An observer accustomed to listening to college football interviews from other parts of the country likely would’ve been somewhat surprised at one of the questions BYU junior quarterback Jaren Hall fielded after the first day of fall camp on Thursday.

“Are you sharing any parenting tips with (Cougar head coach Kalani Sitake)?” Hall was asked.

Wait, what?

But at BYU, football players talking about kids actually isn’t that unusual and Hall’s response reflected that.

“I need to,” Hall said with a grin. “He and I need to have a little sit down and remind him since it has been a little while since he’s been through it. But I think his wife probably has got it all figured out. I’m happy for them. I’m absolutely looking forward to seeing their new baby.”

Sitake and his wife Timberly Sitake welcomed a new daughter join their family just a few weeks ago and Sitake immediately gave the credit to his spouse.

“I have the best wife,” he said. “She takes care of the baby. I have older children and so with kids who at 18, 15, and 12-years-old, I never get to hold her really. I tell them to get it out of the way so when I get home I can hang out with her and watch film at the same time.”

Hall also has a child at home, as do many players on the team, so he understands the challenges of major college football and being a father. He said when someone on the team has a new baby, it adds a greater sense of camaraderie.

“It’s unique here because you have a lot of guys from a lot of different places, from different walks of life, going through different things,” Hall said. “Whenever you add another child into the locker room, I think it just brings everybody closer. Babies are a beautiful thing. Seeing the young guys interact with the players’ kids, it is so fun. It gives everyone another reason why we do what we do.”

Even players like sophomore linebacker Ben Bywater who don’t have children of their own recognize the impacts that families have on the Cougar squad.

“I was looking around at my backers and I’m the only backer out of the mikes and the rovers who’s not married,” Bywater said with a grin. “Everyone else is married. It’s definitely cool because you can see that these guys have their heads on straight. You don’t have to worry about them. They are going to bed at 7 p.m. (and sometimes waking up with a baby). I’m always asking them how it is. But at the end of the day, you know they are going to get the job done on the field.”

Sitake said that even though he has seen his other kids grow up, he still feels “lucky and honored” to be a new father.

“I’m feeling really old but it’s a lot of fun and I have a great family,” Sitake said. “I forgot what it was like to have a newborn, to hold her. It’s such a great blessing for us to have her.”

He said that Utah head football coach Kyle Whittingham had told him there is nothing like being a grandfather.

“I don’t know if this is like that but I know I’m responsible for this child,” Sitake said. “My dad takes care of our kids and he’s the good guy. When they misbehave, all of a sudden they show up at my house. So I get why being a grandparent might be the best but right now I’m loving being a new daddy.”

Sitake has always extolled the importance of family with the players in his program but having his own little daughter drives that point home with even greater emphasis.

“There are times that we have guys who have young babies,” Sitake said. “I think it’s important for us to cater to them and work the schedule for them. I want them to be great football players but at the same time I want them to focus on being great fathers, great husbands, great people. I feel like we do our schedule works as best we can for the guys to do all of that.”

Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo

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