media days in Las Vegas, said BYU will need time to be a factor in league race

LAS VEGAS — Coach Prime made his first-ever appearance at the Big 12 football media days on Wednesday, so naturally the spotlight fell upon the second-year leader of the Colorado Buffaloes at Allegiant Stadium.

Hordes of reporters covered Deion Sanders’ every move, every utterance, and the bold and brash former NFL star delivered plenty of coveted sound bites to reward their interest.

Aside from the usual gaggle of television, radio, website and print reporters who cover BYU sports, not a lot of attention over the course of the two days was paid to the Cougars — who are picked to finish 13th in the 16-team league in 2024 and did little to distinguish themselves as newcomers in 2023.

Still, plenty of coaches and players from the other 15 programs in the league were willing to talk about BYU, most notably University of Utah quarterback Cam Rising, whose comments Tuesday have been well-publicized. The others were markedly more respectful, including Sanders himself, who praised BYU head coach Kalani Sitake during an appearance on BYUtv.

“At the Big 12 meetings (earlier this year), just sitting beside him, he was so welcoming, man, and so kind,” Sanders said. “He’s a big fella, too. So he’s intimidating. But he’s one of the best dudes, ever. And the spirit that he has, it illuminated the room.

“I love it because BYU is in good hands. That man loves the program, and not only loves the kids, but loves the game,” Sanders continued.

BYU and Colorado don’t face each other in 2024.

But the Cougars and Oklahoma State Cowboys will have a rematch of that thriller the No. 21 Pokes won 40-34 in double overtime last November in Stillwater, and OSU coach Mike Gundy said he is already looking forward to playing and coaching at LaVell Edwards Stadium for the first time.

“On the plane ride out here, the players that we brought were talking about playing in new facilities and new places, and they are excited about playing in Provo,” Gundy said. “So that is a fun part of college football, and we are excited about playing two games in the mountains (BYU and Colorado).”

Gundy said he’s been to BYU before, but has never coached or witnessed a game at LES.

When BYU was being considered for Big 12 membership in early September 2021, Gundy was in favor of adding the Cougars, saying “coast to coast, people see BYU as a Power Five team.”

Tuesday, he said BYU showed last year in close losses to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State that it will just be a matter of time before the Cougars find their footing in the new league.

“Kalani is an outstanding coach and he will get it figured out,” Gundy said.

BYU hosts OSU on Oct. 18, a Friday.

Cowboys running back Ollie Gordon II, who ran for five touchdowns and 166 yards against BYU last November, also drew a lot of attention at media days because he attended the event despite being arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence on June 30.

Gordon, the reigning Doak Walker Award winner, said he’s “heard a lot” about the atmosphere at BYU games and is eager to see it for himself, but isn’t eager to play at elevation. The stadium in Provo is 4,630 feet above sea level, and the air is thinner.

“Yeah, it is kinda hard to breathe up there,” Gordon said. “But I feel like we will be fine. We will bring those little oxygen tanks with us.”

One of the other top running backs in the league, Texas Tech’s Tahj Brooks, got to experience playing at BYU last year when the Red Raiders fell 27-14 to BYU. Brooks rushed for 101 yards on 30 carries and said breathing was hard because he has asthma.

“BYU has a great team, and it was fun. Salute to those guys — they won that game,” Brooks said. “We just didn’t come to play that game. I remember it was a great environment. I love playing on grass, most definitely. Grass feels better on your feet, your ankles. It was a great venue.”

BYU replaced its 15-year-old grass playing surface with new grass this spring, and the field is ready to go; unfortunately, Texas Tech and BYU won’t face off this season in Lubbock or Provo, noted Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire.

He took a lesson from Provo that he will never forget.

“I absolutely love that place. It is, like when they come to us, they are going to feel the same. It is a college town. It is a great atmosphere,” McGuire said, remembering a couple of Tech turnovers that were caused, in part, by crowd noise.

“If I start a freshman quarterback, I do not want to receive the ball in the student section end (south end),” he said. “Because when we fumbled the second time, that was probably as loud as I have ever heard a stadium, before that fumble. Just having a freshman having to deal with that was tough. It is such a great atmosphere. Big, big fan of playing there.”

A couple of Big 12 players who had a much better experience at LES — Iowa State defensive back Beau Freyler and Cyclones defensive lineman J.R. Singleton — said the setting was unforgettable and the 45-13 victory extra sweet.

“The mountains, the altitude and all that, it reminded me of home,” said Freyler, who is from Colorado Springs, Colorado, and familiar with BYU’s reputation as a college football power in the Rocky Mountains region.

“It is just a tough transition, especially when you are playing new teams, learning their schemes, their style, how to play in their stadiums,” Freyler said. “It is a whole new experience and I think success just comes with time. BYU will be fine.”

Added Singleton: “I did notice the crowd there at BYU is electric. I am not going to lie — they were a pretty respectful crowd, too. Compared to say, Iowa, or places like that. It was a pretty cool experience.”