With a team to coach, recruiting to manage and a university to represent among many other things, BYU head football coach Kalani Sitake has a pretty full slate.

But he still appreciates taking a moment to reflect on where he has come from to get to where he is at.

“I have so much gratitude and appreciation for all that has happened already,” Sitake said in an exclusive interview earlier in June. “My time has been more focused on people I’ve been here and I’ve appreciated that.”

He said it still feels surreal sometimes to look around and realize he is the head coach of the Cougars.

“I grew up as a BYU fan,” Sitake said. “I didn’t ever think I could play at BYU. I wanted to but when that moment came and all of a sudden I’m on the field with my helmet in my hand, running out of the tunnel, it was like, oh, wow.”

He recalled how those years flew by and suddenly it was his last time playing at what was before that day known as Cougar Stadium.

“It was kind of overshadowed because it was LaVell Edwards’ last year,” Sitake said. “That was the day the stadium was named LaVell Edwards Stadium. I remember everyone clapping and cheering when they showed the name and the only two people who were surprised were LaVell and Patty (Edwards). They were shocked by it and I remember thinking that after 29 years to see LaVell be shocked by it, that man was my hero. I kept thinking that I wanted to be like that.”

It was 15 years later in 2016 when Sitake got the chance to follow in his mentor’s footsteps and take the head coaching job at his alma mater.

“The entire process of being a first-time head coach has required a lot of growth,” Sitake said. “But I’ve had a really cool relationship with a lot of great head coaches. LaVell was around for my first year and (Kansas City Chiefs head coach) Andy Reid has been one of them. They helped a lot.”

But he compared it to being a first-time father, how you can get all the best advice in the world but it doesn’t really sink in until you have the frame of reference that experience brings.

“There are things you have to get used to,” Sitake said. “There is more uniqueness here (at BYU), so there is a bit more to it than being a head coach anywhere else. This the first time I’ve been a head coach but now it’s what I know.”

He joked about how he just feels “so much older” now and said there are times he wishes he knew what he knows now when he started.

But he said his biggest area of growth has been learning to appreciate all aspects that come with the position.

“I have way more feelings of gratitude for everything,” Sitake said. “I appreciate my whole journey to where I’m at now and I don’t want to miss a moment. Going into this next season I’m so excited about the whole program and everything. I think that sometimes I can reflect on my growth but the truth is, I’m way better person now than I was back then. With the people I’ve been around and the mentors I’ve had, I’ve had no choice but to become a better person.”

The bottom line for Sitake is that he enjoys what he does immensely and feels fortunate to be in the position he is in.

“This is a really cool ride for me,” Sitake said. “I’ve learned to appreciate the little things that we take for granted in this program and at this school. I’m trying to be more mindful of those and I’m loving it.”

DOMINIC VALENTE, Daily Herald