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BYU junior cornerback Mory Bamba (left) defends a pass to a wide receiver during fall camp in Provo on Friday, Aug. 2, 2024.

Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo

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BYU cornerbacks coach Jernaro Gilford (left) talks to his guys during practice in Provo on Thursday, March 14, 2024.

Aaron Cornia, BYU Photo

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BYU cornerbacks coach Jernaro Gilford demonstrates technique with senior Eddie Heckard during practice in Provo on Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023.

Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo

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BYU cornerbacks coach Jernaro Gilford watches a drill during the first day of 2023 spring camp at the indoor practice facility in Provo on Monday, March 6, 2023.

Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo

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BYU junior cornerback Mory Bamba didn’t have the most positive first impression of the university.

“I played at Snow College out here while I was in junior college,” Bamba said after practice on Monday. “I actually drove past BYU and I was like, that’s a pretty strange university.”

But during his time at Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas, he got to know former BYU defensive back Tanner Jacobson and learned more about what BYU had to offer.

“He entered my life and it changed my whole perspective of BYU,” Bamba said. “After taking my visit, I wanted to come here.”

BYU cornerbacks coach Jernaro Gilford knew when Bamba arrived in Provo in 2022 that this was an athlete with enormous potential.

“Physically, he is very naturally gifted,” Gilford said. “You can see that he has the height, weight and speed. He’s been developing the mental side of his game.”

Gilford said Bamba worked hard on his getting a degree in business, which was a big challenge. But he made it through and that’s made a difference for him on the gridiron.

“Now he has graduated, which was a big weight off her shoulders,” Gilford said. “He gets to sit back and just really play ball. I’ve watched him become a student of the game and not worry about the stress of school.”

For his part, Bamba said he feels like he’s beginning to show what he is capable of.

“I know I’m capable of a lot with the abilities I have,” Bamba said. “I’ve been able to achieve a lot of things but I take it day by day. I just find something every day I could get better at, especially at cornerback. It’s a technician position. There’s always something you can get better at so I just come in with that mindset every day.”

The junior feels like he’s putting himself in better position to build that growth.

“I think coming back this year allowed me to just have a confident offseason,” Bamba said. “It allowed me to work on the things I needed to work on. I gained about 15 pounds and I gained a tremendous amount of speed.”

Gilford said that the combination of physical and mental growth means the team has a lot of expectations for Bamba.

“There are other guys as well but he is a guy we definitely need to rely on,” Gilford said. “He has to come out and show up every single day. He has to continue to be accountable and that’s what we expect from him.”

The moment where Gilford really felt Bamba was ready for that was when he graduated.

“Once he got through with everything academically, the strength staff said he had a tremendous offseason,” Gilford said. “He’s always been at the player-run practices and getting outside work to become a better corner. He just started trusting everything that we’re saying, so now we’re getting to the fruits from all that.”

Bamba has been consistently running with the first team during the first week of fall camp, but he isn’t reading too much into that.

“It’s a day-to-day process and nothing is secured,” Bamba said. “Every day I have to come and work at my position. There are a lot of guys in our cornerback room who are hungry, so I have to stay humble and not get ahead of myself.”

Gilford said the key for Bamba and every one of the cornerbacks is to show consistency.

“We have to be consistent in everything we do as far as the man defenses, zones, stuff like that,” Gilford said. “We need to have trust and belief in everything we do as far as the calls go. And we can’t get frustrated when we give up a play. As long as we can continue to trust each other, trust in the defensive coordinator and continue to play for each other, we’ll do well. I think we will we have a good thing going.”

Bamba said the key for the BYU defense to play at a higher level this fall is that they are more comfortable with what they are doing.

But while most of his focus is on making his future and the future of the Cougar defense the best it can be, Bamba took a moment to talk about the advice he would’ve given himself before coming to BYU.

“I would have told myself to just come in and be yourself,” Bamba said. “I think the first few years I was still trying to figure myself out here and get comfortable with the guys. It’s been a great journey. I don’t regret my decision to come her for one moment.”