“I think I can speak with millions of others who really appreciate his service and what he’s done for us as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the things that he’s accomplished as a prophet,” Sitake said. “So  it’s been amazing to hear him speak and the fact that conference is going to be this weekend…It’s going to be different not hearing him speak.”

Like many, Sitake feels blessed personally by Nelson’s service as president of the church for the past seven and a half years, along with his service as an apostle for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since 1984.

“The accomplishments that he’s been able to get done,” Sitake said. “The amount of temples…I think there’s been over 200 temples that have been built and dedicated (during his presidency), so that combined with all his roles as a father, grandfather and husband, and all those things have been really cool for me to see…I’m in a really cool spot where I get to meet many of the brethren and general authorities,” Sitake said. “So I’ll cherish those moments I’ve had with the leaders and I’m excited for this weekend to hear them speak.”

Bear honored

Bear Bachmeier impressed many with his standout performance in BYU’s win over the Buffaloes last Saturday, including Big 12 Conference officials who named him the Conference Player of the Week for the second time in four weeks on Monday.

from BYU media press release:

Bachmeier, completed 19 of 27 passes (70.4 percent) for 179 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions at Colorado. In addition, he led BYU in rushing with 15 carries for 98 yards, an average of 6.5 yards per carry.

The 6-2, 220-pound quarterback from Murrieta, California, became the first true-freshman quarterback to ever to start a season-opener for BYU. He completed 7 of 11 passes for 97 yards and three touchdowns and had five carries for 32 yards and two rushing touchdowns to lead BYU to a 69-0 win over Portland State in the seasson opener. For his efforts versus PSU, Bachmeier was named Big 12 Freshman of the Week for week one.

Through four games, Bachmeier has completed 61 of 90 (67.8-percent) passes for 697 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions. The true freshman is averaging 174.3 yards per game passing with an efficiency rating of 154.8. In addition, Bachmeier is second on the team in rushing with 37 carries for 163 yards (4.4 yards average) and four touchdowns.

Filling in for Moa

BYU running back Sione Moa was again absent from Monday’s released depth chart as he continues to recover from his unique injury sustained in the Cougar’s win over East Carolina two weeks ago.

“An emergency happened from his injury in the game,” Sitake told BYU announcer Greg Wrubell during his pregame interview last Saturday. “We were able to take him to the hospital and get that worked on. He’ll be back this year…we’ll see in the next few weeks how it’s going to look. Glad that he’s safe, glad that everything is ok and that we also get him back this year.”

In the meantime running back depth remains a concern with coaches not entirely certain when exactly Moa will be able to return to action. But despite Moa’s absence as starting running back LJ Martin’s primary backup, Sitake expressed confidence in his team’s ability to provide quality depth.

“We’re fine. We have guys who can run the ball,” Sitake said. “You just don’t know about them yet, but there’s guys capable…who can play with LJ, whether it’s Enoch Nawahine, or Preston Rex, or Logan Payne, or Jovesa Damuni…There’s a lot of guys we feel good about in that room…They’re super talented and they’ll make their mark.”

With Moa in the lineup in BYU’s 24-21 win over Colorado just one backup running back, Nawahine, was afforded a carry, which came on a critical 4th-and-1 situation. Fortunately, for the Cougars, Nawahine responded well, gaining four yards on his single touch in what proved to be a critical offensive conversion during the second half of play.