BYU Coach Kalani Sitake addressed how his team is approaching this week’s practice and preparation regimen with no game scheduled this coming weekend during Monday’s press conference. As mentioned, the win over the Cyclones was physically-taxing with players likely ready for some well-deserved rest upon being greeted again at the airport after retuning home from Ames.

“It was awesome, and I want our guys to experience that and have fun with it, but it’s now time to go to work,” Sitake said. “We want to learn from the Iowa State game, and we’ve had plenty of time to receive praise and pat ourselves on the back.”

Not all players are in the same situation as the team enters its second bye week of the season, and the regimen will be necessarily altered according to individual needs.

“There’s a lot of guys that need to develop and take advantage of this week to get better,” Sitake explained. “If you want quality depth, then you have to develop it…A lot of these guys are one play from being in a game, so this is a big work week for them.”

As for players who have started every game this season, or have seen plenty of game reps otherwise, the coming week won’t involve much of a break either, however.

“Some guys we know can do it, but they need to stay in shape,” Sitake explained. “It’s all specified to what our strength (staff) wants them to do and what our coaches are willing to work with. Everyone is working together on how to get these guys ready individually, and collectively it makes the team better…We have to have the same intention, and thought process, and mindset that we’re going to play this weekend. We have to attack practice that way. We can’t take any plays off or any days off. We’ve got to have a great mindset. We’ll test it today…and it’s a work day.”

Sitake noted there’s plenty of players who need to heal up, mentioning that no one is 100 percent healthy at this point of the season. But that fact doesn’t necessitate that even the most dinged-up among them can’t be made to just sit back on the couch while eating Cheetos and drinking Mountain Dew.

“You don’t heal up by just sitting around. You heal up by studying film, going back to work, and if something hurts on your upper body, then your lower body can do a lot of work to make up the difference,” Sitake concluded. “So, we’re going to find ways to get better, and if you’re healing up, that doesn’t mean you get a break. We’ve never been a team that just takes breaks.”

Replacing LJ

BYU workhorse running back LJ Martin left last Saturday’s win over Iowa State in the first quarter and didn’t return to action after sustaining an apparent injury to his upper body. Sitake offered no specific information regarding the nature of Martin’s injury, much less a timeline for his hopeful return, but he did address strides made to perhaps replace the team’s leading rusher if the need arises.

“We’re considering everything,” Sitake said. “We want to be in the best position possible…This is the time to work on it and give extra reps this week with the bye coming up. So we have to consider all those things and we feel good about our running back group.”

No BYU running back has separated themselves as a clear second option to Martin this season, although the bulk of that responsibility has fallen recently on converted safety Preston Rex. But Rex still has accounted for only 20 yards rushing on the season with no other available running back on the roster providing much more.

Sitake insists, however, that some new names may emerge during the bye week, and remains optimistic in the prospect of either replacing Martin or providing quality backup.

“We have guys that can run. You just don’t know their names yet, but hopefully you find out a little bit more about them as we go throughout the season,” Sitake said.

Satuala honored

BYU safety Faletau Satuala was named as the Big 12 Conference’s defensive player of the week following his game-high 10 tackles and his key interception returned for a touchdown in the Cougar’s win over Iowa State.

From BYU’s press release:

It was Satuala’s first pick-six of his career and second interception of the 2025 season. He now has three-straight games with double-digit tackles and currently leads BYU with 53 tackles on the year, including 6.5 tackles for loss to go along with a sack. Satuala has played in all eight games, with two starts in 2025. In addition to leading the team in tackles, he is second in interceptions, has two pass breakups and has forced two fumbles. 

As a true freshman in 2024, Satuala played in 12 games for the Cougars, collecting nine tackles and an interception.